She was so busy in admiring those soft blue eyes, in talking and listening, and forming all these schemes in the in-betweens, that the evening flew away at a very unusual rate.
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 3. Emma is so captivated by the beauty of the young Harriet Smith that time just seems to disappear. To emphasize the connection between them at this first meeting in Emma’s house, Austen personifies the evening as flying away.