When he was again in their company, he could not help remembering what he had seen; nor could he avoid observations which, unless it were like Cowper and his fire at twilight, “Myself creating what I saw,” brought him yet stronger suspicion of there being a something of private liking, of private understanding even, between Frank Churchill and Jane.
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 41. Mr. Knightley thinks that he has seen signs of a private intrigue going on between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. He has observed them swopping looks and glances at a dinner party. However, he is not sure if it was just his imagination at work, like the poet William Cowper in front of his fire seeing images in it – “Myself creating what I saw.” This is an allusion to line 290 from Cowper’s long blank verse poem, The Task. The later revelation that Frank and Jane have been secretly engaged is foreshadowed here.