(Willoughby - Melissa K's post) -- "I felt an immediate satisfaction and interest in the event, which nothing but a kind of ***prescience*** of what happiness I should experience from it, can account for."

A quick look at Dr Johnson's dictionary shows the meaning for "prescience" is "knowledge of futurity" and for "prescient" it is "foreknowing, prophetic". Another skill for Willoughby's bow!

IMHO it's a bit interesting that he was hunting too, and happens to come across three daughters with their widowed mother, etc.

Willoughby's "prescience" is also a bit of a lame sort of skill, as he had none of the sort, because Mrs Smith had already told him, as Melissa K points out in her terrific post! Good reading!! I have also found Kathleen (elders) points and Barbara's points on this topic fascinating reading.