Woodward's, but he had not arrived at the time at which we would
wish first to introduce our readers to Hampton.

Mrs. Woodward was the widow of a clergyman who had held a living
in London, and had resided there. He had, however, died when two
of his children were very young, and while the third was still a
baby. From that time Mrs. Woodward had lived at the cottage at
Hampton, and had there maintained a good repute, paying her way
from month to month as widows with limited incomes should do, and
devoting herself to the amusements and education of her
daughters.

It was not, probably, from any want of opportunity to cast them
aside, that Mrs. Woodward had remained true to her weeds; for at
the time of her husband's death she was a young and a very pretty
woman; and an income of L400 a year, though moderate enough for
all the wants of a gentleman's family, would no doubt have added
sufficiently to her charms to have procured her a second
alliance, had she been so minded.

Twelve years, however, had now elapsed since Mr. Woodward had
been gathered to his fathers, and the neighbouring world of
Hampton, who had all of them declared over and over again that
the young widow would certainly marry again, were now becoming as
unanimous in their expressed opinion that the old widow knew the
value of her money too well to risk it in the keeping of the best
he that ever wore boots.

At the date at which our story commences, she was a comely little
woman, past forty, somewhat below the middle height, rather