It will be remembered that Mrs. Greenow had spoken with considerable severity of Captain Bellfield's pretensions when discussing his character with her niece; but, nevertheless, on the present occasion she received him with most gracious smiles. It may be that her estimate of his character had been altered, or that she was making sacrifice of her own feelings in consideration of Mr. Cheesacre, who was known to be the captain's intimate friend. But she had smiles for both of them. She had a wondrous power of smiling; and could, upon occasion, give signs of peculiar favour to half a dozen different gentlemen in as many minutes. They found her in the midst of hampers which were not yet wholly packed, while Mrs. Jones, Jeannette, and the cook of the household moved around her, on the outside of the circle, ministering to her wants. She had in her hand an outspread clean napkin, and she wore fastened round her dress a huge coarse apron, that she might thus be protected from some possible ebullition of gravy, or escape of salad mixture, or cream; but in other respects she was clothed in the fullest honours of widowhood. She had not mitigated her weeds by half an inch. She had scorned to make any compromise between the world of pleasure and the world of woe. There she was, a widow, declared by herself to be of four months' standing, with a buried heart, making ready a dainty banquet with skill and liberality. She was ready on the instant to sit down upon the baskets in which the grouse pie had been just carefully inhumed, and talked about her sainted lamb with a deluge of tears. 
It will be remembered that Mrs. Greenow had spoken severely of Captain Bellfield's pretensions when discussing him with her niece; nevertheless, on this occasion she received him with most gracious smiles. But she had smiles for Mr. Cheesacre too. She had a wondrous power of smiling; and could, at times, favour half a dozen different gentlemen in as many minutes.
They found her in the midst of half-packed hampers, while Mrs. Jones, Jeannette, and the cook moved around her. She wore a huge apron, to protect her dress from any possible escape of cream or gravy; but otherwise she was clothed in full mourning. There she was, a widow of four months' standing, with a buried heart, skilfully making ready a dainty banquet. 