Palfreywhofarmedhisownland，thathadattractedMr。Freely’speculiarregard，andconqueredhisfastidiousness；andnowonder，fortheIdeal，asexhibitedinthefinestwaxwork，wasperhapsneversocloselyapproachedbytheRealasinthepersonoftheprettyPenelope。Heryellowishflaxenhairdidnotcurlnaturally，I
admit，butitsbrightcrispringletsweresuchsmooth，perfectminiaturetubes，thatyouwouldhavelongedtopassyourlittlefingerthroughthem，andfeeltheirsoftelasticity。Sheworetheminacrop，forinthosedays，whensocietywasinahealthierstate，youngladiesworecropslongaftertheyweretwenty，andPenelopewasnotyetnineteen。Likethewaxenideal，shehadroundblueeyes，androundnostrilsinherlittlenose，andteethsuchastheidealwouldbeseentohave，ifitevershowedthem。Altogether，shewasasmall，roundthing，asneatasapinkandwhitedoubledaisy，andasguileless；forIhopeitdoesnotargueguileinaprettydamselofnineteen，tothinkthatsheshouldliketohaveabeauandbe\"engaged，\"whenhereldersisterhadalreadybeeninthatpositionayearandahalf。Tobesure，therewasyoungTowersalwayscomingtothehouse；butPennyfeltconvincedheonlycametoseeherbrother，forheneverhadanythingtosaytoher，andneverofferedherhisarm，andwasasawkwardandsilentaspossible。
ItisnotunlikelythatMr。FreelyhadearlybeensmittenbyPenny’scharms，asbroughtunderhisobservationatchurch，buthehadtomakehiswayinsocietyalittlebeforehecouldcomeintonearercontactwiththem；andevenafterhewaswellreceivedinGrimworthfamilies，itwasalongwhilebeforehecouldconversewithPennyotherwisethaninanincidentalmeetingatMr。Luff’s。ItwasnotsoeasytogetinvitedtoLongMeadows，theresidenceofthePalfreys；forthoughMr。Palfreyhadbeenlosingmoneyoflateyears，notbeingablequitetorecoverhisfeetaftertheterriblemurrainwhichforcedhimtoborrow，hisfamilywerefarfromconsideringthemselvesonthesamelevelevenastheold-establishedtradespeoplewithwhomtheyvisited。Thegreatestpeople，evenkingsandqueens，mustvisitwithsomebody，andtheequalsofthegreatarescarce。TheywereespeciallyscarceatGrimworth，which，asIhavebeforeobserved，wasalowparish，mentionedwiththemostscornfulbrevityingazetteers。Eventhegreatpeopletherewerefarbehindthoseoftheirownstandinginotherpartsofthisrealm。
Mr。Palfrey’sfarmyarddoorshadthepaintallwornoffthem，andthefrontgardenwalkshadlongbeenmergedinageneralweediness。
Still，hisfatherhadbeencalledSquirePalfrey，andhadbeenrespectedbythelastGrimworthgenerationasamanwhocouldaffordtodrinktoomuchinhisownhouse。