Despite his own sober exhortations, Pastor Glowford himself was full of hope: he knew that the new landlord would bring either much happiness or much grief to the village, so he and his family prayed to God that by the landlord's hand He would bring the peasants of this poor, almost barren land relief from their hard labour.
Pastor Glowford enjoyed great authority and respect in the village: he was a minister of God, a deeply religious man, a spiritual counsellor of the peasants, always ready to help his parishioners in all their troubles. After graduating from the Theological Seminary, a young educated man with great ambitions was sent to this wilderness, but Pastor Glowford quickly accepted his fate, became even more zealous in his faith, married a local, poor, uneducated, but kind and beautiful girl Emma Jones, and gave birth to three daughters with her, like the sun illuminating his approaching old age. Now, however, his loving wife of seventeen years had slept her eternal sleep under the shade of a mighty oak tree in the public village cemetery. The pastor helped the poor (though the rich and even the well-to-do did not exist here), sometimes healed them, and also taught basic grammar classes to his parishioners so that they could read the Scriptures and the New Testament. The pastor was loved for these qualities and kindness: the parishioners expressed their love and respect for him by giving his family foodstuffs, as they had no livestock of their own, nor did they have any other animals. The Glowford family grew cereals on a small plot of land, but not enough to feed four adults. The sale of coarse homespun cloth, which the Glowford girls did, brought little or nothing, and the parson himself was as poor as his parishioners.
The Glowford girls were no less loved than their father. Catherine, the eldest of them, was twenty-six years old, the cleverest of the sisters, and after the death of her mother, from the age of nine, had been responsible for the house, becoming a full mistress of it, so that even her father dared not cross her. Catherine was loved for her calm, judicious character, her sober mind, and her ability to help in reading and interpreting the Scriptures (although the pastor was not happy with this liberty). Despite her young age, the girl deliberately did not marry, although many village men offered her marriage, but Catherine had a good reason – she could not "leave" her father and sisters, especially the younger Cassie. Catherine was like her father – sensible, as deeply religious, kind, hardworking, patient, and even in appearance could not be doubted in her origin: quite tall, thin, with a beautiful face, on which stood out chiselled cheekbones and large brown eyes. Her wavy, dark hair was never loose, but carefully hid it under a bonnet. Catherine was not only a hostess, but also a glorious daughter and sister: after the death of her mother, she raised her sisters, and family was everything to her, after faith, of course.