Apart from the sadness of losing their beloved pastor, the Walsingham people were worried about who would now replace him, and on the third day after Mr. Glowford's death, a new pastor finally arrived in the village, and the excited villagers purposely went straight to the road to greet him.
The new pastor of Walsingham, appointed by the Church of England, was a young man: he was tall, thin, red-haired, and his oblong, pale face was studded with large freckles, which gave him a somewhat mysterious appearance (the unmarried women of the village immediately set their eyes on him). Mr. Litley (that was the name of the new parson) was embarrassed by this warm welcome, but Catherine, who had left her dead father's body for a couple of hours, immediately told him that the funeral should be held today. Mr. Litley was tired from the long journey, but could not refuse Miss Glowford's insistence. Pastor Glowford was buried the same evening. Cassie did not attend the funeral: she and the children were playing on the river during the funeral.
The funeral was modest. The parson was buried next to the grave of his late wife Emma. Throughout the ceremony, the peasants wept and sobbed loudly, while Catherine and Christine, holding hands and with tears in their eyes, watched the earth swallow up their beloved father. The new pastor wistfully recited scripture and prayers, but did the proper job. It wasn't until after the funeral that Mr. Litley was taken to his new home which was the home of Fred the butcher who had died of frostbite that winter.
Mr. Litley was unpleasantly shocked at the "godforsaken hole" into which the Church had sent him, but seeing the respect and reverence in which his new parish regarded him, and feeling his power over these religious foolish peasants, he suppressed his resentment and disgust, and decided to accept his fate. Besides, he could not help noticing how many beautiful girls there were in the village. Miss Catherine Glowford especially caught his eye: she attracted him by her mournful beauty and the humility with which she had borne her father's death. The parson looked round his new home, the peasants helped him to unload the cart with his belongings, though they were few in number, and all went home.