Mat had slackened his pace more and more as he approached the town,
until he slackened it altogether at last, by coming to a dead
stand-still under the walls of the old church, which stood at one
extremity of the High Street, in what seemed to be the suburban
district of Dibbledean. He waited for some time, looking over the low
parapet wall which divided the churchyard from the road--then slowly
approached a gate leading to a path among the grave-stones--stopped at
it--apparently changed his purpose--and, turning off abruptly, walked
up the High Street.
He did not pause again till he arrived opposite a long, low, gabled
house, evidently one of the oldest buildings in the place, though
brightly painted and whitewashed, to look as new and unpicturesque as
possible. The basement story was divided into two shops; which,
however, proclaimed themselves as belonging now, and having belonged
also in former days, to one and the same family. Over the larger of the
two was painted in letters of goodly size:--
_Bradford and Son (late Joshua Grice), Linendrapers, Hosiers, &c., &c._
The board on which these words were traced was continued over the
smaller shop, where it was additionally superscribed thus:--
_Mrs.
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