But she was disappointed.

Mrs.Sheppard's dress--extremely neat and clean, but simply fashioned, and of the plainest and most unpretending material,--offered nothing assailable; and her demeanour was so humble, and her looks so modest, that--if she had been ill-looking--she might, possibly, have escaped the shafts of malice preparing to be levelled against her.

But, alas! she was beautiful--and beauty is a crime not to be forgiven by a jealous woman.
As the lapse of time and change of circumstances have wrought a remarkable alteration in the appearance of the poor widow, it may not be improper to notice it here.

When first brought under consideration, she was a miserable and forlorn object; squalid in attire, haggard in looks, and emaciated in frame.

Now, she was the very reverse of all this.