Mr. Walton is sick. It is the week after the stormy Sunday when he got so soaked visiting Mrs. Tompkins' house, which had a stream flowing through it, when Mrs. Tomkins lay dying.
As he lies at home in bed, he receives a visitor: Jemima. She has come wanting to adopt Catherine Weir's little boy. Mr. Walton promises to see whether this is possible, since he believes the boy's family is wanting to adopt him themselves.
Mr. Walton's two friends, Thomas Weir and Old Rogers, are talking about him. Old Rogers tells Thomas that he thinks Mr. Walton is in love with Ethelwyn Oldcastle, but that her mother is trying to make her marry Captain Everard. (Captain Everard is the father of Catherine Weir's little boy)
Hearing this, Thomas produces a letter for Old Rogers' daughter Jane to take to Ethelwyn. When Ethelwyn sees the letter, she determines never to marry Captain Everard. But her mother Mrs. Oldcastle intercepts the letter before Jane can leave, and Mrs. Oldcastle throws it into the fire, declaring it to be a lie.
