The Parson's Daughter of Oxney Colne

In The Parson’s Daughter of Oxney Colne, the narrator says the prettiest scenery in all England, or if he is contradicted in all Europe, is in Devonshire, on the southern and south-eastern skirts of Dartmoor. The text says the parson’s name was Woolsworthy, or Woolathy as it was pronounced by all those who lived around him, the Rev. Saul Woolsworthy, and that his daughter was Patience Woolsworthy, or Miss Patty. The name of Patience is described as not well chosen for her, for she was a hot-tempered damsel, warm in her convictions, and inclined to express them freely.

A pretty girl was Patience Woolsworthy, with dark eyes and black hair. Captain Broughton is described as almost as much surprised as delighted by the warmth of the acknowledgment made by the eager-hearted passionate girl whom he held within his arms. Captain Broughton called at the parsonage, but she would not see him, and a scrap of paper in pencil reads: It is better that we should not meet again.