A coach had come in, and was changing horses before the porch.

The passengers were moving to and fro before the house, grooms and horse-boys were shouting and hissing, the guard was throwing out parcels.

Soane passed through the bustle, and, strolling to the end of the High Street, saw the girl seated on a low parapet of the bridge that, near the end of the inn gardens, carries the Salisbury road over the Kennet.

She wore a plain riding-coat, such as ladies then affected when they travelled and would avoid their hoops and patches.

A little hood covered her hair, which, undressed and unpowdered, hung in a club behind; and she held up a plain fan between her complexion and the sun.
Her seat, though quiet and remote from the bustle--for the Salisbury road is the less frequented of the two roads--was in view of the gates leading to the Inn; and her extreme beauty, which was that of expression as well as feature, made her a mark for a dozen furtive eyes, of which she affected to be unconscious.