Miss Matty’s Unorthodox Shop Practices
Miss Matty’s trusting and unselfish nature inspires honesty in others, though it leaves her vulnerable to being imposed upon. She cannot bring herself to challenge a coal-man’s protestations of fair weight, trusting that her own good faith will be reciprocated. The narrator notes the contrast between Cranford’s trusting ways and her father’s more suspicious commercial practices, which nonetheless failed to save him from losing over a thousand pounds to roguery the previous year.
Miss Matty’s Tea Sales Exceed Expectations
Miss Matty’s tea sales during her first two days surpass all expectations, with the surrounding countryside seemingly running out of tea at once. However, her habit of urgently warning customers against green tea as a slow poison distresses her when they persist in buying it, threatening to cost her half her custom. The narrator finally persuades her to tolerate the practice by citing the Esquimaux’s ability to digest train-oil and tallow candles, after which Miss Matty resigns herself to occasional remonstrances.
Martha Announces Her Pregnancy
About a year after Miss Matty opens her shop, Martha writes urgently to the narrator in Drumble, summoning her to Cranford. The reason turns out to be Martha’s approaching confinement, which she fears Miss Matty will disapprove of and which leaves her anxious about who will care for her mistress during her confinement. The narrator comforts Martha and resolves to stay, then surprises Miss Matty by entering the shop as a customer, finding her peacefully humming the Old Hundredth Psalm as she knits. When the baby is born, Miss Matty overcomes her surprise, tenderly welcomes the child, and awkwardly offers her congratulations to the shy but proud Jem.
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