It is a Saturday afternoon in autumn, in the High Street of a well-known town. A large carrier's wagon stands outside the Town Hall, and the horses wait quietly, eating from their nose-bags. On the side of the wagon, in large yellow letters, are the words, "BURTHEN, CARRIER TO LONGPUDDLE."

It is now half-past three by the clock on the Town Hall, and the wagon will leave at four. Slowly, people begin to arrive and take their seats. First, two women climb up, and then a third, who is the postmistress at Longpuddle. At five minutes to four, more people arrive. There is Mr Profitt, the schoolteacher, and Christopher Twink, the builder, with his old father. Then come a farmer and his wife, and last of all, Mr Flaxton, the church clerk.

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