The traveler who had noticed Adam Bede stops at the village inn and speaks with the innkeeper, Mr. Casson, learning that Dinah is to preach. Curious, he goes to the green to observe. The townspeople of Hayslope — only two of whom are Methodists — gather in knots near the Green but stay aloof from the proceedings; they feel, in general, that Methodism is an overly emotional and overly strict form of religion.
Dinah appears. She is young and delicately pretty, and is marked by "total absence of self-consciousness." Dinah proves to be a very effective preacher, drawing tears from some of her hearers and influencing one young woman to cast away her cheap earrings. Her sermon emphasizes God's love for and mercy towards sinners, and the rewards awaiting the good in heaven. The sermon ends, the traveler moves on, and the hills echo with the Methodists' singing.
