This section of the novel opens in the present tense, which helps the reader to adjust to the sixteen-year gap in time by giving an immediacy to the action, as though what has gone before were in the past and this is what is happening now. After a few paragraphs, Eliot drops back into the past tense to continue the story.
The changes that have taken place in the main characters are quickly filled in. Godfrey has not changed at all, except that he looks older. Nancy, however, has matured in more than years. Her soul has grown into "fuller goodness." Something of the same sort has happened to Silas. We learn that "his large brown eyes seem to have gathered a longer vision, as is the way with eyes that have been short-sighted in early life." This is a physical change, to be sure, but it is more than that. His eyes were "short-sighted" in more than a physical sense, and he has been helped to overcome that.
The events of the intervening years are also filled in in a few brief lines. Part of this occurs in conversations. Aaron says that Mr. Cass would be willing to give Silas and Eppie some soil for a garden. Thus we know that Godfrey has to some extent honored his vow to provide for Eppie. Silas and Eppie want Dolly to know all about the garden, so it is certain that she has continued in her kindness to them. Later we see that she is Eppie's godmother. The first exchange of conversation also establishes that more than friendship exists between Eppie and Aaron. In this way, a lot of important background is got out of the way quickly.
