and learned more from reading your post. I took it to mean the lack of carriage, as well, but the other details are interesting. This might be a silly question, but I am going to ask it anyway. Would there have been any visiting conventions laid down as far as Mrs Dashwood's recent widowhood was concerned? Would her change of status and widowhood combined have affected her life a great deal socially? It might be totally irrelevant, but I am bit curious.