movedby
Henchard
's
warm
convictions
of
his
value
.
He
was
silent
till
they
reached
the
door
.
“
I
wish
I
could
stay
—
sincerely
I
would
like
to
,
”
he
replied
.
“
But
no
—
it
cannet
be
!
it
cannet
!
I
want
to
see
the
warrld
.
”
8.
Thus
they
parted
;
and
Elizabeth-Jane
and
her
mother
remained
each
in
her
thoughts
over
their
meal
,
the
mother
's
face
being
strangely
bright
since
Henchard
's
avowal
of
shame
for
a
past
action
.
The
quivering
of
the
partition
to
its
core
presently
denoted
that
Donald
Farfrae
had
again
rung
his
bell
,
no
doubt
to
have
his
supper
removed
;
for
humming
a
tune
,
and
walking
up
and
down
,
he
seemed
to
be
attracted
by
the
lively
bursts
of
conversation
and
melody
from
the
general
company
below
.
He
sauntered
out
upon
the
landing
,
and
descended
the
staircase
.
When
Elizabeth-Jane
had
carried
down
his
supper
tray
,
and
also
that
used
by
her
mother
and
herself
,
she
found
the
bustle
of
serving
to
be
at
its
height
below
,
as
it
always
was
at
this
hour
.
The
young
woman
shrank
from
having
anything
to
do
with
the
ground-floor
serving
,
and
crept
silently
about
observing
the
scene
—
so
new
to
her
,
fresh
from
the
seclusion
of
a
seaside
cottage
.
In
the
general
sitting-room
,
which
was
large
,
she
remarked
the
two
or
three
dozen
strong-backed
chairs
that
stood
round
against
the
wall
,
each
fitted
with
its
genial
occupant
;
the
sanded
floor
;
the
black
settle
which
,
projecting
endwise
from
the
wall
within
the
door
,
permitted
Elizabeth
to
be
a
spectator
of
all
that
went
on
without
herself
being
particularly
seen
.
The
young
Scotchman
had
just
joined
the
guests
.
These
,
in
addition
to
the
respectable
master-tradesmen
occupying
the
seats
of
privileges
in
the
bow-window
and
its
neighbourhood
,
included
an
inferior
set
at
the
unlighted
end
,
whose
seats
were
mere
benches
against
the
wall
,
and
who
drank
from
cups
instead
of
from
glasses
.
Among
the
latter
she
noticed
some
of
those
personages
who
had
stood
outside
the
windows
of
the
King
's
Arms
.
Behind
their
backs
was
a
small
window
,
with
a
wheel
ventilator
in
one
of
the
panes
,
which
would
suddenly
start
off
spinning
with
a
jingling
sound
,
as
suddenly
stop
,
and
as
suddenly
start
again
.
While
thus
furtively
making
her
survey
the
opening
words
of
a
song
greeted
her
ears
from
the
front
of
the
settle
,
in
a
melody
and
accent
of
peculiar
charm
.
There
had
been
some
singing
before
she
came
down
;
and
now
the
Scotchman
had
made
himself
so
soon
at
home
that
,
at
the
request
of
some
of
the
master-tradesmen
,
he
,
too
,
was
favouring
the
room
with
a
ditty
.
Elizabeth-Jane
was
fond
of
music
;
she
could
not
help
pausing
to
listen
;
and
the
longer
she
listened
the
more
she
was
enraptured
.
She
had
never
heard
any
singing
like
this
and
it
was
evident
that
the
majority
of
the
audience
had
not
heard
such
frequently
,
for
they
were
attentive
to
a
much
greater
degree
than
usual
.
They
neither
whispered
,
nor
drank
,
nor
dipped
their
pipe-stems
in
their
ale
to
moisten
them
,
nor
pushed
the
mug
to
their
neighbours
.
The
singer
himself
grew
emotional
,
till
she
could
imagine
a
tear
in
his
eye
as
the
words
went
on
:
—
“
It
's
hame
,
and
it
's
hame
,
hame
fain
would
I
be
,
O
hame
,
hame
,
hame
to
my
ain
countree
!
There
's
an
eye
that
ever
weeps
,
and
a
fair
face
will
be
fain
,
As
I
pass
through
Annan
Water
with
my
bonnie
bands
again
;
When
the
flower
is
in
the
bud
,
and
the
leaf
upon
the
tree
,
The
lark
shall
sing
me
hame
to
my
ain
countree
!
”
There
was
a
burst
of
applause
,
and
a
deep
silence
which
was
even
more
eloquent
than
the
applause
.
It
was
of
such
a
kind
that
the
snapping
of
a
pipe-stem
too
long
for
him
by
old
Solomon
Longways
,
who
was
one
of
those
gathered
at
the
shady
end
of
the
room
,
seemed
a
harsh
and
irreverent
act
.
Then
the
ventilator
in
the
window-pane
spasmodically
started
off
for
a
new
spin
,
and
the
pathos
of
Donald
's
song
was
temporarily
effaced
.
“
'
Twas
not
amiss
—
not
at
all
amiss
!
”
muttered
Christopher
Coney
,
who
was
also
present
.
And
removing
his
pipe
a
finger
's
breadth
from
his
lips
,
he
said
aloud
,
“
Draw
on
with
the
next
verse
,
young
gentleman
,
please
.
”
“
Yes
.
Let
's
have
it
again
,
stranger
,
”
said
the
glazier
,
a
stout
,
bucket-headed
man
,
with
a
white
apron
rolled
up
round
his
waist
.
“
Folks
do
n't
lift
up
their
hearts
like
that
in
this
part
of
the
world
.
”
And
turning
aside
,
he
said
in
undertones
,
“
Who
is
the
young
man
?
—
Scotch
,
d'ye
say
?
”
“
Yes
,
straight
from
the
mountains
of
Scotland
,
I
believe
,
”
replied
Coney
.
Young
Farfrae
repeated
the
last
verse
.
It
was
plain
that
nothing
so
pathetic
had
been
heard
at
the
Three
Mariners
for
a
considerable
time
.
The
difference
of
accent
,
the
excitability
of
the
singer
,
the
intense
local
feeling
,
and
the
seriousness
with
which
he
worked
himself
up
to
a
climax
,
surprised
this
set
of
worthies
,
who
were
only
too
prone
to
shut
up
their
emotions
with
caustic
words
.
“
Danged
if
our
country
down
here
is
worth
singing
about
like
that
!
”
continued
the
glazier
,
as
the
Scotchman
again
melodized
with
a
dying
fall
,
“
My
ain
countree
!
”
“
When
you
take
away
from
among
us
the
fools
and
the
rogues
,
and
the
lammigers
,
and
the
wanton
hussies
,
and
the
slatterns
,
and
such
like
,
there
's
cust
few
left
to
ornament
a
song
with
in
Casterbridge
,
or
the
country
round
.
”
“
True
,
”
said
Buzzford
,
the
dealer
,
looking
at
the
grain
of
the
table
.
“
Casterbridge
is
a
old
,
hoary
place
o
'
wickedness
,
by
all
account
.
'
Tis
recorded
in
history
that
we
rebelled
against
the
King
one
or
two
hundred
years
ago
,
in
the
time
of
the
Romans
,
and
that
lots
of
us
was
hanged
on
Gallows
Hill
,
and
quartered
,
and
our
different
jints
sent
about
the
country
like
butcher
's
meat
;
and
for
my
part
I
can
well
believe
it
.
”
“
What
did
ye
come
away
from
yer
own
country
for
,
young
maister
,
if
ye
be
so
wownded
about
it
?
”
inquired
Christopher
Coney
,
from
the
background
,
with
the
tone
of
a
man
who
preferred
the
original
subject
.
“
Faith
,
it
was
n't
worth
your
while
on
our
account
,
for
as
Maister
Billy
Wills
says
,
we
be
bruckle
folk
here
—
the
best
o
'
us
hardly
honest
sometimes
,
what
with
hard
winters
,
and
so
many
mouths
to
fill
,
and
Goda'mighty
sending
his
little
taties
so
terrible
small
to
fill
'
em
with
.
We
do
n't
think
about
flowers
and
fair
faces
,
not
we
—
except
in
the
shape
o
'
cauliflowers
and
pigs
'
chaps
.
”
“
But
,
no
!
”
said
Donald
Farfrae
,
gazing
round
into
their
faces
with
earnest
concern
;
“
the
best
of
ye
hardly
honest
—
not
that
surely
?
None
of
ye
has
been
stealing
what
did
n't
belong
to
him
?
”
“
Lord
!
no
,
no
!
”
said
Solomon
Longways
,
smiling
grimly
.
“
That
's
only
his
random
way
o
'
speaking
.
'
A
was
always
such
a
man
of
underthoughts
.
”
(
And
reprovingly
towards
Christopher
)
:
“
Do
n't
ye
be
so
over-familiar
with
a
gentleman
that
ye
know
nothing
of
—
and
that
's
travelled
a'most
from
the
North
Pole
.
”
Christopher
Coney
was
silenced
,
and
as
he
could
get
no
public
sympathy
,
he
mumbled
his
feelings
to
himself
:
“
Be
dazed
,
if
I
loved
my
country
half
as
well
as
the
young
feller
do
,
I
'd
live
by
claning
my
neighbour
's
pigsties
afore
I
'd
go
away
!
For
my
part
I
've
no
more
love
for
my
country
than
I
have
for
Botany
Bay
!
”
“
Come
,
”
said
Longways
;
“
let
the
young
man
draw
onward
with
his
ballet
,
or
we
shall
be
here
all
night
.
”
“
That
's
all
of
it
,
”
said
the
singer
apologetically
.
“
Soul
of
my
body
,
then
we
'll
have
another
!
”
said
the
general
dealer
.
“
Can
you
turn
a
strain
to
the
ladies
,
sir
?
”
inquired
a
fat
woman
with
a
figured
purple
apron
,
the
waiststring
of
which
was
overhung
so
far
by
her
sides
as
to
be
invisible
.
“
Let
him
breathe
—
let
him
breathe
,
Mother
Cuxsom
.
He
hai
n't
got
his
second
wind
yet
,
”
said
the
master
glazier
.
“
Oh
yes
,
but
I
have
!
”
exclaimed
the
young
man
;
and
he
at
once
rendered
“
O
Nannie
”
with
faultless
modulations
,
and
another
or
two
of
the
like
sentiment
,
winding
up
at
their
earnest
request
with
“
Auld
Lang
Syne
.
”
By
this
time
he
had
completely
taken
possession
of
the
hearts
of
the
Three
Mariners
'
inmates
,
including
even
old
Coney
.
Notwithstanding
an
occasional
odd
gravity
which
awoke
their
sense
of
the
ludicrous
for
the
moment
,
they
began
to
view
him
through
a
golden
haze
which
the
tone
of
his
mind
seemed
to
raise
around
him
.
Casterbridge
had
sentiment
—
Casterbridge
had
romance
;
but
this
stranger
's
sentiment
was
of
differing
quality
.
Or
rather
,
perhaps
,
the
difference
was
mainly
superficial
;
he
was
to
them
like
the
poet
of
a
new
school
who
takes
his
contemporaries
by
storm
;
who
is
not
really
new
,
but
is
the
first
to
articulate
what
all
his
listeners
have
felt
,
though
but
dumbly
till
then
.
The
silent
landlord
came
and
leant
over
the
settle
while
the
young
man
sang
;
and
even
Mrs.
Stannidge
managed
to
unstick
herself
from
the
framework
of
her
chair
in
the
bar
and
get
as
far
as
the
door-post
,
which
movement
she
accomplished
by
rolling
herself
round
,
as
a
cask
is
trundled
on
the
chine
by
a
drayman
without
losing
much
of
its
perpendicular
.
“
And
are
you
going
to
bide
in
Casterbridge
,
sir
?
”
she
asked
.
“
Ah
—
no
!
”
said
the
Scotchman
,
with
melancholy
fatality
in
his
voice
,
“
I
'm
only
passing
thirrough
!
I
am
on
my
way
to
Bristol
,
and
on
frae
there
to
foreign
parts
.
”
“
We
be
truly
sorry
to
hear
it
,
”
said
Solomon
Longways
.
“
We
can
ill
afford
to
lose
tuneful
wynd-pipes
like
yours
when
they
fall
among
us
.
And
verily
,
to
mak
'
acquaintance
with
a
man
a-come
from
so
far
,
from
the
land
o
'
perpetual
snow
,
as
we
may
say
,
where
wolves
and
wild
boars
and
other
dangerous
animalcules
be
as
common
as
blackbirds
here-about
—
why
,
'
tis
a
thing
we
ca
n't
do
every
day
;
and
there
's
good
sound
information
for
bide-at-homes
like
we
when
such
a
man
opens
his
mouth
.
”
“
Nay
,
but
ye
mistake
my
country
,
”
said
the
young
man
,
looking
round
upon
them
with
tragic
fixity
,
till
his
eye
lighted
up
and
his
cheek
kindled
with
a
sudden
enthusiasm
to
right
their
errors
.
“
There
are
not
perpetual
snow
and
wolves
at
all
in
it
!
—
except
snow
in
winter
,
and
—
well
—
a
little
in
summer
just
sometimes
,
and
a
'
gaberlunzie
'
or
two
stalking
about
here
and
there
,
if
ye
may
call
them
dangerous
.
Eh
,
but
you
should
take
a
summer
jarreny
to
Edinboro
'
,
and
Arthur
's
Seat
,
and
all
round
there
,
and
then
go
on
to
the
lochs
,
and
all
the
Highland
scenery
—
in
May
and
June
—
and
you
would
never
say
'
tis
the
land
of
wolves
and
perpetual
snow
!
”
“
Of
course
not
—
it
stands
to
reason
,
”
said
Buzzford
.
“
'
Tis
barren
ignorance
that
leads
to
such
words
.
He
's
a
simple
home-spun
man
,
that
never
was
fit
for
good
company
—
think
nothing
of
him
,
sir
.
”
“
And
do
ye
carry
your
flock
bed
,
and
your
quilt
,
and
your
crock
,
and
your
bit
of
chiney
?
or
do
ye
go
in
bare
bones
,
as
I
may
say
?
”
inquired
Christopher
Coney
.
“
I
've
sent
on
my
luggage
—
though
it
is
n't
much
;
for
the
voyage
is
long
.
”
Donald
's
eyes
dropped
into
a
remote
gaze
as
he
added
:
“
But
I
said
to
myself
,
'
Never
a
one
of
the
prizes
of
life
will
I
come
by
unless
I
undertake
it
!
'
and
I
decided
to
go
.
”
A
general
sense
of
regret
,
in
which
Elizabeth-Jane
shared
not
least
,
made
itself
apparent
in
the
company
.
As
she
looked
at
Farfrae
from
the
back
of
the
settle
she
decided
that
his
statements
showed
him
to
be
no
less
thoughtful
than
his
fascinating
melodies
revealed
him
to
be
cordial
and
impassioned
.
She
admired
the
serious
light
in
which
he
looked
at
serious
things
.
He
had
seen
no
jest
in
ambiguities
and
roguery
,
as
the
Casterbridge
toss-pots
had
done
;
and
rightly
not
—
there
was
none
.
She
disliked
those
wretched
humours
of
Christopher
Coney
and
his
tribe
;
and
he
did
not
appreciate
them
.
He
seemed
to
feel
exactly
as
she
felt
about
life
and
its
surroundings
—
that
they
were
a
tragical
rather
than
a
comical
thing
;
that
though
one
could
be
gay
on
occasion
,
moments
of
gaiety
were
interludes
,
and
no
part
of
the
actual
drama
.
It
was
extraordinary
how
similar
their
views
were
.
Though
it
was
still
early
the
young
Scotchman
expressed
his
wish
to
retire
,
whereupon
the
landlady
whispered
to
Elizabeth
to
run
upstairs
and
turn
down
his
bed
.
She
took
a
candlestick
and
proceeded
on
her
mission
,
which
was
the
act
of
a
few
moments
only
.
When
,
candle
in
hand
,
she
reached
the
top
of
the
stairs
on
her
way
down
again
,
Mr.
Farfrae
was
at
the
foot
coming
up
.
She
could
not
very
well
retreat
;
they
met
and
passed
in
the
turn
of
the
staircase
.
She
must
have
appeared
interesting
in
some
way
—
not-withstanding
her
plain
dress
—
or
rather
,
possibly
,
in
consequence
of
it
,
for
she
was
a
girl
characterized
by
earnestness
and
soberness
of
mien
,
with
which
simple
drapery
accorded
well
.
Her
face
flushed
,
too
,
at
the
slight
awkwardness
of
the
meeting
,
and
she
passed
him
with
her
eyes
bent
on
the
candle-flame
that
she
carried
just
below
her
nose
.
Thus
it
happened
that
when
confronting
her
he
smiled
;
and
then
,
with
the
manner
of
a
temporarily
light-hearted
man
,
who
has
started
himself
on
a
flight
of
song
whose
momentum
he
cannot
readily
check
,
he
softly
tuned
an
old
ditty
that
she
seemed
to
suggest
—
“
As
I
came
in
by
my
bower
door
,
As
day
was
waxin
'
wearie
,
Oh
wha
came
tripping
down
the
stair
But
bonnie
Peg
my
dearie
.
”
Elizabeth-Jane
,
rather
disconcerted
,
hastened
on
;
and
the
Scotchman
's
voice
died
away
,
humming
more
of
the
same
within
the
closed
door
of
his
room
.
Here
the
scene
and
sentiment
ended
for
the
present
.
When
soon
after
,
the
girl
rejoined
her
mother
,
the
latter
was
still
in
thought
—
on
quite
another
matter
than
a
young
man
's
song
.
“
We
've
made
a
mistake
,
”
she
whispered
(
that
the
Scotch-man
might
not
overhear
)
.
“
On
no
account
ought
ye
to
have
helped
serve
here
to-night
.
Not
because
of
ourselves
,
but
for
the
sake
of
him
.
If
he
should
befriend
us
,
and
take
us
up
,
and
then
find
out
what
you
did
when
staying
here
,
'
twould
grieve
and
wound
his
natural
pride
as
Mayor
of
the
town
.
”
Elizabeth
,
who
would
perhaps
have
been
more
alarmed
at
this
than
her
mother
had
she
known
the
real
relationship
,
was
not
much
disturbed
about
it
as
things
stood
.
Her
“
he
”
was
another
man
than
her
poor
mother
's
.
“
For
myself
,
”
she
said
,
“
I
did
n't
at
all
mind
waiting
a
little
upon
him
.
He
's
so
respectable
,
and
educated
—
far
above
the
rest
of
'
em
in
the
inn
.
They
thought
him
very
simple
not
to
know
their
grim
broad
way
of
talking
about
themselves
here
.
But
of
course
he
did
n't
know
—
he
was
too
refined
in
his
mind
to
know
such
things
!
”
Thus
she
earnestly
pleaded
.
Meanwhile
,
the
“
he
”
of
her
mother
was
not
so
far
away
as
even
they
thought
.
After
leaving
the
Three
Mariners
he
had
sauntered
up
and
down
the
empty
High
Street
,
passing
and
repassing
the
inn
in
his
promenade
.
When
the
Scotchman
sang
his
voice
had
reached
Henchard
's
ears
through
the
heart-shaped
holes
in
the
window-shutters
,
and
had
led
him
to
pause
outside
them
a
long
while
.
“
To
be
sure
,
to
be
sure
,
how
that
fellow
does
draw
me
!
”
he
had
said
to
himself
.
“
I
suppose
'
tis
because
I
'm
so
lonely
.
I
'd
have
given
him
a
third
share
in
the
business
to
have
stayed
!
”
9.
When
Elizabeth-Jane
opened
the
hinged
casement
next
morning
the
mellow
air
brought
in
the
feel
of
imminent
autumn
almost
as
distinctly
as
if
she
had
been
in
the
remotest
hamlet
.
Casterbridge
was
the
complement
of
the
rural
life
around
,
not
its
urban
opposite
.
Bees
and
butterflies
in
the
cornfields
at
the
top
of
the
town
,
who
desired
to
get
to
the
meads
at
the
bottom
,
took
no
circuitous
course
,
but
flew
straight
down
High
Street
without
any
apparent
consciousness
that
they
were
traversing
strange
latitudes
.
And
in
autumn
airy
spheres
of
thistledown
floated
into
the
same
street
,
lodged
upon
the
shop
fronts
,
blew
into
drains
,
and
innumerable
tawny
and
yellow
leaves
skimmed
along
the
pavement
,
and
stole
through
people
's
doorways
into
their
passages
with
a
hesitating
scratch
on
the
floor
,
like
the
skirts
of
timid
visitors
.
Hearing
voices
,
one
of
which
was
close
at
hand
,
she
withdrew
her
head
and
glanced
from
behind
the
window-curtains
.
Mr.
Henchard
—
now
habited
no
longer
as
a
great
personage
,
but
as
a
thriving
man
of
business
—
was
pausing
on
his
way
up
the
middle
of
the
street
,
and
the
Scotchman
was
looking
from
the
window
adjoining
her
own
.
Henchard
it
appeared
,
had
gone
a
little
way
past
the
inn
before
he
had
noticed
his
acquaintance
of
the
previous
evening
.
He
came
back
a
few
steps
,
Donald
Farfrae
opening
the
window
further
.
“
And
you
are
off
soon
,
I
suppose
?
”
said
Henchard
upwards
.
“
Yes
—
almost
this
moment
,
sir
,
”
said
the
other
.
“
Maybe
I
'll
walk
on
till
the
coach
makes
up
on
me
.
”
“
Which
way
?
”
“
The
way
ye
are
going
.
”
“
Then
shall
we
walk
together
to
the
top
o
'
town
?
”
“
If
ye
'll
wait
a
minute
,
”
said
the
Scotchman
.
In
a
few
minutes
the
latter
emerged
,
bag
in
hand
.
Henchard
looked
at
the
bag
as
at
an
enemy
.
It
showed
there
was
no
mistake
about
the
young
man
's
departure
.
“
Ah
,
my
lad
,
”
he
said
,
“
you
should
have
been
a
wise
man
,
and
have
stayed
with
me
.
”
“
Yes
,
yes
—
it
might
have
been
wiser
,
”
said
Donald
,
looking
microscopically
at
the
houses
that
were
furthest
off
.
“
It
is
only
telling
ye
the
truth
when
I
say
my
plans
are
vague
.
”
They
had
by
this
time
passed
on
from
the
precincts
of
the
inn
,
and
Elizabeth-Jane
heard
no
more
.
She
saw
that
they
continued
in
conversation
,
Henchard
turning
to
the
other
occasionally
,
and
emphasizing
some
remark
with
a
gesture
.
Thus
they
passed
the
King
's
Arms
Hotel
,
the
Market
House
,
St.
Peter
's
churchyard
wall
,
ascending
to
the
upper
end
of
the
long
street
till
they
were
small
as
two
grains
of
corn
;
when
they
bent
suddenly
to
the
right
into
the
Bristol
Road
,
and
were
out
of
view
.
“
He
was
a
good
man
—
and
he
's
gone
,
”
she
said
to
herself
.
“
I
was
nothing
to
him
,
and
there
was
no
reason
why
he
should
have
wished
me
good-bye
.
”
The
simple
thought
,
with
its
latent
sense
of
slight
,
had
moulded
itself
out
of
the
following
little
fact
:
when
the
Scotchman
came
out
at
the
door
he
had
by
accident
glanced
up
at
her
;
and
then
he
had
looked
away
again
without
nodding
,
or
smiling
,
or
saying
a
word
.
“
You
are
still
thinking
,
mother
,
”
she
said
,
when
she
turned
inwards
.
“
Yes
;
I
am
thinking
of
Mr.
Henchard
's
sudden
liking
for
that
young
man
.
He
was
always
so
.
Now
,
surely
,
if
he
takes
so
warmly
to
people
who
are
not
related
to
him
at
all
,
may
he
not
take
as
warmly
to
his
own
kin
?
”
While
they
debated
this
question
a
procession
of
five
large
waggons
went
past
,
laden
with
hay
up
to
the
bedroom
windows
.
They
came
in
from
the
country
,
and
the
steaming
horses
had
probably
been
travelling
a
great
part
of
the
night
.
To
the
shaft
of
each
hung
a
little
board
,
on
which
was
painted
in
white
letters
,
“
Henchard
,
corn-factor
and
hay-merchant
.
”
The
spectacle
renewed
his
wife
's
conviction
that
,
for
her
daughter
's
sake
,
she
should
strain
a
point
to
rejoin
him
.
The
discussion
was
continued
during
breakfast
,
and
the
end
of
it
was
that
Mrs.
Henchard
decided
,
for
good
or
for
ill
,
to
send
Elizabeth-Jane
with
a
message
to
Henchard
,
to
the
effect
that
his
relative
Susan
,
a
sailor
's
widow
,
was
in
the
town
;
leaving
it
to
him
to
say
whether
or
not
he
would
recognize
her
.
What
had
brought
her
to
this
determination
were
chiefly
two
things
.
He
had
been
described
as
a
lonely
widower
;
and
he
had
expressed
shame
for
a
past
transaction
of
his
life
.
There
was
promise
in
both
.
“
If
he
says
no
,
”
she
enjoined
,
as
Elizabeth-Jane
stood
,
bonnet
on
,
ready
to
depart
;
“
if
he
thinks
it
does
not
become
the
good
position
he
has
reached
to
in
the
town
,
to
own
—
to
let
us
call
on
him
as
—
his
distant
kinfolk
,
say
,
'
Then
,
sir
,
we
would
rather
not
intrude
;
we
will
leave
Casterbridge
as
quietly
as
we
have
come
,
and
go
back
to
our
own
country
.
'
...
I
almost
feel
that
I
would
rather
he
did
say
so
,
as
I
have
not
seen
him
for
so
many
years
,
and
we
are
so
—
little
allied
to
him
!
”
“
And
if
he
say
yes
?
”
inquired
the
more
sanguine
one
.
“
In
that
case
,
”
answered
Mrs.
Henchard
cautiously
,
“
ask
him
to
write
me
a
note
,
saying
when
and
how
he
will
see
us
—
or
ME
.
”
Elizabeth-Jane
went
a
few
steps
towards
the
landing
.
“
And
tell
him
,
”
continued
her
mother
,
“
that
I
fully
know
I
have
no
claim
upon
him
—
that
I
am
glad
to
find
he
is
thriving
;
that
I
hope
his
life
may
be
long
and
happy
—
there
,
go
.
”
Thus
with
a
half-hearted
willingness
,
a
smothered
reluctance
,
did
the
poor
forgiving
woman
start
her
unconscious
daughter
on
this
errand
.
It
was
about
ten
o'clock
,
and
market-day
,
when
Elizabeth
paced
up
the
High
Street
,
in
no
great
hurry
;
for
to
herself
her
position
was
only
that
of
a
poor
relation
deputed
to
hunt
up
a
rich
one
.
The
front
doors
of
the
private
houses
were
mostly
left
open
at
this
warm
autumn
time
,
no
thought
of
umbrella
stealers
disturbing
the
minds
of
the
placid
burgesses
.
Hence
,
through
the
long
,
straight
,
entrance
passages
thus
unclosed
could
be
seen
,
as
through
tunnels
,
the
mossy
gardens
at
the
back
,
glowing
with
nasturtiums
,
fuchsias
,
scarlet
geraniums
,
“
bloody
warriors
,
”
snapdragons
,
and
dahlias
,
this
floral
blaze
being
backed
by
crusted
grey
stone-work
remaining
from
a
yet
remoter
Casterbridge
than
the
venerable
one
visible
in
the
street
.
The
old-fashioned
fronts
of
these
houses
,
which
had
older
than
old-fashioned
backs
,
rose
sheer
from
the
pavement
,
into
which
the
bow
windows
protruded
like
bastions
,
necessitating
a
pleasing
chassez-dechassez
movement
to
the
time-pressed
pedestrian
at
every
few
yards
.
He
was
bound
also
to
evolve
other
Terpsichorean
figures
in
respect
of
door-steps
,
scrapers
,
cellar-hatches
,
church
buttresses
,
and
the
overhanging
angles
of
walls
which
,
originally
unobtrusive
,
had
become
bow-legged
and
knock-kneed
.
In
addition
to
these
fixed
obstacles
which
spoke
so
cheerfully
of
individual
unrestraint
as
to
boundaries
,
movables
occupied
the
path
and
roadway
to
a
perplexing
extent
.
First
the
vans
of
the
carriers
in
and
out
of
Casterbridge
,
who
hailed
from
Mellstock
,
Weatherbury
,
The
Hintocks
,
Sherton-Abbas
,
Kingsbere
,
Overcombe
,
and
many
other
towns
and
villages
round
.
Their
owners
were
numerous
enough
to
be
regarded
as
a
tribe
,
and
had
almost
distinctiveness
enough
to
be
regarded
as
a
race
.
Their
vans
had
just
arrived
,
and
were
drawn
up
on
each
side
of
the
street
in
close
file
,
so
as
to
form
at
places
a
wall
between
the
pavement
and
the
roadway
.
Moreover
every
shop
pitched
out
half
its
contents
upon
trestles
and
boxes
on
the
kerb
,
extending
the
display
each
week
a
little
further
and
further
into
the
roadway
,
despite
the
expostulations
of
the
two
feeble
old
constables
,
until
there
remained
but
a
tortuous
defile
for
carriages
down
the
centre
of
the
street
,
which
afforded
fine
opportunities
for
skill
with
the
reins
.
Over
the
pavement
on
the
sunny
side
of
the
way
hung
shopblinds
so
constructed
as
to
give
the
passenger
's
hat
a
smart
buffet
off
his
head
,
as
from
the
unseen
hands
of
Cranstoun
's
Goblin
Page
,
celebrated
in
romantic
lore
.
Horses
for
sale
were
tied
in
rows
,
their
forelegs
on
the
pavement
,
their
hind
legs
in
the
street
,
in
which
position
they
occasionally
nipped
little
boys
by
the
shoulder
who
were
passing
to
school
.
And
any
inviting
recess
in
front
of
a
house
that
had
been
modestly
kept
back
from
the
general
line
was
utilized
by
pig-dealers
as
a
pen
for
their
stock
.
The
yeomen
,
farmers
,
dairymen
,
and
townsfolk
,
who
came
to
transact
business
in
these
ancient
streets
,
spoke
in
other
ways
than
by
articulation
.
Not
to
hear
the
words
of
your
interlocutor
in
metropolitan
centres
is
to
know
nothing
of
his
meaning
.
Here
the
face
,
the
arms
,
the
hat
,
the
stick
,
the
body
throughout
spoke
equally
with
the
tongue
.
To
express
satisfaction
the
Casterbridge
market-man
added
to
his
utterance
a
broadening
of
the
cheeks
,
a
crevicing
of
the
eyes
,
a
throwing
back
of
the
shoulders
,
which
was
intelligible
from
the
other
end
of
the
street
.
If
he
wondered
,
though
all
Henchard
's
carts
and
waggons
were
rattling
past
him
,
you
knew
it
from
perceiving
the
inside
of
his
crimson
mouth
,
and
a
target-like
circling
of
his
eyes
.
Deliberation
caused
sundry
attacks
on
the
moss
of
adjoining
walls
with
the
end
of
his
stick
,
a
change
of
his
hat
from
the
horizontal
to
the
less
so
;
a
sense
of
tediousness
announced
itself
in
a
lowering
of
the
person
by
spreading
the
knees
to
a
lozenge-shaped
aperture
and
contorting
the
arms
.
Chicanery
,
subterfuge
,
had
hardly
a
place
in
the
streets
of
this
honest
borough
to
all
appearance
;
and
it
was
said
that
the
lawyers
in
the
Court
House
hard
by
occasionally
threw
in
strong
arguments
for
the
other
side
out
of
pure
generosity
(
though
apparently
by
mischance
)
when
advancing
their
own
.
Thus
Casterbridge
was
in
most
respects
but
the
pole
,
focus
,
or
nerve-knot
of
the
surrounding
country
life
;
differing
from
the
many
manufacturing
towns
which
are
as
foreign
bodies
set
down
,
like
boulders
on
a
plain
,
in
a
green
world
with
which
they
have
nothing
in
common
.
Casterbridge
lived
by
agriculture
at
one
remove
further
from
the
fountainhead
than
the
adjoining
villages
—
no
more
.
The
townsfolk
understood
every
fluctuation
in
the
rustic
's
condition
,
for
it
affected
their
receipts
as
much
as
the
labourer
's
;
they
entered
into
the
troubles
and
joys
which
moved
the
aristocratic
families
ten
miles
round
—
for
the
same
reason
.
And
even
at
the
dinner-parties
of
the
professional
families
the
subjects
of
discussion
were
corn
,
cattle-disease
,
sowing
and
reaping
,
fencing
and
planting
;
while
politics
were
viewed
by
them
less
from
their
own
standpoint
of
burgesses
with
rights
and
privileges
than
from
the
standpoint
of
their
country
neighbours
.
All
the
venerable
contrivances
and
confusions
which
delighted
the
eye
by
their
quaintness
,
and
in
a
measure
reasonableness
,
in
this
rare
old
market-town
,
were
metropolitan
novelties
to
the
unpractised
eyes
of
Elizabeth-Jane
,
fresh
from
netting
fish-seines
in
a
seaside
cottage
.
Very
little
inquiry
was
necessary
to
guide
her
footsteps
.
Henchard
's
house
was
one
of
the
best
,
faced
with
dull
red-and-grey
old
brick
.
The
front
door
was
open
,
and
,
as
in
other
houses
,
she
could
see
through
the
passage
to
the
end
of
the
garden
—
nearly
a
quarter
of
a
mile
off
.
Mr.
Henchard
was
not
in
the
house
,
but
in
the
store-yard
.
She
was
conducted
into
the
mossy
garden
,
and
through
a
door
in
the
wall
,
which
was
studded
with
rusty
nails
speaking
of
generations
of
fruit-trees
that
had
been
trained
there
.
The
door
opened
upon
the
yard
,
and
here
she
was
left
to
find
him
as
she
could
.
It
was
a
place
flanked
by
hay-barns
,
into
which
tons
of
fodder
,
all
in
trusses
,
were
being
packed
from
the
waggons
she
had
seen
pass
the
inn
that
morning
.
On
other
sides
of
the
yard
were
wooden
granaries
on
stone
staddles
,
to
which
access
was
given
by
Flemish
ladders
,
and
a
store-house
several
floors
high
.
Wherever
the
doors
of
these
places
were
open
,
a
closely
packed
throng
of
bursting
wheat-sacks
could
be
seen
standing
inside
,
with
the
air
of
awaiting
a
famine
that
would
not
come
.
She
wandered
about
this
place
,
uncomfortably
conscious
of
the
impending
interview
,
till
she
was
quite
weary
of
searching
;
she
ventured
to
inquire
of
a
boy
in
what
quarter
Mr.
Henchard
could
be
found
.
He
directed
her
to
an
office
which
she
had
not
seen
before
,
and
knocking
at
the
door
she
was
answered
by
a
cry
of
“
Come
in
.
”
Elizabeth
turned
the
handle
;
and
there
stood
before
her
,
bending
over
some
sample-bags
on
a
table
,
not
the
corn-merchant
,
but
the
young
Scotchman
Mr.
Farfrae
—
in
the
act
of
pouring
some
grains
of
wheat
from
one
hand
to
the
other
.
His
hat
hung
on
a
peg
behind
him
,
and
the
roses
of
his
carpet-bag
glowed
from
the
corner
of
the
room
.
Having
toned
her
feelings
and
arranged
words
on
her
lips
for
Mr.
Henchard
,
and
for
him
alone
,
she
was
for
the
moment
confounded
.
“
Yes
,
what
it
is
?
”
said
the
Scotchman
,
like
a
man
who
permanently
ruled
there
.
She
said
she
wanted
to
see
Mr.
Henchard
.
“
Ah
,
yes
;
will
you
wait
a
minute
?
He
's
engaged
just
now
,
”
said
the
young
man
,
apparently
not
recognizing
her
as
the
girl
at
the
inn
.
He
handed
her
a
chair
,
bade
her
sit
down
and
turned
to
his
sample-bags
again
.
While
Elizabeth-Jane
sits
waiting
in
great
amaze
at
the
young
man
's
presence
we
may
briefly
explain
how
he
came
there
.
When
the
two
new
acquaintances
had
passed
out
of
sight
that
morning
towards
the
Bath
and
Bristol
road
they
went
on
silently
,
except
for
a
few
commonplaces
,
till
they
had
gone
down
an
avenue
on
the
town
walls
called
the
Chalk
Walk
,
leading
to
an
angle
where
the
North
and
West
escarpments
met
.
From
this
high
corner
of
the
square
earthworks
a
vast
extent
of
country
could
be
seen
.
A
footpath
ran
steeply
down
the
green
slope
,
conducting
from
the
shady
promenade
on
the
walls
to
a
road
at
the
bottom
of
the
scarp
.
It
was
by
this
path
the
Scotchman
had
to
descend
.
“
Well
,
here
's
success
to
'
ee
,
”
said
Henchard
,
holding
out
his
right
hand
and
leaning
with
his
left
upon
the
wicket
which
protected
the
descent
.
In
the
act
there
was
the
inelegance
of
one
whose
feelings
are
nipped
and
wishes
defeated
.
“
I
shall
often
think
of
this
time
,
and
of
how
you
came
at
the
very
moment
to
throw
a
light
upon
my
difficulty
.
”
Still
holding
the
young
man
's
hand
he
paused
,
and
then
added
deliberately
:
“
Now
I
am
not
the
man
to
let
a
cause
be
lost
for
want
of
a
word
.
And
before
ye
are
gone
for
ever
I
'll
speak
.
Once
more
,
will
ye
stay
?
There
it
is
,
flat
and
plain
.
You
can
see
that
it
is
n't
all
selfishness
that
makes
me
press
'
ee
;
for
my
business
is
not
quite
so
scientific
as
to
require
an
intellect
entirely
out
of
the
common
.
Others
would
do
for
the
place
without
doubt
.
Some
selfishness
perhaps
there
is
,
but
there
is
more
;
it
is
n't
for
me
to
repeat
what
.
Come
bide
with
me
—
and
name
your
own
terms
.
I
'll
agree
to
'
em
willingly
and
'
ithout
a
word
of
gainsaying
;
for
,
hang
it
,
Farfrae
,
I
like
thee
well
!
”
The
young
man
's
hand
remained
steady
in
Henchard
's
for
a
moment
or
two
.
He
looked
over
the
fertile
country
that
stretched
beneath
them
,
then
backward
along
the
shaded
walk
reaching
to
the
top
of
the
town
.
His
face
flushed
.
“
I
never
expected
this
—
I
did
not
!
”
he
said
.
“
It
's
Providence
!
Should
any
one
go
against
it
?
No
;
I
'll
not
go
to
America
;
I
'll
stay
and
be
your
man
!
”
His
hand
,
which
had
lain
lifeless
in
Henchard
's
,
returned
the
latter
's
grasp
.
“
Done
,
”
said
Henchard
.
“
Done
,
”
said
Donald
Farfrae
.
The
face
of
Mr.
Henchard
beamed
forth
a
satisfaction
that
was
almost
fierce
in
its
strength
.
“
Now
you
are
my
friend
!
”
he
exclaimed
.
“
Come
back
to
my
house
;
let
's
clinch
it
at
once
by
clear
terms
,
so
as
to
be
comfortable
in
our
minds
.
”
Farfrae
caught
up
his
bag
and
retraced
the
North-West
Avenue
in
Henchard
's
company
as
he
had
come
.
Henchard
was
all
confidence
now
.
“
I
am
the
most
distant
fellow
in
the
world
when
I
do
n't
care
for
a
man
,
”
he
said
.
“
But
when
a
man
takes
my
fancy
he
takes
it
strong
.
Now
I
am
sure
you
can
eat
another
breakfast
?
You
could
n't
have
eaten
much
so
early
,
even
if
they
had
anything
at
that
place
to
gi'e
thee
,
which
they
had
n't
;
so
come
to
my
house
and
we
will
have
a
solid
,
staunch
tuck-in
,
and
settle
terms
in
black-and-white
if
you
like
;
though
my
word
's
my
bond
.
I
can
always
make
a
good
meal
in
the
morning
.
I
've
got
a
splendid
cold
pigeon-pie
going
just
now
.
You
can
have
some
home-brewed
if
you
want
to
,
you
know
.
”
“
It
is
too
airly
in
the
morning
for
that
,
”
said
Farfrae
with
a
smile
.
“
Well
,
of
course
,
I
did
n't
know
.
I
do
n't
drink
it
because
of
my
oath
,
but
I
am
obliged
to
brew
for
my
work-people
.
”
Thus
talking
they
returned
,
and
entered
Henchard
's
premises
by
the
back
way
or
traffic
entrance
.
Here
the
matter
was
settled
over
the
breakfast
,
at
which
Henchard
heaped
the
young
Scotchman
's
plate
to
a
prodigal
fulness
.
He
would
not
rest
satisfied
till
Farfrae
had
written
for
his
luggage
from
Bristol
,
and
dispatched
the
letter
to
the
post-office
.
When
it
was
done
this
man
of
strong
impulses
declared
that
his
new
friend
should
take
up
his
abode
in
his
house
—
at
least
till
some
suitable
lodgings
could
be
found
.
He
then
took
Farfrae
round
and
showed
him
the
place
,
and
the
stores
of
grain
,
and
other
stock
;
and
finally
entered
the
offices
where
the
younger
of
them
has
already
been
discovered
by
Elizabeth
.
10.
While
she
still
sat
under
the
Scotchman
's
eyes
a
man
came
up
to
the
door
,
reaching
it
as
Henchard
opened
the
door
of
the
inner
office
to
admit
Elizabeth
.
The
newcomer
stepped
forward
like
the
quicker
cripple
at
Bethesda
,
and
entered
in
her
stead
.
She
could
hear
his
words
to
Henchard
:
“
Joshua
Jopp
,
sir
—
by
appointment
—
the
new
manager
.
”
“
The
new
manager
!
—
he
's
in
his
office
,
”
said
Henchard
bluntly
.
“
In
his
office
!
”
said
the
man
,
with
a
stultified
air
.
“
I
mentioned
Thursday
,
”
said
Henchard
;
“
and
as
you
did
not
keep
your
appointment
,
I
have
engaged
another
manager
.
At
first
I
thought
he
must
be
you
.
Do
you
think
I
can
wait
when
business
is
in
question
?
”
“
You
said
Thursday
or
Saturday
,
sir
,
”
said
the
newcomer
,
pulling
out
a
letter
.
“
Well
,
you
are
too
late
,
”
said
the
corn-factor
.
“
I
can
say
no
more
.
”
“
You
as
good
as
engaged
me
,
”
murmured
the
man
.
“
Subject
to
an
interview
,
”
said
Henchard
.
“
I
am
sorry
for
you
—
very
sorry
indeed
.
But
it
ca
n't
be
helped
.
”
There
was
no
more
to
be
said
,
and
the
man
came
out
,
encountering
Elizabeth-Jane
in
his
passage
.
She
could
see
that
his
mouth
twitched
with
anger
,
and
that
bitter
disappointment
was
written
in
his
face
everywhere
.
Elizabeth-Jane
now
entered
,
and
stood
before
the
master
of
the
premises
.
His
dark
pupils
—
which
always
seemed
to
have
a
red
spark
of
light
in
them
,
though
this
could
hardly
be
a
physical
fact
—
turned
indifferently
round
under
his
dark
brows
until
they
rested
on
her
figure
.
“
Now
then
,
what
is
it
,
my
young
woman
?
”
he
said
blandly
.
“
Can
I
speak
to
you
—
not
on
business
,
sir
?
”
said
she
.
“
Yes
—
I
suppose
.
”
He
looked
at
her
more
thoughtfully
.
“
I
am
sent
to
tell
you
,
sir
,
”
she
innocently
went
on
,
“
that
a
distant
relative
of
yours
by
marriage
,
Susan
Newson
,
a
sailor
's
widow
,
is
in
the
town
,
and
to
ask
whether
you
would
wish
to
see
her
.
”
The
rich
rouge-et-noir
of
his
countenance
underwent
a
slight
change
.
“
Oh
—
Susan
is
—
still
alive
?
”
he
asked
with
difficulty
.
“
Yes
,
sir
.
”
“
Are
you
her
daughter
?
”
“
Yes
,
sir
—
her
only
daughter
.
”
“
What
—
do
you
call
yourself
—
your
Christian
name
?
”
“
Elizabeth-Jane
,
sir
.
”
“
Newson
?
”
“
Elizabeth-Jane
Newson
.
”
This
at
once
suggested
to
Henchard
that
the
transaction
of
his
early
married
life
at
Weydon
Fair
was
unrecorded
in
the
family
history
.
It
was
more
than
he
could
have
expected
.
His
wife
had
behaved
kindly
to
him
in
return
for
his
unkindness
,
and
had
never
proclaimed
her
wrong
to
her
child
or
to
the
world
.
“
I
am
—
a
good
deal
interested
in
your
news
,
”
he
said
.
“
And
as
this
is
not
a
matter
of
business
,
but
pleasure
,
suppose
we
go
indoors
.
”
It
was
with
a
gentle
delicacy
of
manner
,
surprising
to
Elizabeth
,
that
he
showed
her
out
of
the
office
and
through
the
outer
room
,
where
Donald
Farfrae
was
overhauling
bins
and
samples
with
the
inquiring
inspection
of
a
beginner
in
charge
.
Henchard
preceded
her
through
the
door
in
the
wall
to
the
suddenly
changed
scene
of
the
garden
and
flowers
,
and
onward
into
the
house
.
The
dining-room
to
which
he
introduced
her
still
exhibited
the
remnants
of
the
lavish
breakfast
laid
for
Farfrae
.
It
was
furnished
to
profusion
with
heavy
mahogany
furniture
of
the
deepest
red-Spanish
hues
.
Pembroke
tables
,
with
leaves
hanging
so
low
that
they
well-nigh
touched
the
floor
,
stood
against
the
walls
on
legs
and
feet
shaped
like
those
of
an
elephant
,
and
on
one
lay
three
huge
folio
volumes
—
a
Family
Bible
,
a
“
Josephus
,
”
and
a
“
Whole
Duty
of
Man
.
”
In
the
chimney
corner
was
a
fire-grate
with
a
fluted
semicircular
back
,
having
urns
and
festoons
cast
in
relief
thereon
,
and
the
chairs
were
of
the
kind
which
,
since
that
day
,
has
cast
lustre
upon
the
names
of
Chippendale
and
Sheraton
,
though
,
in
point
of
fact
,
their
patterns
may
have
been
such
as
those
illustrious
carpenters
never
saw
or
heard
of
.
“
Sit
down
—
Elizabeth-Jane
—
sit
down
,
”
he
said
,
with
a
shake
in
his
voice
as
he
uttered
her
name
,
and
sitting
down
himself
he
allowed
his
hands
to
hang
between
his
knees
while
he
looked
upon
the
carpet
.
“
Your
mother
,
then
,
is
quite
well
?
”
“
She
is
rather
worn
out
,
sir
,
with
travelling
.
”
“
A
sailor
's
widow
—
when
did
he
die
?
”
“
Father
was
lost
last
spring
.
”
Henchard
winced
at
the
word
“
father
,
”
thus
applied
.
“
Do
you
and
she
come
from
abroad
—
America
or
Australia
?
”
he
asked
.
“
No.
We
have
been
in
England
some
years
.
I
was
twelve
when
we
came
here
from
Canada
.
”
“
Ah
;
exactly
.
”
By
such
conversation
he
discovered
the
circumstances
which
had
enveloped
his
wife
and
her
child
in
such
total
obscurity
that
he
had
long
ago
believed
them
to
be
in
their
graves
.
These
things
being
clear
,
he
returned
to
the
present
.
“
And
where
is
your
mother
staying
?
”
“
At
the
Three
Mariners
.
”
“
And
you
are
her
daughter
Elizabeth-Jane
?
”
repeated
Henchard
.
He
arose
,
came
close
to
her
,
and
glanced
in
her
face
.
“
I
think
,
”
he
said
,
suddenly
turning
away
with
a
wet
eye
,
“
you
shall
take
a
note
from
me
to
your
mother
.
I
should
like
to
see
her
...
.She
is
not
left
very
well
off
by
her
late
husband
?
”
His
eye
fell
on
Elizabeth
's
clothes
,
which
,
though
a
respectable
suit
of
black
,
and
her
very
best
,
were
decidedly
old-fashioned
even
to
Casterbridge
eyes
.
“
Not
very
well
,
”
she
said
,
glad
that
he
had
divined
this
without
her
being
obliged
to
express
it
.
He
sat
down
at
the
table
and
wrote
a
few
lines
,
next
taking
from
his
pocket-book
a
five-pound
note
,
which
he
put
in
the
envelope
with
the
letter
,
adding
to
it
,
as
by
an
afterthought
,
five
shillings
.
Sealing
the
whole
up
carefully
,
he
directed
it
to
“
Mrs.
Newson
,
Three
Mariners
Inn
,
”
and
handed
the
packet
to
Elizabeth
.
“
Deliver
it
to
her
personally
,
please
,
”
said
Henchard
.
“
Well
,
I
am
glad
to
see
you
here
,
Elizabeth-Jane
—
very
glad
.
We
must
have
a
long
talk
together
—
but
not
just
now
.
”
He
took
her
hand
at
parting
,
and
held
it
so
warmly
that
she
,
who
had
known
so
little
friendship
,
was
much
affected
,
and
tears
rose
to
her
aerial-grey
eyes
.
The
instant
that
she
was
gone
Henchard
's
state
showed
itself
more
distinctly
;
having
shut
the
door
he
sat
in
his
dining-room
stiffly
erect
,
gazing
at
the
opposite
wall
as
if
he
read
his
history
there
.
“
Begad
!
”
he
suddenly
exclaimed
,
jumping
up
.
“
I
did
n't
think
of
that
.
Perhaps
these
are
impostors
—
and
Susan
and
the
child
dead
after
all
!
”
However
,
a
something
in
Elizabeth-Jane
soon
assured
him
that
,
as
regarded
her
,
at
least
,
there
could
be
little
doubt
.
And
a
few
hours
would
settle
the
question
of
her
mother
's
identity
;
for
he
had
arranged
in
his
note
to
see
her
that
evening
.
“
It
never
rains
but
it
pours
!
”
said
Henchard
.
His
keenly
excited
interest
in
his
new
friend
the
Scotchman
was
now
eclipsed
by
this
event
,
and
Donald
Farfrae
saw
so
little
of
him
during
the
rest
of
the
day
that
he
wondered
at
the
suddenness
of
his
employer
's
moods
.
In
the
meantime
Elizabeth
had
reached
the
inn
.
Her
mother
,
instead
of
taking
the
note
with
the
curiosity
of
a
poor
woman
expecting
assistance
,
was
much
moved
at
sight
of
it
.
She
did
not
read
it
at
once
,
asking
Elizabeth
to
describe
her
reception
,
and
the
very
words
Mr.
Henchard
used
.
Elizabeth
's
back
was
turned
when
her
mother
opened
the
letter
.
It
ran
thus
:
—
“
Meet
me
at
eight
o'clock
this
evening
,
if
you
can
,
at
the
Ring
on
the
Budmouth
road
.
The
place
is
easy
to
find
.
I
can
say
no
more
now
.
The
news
upsets
me
almost
.
The
girl
seems
to
be
in
ignorance
.
Keep
her
so
till
I
have
seen
you
.
M
.
H
.
”
He
said
nothing
about
the
enclosure
of
five
guineas
.
The
amount
was
significant
;
it
may
tacitly
have
said
to
her
that
he
bought
her
back
again
.
She
waited
restlessly
for
the
close
of
the
day
,
telling
Elizabeth-Jane
that
she
was
invited
to
see
Mr.
Henchard
;
that
she
would
go
alone
.
But
she
said
nothing
to
show
that
the
place
of
meeting
was
not
at
his
house
,
nor
did
she
hand
the
note
to
Elizabeth
.
11.
The
Ring
at
Casterbridge
was
merely
the
local
name
of
one
of
the
finest
Roman
Amphitheatres
,
if
not
the
very
finest
,
remaining
in
Britain
.
Casterbridge
announced
old
Rome
in
every
street
,
alley
,
and
precinct
.
It
looked
Roman
,
bespoke
the
art
of
Rome
,
concealed
dead
men
of
Rome
.
It
was
impossible
to
dig
more
than
a
foot
or
two
deep
about
the
town
fields
and
gardens
without
coming
upon
some
tall
soldier
or
other
of
the
Empire
,
who
had
lain
there
in
his
silent
unobtrusive
rest
for
a
space
of
fifteen
hundred
years
.
He
was
mostly
found
lying
on
his
side
,
in
an
oval
scoop
in
the
chalk
,
like
a
chicken
in
its
shell
;
his
knees
drawn
up
to
his
chest
;
sometimes
with
the
remains
of
his
spear
against
his
arm
,
a
fibula
or
brooch
of
bronze
on
his
breast
or
forehead
,
an
urn
at
his
knees
,
a
jar
at
his
throat
,
a
bottle
at
his
mouth
;
and
mystified
conjecture
pouring
down
upon
him
from
the
eyes
of
Casterbridge
street
boys
and
men
,
who
had
turned
a
moment
to
gaze
at
the
familiar
spectacle
as
they
passed
by
.
Imaginative
inhabitants
,
who
would
have
felt
an
unpleasantness
at
the
discovery
of
a
comparatively
modern
skeleton
in
their
gardens
,
were
quite
unmoved
by
these
hoary
shapes
.
They
had
lived
so
long
ago
,
their
time
was
so
unlike
the
present
,
their
hopes
and
motives
were
so
widely
removed
from
ours
,
that
between
them
and
the
living
there
seemed
to
stretch
a
gulf
too
wide
for
even
a
spirit
to
pass
.
The
Amphitheatre
was
a
huge
circular
enclosure
,
with
a
notch
at
opposite
extremities
of
its
diameter
north
and
south
.
From
its
sloping
internal
form
it
might
have
been
called
the
spittoon
of
the
Jotuns
.
It
was
to
Casterbridge
what
the
ruined
Coliseum
is
to
modern
Rome
,
and
was
nearly
of
the
same
magnitude
.
The
dusk
of
evening
was
the
proper
hour
at
which
a
true
impression
of
this
suggestive
place
could
be
received
.
Standing
in
the
middle
of
the
arena
at
that
time
there
by
degrees
became
apparent
its
real
vastness
,
which
a
cursory
view
from
the
summit
at
noon-day
was
apt
to
obscure
.
Melancholy
,
impressive
,
lonely
,
yet
accessible
from
every
part
of
the
town
,
the
historic
circle
was
the
frequent
spot
for
appointments
of
a
furtive
kind
.
Intrigues
were
arranged
there
;
tentative
meetings
were
there
experimented
after
divisions
and
feuds
.
But
one
kind
of
appointment
—
in
itself
the
most
common
of
any
—
seldom
had
place
in
the
Amphitheatre
:
that
of
happy
lovers
.
Why
,
seeing
that
it
was
pre-eminently
an
airy
,
accessible
,
and
sequestered
spot
for
interviews
,
the
cheerfullest
form
of
those
occurrences
never
took
kindly
to
the
soil
of
the
ruin
,
would
be
a
curious
inquiry
.
Perhaps
it
was
because
its
associations
had
about
them
something
sinister
.
Its
history
proved
that
.
Apart
from
the
sanguinary
nature
of
the
games
originally
played
therein
,
such
incidents
attached
to
its
past
as
these
:
that
for
scores
of
years
the
town-gallows
had
stood
at
one
corner
;
that
in
1705
a
woman
who
had
murdered
her
husband
was
half-strangled
and
then
burnt
there
in
the
presence
of
ten
thousand
spectators
.
Tradition
reports
that
at
a
certain
stage
of
the
burning
her
heart
burst
and
leapt
out
of
her
body
,
to
the
terror
of
them
all
,
and
that
not
one
of
those
ten
thousand
people
ever
cared
particularly
for
hot
roast
after
that
.
In
addition
to
these
old
tragedies
,
pugilistic
encounters
almost
to
the
death
had
come
off
down
to
recent
dates
in
that
secluded
arena
,
entirely
invisible
to
the
outside
world
save
by
climbing
to
the
top
of
the
enclosure
,
which
few
towns-people
in
the
daily
round
of
their
lives
ever
took
the
trouble
to
do
.
So
that
,
though
close
to
the
turnpike-road
,
crimes
might
be
perpetrated
there
unseen
at
mid-day
.
Some
boys
had
latterly
tried
to
impart
gaiety
to
the
ruin
by
using
the
central
arena
as
a
cricket-ground
.
But
the
game
usually
languished
for
the
aforesaid
reason
—
the
dismal
privacy
which
the
earthen
circle
enforced
,
shutting
out
every
appreciative
passer
's
vision
,
every
commendatory
remark
from
outsiders
—
everything
,
except
the
sky
;
and
to
play
at
games
in
such
circumstances
was
like
acting
to
an
empty
house
.
Possibly
,
too
,
the
boys
were
timid
,
for
some
old
people
said
that
at
certain
moments
in
the
summer
time
,
in
broad
daylight
,
persons
sitting
with
a
book
or
dozing
in
the
arena
had
,
on
lifting
their
eyes
,
beheld
the
slopes
lined
with
a
gazing
legion
of
Hadrian
's
soldiery
as
if
watching
the
gladiatorial
combat
;
and
had
heard
the
roar
of
their
excited
voices
,
that
the
scene
would
remain
but
a
moment
,
like
a
lightning
flash
,
and
then
disappear
.
It
was
related
that
there
still
remained
under
the
south
entrance
excavated
cells
for
the
reception
of
the
wild
animals
and
athletes
who
took
part
in
the
games
.
The
arena
was
still
smooth
and
circular
,
as
if
used
for
its
original
purpose
not
so
very
long
ago
.
The
sloping
pathways
by
which
spectators
had
ascended
to
their
seats
were
pathways
yet
.
But
the
whole
was
grown
over
with
grass
,
which
now
,
at
the
end
of
summer
,
was
bearded
with
withered
bents
that
formed
waves
under
the
brush
of
the
wind
,
returning
to
the
attentive
ear
aeolian
modulations
,
and
detaining
for
moments
the
flying
globes
of
thistledown
.
Henchard
had
chosen
this
spot
as
being
the
safest
from
observation
which
he
could
think
of
for
meeting
his
long-lost
wife
,
and
at
the
same
time
as
one
easily
to
be
found
by
a
stranger
after
nightfall
.
As
Mayor
of
the
town
,
with
a
reputation
to
keep
up
,
he
could
not
invite
her
to
come
to
his
house
till
some
definite
course
had
been
decided
on
.
Just
before
eight
he
approached
the
deserted
earth-work
and
entered
by
the
south
path
which
descended
over
the
debris
of
the
former
dens
.
In
a
few
moments
he
could
discern
a
female
figure
creeping
in
by
the
great
north
gap
,
or
public
gateway
.
They
met
in
the
middle
of
the
arena
.
Neither
spoke
just
at
first
—
there
was
no
necessity
for
speech
—
and
the
poor
woman
leant
against
Henchard
,
who
supported
her
in
his
arms
.
“
I
do
n't
drink
,
”
he
said
in
a
low
,
halting
,
apologetic
voice
.
“
You
hear
,
Susan
?
—
I
do
n't
drink
now
—
I
have
n't
since
that
night
.
”
Those
were
his
first
words
.
He
felt
her
bow
her
head
in
acknowledgment
that
she
understood
.
After
a
minute
or
two
he
again
began
:
“
If
I
had
known
you
were
living
,
Susan
!
But
there
was
every
reason
to
suppose
you
and
the
child
were
dead
and
gone
.
I
took
every
possible
step
to
find
you
—
travelled
—
advertised
.
My
opinion
at
last
was
that
you
had
started
for
some
colony
with
that
man
,
and
had
been
drowned
on
your
voyage
.
Why
did
you
keep
silent
like
this
?
”
“
O
Michael
!
because
of
him
—
what
other
reason
could
there
be
?
I
thought
I
owed
him
faithfulness
to
the
end
of
one
of
our
lives
—
foolishly
I
believed
there
was
something
solemn
and
binding
in
the
bargain
;
I
thought
that
even
in
honour
I
dared
not
desert
him
when
he
had
paid
so
much
for
me
in
good
faith
.
I
meet
you
now
only
as
his
widow
—
I
consider
myself
that
,
and
that
I
have
no
claim
upon
you
.
Had
he
not
died
I
should
never
have
come
—
never
!
Of
that
you
may
be
sure
.
”
“
Ts-s-s
!
How
could
you
be
so
simple
?
”
“
I
do
n't
know
.
Yet
it
would
have
been
very
wicked
—
if
I
had
not
thought
like
that
!
”
said
Susan
,
almost
crying
.
“
Yes
—
yes
—
so
it
would
.
It
is
only
that
which
makes
me
feel
'
ee
an
innocent
woman
.
But
—
to
lead
me
into
this
!
”
“
What
,
Michael
?
”
she
asked
,
alarmed
.
“
Why
,
this
difficulty
about
our
living
together
again
,
and
Elizabeth-Jane
.
She
cannot
be
told
all
—
she
would
so
despise
us
both
that
—
I
could
not
bear
it
!
”
“
That
was
why
she
was
brought
up
in
ignorance
of
you
.
I
could
not
bear
it
either
.
”
“
Well
—
we
must
talk
of
a
plan
for
keeping
her
in
her
present
belief
,
and
getting
matters
straight
in
spite
of
it
.
You
have
heard
I
am
in
a
large
way
of
business
here
—
that
I
am
Mayor
of
the
town
,
and
churchwarden
,
and
I
do
n't
know
what
all
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
she
murmured
.
“
These
things
,
as
well
as
the
dread
of
the
girl
discovering
our
disgrace
,
makes
it
necessary
to
act
with
extreme
caution
.
So
that
I
do
n't
see
how
you
two
can
return
openly
