revealitself
through
the
provisional
curves
of
immaturity
,
and
the
casual
disfigurements
that
resulted
from
the
straitened
circumstances
of
their
lives
.
She
was
handsome
in
the
bone
,
hardly
as
yet
handsome
in
the
flesh
.
She
possibly
might
never
be
fully
handsome
,
unless
the
carking
accidents
of
her
daily
existence
could
be
evaded
before
the
mobile
parts
of
her
countenance
had
settled
to
their
final
mould
.
The
sight
of
the
girl
made
her
mother
sad
—
not
vaguely
but
by
logical
inference
.
They
both
were
still
in
that
strait-waistcoat
of
poverty
from
which
she
had
tried
so
many
times
to
be
delivered
for
the
girl
's
sake
.
The
woman
had
long
perceived
how
zealously
and
constantly
the
young
mind
of
her
companion
was
struggling
for
enlargement
;
and
yet
now
,
in
her
eighteenth
year
,
it
still
remained
but
little
unfolded
.
The
desire
—
sober
and
repressed
—
of
Elizabeth-Jane
's
heart
was
indeed
to
see
,
to
hear
,
and
to
understand
.
How
could
she
become
a
woman
of
wider
knowledge
,
higher
repute
—
“
better
,
”
as
she
termed
it
—
this
was
her
constant
inquiry
of
her
mother
.
She
sought
further
into
things
than
other
girls
in
her
position
ever
did
,
and
her
mother
groaned
as
she
felt
she
could
not
aid
in
the
search
.
The
sailor
,
drowned
or
no
,
was
probably
now
lost
to
them
;
and
Susan
's
staunch
,
religious
adherence
to
him
as
her
husband
in
principle
,
till
her
views
had
been
disturbed
by
enlightenment
,
was
demanded
no
more
.
She
asked
herself
whether
the
present
moment
,
now
that
she
was
a
free
woman
again
,
were
not
as
opportune
a
one
as
she
would
find
in
a
world
where
everything
had
been
so
inopportune
,
for
making
a
desperate
effort
to
advance
Elizabeth
.
To
pocket
her
pride
and
search
for
the
first
husband
seemed
,
wisely
or
not
,
the
best
initiatory
step
.
He
had
possibly
drunk
himself
into
his
tomb
.
But
he
might
,
on
the
other
hand
,
have
had
too
much
sense
to
do
so
;
for
in
her
time
with
him
he
had
been
given
to
bouts
only
,
and
was
not
a
habitual
drunkard
.
At
any
rate
,
the
propriety
of
returning
to
him
,
if
he
lived
,
was
unquestionable
.
The
awkwardness
of
searching
for
him
lay
in
enlightening
Elizabeth
,
a
proceeding
which
her
mother
could
not
endure
to
contemplate
.
She
finally
resolved
to
undertake
the
search
without
confiding
to
the
girl
her
former
relations
with
Henchard
,
leaving
it
to
him
if
they
found
him
to
take
what
steps
he
might
choose
to
that
end
.
This
will
account
for
their
conversation
at
the
fair
and
the
half-informed
state
at
which
Elizabeth
was
led
onward
.
In
this
attitude
they
proceeded
on
their
journey
,
trusting
solely
to
the
dim
light
afforded
of
Henchard
's
whereabouts
by
the
furmity
woman
.
The
strictest
economy
was
indispensable
.
Sometimes
they
might
have
been
seen
on
foot
,
sometimes
on
farmers
'
waggons
,
sometimes
in
carriers
'
vans
;
and
thus
they
drew
near
to
Casterbridge
.
Elizabeth-Jane
discovered
to
her
alarm
that
her
mother
's
health
was
not
what
it
once
had
been
,
and
there
was
ever
and
anon
in
her
talk
that
renunciatory
tone
which
showed
that
,
but
for
the
girl
,
she
would
not
be
very
sorry
to
quit
a
life
she
was
growing
thoroughly
weary
of
.
It
was
on
a
Friday
evening
,
near
the
middle
of
September
and
just
before
dusk
,
that
they
reached
the
summit
of
a
hill
within
a
mile
of
the
place
they
sought
.
There
were
high
banked
hedges
to
the
coach-road
here
,
and
they
mounted
upon
the
green
turf
within
,
and
sat
down
.
The
spot
commanded
a
full
view
of
the
town
and
its
environs
.
“
What
an
old-fashioned
place
it
seems
to
be
!
”
said
Elizabeth-Jane
,
while
her
silent
mother
mused
on
other
things
than
topography
.
“
It
is
huddled
all
together
;
and
it
is
shut
in
by
a
square
wall
of
trees
,
like
a
plot
of
garden
ground
by
a
box-edging
.
”
Its
squareness
was
,
indeed
,
the
characteristic
which
most
struck
the
eye
in
this
antiquated
borough
,
the
borough
of
Casterbridge
—
at
that
time
,
recent
as
it
was
,
untouched
by
the
faintest
sprinkle
of
modernism
.
It
was
compact
as
a
box
of
dominoes
.
It
had
no
suburbs
—
in
the
ordinary
sense
.
Country
and
town
met
at
a
mathematical
line
.
To
birds
of
the
more
soaring
kind
Casterbridge
must
have
appeared
on
this
fine
evening
as
a
mosaic-work
of
subdued
reds
,
browns
,
greys
,
and
crystals
,
held
together
by
a
rectangular
frame
of
deep
green
.
To
the
level
eye
of
humanity
it
stood
as
an
indistinct
mass
behind
a
dense
stockade
of
limes
and
chestnuts
,
set
in
the
midst
of
miles
of
rotund
down
and
concave
field
.
The
mass
became
gradually
dissected
by
the
vision
into
towers
,
gables
,
chimneys
,
and
casements
,
the
highest
glazings
shining
bleared
and
bloodshot
with
the
coppery
fire
they
caught
from
the
belt
of
sunlit
cloud
in
the
west
.
From
the
centre
of
each
side
of
this
tree-bound
square
ran
avenues
east
,
west
,
and
south
into
the
wide
expanse
of
cornland
and
coomb
to
the
distance
of
a
mile
or
so
.
It
was
by
one
of
these
avenues
that
the
pedestrians
were
about
to
enter
.
Before
they
had
risen
to
proceed
two
men
passed
outside
the
hedge
,
engaged
in
argumentative
conversation
.
“
Why
,
surely
,
”
said
Elizabeth
,
as
they
receded
,
“
those
men
mentioned
the
name
of
Henchard
in
their
talk
—
the
name
of
our
relative
?
”
“
I
thought
so
too
,
”
said
Mrs.
Newson
.
“
That
seems
a
hint
to
us
that
he
is
still
here
.
”
“
Yes
.
”
“
Shall
I
run
after
them
,
and
ask
them
about
him
—
—
”
“
No
,
no
,
no
!
Not
for
the
world
just
yet
.
He
may
be
in
the
workhouse
,
or
in
the
stocks
,
for
all
we
know
.
”
“
Dear
me
—
why
should
you
think
that
,
mother
?
”
“
'
Twas
just
something
to
say
—
that
's
all
!
But
we
must
make
private
inquiries
.
”
Having
sufficiently
rested
they
proceeded
on
their
way
at
evenfall
.
The
dense
trees
of
the
avenue
rendered
the
road
dark
as
a
tunnel
,
though
the
open
land
on
each
side
was
still
under
a
faint
daylight
,
in
other
words
,
they
passed
down
a
midnight
between
two
gloamings
.
The
features
of
the
town
had
a
keen
interest
for
Elizabeth
's
mother
,
now
that
the
human
side
came
to
the
fore
.
As
soon
as
they
had
wandered
about
they
could
see
that
the
stockade
of
gnarled
trees
which
framed
in
Casterbridge
was
itself
an
avenue
,
standing
on
a
low
green
bank
or
escarpment
,
with
a
ditch
yet
visible
without
.
Within
the
avenue
and
bank
was
a
wall
more
or
less
discontinuous
,
and
within
the
wall
were
packed
the
abodes
of
the
burghers
.
Though
the
two
women
did
not
know
it
these
external
features
were
but
the
ancient
defences
of
the
town
,
planted
as
a
promenade
.
The
lamplights
now
glimmered
through
the
engirdling
trees
,
conveying
a
sense
of
great
smugness
and
comfort
inside
,
and
rendering
at
the
same
time
the
unlighted
country
without
strangely
solitary
and
vacant
in
aspect
,
considering
its
nearness
to
life
.
The
difference
between
burgh
and
champaign
was
increased
,
too
,
by
sounds
which
now
reached
them
above
others
—
the
notes
of
a
brass
band
.
The
travellers
returned
into
the
High
Street
,
where
there
were
timber
houses
with
overhanging
stories
,
whose
small-paned
lattices
were
screened
by
dimity
curtains
on
a
drawing-string
,
and
under
whose
bargeboards
old
cobwebs
waved
in
the
breeze
.
There
were
houses
of
brick-nogging
,
which
derived
their
chief
support
from
those
adjoining
.
There
were
slate
roofs
patched
with
tiles
,
and
tile
roofs
patched
with
slate
,
with
occasionally
a
roof
of
thatch
.
The
agricultural
and
pastoral
character
of
the
people
upon
whom
the
town
depended
for
its
existence
was
shown
by
the
class
of
objects
displayed
in
the
shop
windows
.
Scythes
,
reap-hooks
,
sheep-shears
,
bill-hooks
,
spades
,
mattocks
,
and
hoes
at
the
iron-monger
's
;
bee-hives
,
butter-firkins
,
churns
,
milking
stools
and
pails
,
hay-rakes
,
field-flagons
,
and
seed-lips
at
the
cooper
's
;
cart-ropes
and
plough-harness
at
the
saddler
's
;
carts
,
wheel-barrows
,
and
mill-gear
at
the
wheelwright
's
and
machinist
's
,
horse-embrocations
at
the
chemist
's
;
at
the
glover
's
and
leather-cutter
's
,
hedging-gloves
,
thatchers
'
knee-caps
,
ploughmen
's
leggings
,
villagers
'
pattens
and
clogs
.
They
came
to
a
grizzled
church
,
whose
massive
square
tower
rose
unbroken
into
the
darkening
sky
,
the
lower
parts
being
illuminated
by
the
nearest
lamps
sufficiently
to
show
how
completely
the
mortar
from
the
joints
of
the
stonework
had
been
nibbled
out
by
time
and
weather
,
which
had
planted
in
the
crevices
thus
made
little
tufts
of
stone-crop
and
grass
almost
as
far
up
as
the
very
battlements
.
From
this
tower
the
clock
struck
eight
,
and
thereupon
a
bell
began
to
toll
with
a
peremptory
clang
.
The
curfew
was
still
rung
in
Casterbridge
,
and
it
was
utilized
by
the
inhabitants
as
a
signal
for
shutting
their
shops
.
No
sooner
did
the
deep
notes
of
the
bell
throb
between
the
house-fronts
than
a
clatter
of
shutters
arose
through
the
whole
length
of
the
High
Street
.
In
a
few
minutes
business
at
Casterbridge
was
ended
for
the
day
.
Other
clocks
struck
eight
from
time
to
time
—
one
gloomily
from
the
gaol
,
another
from
the
gable
of
an
almshouse
,
with
a
preparative
creak
of
machinery
,
more
audible
than
the
note
of
the
bell
;
a
row
of
tall
,
varnished
case-clocks
from
the
interior
of
a
clock-maker
's
shop
joined
in
one
after
another
just
as
the
shutters
were
enclosing
them
,
like
a
row
of
actors
delivering
their
final
speeches
before
the
fall
of
the
curtain
;
then
chimes
were
heard
stammering
out
the
Sicilian
Mariners
'
Hymn
;
so
that
chronologists
of
the
advanced
school
were
appreciably
on
their
way
to
the
next
hour
before
the
whole
business
of
the
old
one
was
satisfactorily
wound
up
.
In
an
open
space
before
the
church
walked
a
woman
with
her
gown-sleeves
rolled
up
so
high
that
the
edge
of
her
underlinen
was
visible
,
and
her
skirt
tucked
up
through
her
pocket
hole
.
She
carried
a
load
under
her
arm
from
which
she
was
pulling
pieces
of
bread
,
and
handing
them
to
some
other
women
who
walked
with
her
,
which
pieces
they
nibbled
critically
.
The
sight
reminded
Mrs.
Henchard-Newson
and
her
daughter
that
they
had
an
appetite
;
and
they
inquired
of
the
woman
for
the
nearest
baker
's
.
“
Ye
may
as
well
look
for
manna-food
as
good
bread
in
Casterbridge
just
now
,
”
she
said
,
after
directing
them
.
“
They
can
blare
their
trumpets
and
thump
their
drums
,
and
have
their
roaring
dinners
”
—
waving
her
hand
towards
a
point
further
along
the
street
,
where
the
brass
band
could
be
seen
standing
in
front
of
an
illuminated
building
—
“
but
we
must
needs
be
put-to
for
want
of
a
wholesome
crust
.
There
's
less
good
bread
than
good
beer
in
Casterbridge
now
.
”
“
And
less
good
beer
than
swipes
,
”
said
a
man
with
his
hands
in
his
pockets
.
“
How
does
it
happen
there
's
no
good
bread
?
”
asked
Mrs.
Henchard
.
“
Oh
,
'
tis
the
corn-factor
—
he
's
the
man
that
our
millers
and
bakers
all
deal
wi
'
,
and
he
has
sold
'
em
growed
wheat
,
which
they
did
n't
know
was
growed
,
so
they
SAY
,
till
the
dough
ran
all
over
the
ovens
like
quicksilver
;
so
that
the
loaves
be
as
flat
as
toads
,
and
like
suet
pudden
inside
.
I
've
been
a
wife
,
and
I
've
been
a
mother
,
and
I
never
see
such
unprincipled
bread
in
Casterbridge
as
this
before
.
—
But
you
must
be
a
real
stranger
here
not
to
know
what
's
made
all
the
poor
volks
'
insides
plim
like
blowed
bladders
this
week
?
”
“
I
am
,
”
said
Elizabeth
's
mother
shyly
.
Not
wishing
to
be
observed
further
till
she
knew
more
of
her
future
in
this
place
,
she
withdrew
with
her
daughter
from
the
speaker
's
side
.
Getting
a
couple
of
biscuits
at
the
shop
indicated
as
a
temporary
substitute
for
a
meal
,
they
next
bent
their
steps
instinctively
to
where
the
music
was
playing
.
5.
A
few
score
yards
brought
them
to
the
spot
where
the
town
band
was
now
shaking
the
window-panes
with
the
strains
of
“
The
Roast
Beef
of
Old
England
.
”
The
building
before
whose
doors
they
had
pitched
their
music-stands
was
the
chief
hotel
in
Casterbridge
—
namely
,
the
King
's
Arms
.
A
spacious
bow-window
projected
into
the
street
over
the
main
portico
,
and
from
the
open
sashes
came
the
babble
of
voices
,
the
jingle
of
glasses
,
and
the
drawing
of
corks
.
The
blinds
,
moreover
,
being
left
unclosed
,
the
whole
interior
of
this
room
could
be
surveyed
from
the
top
of
a
flight
of
stone
steps
to
the
road-waggon
office
opposite
,
for
which
reason
a
knot
of
idlers
had
gathered
there
.
“
We
might
,
perhaps
,
after
all
,
make
a
few
inquiries
about
—
our
relation
Mr.
Henchard
,
”
whispered
Mrs.
Newson
who
,
since
her
entry
into
Casterbridge
,
had
seemed
strangely
weak
and
agitated
,
“
And
this
,
I
think
,
would
be
a
good
place
for
trying
it
—
just
to
ask
,
you
know
,
how
he
stands
in
the
town
—
if
he
is
here
,
as
I
think
he
must
be
.
You
,
Elizabeth-Jane
,
had
better
be
the
one
to
do
it
.
I
'm
too
worn
out
to
do
anything
—
pull
down
your
fall
first
.
”
She
sat
down
upon
the
lowest
step
,
and
Elizabeth-Jane
obeyed
her
directions
and
stood
among
the
idlers
.
“
What
's
going
on
to-night
?
”
asked
the
girl
,
after
singling
out
an
old
man
and
standing
by
him
long
enough
to
acquire
a
neighbourly
right
of
converse
.
“
Well
,
ye
must
be
a
stranger
sure
,
”
said
the
old
man
,
without
taking
his
eyes
from
the
window
.
“
Why
,
'
tis
a
great
public
dinner
of
the
gentle-people
and
such
like
leading
volk
—
wi
'
the
Mayor
in
the
chair
.
As
we
plainer
fellows
bai
n't
invited
,
they
leave
the
winder-shutters
open
that
we
may
get
jist
a
sense
o't
out
here
.
If
you
mount
the
steps
you
can
see
em
.
That
's
Mr.
Henchard
,
the
Mayor
,
at
the
end
of
the
table
,
a
facing
ye
;
and
that
's
the
Council
men
right
and
left
...
.Ah
,
lots
of
them
when
they
begun
life
were
no
more
than
I
be
now
!
”
“
Henchard
!
”
said
Elizabeth-Jane
,
surprised
,
but
by
no
means
suspecting
the
whole
force
of
the
revelation
.
She
ascended
to
the
top
of
the
steps
.
Her
mother
,
though
her
head
was
bowed
,
had
already
caught
from
the
inn-window
tones
that
strangely
riveted
her
attention
,
before
the
old
man
's
words
,
“
Mr.
Henchard
,
the
Mayor
,
”
reached
her
ears
.
She
arose
,
and
stepped
up
to
her
daughter
's
side
as
soon
as
she
could
do
so
without
showing
exceptional
eagerness
.
The
interior
of
the
hotel
dining-room
was
spread
out
before
her
,
with
its
tables
,
and
glass
,
and
plate
,
and
inmates
.
Facing
the
window
,
in
the
chair
of
dignity
,
sat
a
man
about
forty
years
of
age
;
of
heavy
frame
,
large
features
,
and
commanding
voice
;
his
general
build
being
rather
coarse
than
compact
.
He
had
a
rich
complexion
,
which
verged
on
swarthiness
,
a
flashing
black
eye
,
and
dark
,
bushy
brows
and
hair
.
When
he
indulged
in
an
occasional
loud
laugh
at
some
remark
among
the
guests
,
his
large
mouth
parted
so
far
back
as
to
show
to
the
rays
of
the
chandelier
a
full
score
or
more
of
the
two-and-thirty
sound
white
teeth
that
he
obviously
still
could
boast
of
.
That
laugh
was
not
encouraging
to
strangers
,
and
hence
it
may
have
been
well
that
it
was
rarely
heard
.
Many
theories
might
have
been
built
upon
it
.
It
fell
in
well
with
conjectures
of
a
temperament
which
would
have
no
pity
for
weakness
,
but
would
be
ready
to
yield
ungrudging
admiration
to
greatness
and
strength
.
Its
producer
's
personal
goodness
,
if
he
had
any
,
would
be
of
a
very
fitful
cast
—
an
occasional
almost
oppressive
generosity
rather
than
a
mild
and
constant
kindness
.
Susan
Henchard
's
husband
—
in
law
,
at
least
—
sat
before
them
,
matured
in
shape
,
stiffened
in
line
,
exaggerated
in
traits
;
disciplined
,
thought-marked
—
in
a
word
,
older
.
Elizabeth
,
encumbered
with
no
recollections
as
her
mother
was
,
regarded
him
with
nothing
more
than
the
keen
curiosity
and
interest
which
the
discovery
of
such
unexpected
social
standing
in
the
long-sought
relative
naturally
begot
.
He
was
dressed
in
an
old-fashioned
evening
suit
,
an
expanse
of
frilled
shirt
showing
on
his
broad
breast
;
jewelled
studs
,
and
a
heavy
gold
chain
.
Three
glasses
stood
at
his
right
hand
;
but
,
to
his
wife
's
surprise
,
the
two
for
wine
were
empty
,
while
the
third
,
a
tumbler
,
was
half
full
of
water
.
When
last
she
had
seen
him
he
was
sitting
in
a
corduroy
jacket
,
fustian
waistcoat
and
breeches
,
and
tanned
leather
leggings
,
with
a
basin
of
hot
furmity
before
him
.
Time
,
the
magician
,
had
wrought
much
here
.
Watching
him
,
and
thus
thinking
of
past
days
,
she
became
so
moved
that
she
shrank
back
against
the
jamb
of
the
waggon-office
doorway
to
which
the
steps
gave
access
,
the
shadow
from
it
conveniently
hiding
her
features
.
She
forgot
her
daughter
till
a
touch
from
Elizabeth-Jane
aroused
her
.
“
Have
you
seen
him
,
mother
?
”
whispered
the
girl
.
“
Yes
,
yes
,
”
answered
her
companion
hastily
.
“
I
have
seen
him
,
and
it
is
enough
for
me
!
Now
I
only
want
to
go
—
pass
away
—
die
.
”
“
Why
—
O
what
?
”
She
drew
closer
,
and
whispered
in
her
mother
's
ear
,
“
Does
he
seem
to
you
not
likely
to
befriend
us
?
I
thought
he
looked
a
generous
man
.
What
a
gentleman
he
is
,
is
n't
he
?
and
how
his
diamond
studs
shine
!
How
strange
that
you
should
have
said
he
might
be
in
the
stocks
,
or
in
the
workhouse
,
or
dead
!
Did
ever
anything
go
more
by
contraries
!
Why
do
you
feel
so
afraid
of
him
?
I
am
not
at
all
;
I
'll
call
upon
him
—
he
can
but
say
he
do
n't
own
such
remote
kin
.
”
“
I
do
n't
know
at
all
—
I
ca
n't
tell
what
to
set
about
.
I
feel
so
down
.
”
“
Do
n't
be
that
,
mother
,
now
we
have
got
here
and
all
!
Rest
there
where
you
be
a
little
while
—
I
will
look
on
and
find
out
more
about
him
.
”
“
I
do
n't
think
I
can
ever
meet
Mr.
Henchard
.
He
is
not
how
I
thought
he
would
be
—
he
overpowers
me
!
I
do
n't
wish
to
see
him
any
more
.
”
“
But
wait
a
little
time
and
consider
.
”
Elizabeth-Jane
had
never
been
so
much
interested
in
anything
in
her
life
as
in
their
present
position
,
partly
from
the
natural
elation
she
felt
at
discovering
herself
akin
to
a
coach
;
and
she
gazed
again
at
the
scene
.
The
younger
guests
were
talking
and
eating
with
animation
;
their
elders
were
searching
for
titbits
,
and
sniffing
and
grunting
over
their
plates
like
sows
nuzzling
for
acorns
.
Three
drinks
seemed
to
be
sacred
to
the
company
—
port
,
sherry
,
and
rum
;
outside
which
old-established
trinity
few
or
no
palates
ranged
.
A
row
of
ancient
rummers
with
ground
figures
on
their
sides
,
and
each
primed
with
a
spoon
,
was
now
placed
down
the
table
,
and
these
were
promptly
filled
with
grog
at
such
high
temperatures
as
to
raise
serious
considerations
for
the
articles
exposed
to
its
vapours
.
But
Elizabeth-Jane
noticed
that
,
though
this
filling
went
on
with
great
promptness
up
and
down
the
table
,
nobody
filled
the
Mayor
's
glass
,
who
still
drank
large
quantities
of
water
from
the
tumbler
behind
the
clump
of
crystal
vessels
intended
for
wine
and
spirits
.
“
They
do
n't
fill
Mr.
Henchard
's
wine-glasses
,
”
she
ventured
to
say
to
her
elbow
acquaintance
,
the
old
man
.
“
Ah
,
no
;
do
n't
ye
know
him
to
be
the
celebrated
abstaining
worthy
of
that
name
?
He
scorns
all
tempting
liquors
;
never
touches
nothing
.
O
yes
,
he
've
strong
qualities
that
way
.
I
have
heard
tell
that
he
sware
a
gospel
oath
in
bygone
times
,
and
has
bode
by
it
ever
since
.
So
they
do
n't
press
him
,
knowing
it
would
be
unbecoming
in
the
face
of
that
:
for
yer
gospel
oath
is
a
serious
thing
.
”
Another
elderly
man
,
hearing
this
discourse
,
now
joined
in
by
inquiring
,
“
How
much
longer
have
he
got
to
suffer
from
it
,
Solomon
Longways
?
”
“
Another
two
year
,
they
say
.
I
do
n't
know
the
why
and
the
wherefore
of
his
fixing
such
a
time
,
for
'
a
never
has
told
anybody
.
But
'
tis
exactly
two
calendar
years
longer
,
they
say
.
A
powerful
mind
to
hold
out
so
long
!
”
“
True
...
.But
there
's
great
strength
in
hope
.
Knowing
that
in
four-and-twenty
months
'
time
ye
'll
be
out
of
your
bondage
,
and
able
to
make
up
for
all
you
've
suffered
,
by
partaking
without
stint
—
why
,
it
keeps
a
man
up
,
no
doubt
.
”
“
No
doubt
,
Christopher
Coney
,
no
doubt
.
And
'
a
must
need
such
reflections
—
a
lonely
widow
man
,
”
said
Longways
.
“
When
did
he
lose
his
wife
?
”
asked
Elizabeth
.
“
I
never
knowed
her
.
'
Twas
afore
he
came
to
Casterbridge
,
”
Solomon
Longways
replied
with
terminative
emphasis
,
as
if
the
fact
of
his
ignorance
of
Mrs.
Henchard
were
sufficient
to
deprive
her
history
of
all
interest
.
“
But
I
know
that
'
a
's
a
banded
teetotaller
,
and
that
if
any
of
his
men
be
ever
so
little
overtook
by
a
drop
he
's
down
upon
'
em
as
stern
as
the
Lord
upon
the
jovial
Jews
.
”
“
Has
he
many
men
,
then
?
”
said
Elizabeth-Jane
.
“
Many
!
Why
,
my
good
maid
,
he
's
the
powerfullest
member
of
the
Town
Council
,
and
quite
a
principal
man
in
the
country
round
besides
.
Never
a
big
dealing
in
wheat
,
barley
,
oats
,
hay
,
roots
,
and
such-like
but
Henchard
's
got
a
hand
in
it
.
Ay
,
and
he
'll
go
into
other
things
too
;
and
that
's
where
he
makes
his
mistake
.
He
worked
his
way
up
from
nothing
when
'
a
came
here
;
and
now
he
's
a
pillar
of
the
town
.
Not
but
what
he
's
been
shaken
a
little
to-year
about
this
bad
corn
he
has
supplied
in
his
contracts
.
I
've
seen
the
sun
rise
over
Durnover
Moor
these
nine-and-sixty
year
,
and
though
Mr.
Henchard
has
never
cussed
me
unfairly
ever
since
I
've
worked
for'n
,
seeing
I
be
but
a
little
small
man
,
I
must
say
that
I
have
never
before
tasted
such
rough
bread
as
has
been
made
from
Henchard
's
wheat
lately
.
'
Tis
that
growed
out
that
ye
could
a'most
call
it
malt
,
and
there
's
a
list
at
bottom
o
'
the
loaf
as
thick
as
the
sole
of
one
's
shoe
.
”
The
band
now
struck
up
another
melody
,
and
by
the
time
it
was
ended
the
dinner
was
over
,
and
speeches
began
to
be
made
.
The
evening
being
calm
,
and
the
windows
still
open
,
these
orations
could
be
distinctly
heard
.
Henchard
's
voice
arose
above
the
rest
;
he
was
telling
a
story
of
his
hay-dealing
experiences
,
in
which
he
had
outwitted
a
sharper
who
had
been
bent
upon
outwitting
him
.
“
Ha-ha-ha
!
”
responded
his
audience
at
the
upshot
of
the
story
;
and
hilarity
was
general
till
a
new
voice
arose
with
,
“
This
is
all
very
well
;
but
how
about
the
bad
bread
?
”
It
came
from
the
lower
end
of
the
table
,
where
there
sat
a
group
of
minor
tradesmen
who
,
although
part
of
the
company
,
appeared
to
be
a
little
below
the
social
level
of
the
others
;
and
who
seemed
to
nourish
a
certain
independence
of
opinion
and
carry
on
discussions
not
quite
in
harmony
with
those
at
the
head
;
just
as
the
west
end
of
a
church
is
sometimes
persistently
found
to
sing
out
of
time
and
tune
with
the
leading
spirits
in
the
chancel
.
This
interruption
about
the
bad
bread
afforded
infinite
satisfaction
to
the
loungers
outside
,
several
of
whom
were
in
the
mood
which
finds
its
pleasure
in
others
'
discomfiture
;
and
hence
they
echoed
pretty
freely
,
“
Hey
!
How
about
the
bad
bread
,
Mr.
Mayor
?
”
Moreover
,
feeling
none
of
the
restraints
of
those
who
shared
the
feast
,
they
could
afford
to
add
,
“
You
rather
ought
to
tell
the
story
o
'
that
,
sir
!
”
The
interruption
was
sufficient
to
compel
the
Mayor
to
notice
it
.
“
Well
,
I
admit
that
the
wheat
turned
out
badly
,
”
he
said
.
“
But
I
was
taken
in
in
buying
it
as
much
as
the
bakers
who
bought
it
o
'
me
.
”
“
And
the
poor
folk
who
had
to
eat
it
whether
or
no
,
”
said
the
inharmonious
man
outside
the
window
.
Henchard
's
face
darkened
.
There
was
temper
under
the
thin
bland
surface
—
the
temper
which
,
artificially
intensified
,
had
banished
a
wife
nearly
a
score
of
years
before
.
“
You
must
make
allowances
for
the
accidents
of
a
large
business
,
”
he
said
.
“
You
must
bear
in
mind
that
the
weather
just
at
the
harvest
of
that
corn
was
worse
than
we
have
known
it
for
years
.
However
,
I
have
mended
my
arrangements
on
account
o't
.
Since
I
have
found
my
business
too
large
to
be
well
looked
after
by
myself
alone
,
I
have
advertised
for
a
thorough
good
man
as
manager
of
the
corn
department
.
When
I
've
got
him
you
will
find
these
mistakes
will
no
longer
occur
—
matters
will
be
better
looked
into
.
”
“
But
what
are
you
going
to
do
to
repay
us
for
the
past
?
”
inquired
the
man
who
had
before
spoken
,
and
who
seemed
to
be
a
baker
or
miller
.
“
Will
you
replace
the
grown
flour
we
've
still
got
by
sound
grain
?
”
Henchard
's
face
had
become
still
more
stern
at
these
interruptions
,
and
he
drank
from
his
tumbler
of
water
as
if
to
calm
himself
or
gain
time
.
Instead
of
vouchsafing
a
direct
reply
,
he
stiffly
observed
—
“
If
anybody
will
tell
me
how
to
turn
grown
wheat
into
wholesome
wheat
I
'll
take
it
back
with
pleasure
.
But
it
ca
n't
be
done
.
”
Henchard
was
not
to
be
drawn
again
.
Having
said
this
,
he
sat
down
.
6.
Now
the
group
outside
the
window
had
within
the
last
few
minutes
been
reinforced
by
new
arrivals
,
some
of
them
respectable
shopkeepers
and
their
assistants
,
who
had
come
out
for
a
whiff
of
air
after
putting
up
the
shutters
for
the
night
;
some
of
them
of
a
lower
class
.
Distinct
from
either
there
appeared
a
stranger
—
a
young
man
of
remarkably
pleasant
aspect
—
who
carried
in
his
hand
a
carpet-bag
of
the
smart
floral
pattern
prevalent
in
such
articles
at
that
time
.
He
was
ruddy
and
of
a
fair
countenance
,
bright-eyed
,
and
slight
in
build
.
He
might
possibly
have
passed
by
without
stopping
at
all
,
or
at
most
for
half
a
minute
to
glance
in
at
the
scene
,
had
not
his
advent
coincided
with
the
discussion
on
corn
and
bread
,
in
which
event
this
history
had
never
been
enacted
.
But
the
subject
seemed
to
arrest
him
,
and
he
whispered
some
inquiries
of
the
other
bystanders
,
and
remained
listening
.
When
he
heard
Henchard
's
closing
words
,
“
It
ca
n't
be
done
,
”
he
smiled
impulsively
,
drew
out
his
pocketbook
,
and
wrote
down
a
few
words
by
the
aid
of
the
light
in
the
window
.
He
tore
out
the
leaf
,
folded
and
directed
it
,
and
seemed
about
to
throw
it
in
through
the
open
sash
upon
the
dining-table
;
but
,
on
second
thoughts
,
edged
himself
through
the
loiterers
,
till
he
reached
the
door
of
the
hotel
,
where
one
of
the
waiters
who
had
been
serving
inside
was
now
idly
leaning
against
the
doorpost
.
“
Give
this
to
the
Mayor
at
once
,
”
he
said
,
handing
in
his
hasty
note
.
Elizabeth-Jane
had
seen
his
movements
and
heard
the
words
,
which
attracted
her
both
by
their
subject
and
by
their
accent
—
a
strange
one
for
those
parts
.
It
was
quaint
and
northerly
.
The
waiter
took
the
note
,
while
the
young
stranger
continued
—
“
And
can
ye
tell
me
of
a
respectable
hotel
that
's
a
little
more
moderate
than
this
?
”
The
waiter
glanced
indifferently
up
and
down
the
street
.
“
They
say
the
Three
Mariners
,
just
below
here
,
is
a
very
good
place
,
”
he
languidly
answered
;
“
but
I
have
never
stayed
there
myself
.
”
The
Scotchman
,
as
he
seemed
to
be
,
thanked
him
,
and
strolled
on
in
the
direction
of
the
Three
Mariners
aforesaid
,
apparently
more
concerned
about
the
question
of
an
inn
than
about
the
fate
of
his
note
,
now
that
the
momentary
impulse
of
writing
it
was
over
.
While
he
was
disappearing
slowly
down
the
street
the
waiter
left
the
door
,
and
Elizabeth-Jane
saw
with
some
interest
the
note
brought
into
the
dining-room
and
handed
to
the
Mayor
.
Henchard
looked
at
it
carelessly
,
unfolded
it
with
one
hand
,
and
glanced
it
through
.
Thereupon
it
was
curious
to
note
an
unexpected
effect
.
The
nettled
,
clouded
aspect
which
had
held
possession
of
his
face
since
the
subject
of
his
corn-dealings
had
been
broached
,
changed
itself
into
one
of
arrested
attention
.
He
read
the
note
slowly
,
and
fell
into
thought
,
not
moody
,
but
fitfully
intense
,
as
that
of
a
man
who
has
been
captured
by
an
idea
.
By
this
time
toasts
and
speeches
had
given
place
to
songs
,
the
wheat
subject
being
quite
forgotten
.
Men
were
putting
their
heads
together
in
twos
and
threes
,
telling
good
stories
,
with
pantomimic
laughter
which
reached
convulsive
grimace
.
Some
were
beginning
to
look
as
if
they
did
not
know
how
they
had
come
there
,
what
they
had
come
for
,
or
how
they
were
going
to
get
home
again
;
and
provisionally
sat
on
with
a
dazed
smile
.
Square-built
men
showed
a
tendency
to
become
hunchbacks
;
men
with
a
dignified
presence
lost
it
in
a
curious
obliquity
of
figure
,
in
which
their
features
grew
disarranged
and
one-sided
,
whilst
the
heads
of
a
few
who
had
dined
with
extreme
thoroughness
were
somehow
sinking
into
their
shoulders
,
the
corners
of
their
mouth
and
eyes
being
bent
upwards
by
the
subsidence
.
Only
Henchard
did
not
conform
to
these
flexuous
changes
;
he
remained
stately
and
vertical
,
silently
thinking
.
The
clock
struck
nine
.
Elizabeth-Jane
turned
to
her
companion
.
“
The
evening
is
drawing
on
,
mother
,
”
she
said
.
“
What
do
you
propose
to
do
?
”
She
was
surprised
to
find
how
irresolute
her
mother
had
become
.
“
We
must
get
a
place
to
lie
down
in
,
”
she
murmured
.
“
I
have
seen
—
Mr.
Henchard
;
and
that
's
all
I
wanted
to
do
.
”
“
That
's
enough
for
to-night
,
at
any
rate
,
”
Elizabeth-Jane
replied
soothingly
.
“
We
can
think
to-morrow
what
is
best
to
do
about
him
.
The
question
now
is
—
is
it
not
?
—
how
shall
we
find
a
lodging
?
”
As
her
mother
did
not
reply
Elizabeth-Jane
's
mind
reverted
to
the
words
of
the
waiter
,
that
the
Three
Mariners
was
an
inn
of
moderate
charges
.
A
recommendation
good
for
one
person
was
probably
good
for
another
.
“
Let
's
go
where
the
young
man
has
gone
to
,
”
she
said
.
“
He
is
respectable
.
What
do
you
say
?
”
Her
mother
assented
,
and
down
the
street
they
went
.
In
the
meantime
the
Mayor
's
thoughtfulness
,
engendered
by
the
note
as
stated
,
continued
to
hold
him
in
abstraction
;
till
,
whispering
to
his
neighbour
to
take
his
place
,
he
found
opportunity
to
leave
the
chair
.
This
was
just
after
the
departure
of
his
wife
and
Elizabeth
.
Outside
the
door
of
the
assembly-room
he
saw
the
waiter
,
and
beckoning
to
him
asked
who
had
brought
the
note
which
had
been
handed
in
a
quarter
of
an
hour
before
.
“
A
young
man
,
sir
—
a
sort
of
traveller
.
He
was
a
Scotchman
seemingly
.
”
“
Did
he
say
how
he
had
got
it
?
”
“
He
wrote
it
himself
,
sir
,
as
he
stood
outside
the
window
.
”
“
Oh
—
wrote
it
himself
...
.Is
the
young
man
in
the
hotel
?
”
“
No
,
sir
.
He
went
to
the
Three
Mariners
,
I
believe
.
”
The
mayor
walked
up
and
down
the
vestibule
of
the
hotel
with
his
hands
under
his
coat
tails
,
as
if
he
were
merely
seeking
a
cooler
atmosphere
than
that
of
the
room
he
had
quitted
.
But
there
could
be
no
doubt
that
he
was
in
reality
still
possessed
to
the
full
by
the
new
idea
,
whatever
that
might
be
.
At
length
he
went
back
to
the
door
of
the
dining-room
,
paused
,
and
found
that
the
songs
,
toasts
,
and
conversation
were
proceeding
quite
satisfactorily
without
his
presence
.
The
Corporation
,
private
residents
,
and
major
and
minor
tradesmen
had
,
in
fact
,
gone
in
for
comforting
beverages
to
such
an
extent
that
they
had
quite
forgotten
,
not
only
the
Mayor
,
but
all
those
vast
,
political
,
religious
,
and
social
differences
which
they
felt
necessary
to
maintain
in
the
daytime
,
and
which
separated
them
like
iron
grills
.
Seeing
this
the
Mayor
took
his
hat
,
and
when
the
waiter
had
helped
him
on
with
a
thin
holland
overcoat
,
went
out
and
stood
under
the
portico
.
Very
few
persons
were
now
in
the
street
;
and
his
eyes
,
by
a
sort
of
attraction
,
turned
and
dwelt
upon
a
spot
about
a
hundred
yards
further
down
.
It
was
the
house
to
which
the
writer
of
the
note
had
gone
—
the
Three
Mariners
—
whose
two
prominent
Elizabethan
gables
,
bow-window
,
and
passage-light
could
be
seen
from
where
he
stood
.
Having
kept
his
eyes
on
it
for
a
while
he
strolled
in
that
direction
.
This
ancient
house
of
accommodation
for
man
and
beast
,
now
,
unfortunately
,
pulled
down
,
was
built
of
mellow
sandstone
,
with
mullioned
windows
of
the
same
material
,
markedly
out
of
perpendicular
from
the
settlement
of
foundations
.
The
bay
window
projecting
into
the
street
,
whose
interior
was
so
popular
among
the
frequenters
of
the
inn
,
was
closed
with
shutters
,
in
each
of
which
appeared
a
heart-shaped
aperture
,
somewhat
more
attenuated
in
the
right
and
left
ventricles
than
is
seen
in
Nature
.
Inside
these
illuminated
holes
,
at
a
distance
of
about
three
inches
,
were
ranged
at
this
hour
,
as
every
passer
knew
,
the
ruddy
polls
of
Billy
Wills
the
glazier
,
Smart
the
shoemaker
,
Buzzford
the
general
dealer
,
and
others
of
a
secondary
set
of
worthies
,
of
a
grade
somewhat
below
that
of
the
diners
at
the
King
's
Arms
,
each
with
his
yard
of
clay
.
A
four-centred
Tudor
arch
was
over
the
entrance
,
and
over
the
arch
the
signboard
,
now
visible
in
the
rays
of
an
opposite
lamp
.
Hereon
the
Mariners
,
who
had
been
represented
by
the
artist
as
persons
of
two
dimensions
only
—
in
other
words
,
flat
as
a
shadow
—
were
standing
in
a
row
in
paralyzed
attitudes
.
Being
on
the
sunny
side
of
the
street
the
three
comrades
had
suffered
largely
from
warping
,
splitting
,
fading
,
and
shrinkage
,
so
that
they
were
but
a
half-invisible
film
upon
the
reality
of
the
grain
,
and
knots
,
and
nails
,
which
composed
the
signboard
.
As
a
matter
of
fact
,
this
state
of
things
was
not
so
much
owing
to
Stannidge
the
landlord
's
neglect
,
as
from
the
lack
of
a
painter
in
Casterbridge
who
would
undertake
to
reproduce
the
features
of
men
so
traditional
.
A
long
,
narrow
,
dimly-lit
passage
gave
access
to
the
inn
,
within
which
passage
the
horses
going
to
their
stalls
at
the
back
,
and
the
coming
and
departing
human
guests
,
rubbed
shoulders
indiscriminately
,
the
latter
running
no
slight
risk
of
having
their
toes
trodden
upon
by
the
animals
.
The
good
stabling
and
the
good
ale
of
the
Mariners
,
though
somewhat
difficult
to
reach
on
account
of
there
being
but
this
narrow
way
to
both
,
were
nevertheless
perseveringly
sought
out
by
the
sagacious
old
heads
who
knew
what
was
what
in
Casterbridge
.
Henchard
stood
without
the
inn
for
a
few
instants
;
then
lowering
the
dignity
of
his
presence
as
much
as
possible
by
buttoning
the
brown
holland
coat
over
his
shirt-front
,
and
in
other
ways
toning
himself
down
to
his
ordinary
everyday
appearance
,
he
entered
the
inn
door
.
7.
Elizabeth-Jane
and
her
mother
had
arrived
some
twenty
minutes
earlier
.
Outside
the
house
they
had
stood
and
considered
whether
even
this
homely
place
,
though
recommended
as
moderate
,
might
not
be
too
serious
in
its
prices
for
their
light
pockets
.
Finally
,
however
,
they
had
found
courage
to
enter
,
and
duly
met
Stannidge
the
landlord
,
a
silent
man
,
who
drew
and
carried
frothing
measures
to
this
room
and
to
that
,
shoulder
to
shoulder
with
his
waiting-maids
—
a
stately
slowness
,
however
,
entering
into
his
ministrations
by
contrast
with
theirs
,
as
became
one
whose
service
was
somewhat
optional
.
It
would
have
been
altogether
optional
but
for
the
orders
of
the
landlady
,
a
person
who
sat
in
the
bar
,
corporeally
motionless
,
but
with
a
flitting
eye
and
quick
ear
,
with
which
she
observed
and
heard
through
the
open
door
and
hatchway
the
pressing
needs
of
customers
whom
her
husband
overlooked
though
close
at
hand
.
Elizabeth
and
her
mother
were
passively
accepted
as
sojourners
,
and
shown
to
a
small
bedroom
under
one
of
the
gables
,
where
they
sat
down
.
The
principle
of
the
inn
seemed
to
be
to
compensate
for
the
antique
awkwardness
,
crookedness
,
and
obscurity
of
the
passages
,
floors
,
and
windows
,
by
quantities
of
clean
linen
spread
about
everywhere
,
and
this
had
a
dazzling
effect
upon
the
travellers
.
“
'
Tis
too
good
for
us
—
we
ca
n't
meet
it
!
”
said
the
elder
woman
,
looking
round
the
apartment
with
misgiving
as
soon
as
they
were
left
alone
.
“
I
fear
it
is
,
too
,
”
said
Elizabeth
.
“
But
we
must
be
respectable
.
”
“
We
must
pay
our
way
even
before
we
must
be
respectable
,
”
replied
her
mother
.
“
Mr.
Henchard
is
too
high
for
us
to
make
ourselves
known
to
him
,
I
much
fear
;
so
we
've
only
our
own
pockets
to
depend
on
.
”
“
I
know
what
I
'll
do
,
”
said
Elizabeth-Jane
after
an
interval
of
waiting
,
during
which
their
needs
seemed
quite
forgotten
under
the
press
of
business
below
.
And
leaving
the
room
,
she
descended
the
stairs
and
penetrated
to
the
bar
.
If
there
was
one
good
thing
more
than
another
which
characterized
this
single-hearted
girl
it
was
a
willingness
to
sacrifice
her
personal
comfort
and
dignity
to
the
common
weal
.
“
As
you
seem
busy
here
to-night
,
and
mother
's
not
well
off
,
might
I
take
out
part
of
our
accommodation
by
helping
?
”
she
asked
of
the
landlady
.
The
latter
,
who
remained
as
fixed
in
the
arm-chair
as
if
she
had
been
melted
into
it
when
in
a
liquid
state
,
and
could
not
now
be
unstuck
,
looked
the
girl
up
and
down
inquiringly
,
with
her
hands
on
the
chair-arms
.
Such
arrangements
as
the
one
Elizabeth
proposed
were
not
uncommon
in
country
villages
;
but
,
though
Casterbridge
was
old-fashioned
,
the
custom
was
well-nigh
obsolete
here
.
The
mistress
of
the
house
,
however
,
was
an
easy
woman
to
strangers
,
and
she
made
no
objection
.
Thereupon
Elizabeth
,
being
instructed
by
nods
and
motions
from
the
taciturn
landlord
as
to
where
she
could
find
the
different
things
,
trotted
up
and
down
stairs
with
materials
for
her
own
and
her
parent
's
meal
.
While
she
was
doing
this
the
wood
partition
in
the
centre
of
the
house
thrilled
to
its
centre
with
the
tugging
of
a
bell-pull
upstairs
.
A
bell
below
tinkled
a
note
that
was
feebler
in
sound
than
the
twanging
of
wires
and
cranks
that
had
produced
it
.
“
'
Tis
the
Scotch
gentleman
,
”
said
the
landlady
omnisciently
;
and
turning
her
eyes
to
Elizabeth
,
“
Now
then
,
can
you
go
and
see
if
his
supper
is
on
the
tray
?
If
it
is
you
can
take
it
up
to
him
.
The
front
room
over
this
.
”
Elizabeth-Jane
,
though
hungry
,
willingly
postponed
serving
herself
awhile
,
and
applied
to
the
cook
in
the
kitchen
whence
she
brought
forth
the
tray
of
supper
viands
,
and
proceeded
with
it
upstairs
to
the
apartment
indicated
.
The
accommodation
of
the
Three
Mariners
was
far
from
spacious
,
despite
the
fair
area
of
ground
it
covered
.
The
room
demanded
by
intrusive
beams
and
rafters
,
partitions
,
passages
,
staircases
,
disused
ovens
,
settles
,
and
four-posters
,
left
comparatively
small
quarters
for
human
beings
.
Moreover
,
this
being
at
a
time
before
home-brewing
was
abandoned
by
the
smaller
victuallers
,
and
a
house
in
which
the
twelve-bushel
strength
was
still
religiously
adhered
to
by
the
landlord
in
his
ale
,
the
quality
of
the
liquor
was
the
chief
attraction
of
the
premises
,
so
that
everything
had
to
make
way
for
utensils
and
operations
in
connection
therewith
.
Thus
Elizabeth
found
that
the
Scotchman
was
located
in
a
room
quite
close
to
the
small
one
that
had
been
allotted
to
herself
and
her
mother
.
When
she
entered
nobody
was
present
but
the
young
man
himself
—
the
same
whom
she
had
seen
lingering
without
the
windows
of
the
King
's
Arms
Hotel
.
He
was
now
idly
reading
a
copy
of
the
local
paper
,
and
was
hardly
conscious
of
her
entry
,
so
that
she
looked
at
him
quite
coolly
,
and
saw
how
his
forehead
shone
where
the
light
caught
it
,
and
how
nicely
his
hair
was
cut
,
and
the
sort
of
velvet-pile
or
down
that
was
on
the
skin
at
the
back
of
his
neck
,
and
how
his
cheek
was
so
truly
curved
as
to
be
part
of
a
globe
,
and
how
clearly
drawn
were
the
lids
and
lashes
which
hid
his
bent
eyes
.
She
set
down
the
tray
,
spread
his
supper
,
and
went
away
without
a
word
.
On
her
arrival
below
the
landlady
,
who
was
as
kind
as
she
was
fat
and
lazy
,
saw
that
Elizabeth-Jane
was
rather
tired
,
though
in
her
earnestness
to
be
useful
she
was
waiving
her
own
needs
altogether
.
Mrs.
Stannidge
thereupon
said
with
a
considerate
peremptoriness
that
she
and
her
mother
had
better
take
their
own
suppers
if
they
meant
to
have
any
.
Elizabeth
fetched
their
simple
provisions
,
as
she
had
fetched
the
Scotchman
's
,
and
went
up
to
the
little
chamber
where
she
had
left
her
mother
,
noiselessly
pushing
open
the
door
with
the
edge
of
the
tray
.
To
her
surprise
her
mother
,
instead
of
being
reclined
on
the
bed
where
she
had
left
her
was
in
an
erect
position
,
with
lips
parted
.
At
Elizabeth
's
entry
she
lifted
her
finger
.
The
meaning
of
this
was
soon
apparent
.
The
room
allotted
to
the
two
women
had
at
one
time
served
as
a
dressing-room
to
the
Scotchman
's
chamber
,
as
was
evidenced
by
signs
of
a
door
of
communication
between
them
—
now
screwed
up
and
pasted
over
with
the
wall
paper
.
But
,
as
is
frequently
the
case
with
hotels
of
far
higher
pretensions
than
the
Three
Mariners
,
every
word
spoken
in
either
of
these
rooms
was
distinctly
audible
in
the
other
.
Such
sounds
came
through
now
.
Thus
silently
conjured
Elizabeth
deposited
the
tray
,
and
her
mother
whispered
as
she
drew
near
,
“
'
Tis
he
.
”
“
Who
?
”
said
the
girl
.
“
The
Mayor
.
”
The
tremors
in
Susan
Henchard
's
tone
might
have
led
any
person
but
one
so
perfectly
unsuspicious
of
the
truth
as
the
girl
was
,
to
surmise
some
closer
connection
than
the
admitted
simple
kinship
as
a
means
of
accounting
for
them
.
Two
men
were
indeed
talking
in
the
adjoining
chamber
,
the
young
Scotchman
and
Henchard
,
who
,
having
entered
the
inn
while
Elizabeth-Jane
was
in
the
kitchen
waiting
for
the
supper
,
had
been
deferentially
conducted
upstairs
by
host
Stannidge
himself
.
The
girl
noiselessly
laid
out
their
little
meal
,
and
beckoned
to
her
mother
to
join
her
,
which
Mrs.
Henchard
mechanically
did
,
her
attention
being
fixed
on
the
conversation
through
the
door
.
“
I
merely
strolled
in
on
my
way
home
to
ask
you
a
question
about
something
that
has
excited
my
curiosity
,
”
said
the
Mayor
,
with
careless
geniality
.
“
But
I
see
you
have
not
finished
supper
.
”
“
Ay
,
but
I
will
be
done
in
a
little
!
Ye
need
n't
go
,
sir
.
Take
a
seat
.
I
've
almost
done
,
and
it
makes
no
difference
at
all
.
”
Henchard
seemed
to
take
the
seat
offered
,
and
in
a
moment
he
resumed
:
“
Well
,
first
I
should
ask
,
did
you
write
this
?
”
A
rustling
of
paper
followed
.
“
Yes
,
I
did
,
”
said
the
Scotchman
.
“
Then
,
”
said
Henchard
,
“
I
am
under
the
impression
that
we
have
met
by
accident
while
waiting
for
the
morning
to
keep
an
appointment
with
each
other
?
My
name
is
Henchard
,
ha'
n't
you
replied
to
an
advertisement
for
a
corn-factor
's
manager
that
I
put
into
the
paper
—
ha'
n't
you
come
here
to
see
me
about
it
?
”
“
No
,
”
said
the
Scotchman
,
with
some
surprise
.
“
Surely
you
are
the
man
,
”
went
on
Henchard
insistingly
,
“
who
arranged
to
come
and
see
me
?
Joshua
,
Joshua
,
Jipp
—
Jopp
—
what
was
his
name
?
”
“
You
're
wrong
!
”
said
the
young
man
.
“
My
name
is
Donald
Farfrae
.
It
is
true
I
am
in
the
corren
trade
—
but
I
have
replied
to
no
advertisement
,
and
arranged
to
see
no
one
.
I
am
on
my
way
to
Bristol
—
from
there
to
the
other
side
of
the
warrld
,
to
try
my
fortune
in
the
great
wheat-growing
districts
of
the
West
!
I
have
some
inventions
useful
to
the
trade
,
and
there
is
no
scope
for
developing
them
heere
.
”
“
To
America
—
well
,
well
,
”
said
Henchard
,
in
a
tone
of
disappointment
,
so
strong
as
to
make
itself
felt
like
a
damp
atmosphere
.
“
And
yet
I
could
have
sworn
you
were
the
man
!
”
The
Scotchman
murmured
another
negative
,
and
there
was
a
silence
,
till
Henchard
resumed
:
“
Then
I
am
truly
and
sincerely
obliged
to
you
for
the
few
words
you
wrote
on
that
paper
.
”
“
It
was
nothing
,
sir
.
”
“
Well
,
it
has
a
great
importance
for
me
just
now
.
This
row
about
my
grown
wheat
,
which
I
declare
to
Heaven
I
did
n't
know
to
be
bad
till
the
people
came
complaining
,
has
put
me
to
my
wits
'
end
.
I
've
some
hundreds
of
quarters
of
it
on
hand
;
and
if
your
renovating
process
will
make
it
wholesome
,
why
,
you
can
see
what
a
quag
'
twould
get
me
out
of
.
I
saw
in
a
moment
there
might
be
truth
in
it
.
But
I
should
like
to
have
it
proved
;
and
of
course
you
do
n't
care
to
tell
the
steps
of
the
process
sufficiently
for
me
to
do
that
,
without
my
paying
ye
well
for't
first
.
”
The
young
man
reflected
a
moment
or
two
.
“
I
do
n't
know
that
I
have
any
objection
,
”
he
said
.
“
I
'm
going
to
another
country
,
and
curing
bad
corn
is
not
the
line
I
'll
take
up
there
.
Yes
,
I
'll
tell
ye
the
whole
of
it
—
you
'll
make
more
out
of
it
heere
than
I
will
in
a
foreign
country
.
Just
look
heere
a
minute
,
sir
.
I
can
show
ye
by
a
sample
in
my
carpet-bag
.
”
The
click
of
a
lock
followed
,
and
there
was
a
sifting
and
rustling
;
then
a
discussion
about
so
many
ounces
to
the
bushel
,
and
drying
,
and
refrigerating
,
and
so
on
.
“
These
few
grains
will
be
sufficient
to
show
ye
with
,
”
came
in
the
young
fellow
's
voice
;
and
after
a
pause
,
during
which
some
operation
seemed
to
be
intently
watched
by
them
both
,
he
exclaimed
,
“
There
,
now
,
do
you
taste
that
.
”
“
It
's
complete
!
—
quite
restored
,
or
—
well
—
nearly
.
”
“
Quite
enough
restored
to
make
good
seconds
out
of
it
,
”
said
the
Scotchman
.
“
To
fetch
it
back
entirely
is
impossible
;
Nature
wo
n't
stand
so
much
as
that
,
but
heere
you
go
a
great
way
towards
it
.
Well
,
sir
,
that
's
the
process
,
I
do
n't
value
it
,
for
it
can
be
but
of
little
use
in
countries
where
the
weather
is
more
settled
than
in
ours
;
and
I
'll
be
only
too
glad
if
it
's
of
service
to
you
.
”
“
But
hearken
to
me
,
”
pleaded
Henchard
.
“
My
business
you
know
,
is
in
corn
and
in
hay
,
but
I
was
brought
up
as
a
hay-trusser
simply
,
and
hay
is
what
I
understand
best
though
I
now
do
more
in
corn
than
in
the
other
.
If
you
'll
accept
the
place
,
you
shall
manage
the
corn
branch
entirely
,
and
receive
a
commission
in
addition
to
salary
.
”
“
You
're
liberal
—
very
liberal
,
but
no
,
no
—
I
cannet
!
”
the
young
man
still
replied
,
with
some
distress
in
his
accents
.
“
So
be
it
!
”
said
Henchard
conclusively
.
“
Now
—
to
change
the
subject
—
one
good
turn
deserves
another
;
do
n't
stay
to
finish
that
miserable
supper
.
Come
to
my
house
,
I
can
find
something
better
for
'
ee
than
cold
ham
and
ale
.
”
Donald
Farfrae
was
grateful
—
said
he
feared
he
must
decline
—
that
he
wished
to
leave
early
next
day
.
“
Very
well
,
”
said
Henchard
quickly
,
“
please
yourself
.
But
I
tell
you
,
young
man
,
if
this
holds
good
for
the
bulk
,
as
it
has
done
for
the
sample
,
you
have
saved
my
credit
,
stranger
though
you
be
.
What
shall
I
pay
you
for
this
knowledge
?
”
“
Nothing
at
all
,
nothing
at
all
.
It
may
not
prove
necessary
to
ye
to
use
it
often
,
and
I
do
n't
value
it
at
all
.
I
thought
I
might
just
as
well
let
ye
know
,
as
you
were
in
a
difficulty
,
and
they
were
harrd
upon
ye
.
”
Henchard
paused
.
“
I
sha
n't
soon
forget
this
,
”
he
said
.
“
And
from
a
stranger
!
...
I
could
n't
believe
you
were
not
the
man
I
had
engaged
!
Says
I
to
myself
,
'
He
knows
who
I
am
,
and
recommends
himself
by
this
stroke
.
'
And
yet
it
turns
out
,
after
all
,
that
you
are
not
the
man
who
answered
my
advertisement
,
but
a
stranger
!
”
“
Ay
,
ay
;
that
's
so
,
”
said
the
young
man
.
Henchard
again
suspended
his
words
,
and
then
his
voice
came
thoughtfully
:
“
Your
forehead
,
Farfrae
,
is
something
like
my
poor
brother
's
—
now
dead
and
gone
;
and
the
nose
,
too
,
is
n't
unlike
his
.
You
must
be
,
what
—
five
foot
nine
,
I
reckon
?
I
am
six
foot
one
and
a
half
out
of
my
shoes
.
But
what
of
that
?
In
my
business
,
'
tis
true
that
strength
and
bustle
build
up
a
firm
.
But
judgment
and
knowledge
are
what
keep
it
established
.
Unluckily
,
I
am
bad
at
science
,
Farfrae
;
bad
at
figures
—
a
rule
o
'
thumb
sort
of
man
.
You
are
just
the
reverse
—
I
can
see
that
.
I
have
been
looking
for
such
as
you
these
two
year
,
and
yet
you
are
not
for
me
.
Well
,
before
I
go
,
let
me
ask
this
:
Though
you
are
not
the
young
man
I
thought
you
were
,
what
's
the
difference
?
Ca
n't
ye
stay
just
the
same
?
Have
you
really
made
up
your
mind
about
this
American
notion
?
I
wo
n't
mince
matters
.
I
feel
you
would
be
invaluable
to
me
—
that
need
n't
be
said
—
and
if
you
will
bide
and
be
my
manager
,
I
will
make
it
worth
your
while
.
”
“
My
plans
are
fixed
,
”
said
the
young
man
,
in
negative
tones
.
“
I
have
formed
a
scheme
,
and
so
we
need
na
say
any
more
about
it
.
But
will
you
not
drink
with
me
,
sir
?
I
find
this
Casterbridge
ale
warreming
to
the
stomach
.
”
“
No
,
no
;
I
fain
would
,
but
I
ca
n't
,
”
said
Henchard
gravely
,
the
scraping
of
his
chair
informing
the
listeners
that
he
was
rising
to
leave
.
“
When
I
was
a
young
man
I
went
in
for
that
sort
of
thing
too
strong
—
far
too
strong
—
and
was
well-nigh
ruined
by
it
!
I
did
a
deed
on
account
of
it
which
I
shall
be
ashamed
of
to
my
dying
day
.
It
made
such
an
impression
on
me
that
I
swore
,
there
and
then
,
that
I
'd
drink
nothing
stronger
than
tea
for
as
many
years
as
I
was
old
that
day
.
I
have
kept
my
oath
;
and
though
,
Farfrae
,
I
am
sometimes
that
dry
in
the
dog
days
that
I
could
drink
a
quarter-barrel
to
the
pitching
,
I
think
o
'
my
oath
,
and
touch
no
strong
drink
at
all
.
”
“
I
'll
no
'
press
ye
,
sir
—
I
'll
no
'
press
ye
.
I
respect
your
vow
.
”
“
Well
,
I
shall
get
a
manager
somewhere
,
no
doubt
,
”
said
Henchard
,
with
strong
feeling
in
his
tones
.
“
But
it
will
be
long
before
I
see
one
that
would
suit
me
so
well
!
”
The
young
man
appeared
much
