第6章

Thehollow-turnerpronouncedthedayswithemphasis，asif，consideringtheirnumber，theywerearathermoreremarkablefactthantheyears。

“Mr。Winterborne’sfatherwalkedwithheratonetime。”saidoldTimothyTangs。“ButMr。Melburywonher。Shewasachildofawoman，andwouldcrylikerainifsobehehuffedher。Wheneversheandherhusbandcametoapuddleintheirwalkstogetherhe’dtakeheruplikeahalf-pennydollandputheroverwithoutdirtingheraspeck。Andifhekeepsthedaughtersolongatboarding-school，he’llmakeherasneshashermotherwas。Butherehecomes。”

JustbeforethismomentWinterbornehadseenMelburycrossingthecourtfromhisdoor。Hewascarryinganopenletterinhishand，andcamestraighttoWinterborne。Hisgloomoftheprecedingnighthadquitegone。

“I’dnosoonermadeupmymind，Giles，togoandseewhyGracedidn’tcomeorwritethanIgetaletterfromher——’Clifton：

Wednesday。Mydearfather，’saysshe，’I’mcominghometo-morrow’

(that’sto-day)，’butIdidn’tthinkitworthwhiletowritelongbeforehand。’Thelittlerascal，anddidn’tshe！Now，Giles，asyouaregoingtoShertonmarketto-daywithyourapple-trees，whynotjoinmeandGracethere，andwe’lldrivehomealltogether？”

Hemadetheproposalwithcheerfulenergy；hewashardlythesamemanasthemanofthesmalldarkhours。Everithappensthatevenamongthemoodiestthetendencytobecheeredisstrongerthanthetendencytobecastdown；andasoul’sspecificgravitystandspermanentlylessthanthatoftheseaoftroublesintowhichitisthrown。

Winterborne，thoughnotdemonstrative，repliedtothissuggestionwithsomethinglikealacrity。TherewasnotmuchdoubtthatMarty’sgroundsforcuttingoffherhairweresubstantialenough，ifAmbrose’seyeshadbeenareasonforkeepingiton。Asforthetimber-merchant，itwasplainthathisinvitationhadbeengivensolelyinpursuanceofhisschemeforunitingthepair。Hehadmadeuphismindtothecourseasaduty，andwasstrenuouslybentuponfollowingitout。

AccompaniedbyWinterborne，henowturnedtowardsthedoorofthespar-house，whenhisfootstepswereheardbythemenasaforesaid。

“Well，John，andLot。”hesaid，noddingasheentered。“Arimymorning。”

“’Tis，sir！”saidCreedle，energetically；for，nothavingasyetbeenabletosummonforcesufficienttogoawayandbeginwork，hefeltthenecessityofthrowingsomeintohisspeech。“Idon’tcarewhothemanis，’tistherimiestmorningwe’vehadthisfall。”

“IheardyouwonderingwhyI’vekeptmydaughtersolongatboarding-school。”resumedMr。Melbury，lookingupfromtheletterwhichhewasreadinganewbythefire，andturningtothemwiththesuddennessthatwasatraitinhim。“Hey？”heasked，withaffectedshrewdness。“Butyoudid，youknow。Well，now，thoughitismyownbusinessmorethananybodyelse’s，I’lltellye。

WhenIwasaboy，anotherboy——thepa’son’sson——alongwithalotofothers，askedme’WhodraggedWhomroundthewallsofWhat？’

andIsaid，’SamBarrett，whodraggedhiswifeinachairroundthetowercornerwhenshewenttobechurched。’TheylaughedatmewithsuchtorrentsofscornthatIwenthomeashamed，andcouldn’tsleepforshame；andIcriedthatnighttillmypillowwaswet：

tillatlastIthoughttomyselfthereandthen——’Theymaylaughatmeformyignorance，butthatwasfather’sfault，andnoneo’

mymaking，andImustbearit。Buttheyshallneverlaughatmychildren，ifIhaveany：I’llstarvefirst！’ThankGod，I’vebeenabletokeepheratschoolwithoutsacrifice；andherscholarshipissuchthatshestayedonasgovernessforatime。Let’emlaughnowiftheycan：Mrs。CharmondherselfisnotbetterinformedthanmygirlGrace。”

Therewassomethingbetweenhighindifferenceandhumbleemotioninhisdelivery，whichmadeitdifficultforthemtoreply。

Winterborne’sinterestwasofakindwhichdidnotshowitselfinwords；listening，hestoodbythefire，mechanicallystirringtheemberswithaspar-gad。

“You’llbe，then，ready，Giles？”Melburycontinued，awakingfromareverie。“Well，whatwasthelatestnewsatShottsfordyesterday，Mr。Bawtree？”

“Well，ShottsfordisShottsfordstill——youcan’tvictualyourcarcassthereunlessyou’vegotmoney；andyoucan’tbuyacupofgenuinethere，whetherorno。Butasthesayingis，’Goabroadandyou’llhearnewsofhome。’Itseemsthatournewneighbor，thisyoungDr。What’s-his-name，isastrange，deep，perusinggentleman；andthere’sgoodreasonforsupposinghehassoldhissoultothewickedone。”

“’Odnameitall。”murmuredthetimber-merchant，unimpressedbythenews，butremindedofotherthingsbythesubjectofit；“I’vegottomeetagentlemanthisverymorning？andyetI’veplannedtogotoShertonAbbasforthemaid。”

“Iwon’tpraisethedoctor’swisdomtillIhearwhatsortofbargainhe’smade。”saidthetop-sawyer。

“’Tisonlyanoldwoman’stale。”saidBawtree。“Butitseemsthathewantedcertainbooksonsomemysteriousscienceorblack-art，andinorderthatthepeoplehereaboutshouldnotknowanythingabouthisdarkreadings，heordered’emdirectfromLondon，andnotfromtheShertonbook-seller。Theparcelwasdeliveredbymistakeatthepa’son’s，andhewasn’tathome；sohiswifeopenedit，andwentintohystericswhensheread’em，thinkingherhusbandhadturnedheathen，and’twouldbetheruinofthechildren。Butwhenhecamehesaidheknewnomoreabout’emthanshe；andfoundtheywerethisMr。Fitzpier’sproperty。Sohewrote’Beware！’outside，andsent’emonbythesexton。”

“Hemustbeacuriousyoungman。”musedthehollow-turner。

“Hemust。”saidTimothyTangs。

“Nonsense。”saidMr。Melbury，authoritatively，“he’sonlyagentlemanfondofscienceandphilosophyandpoetry，and，infact，everykindofknowledge；andbeinglonelyhere，hepasseshistimeinmakingsuchmattershishobby。”

“Well。”saidoldTimothy，“’tisastrangethingaboutdoctorsthattheworsetheybethebettertheybe。Imeanthatifyouhearanythingofthissortabout’em，tentoonetheycancureyeasnobodyelsecan。”

“True。”saidBawtree，emphatically。“AndformypartIshalltakemycustomfromoldJonesandgotothisonedirectlyI’veanythingthematterwithme。ThatlastmedicineoldJonesgavemehadnotasteinitatall。”

Mr。Melbury，asbecameawell-informedman，didnotlistentotheserecitals，beingmoreoverpreoccupiedwiththebusinessappointmentwhichhadcomeintohishead。Hewalkedupanddown，lookingonthefloor——hisusualcustomwhenundecided。Thatstiffnessaboutthearm，hip，andknee-jointwhichwasapparentwhenhewalkedwasthenetproductofthediverssprainsandover-

exertionsthathadbeenrequiredofhiminhandlingtreesandtimberwhenayoungman，forhewasofthesortcalledself-made，andhadworkedhard。Heknewtheoriginofeveryoneofthesecramps：thatinhisleftshoulderhadcomeofcarryingapollard，unassisted，fromTutcombeBottomhome；thatinonelegwascausedbythecrashofanelmagainstitwhentheywerefelling；thatintheotherwasfromliftingabole。Onmanyamorrowafterwearyinghimselfbytheseprodigiousmuscularefforts，hehadrisenfromhisbedfreshasusual；hislassitudehaddeparted，apparentlyforever；andconfidentintherecuperativepowerofhisyouth，hehadrepeatedthestrainsanew。ButtreacherousTimehadbeenonlyhidingillresultswhentheycouldbeguardedagainst，forgreateraccumulationwhentheycouldnot。Inhisdecliningyearsthestorehadbeenunfoldedintheformofrheumatisms，pricks，andspasms，ineveryoneofwhichMelburyrecognizedsomeactwhich，haditsconsequencebeencontemporaneouslymadeknown，hewouldwiselyhaveabstainedfromrepeating。

OnasummonsbyGrammerOlivertobreakfast，helefttheshed。

Reachingthekitchen，wherethefamilybreakfastedinwintertosavehouse-labor，hesatdownbythefire，andlookedalongtimeatthepairofdancingshadowscastbyeachfire-ironanddog-knobonthewhitewashedchimney-corner——ayellowonefromthewindow，andablueonefromthefire。

“Idon’tquiteknowwhattodoto-day。”hesaidtohiswifeatlast。“I’verecollectedthatIpromisedtomeetMrs。Charmond’sstewardinRoundWoodattwelveo’clock，andyetIwanttogoforGrace。”

“WhynotletGilesfetchherbyhimself？’Twillbring’emtogetherallthequicker。”

“Icoulddothat——butIshouldliketogomyself。Ialwayshavegone，withoutfail，everytimehitherto。IthasbeenagreatpleasuretodriveintoSherton，andwaitandseeherarrive；andperhapsshe’llbedisappointedifIstayaway。”

“Yonmaybedisappointed，butIdon’tthinkshewill，ifyousendGiles。”saidMrs。Melbury，dryly。

“Verywell——I’llsendhim。”

Melburywasoftenpersuadedbythequietudeofhiswife’swordswhenstrenuousargumentwouldhavehadnoeffect。ThissecondMrs。Melburywasaplacidwoman，whohadbeennursetohischildGracebeforehermother’sdeath。AfterthatmelancholyeventlittleGracehadclungtothenursewithmuchaffection；andultimatelyMelbury，indreadlesttheonlywomanwhocaredforthegirlshouldbeinducedtoleaveher，persuadedthemildLucytomarryhim。Thearrangement——foritwaslittlemore——hadworkedsatisfactorilyenough；Gracehadthriven，andMelburyhadnotrepented。

Hereturnedtothespar-houseandfoundGilesnearathand，towhomheexplainedthechangeofplan。“Asshewon’tarrivetillfiveo’clock，youcangetyourbusinessverywelloverintimetoreceiveher。”saidMelbury。“Thegreengigwilldoforher；

you’llspinalongquickerwiththat，andwon’tbelateupontheroad。Herboxescanbecalledforbyoneofthewagons。”

Winterborne，knowingnothingofthetimber-merchant’srestitutoryaims，quietlythoughtallthistobeakindlychance。Wishingevenmorethanherfathertodespatchhisapple-treebusinessinthemarketbeforeGrace’sarrival，hepreparedtostartatonce。

Melburywascarefulthattheturnoutshouldbeseemly。Thegig-

wheels，forinstance，werenotalwayswashedduringwinter-timebeforeajourney，themuddyroadsrenderingthatlaboruseless；

buttheywerewashedto-day。Theharnesswasblacked，andwhentheratherelderlywhitehorsehadbeenputin，andWinterbornewasinhisseatreadytostart，Mr。Melburysteppedoutwithablacking-brush，andwithhisownhandstouchedovertheyellowhoofsoftheanimal。