The Woodlanders Part 2, Thomas Hardy [e textbook reader txt] 📗
- Author: Thomas Hardy
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Once By The Absence Of His Son-In-Law In london For A Few Days, To
Attend, Really Or Ostensibly, Some Professional Meetings. He Said
Nothing of His Destination Either To His Wife Or To Grace, Fearing
That They Might Entreat Him To Abandon So Risky A Project, And
Went Out Unobserved. He Had Chosen His Time With A View, As He
Supposed, Of Conveniently Catching mrs. Charmond When She Had Just
Finished her Breakfast, Before Any Other Business People Should Be
About, If Any Came. Plodding thoughtfully Onward, He Crossed a
Glade Lying between Little Hintock Woods And The Plantation Which
Abutted on The Park; And The Spot Being open, He Was Discerned
There By Winterborne From The Copse On The Next Hill, Where He And
His Men Were Working. Knowing his Mission, The Younger Man
Hastened down From The Copse And Managed to Intercept The Timber-
Merchant.
"I Have Been Thinking of This, Sir," He Said, "And I Am Of Opinion
That It Would Be Best To Put Off Your Visit For The Present."
But Melbury Would Not Even Stop To Hear Him. His Mind Was Made
Up, The Appeal Was To Be Made; And Winterborne Stood And Watched
Him Sadly Till He Entered the Second Plantation And Disappeared.
Melbury Rang At The Tradesmen'S Door Of The Manor-House, And Was
At Once Informed that The Lady Was Not Yet Visible, As Indeed he
Might Have Guessed had He Been Anybody But The Man He Was.
Melbury Said He Would Wait, Whereupon The Young Man Informed him
In A Neighborly Way That, Between Themselves, She Was In bed and
Asleep.
"Never Mind," Said Melbury, Retreating into The Court, "I'Ll Stand
About Here." Charged so Fully With His Mission, He Shrank From
Contact With Anybody.
But He Walked about The Paved court Till He Was Tired, And Still
Nobody Came To Him. At Last He Entered the House And Sat Down In
A Small Waiting-Room, From Which He Got Glimpses Of The Kitchen
Corridor, And Of The White-Capped maids Flitting jauntily Hither
And Thither. They Had Heard Of His Arrival, But Had Not Seen Him
Enter, And, Imagining him Still In the Court, Discussed freely The
Possible Reason Of His Calling. They Marvelled at His Temerity;
For Though Most Of The Tongues Which Had Been Let Loose Attributed
The Chief Blame-Worthiness To Fitzpiers, These Of Her Household
Preferred to Regard Their Mistress As The Deeper Sinner.
Melbury Sat With His Hands Resting on The Familiar Knobbed thorn
Walking-Stick, Whose Growing he Had Seen Before He Enjoyed its
Use. The Scene To Him Was Not The Material Environment Of His
Person, But A Tragic Vision That Travelled with Him Like An
Envelope. Through This Vision The Incidents Of The Moment But
Gleamed confusedly Here And There, As An Outer Landscape Through
Part 2 Chapter 7 Pg 36The High-Colored scenes Of A Stained window. He Waited thus An
Hour, An Hour And A Half, Two Hours. He Began To Look Pale And
Ill, Whereupon The Butler, Who Came In, Asked him To Have A Glass
Of Wine. Melbury Roused himself And Said, "No, No. Is She Almost
Ready?"
"She Is Just Finishing breakfast," Said The Butler. "She Will
Soon See You Now. I Am Just Going up To Tell Her You Are Here."
"What! Haven'T You Told Her Before?" Said Melbury.
"Oh No," Said The Other. "You See You Came So Very Early."
At Last The Bell Rang: Mrs. Charmond Could See Him. She Was Not
In Her Private Sitting-Room When He Reached it, But In a Minute He
Heard Her Coming from The Front Staircase, And She Entered where
He Stood.
At This Time Of The Morning mrs. Charmond Looked her Full Age And
More. She Might Almost Have Been Taken For The Typical Femme De
Trente Ans, Though She Was Really Not More Than Seven Or Eight And
Twenty. There Being no Fire In the Room, She Came In with A Shawl
Thrown Loosely Round Her Shoulders, And Obviously Without The
Least Suspicion That Melbury Had Called upon Any Other Errand Than
Timber. Felice Was, Indeed, The Only Woman In the Parish Who Had
Not Heard The Rumor Of Her Own Weaknesses; She Was At This Moment
Living in a Fool'S Paradise In respect Of That Rumor, Though Not
In Respect Of The Weaknesses Themselves, Which, If The Truth Be
Told, Caused her Grave Misgivings.
"Do Sit Down, Mr. Melbury. You Have Felled all The Trees That
Were To Be Purchased by You This Season, Except The Oaks, I
Believe."
"Yes," Said Melbury.
"How Very Nice! It Must Be So Charming to Work In the Woods Just
Now!"
She Was Too Careless To Affect An Interest In an Extraneous
Person'S Affairs So Consummately As To Deceive In the Manner Of
The Perfect Social Machine. Hence Her Words "Very Nice," "So
Charming," Were Uttered with A Perfunctoriness That Made Them
Sound Absurdly Unreal.
"Yes, Yes," Said Melbury, In a Reverie. He Did Not Take A Chair,
And She Also Remained standing. Resting upon His Stick, He Began:
"Mrs. Charmond, I Have Called upon A More Serious Matter--At Least
To Me--Than Tree-Throwing. And Whatever Mistakes I Make In my
Manner Of Speaking upon It To You, Madam, Do Me The Justice To Set
'Em Down To My Want Of Practice, And Not To My Want Of Care."
Mrs. Charmond Looked ill At Ease. She Might Have Begun To Guess
His Meaning; But Apart From That, She Had Such Dread Of Contact
With Anything painful, Harsh, Or Even Earnest, That His
Preliminaries Alone Were Enough To Distress Her. "Yes, What Is
It?" She Said.
Part 2 Chapter 7 Pg 37
"I Am An Old Man," Said Melbury, "Whom, Somewhat Late In life, God
Thought Fit To Bless With One Child, And She A Daughter. Her
Mother Was A Very Dear Wife To Me, But She Was Taken Away From Us
When The Child Was Young, And The Child Became Precious As The
Apple Of My Eye To Me, For She Was All I Had Left To Love. For
Her Sake Entirely I Married as Second Wife A Homespun Woman Who
Had Been Kind As A Mother To Her. In due Time The Question Of Her
Education Came On, And I Said, 'I Will Educate The Maid Well, If I
Live Upon Bread To Do It.' Of Her Possible Marriage I Could Not
Bear To Think, For It Seemed like A Death That She Should Cleave
To Another Man, And Grow To Think His House Her Home Rather Than
Mine. But I Saw It Was The Law Of Nature That This Should Be, And
That It Was For The Maid'S Happiness That She Should Have A Home
When I Was Gone; And I Made Up My Mind Without A Murmur To Help It
On For Her Sake. In my Youth I Had Wronged my Dead Friend, And To
Make Amends I Determined to Give Her, My Most Precious Possession,
To My Friend'S Son, Seeing that They Liked each Other Well.
Things Came About Which Made Me Doubt If It Would Be For My
Daughter'S Happiness To Do This, Inasmuch As The Young Man Was
Poor, And She Was Delicately Reared. Another Man Came And Paid
Court To Her--One Her Equal In breeding and Accomplishments; In
Every Way It Seemed to Me That He Only Could Give Her The Home
Which Her Training had Made A Necessity Almost. I Urged her On,
And She Married him. But, Ma'Am, A Fatal Mistake Was At The Root
Of My Reckoning. I Found That This Well-Born Gentleman I Had
Calculated on So Surely Was Not Stanch Of Heart, And That Therein
Lay A Danger Of Great Sorrow For My Daughter. Madam, He Saw You,
And You Know The Rest....I Have Come To Make No Demands--To Utter
No Threats; I Have Come Simply As A Father In great Grief About
This Only Child, And I Beseech You To Deal Kindly With My
Daughter, And To Do Nothing which Can Turn Her Husband'S Heart
Away From Her Forever. Forbid Him Your Presence, Ma'Am, And Speak
To Him On His Duty As One With Your Power Over Him Well Can Do,
And I Am Hopeful That The Rent Between Them May Be Patched up.
For It Is Not As If You Would Lose By So Doing; Your Course Is Far
Higher Than The Courses Of A Simple Professional Man, And The
Gratitude You Would Win From Me And Mine By Your Kindness Is More
Than I Can Say."
Mrs. Charmond Had First Rushed into A Mood Of Indignation On
Comprehending melbury'S Story; Hot And Cold By Turns, She Had
Murmured, "Leave Me, Leave Me!" But As He Seemed to Take No Notice
Of This, His Words Began To Influence Her, And When He Ceased
Speaking she Said, With Hurried, Hot Breath, "What Has Led you To
Think This Of Me? Who Says I Have Won Your Daughter'S Husband
Away From Her? Some Monstrous Calumnies Are Afloat--Of Which I
Have Known Nothing until Now!"
Melbury Started, And Looked at Her Simply. "But Surely, Ma'Am,
You Know The Truth Better Than I?"
Her Features Became A Little Pinched, And The Touches Of Powder On
Her Handsome Face For The First Time Showed themselves As An
Extrinsic Film. "Will You Leave Me To Myself?" She Said, With A
Faintness Which Suggested a Guilty Conscience. "This Is So
Utterly Unexpected--You Obtain Admission To My Presence By
Misrepresentation--"
Part 2 Chapter 7 Pg 38
"As God'S In heaven, Ma'Am, That'S Not True. I Made No Pretence;
And I Thought In reason You Would Know Why I Had Come. This
Gossip--"
"I Have Heard Nothing of It. Tell Me Of It, I Say."
"Tell You, Ma'Am--Not I. What The Gossip Is, No Matter. What
Really Is, You Know. Set Facts Right, And The Scandal Will Right
Of Itself. But Pardon Me--I Speak Roughly; And I Came To Speak
Gently, To Coax You, Beg You To Be My Daughter'S Friend. She
Loved you Once, Ma'Am; You Began By Liking her. Then You Dropped
Her Without A Reason, And It Hurt Her Warm Heart More Than I Can
Tell Ye. But You Were Within Your Right As The Superior, No
Doubt. But If You Would Consider Her Position Now--Surely,
Surely, You Would Do Her No Harm!"
"Certainly I Would Do Her No Harm--I--" Melbury'S Eye Met Hers.
It Was Curious, But The Allusion To Grace'S Former Love For Her
Seemed to Touch Her More Than All Melbury'S Other Arguments. "Oh,
Melbury," She Burst Out, "You Have Made Me So Unhappy! How Could
You Come To Me Like This! It Is Too Dreadful! Now Go Away--Go,
Go!"
"I
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