The Woodlanders Part 2 by Thomas Hardy (best short books to read TXT) 📖

Had Relied for So Many Years Seemed recently,  Like A

False Companion Unmasked,  To Have Disclosed unexpected depths Of

Hypocrisy And Speciousness Where All Had Seemed solidity.  He Felt

Almost Afraid To Form A Conjecture On The Weather,  Or The Time,  Or

The Fruit-Promise,  So Great Was His Self-Abasement.

 

It Was A Rimy Evening when He Set Out To Look For Giles.  The

Woods Seemed to Be In a Cold Sweat; Beads Of Perspiration Hung

From Every Bare Twig; The Sky Had No Color,  And The Trees Rose

Before Him As Haggard,  Gray Phantoms,  Whose Days Of Substantiality

Were Passed.  Melbury Seldom Saw Winterborne Now,  But He Believed

Him To Be Occupying a Lonely Hut Just Beyond The Boundary Of Mrs.

Charmond'S Estate,  Though Still Within The Circuit Of The

Woodland.  The Timber-Merchant'S Thin Legs Stalked on Through The

Pale,  Damp Scenery,  His Eyes On The Dead Leaves Of Last Year;

While Every Now And Then A Hasty "Ay?" Escaped his Lips In reply

To Some Bitter Proposition.

 

His Notice Was Attracted by A Thin Blue Haze Of Smoke,  Behind

Which Arose Sounds Of Voices And Chopping: Bending his Steps That

Way,  He Saw Winterborne Just In front Of Him.  It Just Now

Happened that Giles,  After Being for A Long Time Apathetic And

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Unemployed,  Had Become One Of The Busiest Men In the Neighborhood.

It Is Often Thus; Fallen Friends,  Lost Sight Of,  We Expect To Find

Starving; We Discover Them Going on Fairly Well.  Without Any

Solicitation,  Or Desire For Profit On His Part,  He Had Been Asked

To Execute During that Winter A Very Large Order For Hurdles And

Other Copse-Ware,  For Which Purpose He Had Been Obliged to Buy

Several Acres Of Brushwood Standing.  He Was Now Engaged in the

Cutting and Manufacture Of The Same,  Proceeding with The Work

Daily Like An Automaton.

 

The Hazel-Tree Did Not Belie Its Name To-Day.  The Whole Of The

Copse-Wood Where The Mist Had Cleared returned purest Tints Of

That Hue,  Amid Which Winterborne Himself Was In the Act Of Making

A Hurdle,  The Stakes Being driven Firmly Into The Ground In a Row,

Over Which He Bent And Wove The Twigs.  Beside Him Was A Square,

Compact Pile Like The Altar Of Cain,  Formed of Hurdles Already

Finished,  Which Bristled on All Sides With The Sharp Points Of

Their Stakes.  At A Little Distance The Men In his Employ Were

Assisting him To Carry Out His Contract.  Rows Of Copse-Wood Lay

On The Ground As It Had Fallen Under The Axe; And A Shelter Had

Been Constructed near At Hand,  In front Of Which Burned the Fire

Whose Smoke Had Attracted him.  The Air Was So Dank That The Smoke

Hung Heavy,  And Crept Away Amid The Bushes Without Rising from The

Ground.

 

After Wistfully Regarding winterborne A While,  Melbury Drew

Nearer,  And Briefly Inquired of Giles How He Came To Be So Busily

Engaged,  With An Undertone Of Slight Surprise That Winterborne

Could Seem So Thriving after Being deprived of Grace.  Melbury Was

Not Without Emotion At The Meeting; For Grace'S Affairs Had

Divided them,  And Ended their Intimacy Of Old Times.

 

Winterborne Explained just As Briefly,  Without Raising his Eyes

From His Occupation Of Chopping a Bough That He Held In front Of

Him.

 

"'Twill Be Up In april Before You Get It All Cleared," Said

Melbury.

 

"Yes,  There Or Thereabouts," Said Winterborne,  A Chop Of The

Billhook Jerking the Last Word Into Two Pieces.

 

There Was Another Interval; Melbury Still Looked on,  A Chip From

Winterborne'S Hook Occasionally Flying against The Waistcoat And

Legs Of His Visitor,  Who Took No Heed.

 

"Ah,  Giles--You Should Have Been My Partner.  You Should Have Been

My Son-In-Law," The Old Man Said At Last.  "It Would Have Been Far

Better For Her And For Me."

 

Winterborne Saw That Something had Gone Wrong With His Former

Friend,  And Throwing down The Switch He Was About To Interweave,

He Responded only Too Readily To The Mood Of The Timber-Dealer.

"Is She Ill?" He Said,  Hurriedly.

 

"No,  No." Melbury Stood Without Speaking for Some Minutes,  And

Then,  As Though He Could Not Bring himself To Proceed,  Turned to

Go Away.

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Winterborne Told One Of His Men To Pack Up The Tools For The Night

And Walked after Melbury.

 

"Heaven Forbid That I Should Seem Too Inquisitive,  Sir," He Said,

"Especially Since We Don'T Stand As We Used to Stand To One

Another; But I Hope It Is Well With Them All Over Your Way?"

 

"No," Said Melbury--"No."  He Stopped,  And Struck The Smooth Trunk

Of A Young Ash-Tree With The Flat Of His Hand.  "I Would That His

Ear Had Been Where That Rind Is!" He Exclaimed; "I Should Have

Treated him To Little Compared wi What He Deserves."

 

"Now," Said Winterborne,  "Don'T Be In a Hurry To Go Home.  I'Ve

Put Some Cider Down To Warm In my Shelter Here,  And We'Ll Sit And

Drink It And Talk This Over."

 

Melbury Turned unresistingly As Giles Took His Arm,  And They Went

Back To Where The Fire Was,  And Sat Down Under The Screen,  The

Other Woodmen Having gone.  He Drew Out The Cider-Mug From The

Ashes And They Drank Together.

 

"Giles,  You Ought To Have Had Her,  As I Said Just Now," Repeated

Melbury.  "I'Ll Tell You Why For The First Time."

 

He Thereupon Told Winterborne,  As With Great Relief,  The Story Of

How He Won Away Giles'S Father'S Chosen One--By Nothing worse Than

A Lover'S Cajoleries,  It Is True,  But By Means Which,  Except In

Love,  Would Certainly Have Been Pronounced cruel And Unfair.  He

Explained how He Had Always Intended to Make Reparation To

Winterborne The Father By Giving grace To Winterborne The Son,

Till The Devil Tempted him In the Person Of Fitzpiers,  And He

Broke His Virtuous Vow.

 

"How Highly I Thought Of That Man,  To Be Sure! Who'D Have Supposed

He'D Have Been So Weak And Wrong-Headed as This! You Ought To Have

Had Her,  Giles,  And There'S An End On'T."

 

Winterborne Knew How To Preserve His Calm Under This Unconsciously

Cruel Tearing of A Healing wound To Which Melbury'S Concentration

On The More Vital Subject Had Blinded him.  The Young Man

Endeavored to Make The Best Of The Case For Grace'S Sake.

 

"She Would Hardly Have Been Happy With Me," He Said,  In the Dry,

Unimpassioned voice Under Which He Hid His Feelings.  "I Was Not

Well Enough Educated: Too Rough,  In short.  I Couldn'T Have

Surrounded her With The Refinements She Looked for,  Anyhow,  At

All."

 

"Nonsense--You Are Quite Wrong There," Said The Unwise Old Man,

Doggedly.  "She Told Me Only This Day That She Hates Refinements

And Such Like.  All That My Trouble And Money Bought For Her In

That Way Is Thrown Away Upon Her Quite.  She'D Fain Be Like Marty

South--Think O' That! That'S The Top Of Her Ambition! Perhaps

She'S Right.  Giles,  She Loved you--Under The Rind; And,  What'S

More,  She Loves Ye Still--Worse Luck For The Poor Maid!"

 

If Melbury Only Had Known What Fires He Was Recklessly Stirring up

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He Might Have Held His Peace.  Winterborne Was Silent A Long Time.

The Darkness Had Closed in round Them,  And The Monotonous Drip Of

The Fog From The Branches Quickened as It Turned to Fine Rain.

 

"Oh,  She Never Cared much For Me," Giles Managed to Say,  As He

Stirred the Embers With A Brand.

 

"She Did,  And Does,  I Tell Ye," Said The Other,  Obstinately.

"However,  All That'S Vain Talking now.  What I Come To Ask You

About Is A More Practical Matter--How To Make The Best Of Things

As They Are.  I Am Thinking of A Desperate Step--Of Calling on The

Woman Charmond.  I Am Going to Appeal To Her,  Since Grace Will

Not.  'Tis She Who Holds The Balance In her Hands--Not He.  While

She'S Got The Will To Lead Him Astray He Will Follow--Poor,

Unpractical,  Lofty-Notioned dreamer--And How Long She'Ll Do It

Depends Upon Her Whim.  Did Ye Ever Hear Anything about Her

Character Before She Came To Hintock?"

 

"She'S Been A Bit Of A Charmer In her Time,  I Believe," Replied

Giles,  With The Same Level Quietude,  As He Regarded the Red coals.

"One Who Has Smiled where She Has Not Loved and Loved where She

Has Not Married.  Before Mr. Charmond Made Her His Wife She Was A

Play-Actress."

 

"Hey?"  But How Close You Have Kept All This,  Giles! What

Besides?"

 

"Mr. Charmond Was A Rich Man,  Engaged in the Iron Trade In the

North,  Twenty Or Thirty Years Older Than She.  He Married her And

Retired,  And Came Down Here And Bought This Property,  As They Do

Nowadays."

 

"Yes,  Yes--I Know All About That; But The Other I Did Not Know.  I

Fear It Bodes No Good.  For How Can I Go And Appeal To The

Forbearance Of A Woman In this Matter Who Has Made Cross-Loves And

Crooked entanglements Her Trade For Years?  I Thank Ye,  Giles,  For

Finding it Out; But It Makes My Plan The Harder That She Should

Have Belonged to That Unstable Tribe."

 

Another Pause Ensued,  And They Looked gloomily At The Smoke That

Beat About The Hurdles Which Sheltered them,  Through Whose

Weavings A Large Drop Of Rain Fell At Intervals And Spat Smartly

Into The Fire.  Mrs. Charmond Had Been No Friend To Winterborne,

But He Was Manly,  And It Was Not In his Heart To Let Her Be

Condemned without A Trial.

 

"She Is Said To Be Generous," He Answered.  "You Might Not Appeal

To Her In vain."

 

"It Shall Be Done," Said Melbury,  Rising.  "For Good Or For Evil,

To Mrs. Charmond I'Ll Go."

Part 2 Chapter 7 Pg 35

 

 

At Nine O'Clock The Next Morning melbury Dressed himself Up In

Shining broadcloth,  Creased with Folding and Smelling of Camphor,

And Started for Hintock House.  He Was The