“Doyouknowifitismydaughter？”askedMelbury。
Thewaiterdidnot。
“Doyouknowthelady’sname？”
Ofthis，too，thehouseholdwasignorant，thehotelhavingbeentakenbybrand-newpeoplefromadistance。Theyknewthegentlemanverywellbysight，andhadnotthoughtitnecessarytoaskhimtoenterhisname。
“Oh，thegentlemanappearsagainnow。”saidMelburytohimself。
“Well，Iwanttoseethelady。”hedeclared。
Amessagewastakenup，andaftersomedelaytheshapeofGraceappeareddescendingroundthebendofthestair-case，lookingasifshelivedthere，butinotherrespectsratherguiltyandfrightened。
“Why——whatthename——“beganherfather。“Ithoughtyouwentouttogetparsley！”
“Oh，yes——Idid——butitisallright。”saidGrace，inaflurriedwhisper。“Iamnotalonehere。IamherewithEdgar。Itisentirelyowingtoanaccident，father。”
“Edgar！Anaccident！Howdoeshecomehere？Ithoughthewastwohundredmileoff。”
“Yes，soheis——Imeanhehasgotabeautifulpracticetwohundredmilesoff；hehasboughtitwithhisownmoney，somethatcametohim。Buthetravelledhere，andIwasnearlycaughtinaman-
trap，andthat’showitisIamhere。Wewerejustthinkingofsendingamessengertoletyouknow。”
Melburydidnotseemtobeparticularlyenlightenedbythisexplanation。
“Youwerecaughtinaman-trap？”
“Yes；mydresswas。That’showitarose。Edgarisup-stairsinhisownsitting-room。”shewenton。“Hewouldnotmindseeingyou，Iamsure。”
“Oh，faith，Idon’twanttoseehim！Ihaveseenhimtoooftena’ready。I’llseehimanothertime，perhaps，if’tistooblige’ee。”
“Hecametoseeme；hewantedtoconsultmeaboutthislargepartnershipIspeakof，asitisverypromising。”
“Oh，Iamgladtohearit。”saidMelbury，dryly。
Apauseensued，duringwhichtheinquiringfacesandwhity-brownclothesofMelbury’scompanionsappearedinthedoor-way。
“Thenbain’tyoucominghomewithus？”heasked。
“I——Ithinknot。”saidGrace，blushing。
“H’m——verywell——youareyourownmistress。”hereturned，intoneswhichseemedtoassertotherwise。“Good-night；“andMelburyretreatedtowardsthedoor。
“Don’tbeangry，father。”shesaid，followinghimafewsteps。“I
havedoneitforthebest。”
“Iamnotangry，thoughitistrueIhavebeenalittlemisledinthis。However，good-night。Imustgethomealong。”
Heleftthehotel，notwithoutrelief，fortobeundertheeyesofstrangerswhileheconversedwithhislostchildhadembarrassedhimmuch。Hissearch-party，too，hadlookedawkwardthere，havingrushedtothetaskofinvestigation——someintheirshirtsleeves，othersintheirleatheraprons，andallmuchstained——justastheyhadcomefromtheirworkofbarking，andnotintheirShertonmarketingattire；whileCreedle，withhisropesandgrapnelsandairofimpendingtragedy，hadaddedmelancholytogawkiness。
“Now，neighbors。”saidMelbury，onjoiningthem，“asitisgettinglate，we’lllegithomeagainasfastaswecan。Ioughttotellyouthattherehasbeensomemistake——somearrangemententeredintobetweenMr。andMrs。FitzpierswhichIdidn’tquiteunderstand——animportantpracticeintheMidlandcountieshascometohim，whichmadeitnecessaryforhertojoinhimto-night——soshesays。That’sallitwas——andI’msorryIdraggedyouout。”
“Well。”saidthehollow-turner，“herebewesixmilefromhome，andnight-time，andnotahossorfour-footedcreepingthingtoourname。Isay，we’llhaveamosselandadropo’summattostrengthenournervesaforewevampallthewaybackagain？Mythroat’sasdryasakex。Whatd’yesayso’s？”
Theyallconcurredintheneedforthiscourse，andproceededtotheantiqueandlamplessbackstreet，inwhichtheredcurtainoftheThreeTunswastheonlyradiantobject。AssoonastheyhadstumbleddownintotheroomMelburyorderedthemtobeserved，whentheymadethemselvescomfortablebythelongtable，andstretchedouttheirlegsupontheherring-bonedsandofthefloor。
Melburyhimself，restlessasusual，walkedtothedoorwhilehewaitedforthem，andlookedupanddownthestreet。
“I’dgieheragoodshakingifsheweremymaid；pretendingtogooutinthegarden，andleadingfolkatwelve-miletraipsethathavegottogetupatfiveo’clocktomorrow。”saidabark-ripper；
who，notworkingregularlyforMelbury，couldaffordtoindulgeinstrongopinions。
“Idon’tspeaksowarmasthat。”saidthehollow-turner，“butif’tisrightforcouplestomakeacountrytalkabouttheirseparating，andexcitetheneighbors，andthenmakefoolsof’emlikethis，why，Ihaven’tstoodupononelegforfive-and-twentyyear。”
Allhislistenersknewthatwhenhealludedtohisfoot-latheintheseenigmaticterms，thespeakermeanttobeimpressive；andCreedlechimedinwith，“Ah，youngwomendowaxwantoninthesedays！Whycouldn’tsheha’bodewithherfather，andbeenfaithful？”PoorCreedlewasthinkingofhisoldemployer。
“Butthisdeceivingoffolksisnothingunusualinmatrimony。”
saidFarmerBawtree。“Iknowedamanandwife——faith，Idon’tmindowning，asthere’snostrangershere，thatthepairweremyownrelations——they’dbeatitthathotonehourthatyou’dhearthepokerandthetongsandthebellowsandthewarming-panfleeacrossthehousewiththemovementsoftheirvengeance；andthenexthouryou’dhear’emsinging’TheSpottedCow’togetheraspeaceableastwoholytwins；yes——andverygoodvoicestheyhad，andwouldstrikeinlikeprofessionalballet-singerstooneanother’ssupportinthehighnotes。”
“AndIknowedawoman，andthehusbando’herwentawayforfour-
and-twentyyear。”saidthebark-ripper。“Andonenighthecamehomewhenshewassittingbythefire，andthereuponhesatdownhimselfontheothersideofthechimney-corner。’Well，’saysshe，’haveyegotanynews？’’Don’tknowasIhave，’sayshe；
’haveyou？’’No，’saysshe，’exceptthatmydaughterbymysecondhusbandwasmarriedlastmonth，whichwasayearafterIwasmadeawidowbyhim。’’Oh！Anythingelse？’hesays。’No，’saysshe。
Andtheretheysat，oneoneachsideofthatchimney-corner，andwerefoundbytheirneighborssoundasleepintheirchairs，nothavingknownwhattotalkaboutatall。”
“Well，Idon’tcarewhothemanis。”saidCreedle，“theyrequiredagooddealtotalkabout，andthat’strue。Itwon’tbethesamewiththese。”
“No。Heissuchaprojick，yousee。Andsheisawonderfulscholartoo！”
“Whatwomendoknownowadays！”observedthehollow-turner。“Youcan’tdeceive’emasyoucouldinmytime。”
“Whattheyknowedthenwasnotsmall。”saidJohnUpjohn。“Alwaysagooddealmorethanthemen！Why，whenIwentcourtingmywifethatisnow，theskilfulnessthatshewouldshowinkeepingmeonherprettysideasshewalkedwasbeyondallbelief。Perhapsyou’venoticedthatshe’sgotaprettysidetoherfaceaswellasaplainone？”
“Ican’tsayI’venoticeditparticularmuch。”saidthehollow-
turner，blandly。
“Well。”continuedUpjohn，notdisconcerted，“shehas。Allwomenunderthesunbeprettieronesidethant’other。And，asIwassaying，thepainsshewouldtaketomakemewalkontheprettysidewereunending！Iwarrantthatwhetherweweregoingwiththesunoragainstthesun，uphillordownhill，inwindorinlewth，thatwartofherswasalwaystowardsthehedge，andthatdimpletowardsme。TherewasI，toosimpletoseeherwheelingsandturnings；andshesoartful，thoughtwoyearsyounger，thatshecouldleadmewithacottonthread，likeablindram；forthatwasinthethirdclimateofourcourtship。No；Idon’tthinkthewomenhavegotcleverer，fortheywasneverotherwise。”
“Howmanyclimatesmaytherebeincourtship，Mr。Upjohn？”
inquiredayouth——thesamewhohadassistedatWinterborne’sChristmasparty。
“Five——fromthecoolesttothehottest——leastwisetherewasfiveinmine。”
“Canyegiveusthechronicleof’em，Mr。Upjohn？”
“Yes——Icould。Icouldcertainly。But’tisquiteunnecessary。
They’llcometoyebynater，youngman，toosoonforyourgood。”
“AtpresentMrs。Fitzpierscanleadthedoctorasyourmis’esscouldleadyou。”thehollow-turnerremarked。“She’sgothimquitetame。Buthowlong’twilllastIcan’tsay。Ihappenedtobesettingawireonthetopofmygardenonenightwhenhemetherontheothersideofthehedge；andthewayshequeenedit，andfenced，andkeptthatpoorfelleratadistance，wasenoughtofreezeyerblood。Ishouldneverhavesupposeditofsuchagirl。”
Melburynowreturnedtotheroom，andthemenhavingdeclaredthemselvesrefreshed，theyallstartedonthehomewardjourney，whichwasbynomeanscheerlessundertheraysofthehighmoon。
Havingtowalkthewholedistancetheycamebyafoot-pathrathershorterthanthehighway，thoughdifficultexcepttothosewhoknewthecountrywell。ThisbroughtthembywayofGreatHintock；
andpassingthechurch-yardtheyobserved，astheytalked，amotionlessfigurestandingbythegate。
“IthinkitwasMartySouth。”saidthehollow-turner，parenthetically。
“Ithink’twas；’awasalwaysalonelymaid。”saidUpjohn。Andtheypassedonhomeward，andthoughtofthematternomore。
ItwasMarty，astheyhadsupposed。ThateveninghadbeentheparticularoneoftheweekuponwhichGraceandherselfhadbeenaccustomedtoprivatelydepositflowersonGiles’sgrave，andthiswasthefirstoccasionsincehisdeath，eightmonthsearlier，onwhichGracehadfailedtokeepherappointment。MartyhadwaitedintheroadjustoutsideLittleHintock，whereherfellow-pilgrimhadbeenwonttojoinher，tillshewasweary；andatlast，thinkingthatGracehadmissedherandgoneonalone，shefollowedthewaytoGreatHintock，butsawnoGraceinfrontofher。Itgotlater，andMartycontinuedherwalktillshereachedthechurch-yardgate；butstillnoGrace。Yethersenseofcomradeshipwouldnotallowhertogoontothegravealone，andstillthinkingthedelayhadbeenunavoidable，shestoodtherewithherlittlebasketofflowersinherclaspedhands，andherfeetchilledbythedampground，tillmorethantwohourshadpassed。
ShethenheardthefootstepsofMelbury’smen，whopresentlypassedontheirreturnfromthesearch。InthesilenceofthenightMartycouldnothelphearingfragmentsoftheirconversation，fromwhichsheacquiredageneralideaofwhathadoccurred，andwhereMrs。Fitzpiersthenwas。
Immediatelytheyhaddroppeddownthehillsheenteredthechurch-
yard，goingtoasecludedcornerbehindthebushes，whererosetheunadornedstonethatmarkedthelastbedofGilesWinterborne。Asthissolitaryandsilentgirlstoodthereinthemoonlight，astraightslimfigure，clothedinaplaitlessgown，thecontoursofwomanhoodsoundevelopedastobescarcelyperceptible，themarksofpovertyandtoileffacedbythemistyhour，shetouchedsublimityatpoints，andlookedalmostlikeabeingwhohadrejectedwithindifferencetheattributeofsexfortheloftierqualityofabstracthumanism。ShestoopeddownandclearedawaythewitheredflowersthatGraceandherselfhadlaidtherethepreviousweek，andputherfreshonesintheirplace。
“Now，myown，ownlove。”shewhispered，“youaremine，andon’ymine；forshehasforgot’eeatlast，althoughforheryoudied。
ButI——wheneverIgetupI’llthinkof’ee，andwheneverIliedownI’llthinkof’ee。WheneverIplanttheyounglarchesI’llthinkthatnonecanplantasyouplanted；andwheneverIsplitagad，andwheneverIturnthecider-wring，I’llsaynonecoulddoitlikeyou。IfeverIforgetyourname，letmeforgethomeandHeaven！——Butno，no，mylove，Inevercanforget’ee；foryouwasaGOODman，anddidgoodthings！”
End
