Timepassed，andthehouseholdontheKnapbecameagainsereneunderthecomposinginfluencesofdailyroutine。Adesultory，verydesultorycorrespondence，draggedonbetweenSallyHallandDarton，who，notquiteknowinghowtotakeherpetulantwordsonthenightofherbrother’sdeath，hadcontinuedpassivethuslong。Helenaandherchildrenremainedatthedairy-house，almostofnecessity，andDartonthereforedeemeditadvisabletostayaway。
Oneday，sevenmonthslateron，whenMr。Dartonwasasusualathisfarm，twentymilesfromHintock，anotereachedhimfromHelena。
Shethankedhimforhiskindofferaboutherchildren，whichhermother-in-lawhaddulycommunicated，andstatedthatshewouldbegladtoacceptitasregardedtheeldest，theboy。Helenahad，intruth，goodneedtodoso，forherunclehadleftherpenniless，andallapplicationtosomerelativesinthenorthhadfailed。Therewas，besides，asshesaid，nogoodschoolnearHintocktowhichshecouldsendthechild。
Onafinesummerdaytheboycame。Hewasaccompaniedhalf-waybySallyandhismother——tothe’WhiteHorse，’atChalkNewton——wherehewashandedovertoDarton’sbailiffinashiningspring-cart，whometthemthere。
Hewasenteredasaday-scholaratapopularschoolatCasterbridge，threeorfourmilesfromDarton’s，havingfirstbeentaughtbyDartontorideaforest-pony，onwhichhecanteredtoandfromtheaforesaidfountofknowledge，and(asDartonhoped)broughtawayapromisingheadfulofthesameateachdiurnalexpedition。ThethoughtfultaciturnityintowhichDartonhadlatterlyfallenwasquitedissipatedbythepresenceofthisboy。
WhentheChristmasholidayscameitwasarrangedthatheshouldspendthemwithhismother。Thejourneywas，forsomereasonorother，performedintwostages，asathiscoming，exceptthatDartoninpersontooktheplaceofthebailiff，andthattheboyandhimselfrodeonhorseback。
Reachingtherenowned’WhiteHorse，’DartoninquiredifMissandyoungMrs。HallweretheretomeetlittlePhilip(astheyhadagreedtobe)。HewasansweredbytheappearanceofHelenaaloneatthedoor。
’AtthelastmomentSallywouldnotcome，’shefaltered。
Thatmeetingpracticallysettledthepointtowardswhichtheselong-
severedpersonswereconverging。Butnothingwasbroachedaboutitforsometimeyet。SallyHallhad，infact，impartedthefirstdecisivemotiontoeventsbyrefusingtoaccompanyHelena。Shesoongavethemasecondmovebywritingthefollowingnote’[Private。]
’DEARCHARLES，——LivingheresolongandintimatelywithHelena，I
havenaturallylearntherhistory，especiallythatofitwhichreferstoyou。Iamsureshewouldacceptyouasahusbandatthepropertime，andIthinkyououghttogivehertheopportunity。YouinquireinanoldnoteifIamsorrythatIshowedtemper(whichitWASN’T)thatnightwhenIheardyoutalkingtoher。No，Charles，I
amnotsorryatallforwhatIsaidthen——Yourssincerely，SALLY
HALL。’
Thussetintrain，thetransferofDarton’sheartbacktoitsoriginalquartersproceededbymerelapseoftime。InthefollowingJuly，DartonwenttohisfriendJaphethtoaskhimatlasttofulfilthebridalofficewhichhadbeeninabeyancesincethepreviousJanuarytwelvemonths。
’Withallmyheart，mano’constancy！’saidDairymanJohnswarmly。
’I’velostmostofmygenteelfaircomplexionhaymakingthishotweather，’tistrue，butI’lldoyourbusinessaswellasthemthatlookbetter。Therebescentsandgoodhair-oilintheworldyet，thankGod，andthey’lltakeofftheroughesto’myedge。I’llcomplimenther。“Betterlatethannever，SallyHall，“I’llsay。’
’ItisnotSally，’saidDartonhurriedly。’ItisyoungMrs。Hall。’
Japheth’sface，assoonashereallycomprehended，becameapictureofreproachfuldismay。’NotSally？’hesaid。’WhynotSally？I
can’tbelieveit！YoungMrs。Hall！Well，well——where’syourwisdom？’
Dartonshortlyexplainedparticulars；butJohnswouldnotbereconciled。’Shewasawomanworthhavingifeverwomanwas，’hecried。’Andnowtolethergo！’
’ButIsupposeIcanmarrywhereIlike，’saidDarton。
’H’m，’repliedthedairyman，liftinghiseyebrowsexpressively。
’Thisdon’tbecomeyou，Charles——itreallydonot。IfIhaddonesuchathingyouwouldhaveswornIwasacurstno’thernfooltobedrawnoffthescentbysuchared-herringdoll-oll-oll。’
FarmerDartonrespondedinsuchsharptermstothislaconicopinionthatthetwofriendsfinallypartedinawaytheyhadneverpartedbefore。JohnswastobenogroomsmantoDartonafterall。Hehadflatlydeclined。Dartonwentoffsorry，andevenunhappy，particularlyasJaphethwasabouttoleavethatsideofthecounty，sothatthewordswhichhaddividedthemwerenotlikelytobeexplainedawayorsofteneddown。
AshorttimeaftertheinterviewDartonwasunitedtoHelenaatasimplematter-offactwedding；andsheandherlittlegirljoinedtheboywhohadalreadygrowntolookonDarton’shouseashome。
Forsomemonthsthefarmerexperiencedanunprecedentedhappinessandsatisfaction。Therehadbeenaflawinhislife，anditwasasneatlymendedaswashumanlypossible。Butafteraseasonthestreamofeventsfollowedlessclearly，andtherewereshadesinhisreveries。Helenawasafragilewoman，oflittlestayingpower，physicallyormorally，andsincethetimethathehadoriginallyknownher——eightortenyearsbefore——shehadbeenseverelytried。
Shehadlovedherselfout，inshort，andwasnowoccasionallygiventomoping。Sometimesshespokeregretfullyofthegentilitiesofherearlylife，andinsteadofcomparingherpresentstatewithherconditionasthewifeoftheunluckyHall，shemusedratheronwhatithadbeenbeforeshetookthefirstfatalstepofclandestinelymarryinghim。Shedidnotcaretopleasesuchpeopleasthosewithwhomshewasthrownasathrivingfarmer’swife。Sheallowedtheprettytriflesofagriculturaldomesticitytoglidebyherassorrydetails，andhaditnotbeenforthechildrenDarton’shousewouldhaveseemedbutlittlebrighterthanithadbeenbefore。
Thisledtooccasionalunpleasantness，untilDartonsometimesdeclaredtohimselfthatsuchendeavoursashistorectifyearlydeviationsoftheheartbyharkingbacktotheoldpointmostlyfailedofsuccess。’PerhapsJohnswasright，’hewouldsay。’I
shouldhavegoneonwithSally。Bettergowiththetideandmakethebestofitscoursethanstemitattheriskofacapsize。’Buthekepttheseunmelodiousthoughtstohimself，andwasoutwardlyconsiderateandkind。
Thissomewhatbarrentractofhislifehadextendedtolessthanayearandahalfwhenhisponderingswerecutshortbythelossofthewomantheyconcerned。Whenshewasinhergravehethoughtbetterofherthanwhenshehadbeenalive；thefarmwasaworseplacewithoutherthanwithher，afterall。Nowomanshortofdivinecouldhavegonethroughsuchanexperienceasherswithherfirsthusbandwithoutbecomingalittlesoured。Herstagnantsympathies，hersometimesunreasonablemanner，hadcoveredaheartfrankandwellmeaning，andoriginallyhopefulandwarm。Shelefthimatinyredinfantinwhitewrappings。Tomakelifeaseasyaspossibletothistouchingobjectbecameatoncehiscare。
AsthischildlearnttowalkandtalkDartonlearnttoseefeasibilityinaschemewhichpleasedhim。Revolvingtheexperimentwhichhehadhithertomadeuponlife，hefanciedhehadgainedwisdomfromhismistakesandcautionfromhismiscarriages。
Whattheschemewasneedsnopenetrationtodiscover。Oncemorehehadopportunitytorecastandrectifyhisill-wroughtsituationsbyreturningtoSallyHall，whostilllivedquietlyonunderhermother’sroofatHintock。Helenahadbeenawomantolendpathosandrefinementtoahome；Sallywasthewomantobrightenit。Shewouldnot，asHelenadid，despisetheruralsimplicitiesofafarmer’sfireside。Moreover，shehadapre-eminentqualificationforDarton’shousehold；nootherwomancouldmakesodesirableamothertoherbrother’stwochildrenandDarton’soneasSally——
whileDarton，nowthatHelenahadgone，wasamorepromisinghusbandforSallythanhehadeverbeenwhenliabletoremindersfromanuncuredsentimentalwound。
Dartonwasnotamantoactrapidly，andtheworkingoutofhisreparativedesignsmighthavebeendelayedforsometime。ButtherecameawintereveningpreciselyliketheonewhichhaddarkenedoverthatformerridetoHintock，andheaskedhimselfwhyheshouldpostponelonger，whentheverylandscapecalledforarepetitionofthatattempt。
Hetoldhismantosaddlethemare，bootedandspurredhimselfwithayoungerhorseman’snicety，kissedthetwoyoungestchildren，androdeoff。Tomakethejourneyacompleteparalleltothefirst，hewouldfainhavehadhisoldacquaintanceJaphethJohnswithhim。
ButJohns，alas！wasmissing。HisremovaltotheothersideofthecountyhadleftunrepairedthebreachwhichhadarisenbetweenhimandDarton；andthoughDartonhadforgivenhimahundredtimes，asJohnshadprobablyforgivenDarton，theeffortofreunioninpresentcircumstanceswasonenotlikelytobemade。
Hescrewedhimselfuptoascheerfulapitchashecouldwithouthisformercrony，andbecamecontentwithhisownthoughtsasherode，insteadofthewordsofacompanion。Thesunwentdown；theboughsappearedscratchedinlikeanetchingagainstthesky；oldcrookedmenwithfaggotsattheirbackssaid’Good-night，sir，’andDartonreplied’Good-night’rightheartily。
BythetimehereachedtheforkingroadsitwasgettingasdarkasithadbeenontheoccasionwhenJohnsclimbedthedirecting-post。
Dartonmadenomistakethistime。’NorshallIbeabletomistake，thankHeaven，whenIarrive，’hemurmured。Itgavehimpeculiarsatisfactiontothinkthattheproposedmarriage，likehisfirst，wasofthenatureofsettinginorderthingslongawry，andnotamomentaryfreakoffancy。
Nothinghinderedthesmoothnessofhisjourney，whichseemednothalfitsformerlength。Thoughdark，itwasonlybetweenfiveandsixo’clockwhenthebulkychimneysofMrs。Hall’sresidenceappearedinviewbehindthesycamore-tree。Onsecondthoughtsheretreatedandputupattheale-houseasinformertime；andwhenhehadplumedhimselfbeforetheinnmirror，calledforsomethingtodrink，andsmoothedouttheincipientwrinklesofcare，hewalkedontotheKnapwithaquickstep。
