The Woodlanders Part 2 by Thomas Hardy (best romantic books to read txt) 📕

At A Point Where The Road Took A Turning round A Large Chestnut-

Tree,  The Form Of His Own Horse Blossom,  At Which Melbury

Quickened darling'S Pace,  Thinking to Come Up With Fitzpiers.

Nearer View Revealed that The Horse Had No Rider.  At Melbury'S

Approach It Galloped friskily Away Under The Trees In a Homeward

Direction.  Thinking something was Wrong,  The Timber-Merchant

Dismounted as Soon As He Reached the Chestnut,  And After Feeling

About For A Minute Or Two Discovered fitzpiers Lying on The

Ground.

"Here--Help!" Cried the Latter As Soon As He Felt Melbury'S Touch;

"I Have Been Thrown Off,  But There'S Not Much Harm Done,  I Think."

Since Melbury Could Not Now Very Well Read The Younger Man The

Lecture He Had Intended,  And As Friendliness Would Be Hypocrisy,

His Instinct Was To Speak Not A Single Word To His Son-In-Law.  He

Raised fitzpiers Into A Sitting posture,  And Found That He Was A

Little Stunned and Stupefied,  But,  As He Had Said,  Not Otherwise

Hurt.  How This Fall Had Come About Was Readily Conjecturable:

Fitzpiers,  Imagining there Was Only Old Darling under Him,  Had

Been Taken Unawares By The Younger Horse'S Sprightliness.

Melbury Was A Traveller Of The Old-Fashioned sort; Having just

Come From Shottsford-Forum,  He Still Had In his Pocket The

Pilgrim'S Flask Of Rum Which He Always Carried on Journeys

Exceeding a Dozen Miles,  Though He Seldom Drank Much Of It.  He

Poured it Down The Surgeon'S Throat,  With Such Effect That He

Quickly Revived.  Melbury Got Him On His Legs; But The Question

Was What To Do With Him.  He Could Not Walk More Than A Few Steps,

And The Other Horse Had Gone Away.

With Great Exertion Melbury Contrived to Get Him Astride Darling,

Mounting himself Behind,  And Holding fitzpiers Round His Waist

With One Arm.  Darling being broad,  Straight-Backed,  And High In

The Withers,  Was Well Able To Carry Double,  At Any Rate As Far As

Hintock,  And At A Gentle Pace.

The Mare Paced along With Firm And Cautious Tread Through The

Copse Where Winterborne Had Worked,  And Into The Heavier Soil

Where The Oaks Grew; Past Great Willy,  The Largest Oak In the

Wood,  And Thence Towards Nellcombe Bottom,  Intensely Dark Now With

Overgrowth,  And Popularly Supposed to Be Haunted by The Spirits Of

The Fratricides Exorcised from Hintock House.

By This Time Fitzpiers Was Quite Recovered as To Physical

Strength.  But He Had Eaten Nothing since Making a Hasty Breakfast

In London That Morning,  His Anxiety About Felice Having hurried

Him Away From Home Before Dining; As A Consequence,  The Old Rum

Administered by His Father-In-Law Flew To The Young Man'S Head And

Loosened his Tongue,  Without His Ever Having recognized who It Was

That Had Lent Him A Kindly Hand.  He Began To Speak In desultory

Sentences,  Melbury Still Supporting him.

"I'Ve Come All The Way From London To-Day," Said Fitzpiers.  "Ah,

That'S The Place To Meet Your Equals.  I Live At Hintock--Worse,

At Little Hintock--And I Am Quite Lost There.  There'S Not A Man

Within Ten Miles Of Hintock Who Can Comprehend Me.  I Tell You,

Farmer What'S-Your-Name,  That I'M A Man Of Education.  I Know

Several Languages; The Poets And I Are Familiar Friends; I Used to

Read More In metaphysics Than Anybody Within Fifty Miles; And

Since I Gave That Up There'S Nobody Can Match Me In the Whole

County Of Wessex As A Scientist.  Yet I An Doomed to Live With

Tradespeople In a Miserable Little Hole Like Hintock!"

"Indeed!" Muttered melbury.

Fitzpiers,  Increasingly Energized by The Alcohol,  Here Reared

Himself Up Suddenly From The Bowed posture He Had Hitherto Held,

Thrusting his Shoulders So Violently Against Melbury'S Breast As

To Make It Difficult For The Old Man To Keep A Hold On The Reins.

"People Don'T Appreciate Me Here!" The Surgeon Exclaimed; Lowering

His Voice,  He Added,  Softly And Slowly,  "Except One--Except

One!...A Passionate Soul,  As Warm As She Is Clever,  As Beautiful

As She Is Warm,  And As Rich As She Is Beautiful.  I Say,  Old

Fellow,  Those Claws Of Yours Clutch Me Rather Tight--Rather Like

The Eagle'S,  You Know,  That Ate Out The Liver Of Pro--Pre--The Man

On Mount Caucasus.  People Don'T Appreciate Me,  I Say,  Except Her.

Ah,  Gods,  I Am An Unlucky Man!  She Would Have Been Mine,  She

Would Have Taken My Name; But Unfortunately It Cannot Be So.  I

Stooped to Mate Beneath Me,  And Now I Rue It."

The Position Was Becoming a Very Trying one For Melbury,

Corporeally And Mentally.  He Was Obliged to Steady Fitzpiers With

His Left Arm,  And He Began To Hate The Contact.  He Hardly Knew

What To Do.  It Was Useless To Remonstrate With Fitzpiers,  In his

Intellectual Confusion From The Rum And From The Fall.  He

Remained silent,  His Hold Upon His Companion,  However,  Being stern

Rather Than Compassionate.

"You Hurt Me A Little,  Farmer--Though I Am Much Obliged to You For

Your Kindness.  People Don'T Appreciate Me,  I Say.  Between

Ourselves,  I Am Losing my Practice Here; And Why?  Because I See

Matchless Attraction Where Matchless Attraction Is,  Both In person

And Position.  I Mention No Names,  So Nobody Will Be The Wiser.

But I Have Lost Her,  In a Legitimate Sense,  That Is.  If I Were A

Free Man Now,  Things Have Come To Such A Pass That She Could Not

Refuse Me; While With Her Fortune (Which I Don'T Covet For Itself)

I Should Have A Chance Of Satisfying an Honorable Ambition--A

Chance I Have Never Had Yet,  And Now Never,  Never Shall Have,

Probably!"

Melbury,  His Heart Throbbing against The Other'S Backbone,  And His

Brain On Fire With Indignation,  Ventured to Mutter Huskily,  "Why?"

The Horse Ambled on Some Steps Before Fitzpiers Replied,  "Because

I Am Tied and Bound To Another By Law,  As Tightly As I Am To You

By Your Arm--Not That I Complain Of Your Arm--I Thank You For

Helping me.  Well,  Where Are We?  Not Nearly Home Yet?...Home,  Say

I.  It Is A Home!  When I Might Have Been At The Other House Over

There."  In a Stupefied way He Flung His Hand In the Direction Of

The Park.  "I Was Just Two Months Too Early In committing myself.

Had I Only Seen The Other First--"

Here The Old Man'S Arm Gave Fitzpiers A Convulsive Shake.  "What

Are You Doing?" Continued the Latter.  "Keep Still,  Please,  Or Put

Me Down.  I Was Saying that I Lost Her By A Mere Little Two

Months! There Is No Chance For Me Now In this World,  And It Makes

Me Reckless--Reckless! Unless,  Indeed,  Anything should Happen To

The Other One.  She Is Amiable Enough; But If Anything should

Happen To Her--And I Hear She Is Ill--Well,  If It Should,  I Should

Be Free--And My Fame,  My Happiness,  Would Be Insured."

These Were The Last Words That Fitzpiers Uttered in his Seat In

Front Of The Timber-Merchant.  Unable Longer To Master Himself,

Melbury,  The Skin Of His Face Compressed,  Whipped away His Spare

Arm From Fitzpiers'S Waist,  And Seized him By The Collar.

"You Heartless Villain--After All That We Have Done For Ye!" He

Cried,  With A Quivering lip.  "And The Money Of Hers That You'Ve

Had,  And The Roof We'Ve Provided to Shelter Ye! It Is To Me,

George Melbury,  That You Dare To Talk Like That!" The Exclamation

Was Accompanied by A Powerful Swing from The Shoulder,  Which Flung

The Young Man Head-Long Into The Road,  Fitzpiers Fell With A Heavy

Thud Upon The Stumps Of Some Undergrowth Which Had Been Cut During

The Winter Preceding.  Darling continued her Walk For A Few Paces

Farther And Stopped.

"God Forgive Me!" Melbury Murmured,  Repenting of What He Had Done.

"He Tried me Too Sorely; And Now Perhaps I'Ve Murdered him!"

He Turned round In the Saddle And Looked towards The Spot On Which

Fitzpiers Had Fallen.  To His Great Surprise He Beheld The Surgeon

Rise To His Feet With A Bound,  As If Unhurt,  And Walk Away Rapidly

Under The Trees.

Melbury Listened till The Rustle Of Fitzpiers'S Footsteps Died

Away.  "It Might Have Been A Crime,  But For The Mercy Of

Providence In providing leaves For His Fall," He Said To Himself.

And Then His Mind Reverted to The Words Of Fitzpiers,  And His

Indignation So Mounted within Him That He Almost Wished the Fall

Had Put An End To The Young Man There And Then.

He Had Not Ridden Far When He Discerned his Own Gray Mare Standing

Under Some Bushes.  Leaving darling for A Moment,  Melbury Went

Forward And Easily Caught The Younger Animal,  Now Disheartened at

Its Freak.  He Then Made The Pair Of Them Fast To A Tree,  And

Turning back,  Endeavored to Find Some Trace Of Fitzpiers,  Feeling

Pitifully That,  After All,  He Had Gone Further Than He Intended

With The Offender.

But Though He Threaded the Wood Hither And Thither,  His Toes

Ploughing layer After Layer Of The Little Horny Scrolls That Had

Once Been Leaves,  He Could Not Find Him.  He Stood Still Listening

And Looking round.  The Breeze Was Oozing through The Network Of

Boughs As Through A Strainer; The Trunks And Larger Branches Stood

Against The Light Of The Sky In the Forms Of Writhing men,

Gigantic Candelabra,  Pikes,  Halberds,  Lances,  And Whatever Besides

The Fancy Chose To Make Of Them.  Giving up The Search,  Melbury

Came Back To The Horses,  And Walked slowly Homeward,  Leading one

In Each Hand.

It Happened that On This Self-Same Evening a Boy Had Been

Returning from Great To Little Hintock About The Time Of

Fitzpiers'S And Melbury'S Passage Home Along That Route.  A Horse-

Collar That Had Been Left At The Harness-Mender'S To Be Repaired

Was Required for Use At Five O'Clock