Page 33 of Far from the Madding Crowd

IN THE SUN -- A HARBINGER

A WEEK passed, and there were no tidings of Bath-sheba; nor was there any explanation of her Gilpin'srig.Then a note came for Maryann, stating that thebusiness which had called her mistress to Bath stilldetained her there; but that she hoped to returnin the course of another week.Another week passed. The oat-harvest began, andall the men were a-field under a monochromatic Lammassky, amid the trembling air and short shadows of noon.Indoors nothing was to be heard save the droning ofblue-bottle flies; out-of-doors the whetting of scythesand the hiss of tressy oat-ears rubbing together as theirperpendicular stalks of amber-yellow fell heavily to eachswath. Every drop of moisture not in the men's bottlesand flagons in the form of cider was raining as perspira-tion from their foreheads and cheeks. Drought waseverywhere else.They were about to withdraw for a while into thecharitable shade of a tree in the fence, when Coggansaw a figure in a blue coat and brass buttons runningto them across the field.”I wonder who that is?” he said.”I hope nothing is wrong about mistress.” saidMaryann, who with some other women was tying thebundles (oats being always sheafed on this farm), ”butan unlucky token came to me indoors this morning.l went to unlock the door and dropped the key, and itfell upon the stone floor and broke into two pieces.Breaking a key is a dreadful bodement. I wish mis'esswas home.””'Tis Cain Ball.” said Gabriel, pausing from whettinghis reaphook.Oak was not bound by his agreement to assist in thecorn-field; but the harvest month is an anxious time fora farmer, and the corn was Bathsheba's, so he lent ahand.”He's dressed up in his best clothes.” said MatthewMoon. ”He hev been away from home for a few days,since he's had that felon upon his finger; for 'a said,since I can't work I'll have a hollerday.” ”A good time for one -- a excellent time.” said JosephPoorgrass, straightening his back; for he, like some ofthe others, had a way of resting a while from his labouron such hot days for reasons preternaturally small; ofwhich Cain Pall's advent on a week-day in his Sunday-clothes was one of the first magnitude. ”Twas a bad legallowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and MarkClark learnt AliFours in a whitlow.””Ay, and my father put his arm out of joint to havetime to go courting.” said Jan Coggan, in an eclipsingtone, wiping his face with his shirt-sleeve and thrustingback his hat upon the nape of his neck.By this time Cainy was nearing the group of harvesters,and was perceived to be carrying a large slice of breadand ham in one hand, from which he took mouthfulsas he ran, the other being wrapped in a bandage.When he came close, his mouth assumed the bell shape,and he began to cough violently. ”Now, Cainy!” said Gabriel, sternly. ”How manymore times must I tell you to keep from running so fastwhen you be eating? You'll choke yourself some day,that's what you'll do, Cain Ball.” ”Hok-hok-hok!” replied Cain. ”A crumb of myvictuals went the wrong way -- hok-hok!, That's what'tis, Mister Oak! And I've been visiting to Bathbecause I had a felon on my thumb; yes, and l'veseen -- ahok-hok!”Directly Cain mentioned Bath, they all threw downtheir hooks and forks and drew round him. Un-fortunately the erratic crumb did not improve hisnarrative powers, and a supplementary hindrance wasthat of a sneeze, jerking from his pocket his rather largewatch, which dangled in front of the young manpendulum-wise. ”Yes.” he continued, directing his thoughts to Bathand letting his eyes follow, ”l've seed the world at last -- yes -- and I've seed our mis'ess -- ahok-hok-hok!””Bother the boy!” said Gabriel.” Something isalways going the wrong way down your throat, so thatyou can't tell what's necessary to be told.””Ahok! there! Please, Mister Oak, a gnat havejust fleed into my stomach and brought the cough onagain!””Yes, that's just it. Your mouth is always open, youyoung rascal!””'Tis terrible bad to have a gnat fly down yer throat,pore boy!” said Matthew Moon.”Well, at Bath you saw -- --” prompted Gabriel.”I saw our mistress.” continued the junior shepherd,”and a sojer, walking along. And bymeby they gotcloser and closer, and then they went arm-in-crook, likecourting complete -- hok-hok! like courting complete --hok! -- courting complete -- -- ” Losing the thread of hisnarrative at this point simultaneously with his loss ofbreath, their informant looked up and down the fieldapparently for some clue to it. ”Well, I see our mis'essand a soldier -- a-ha-a-wk!””Damn the boy!” said Gabriel.”'Tis only my manner, Mister Oak, if ye'll excuse it,”said Cain Ball, looking reproachfully at Oak, with eyesdrenched in their own dew.!Here's some cider for him -- that'll cure his throat,”said Jan Coggan, lifting a flagon of cider, pulling outthe cork, and applying the hole to Cainy's mouth;Joseph Poorgrass in the meantime beginning to thinkapprehensively of the serious consequences that wouldfollow Cainy Ball's strangulation in his cough, and thehistory of his Bath adventures dying with him.”For my poor self, I always say ”please God” aforeI do anything.” said Joseph, in an unboastful voice; ”andso should you, Cain Ball. ”'Tis a great safeguard, andmight perhaps save you from being choked to deathsome day.”Mr. Coggan poured the liquor with unstinted liber-ality at the suffering Cain's circular mouth; half of itrunning down the side of the flagon, and half of whatreached his mouth running down outside his throat,and half of what ran in going the wrong way, and beingcoughed and sneezed around the persons of the gatheredreapers in the form of a cider fog, which for a momenthung in the sunny air like a small exhalation.”There's a great clumsy sneeze! Why can't ye havebetter manners, you young dog!” said Coggan, with-drawing the flagon.”The cider went up my nose!” cried Cainy, as soonas he could speak; ”and now 'tis gone down my neck,and into my poor dumb felon, and over my shinybuttons and all my best cloze!””The poor lad's cough is terrible unfortunate.” saidMatthew Moon. ”And a great history on hand, too.Bump his back, shepherd.””'Tis my nater.” mourned Cain. ”Mother says Ialways was so excitable when my feelings were workedup to a point!””True, true.” said Joseph Poorgrass. ”The Ballswere always a very excitable family. I knowed theboy's grandfather -- a truly nervous and modest man,even to genteel refinery. 'Twas blush, blush with him,almost as much as 'tis with me -- not but that 'tis afault in me!””Not at all, Master Poorgrass.” said Coggan. ”'Tisa very noble quality in ye.””Heh-heh! well, I wish to noise nothing abroad --nothing at all.” murmured Poorgrass, diffidently. ”Butwe be born to things -- that's true. Yet I would rathermy trifle were hid; though, perhaps, a high nater is alittle high, and at my birth all things were possible tomy Maker, and he may have begrudged no gifts....But under your bushel, Joseph! under your bushel with”ee! A strange desire, neighbours, this desire to hide,and no praise due. Yet there is a Sermon on theMount with a calendar of the blessed at the head, andcertain meek men may be named therein.””Cainy's grandfather was a very clever man.” saidMatthew Moon. ”Invented a' apple-tree out of his ownhead, which is called by his name to this day -- the EarlyBall. You know 'em, Jan? A Quarrenden grafted ona Tom Putt, and a Rathe-ripe upon top o' that again.”'Tis trew 'a used to bide about in a public-house wi' awoman in a way he had no business to by rights, butthere -- 'a were a clever man in the sense of the term.””Now then.” said Gabriel, impatiently, ” what did yousee, Cain?””I seed our mis'ess go into a sort of a park place,where there's seats, and shrubs and flowers, arm-in-crookwith a sojer.” continued Cainy, firmly, and with a dimsense that his words were very effective as regardedGabriel's emotions. ”And I think the sojer wasSergeant Troy. And they sat there together for morethan half-an-hour, talking moving things, and she oncewas crying a'most to death. And when they came outher eyes were shining and she was as white as a lily;and they looked into one another's faces, as far-gonefriendly as a man and woman can be.”Gabriel's features seemed to get thinner. ”Well,what did you see besides?””Oh, all sorts.””White as a lily? You are sure 'twas she?”Yes.””Well, what besides?””Great glass windows to the shops, and great cloudsin the sky, full of rain, and old wooden trees in thecountry round.””You stun-poll! What will ye say next?” saidCoggan.”Let en alone.” interposed Joseph Poorgrass. ”Theboy's meaning is that the sky and the earth in thekingdom of Bath is not altogether different from ourshere. 'Tis for our good to gain knowledge of strangecities, and as such the boy's words should be suffered,so to speak it.””And the people of Bath.” continued Cain, ”neverneed to light their fires except as a luxury, for thewater springs up out of the earth ready boiled foruse.””'Tis true as the light.” testified Matthew Moon.” I'veheard other navigators say the same thing.””They drink nothing else there.” said Cain,” and seemto enjoy it, to see how they swaller it down.””Well, it seems a barbarian practice enough to us,but I daresay the natives think nothing o' it.” saidMatthew.”And don't victuals spring up as well as drink?”asked Coggan, twirling his eye.”No-i own to a blot there in Bath -- a true blot.God didn't provide 'em with victuals as well as (-and 'twas a drawback I couldn't get over at all.””Well, 'tis a curious place, to say the least.” observedMoon ”and it must be a curious people that livetherein. ””Miss Everdene and the soldier were walking abouttogether, you say?” said Gabriel, returning to thegroup.”Ay, and she wore a beautiful gold-colour silkgown, trimmed with black lace, that would have stoodalone 'ithout legs inside if required. 'Twas a verywinsome sight; and her hair was brushed splendid.And when the sun shone upon the bright gown and hisred coat -- my! how handsome they looked. Youcould see 'em all the length of the street.””And what then?” murmured Gabriel.”And then I went into Griffin's to hae my bootshobbed, and then I went to Riggs's batty-cake shop,and asked 'em for a penneth of the cheapest and niceststales, that were all but blue-mouldy, but not quite.And whilst I was chawing 'em down I walked on andseed a clock with a face as big as a baking trendle -- -- ””But that's nothing to do with mistress!””I'm coming to that, if you'll leave me alone, MisterOak!” remonstrated Cainy. ”If you excites me,perhaps you'll bring on my cough, and then I shan't beable to tell ye nothing.””Yes-let him tell it his own way.” said Coggan.Gabriel settled into a despairing attitude of patience,and Cainy went on: --”And there were great large houses, and morepeople all the week long than at Weatherbury club-walking on White Tuesdays. And I went to grandchurches and chapels. And how the parson would pray!Yes; he would kneel down and put up his handstogether, and make the holy gold rings on his fingersgleam and twinkle in yer eyes, that he'd earnedby praying so excellent well! -- Ah yes, I wish I livedthere.””Our poor Parson Thirdly can't get no money tobuy such rings.” said Matthew Moon, thoughtfully.”And as good a man as ever walked. I don't believepoor Thirdly have a single one, even of humblest tin orcopper. Such a great ornament as they'd be to him ona dull afternoon, when he's up in the pulpit lighted bythe wax candles! But 'tis impossible, poor man. Ah,to think how unequal things be.””Perhaps he's made of different stuff than to wear”em.” said Gabriel, grimly.” Well, that's enough of this.Go on, Cainy -- quick.””Oh -- and the new style of parsons wear moustachesand long beards.” continued the illustrious traveller,”and look like Moses and Aaron complete, and makewe fokes in the congregation feel all over like thechildren of Israel.””A very right feeling -- very.” said Joseph Poorgrass.”And there's two religions going on in the nationnow -- High Church and High Chapel. And, thinks I,I'll play fair; so I went to High Church in the morning,and High Chapel in the afternoon.””A right and proper boy.” said Joseph Poorgrass.”Well, at High Church they pray singing, and worshipall the colours of the rainbow; and at High Chapel theypray preaching, and worship drab and whitewash only.And then-i didn't see no more of Miss Everdene atall.””Why didn't you say so afore, then?” exclaimed Oak,with much disappointment.”Ah.” said Matthew Moon, 'she'll wish her cakedough if so be she's over intimate with that man.””She's not over intimate with him.” said Gabriel,indignantly.”She would know better.” said Coggan. ”Ourmis'ess has too much sense under they knots of blackhair to do such a mad thing.””You see, he's not a coarse, ignorant man, for hewas well brought up.” said Matthew, dubiously. ”'Twasonly wildness that made him a soldier, and maids ratherlike your man of sin.””Now, Cain Ball.” said Gabriel restlessly, ”can youswear in the most awful form that the woman you sawwas Miss Everdene?””Cain Ball, you be no longer a babe and suckling,”said Joseph in the sepulchral tone the circumstancesdemanded, ”and you know what taking an oath is.'Tis a horrible testament mind ye, which you say andseal with your blood-stone, and the prophet Matthewtells us that on whomsoever it shall fall it will grindhim to powder. Now, before all the work-folk hereassembled, can you swear to your words as the shep-herd asks ye?””Please no, Mister Oak!” said Cainy, looking fromone to the other with great uneasiness at the spiritualmagnitude of the position. ”I don't mind saying 'tistrue, but I don't like to say 'tis damn true, if that'swhat you mane.””Cain, Cain, how can you!” asked Joseph sternly.”You be asked to swear in a holy manner, and youswear like wicked Shimei, the son of Gera, who cursedas he came. Young man, fie!””No, I don't! 'Tis you want to squander a poreboy's soul, Joseph Poorgrass -- that's what 'tis!” saidCain, beginning to cry. ”All I mane is that in commontruth 'twas Miss Everdene and Sergeant Troy, but inthe horrible so-help-me truth that ye want to make ofit perhaps 'twas somebody else!””There's no getting at the rights of it.” said Gabriel,turning to his work.”Cain Ball, you'll come to a bit of bread!” groanedJoseph Poorgrass.Then the reapers' hooks were flourished again, andthe old sounds went on. Gabriel, without making anypretence of being lively, did nothing to show that hewas particularly dull. However, Coggan knew prettynearly how the land lay, and when they were in a nooktogether he said --”Don't take on about her, Gabriel. What differencedoes it make whose sweetheart she is, since she can't beyours?””That's the very thing I say to myself.” said Gabriel.



CHAPTER XXXIV