Thehollow-turnerpronouncedthedayswithemphasis，asif，consideringtheirnumber，theywerearathermoreremarkablefactthantheyears。
“Mr。Winterborne’sfatherwalkedwithheratonetime。”saidoldTimothyTangs。“ButMr。Melburywonher。Shewasachildofawoman，andwouldcrylikerainifsobehehuffedher。Wheneversheandherhusbandcametoapuddleintheirwalkstogetherhe’dtakeheruplikeahalf-pennydollandputheroverwithoutdirtingheraspeck。Andifhekeepsthedaughtersolongatboarding-school，he’llmakeherasneshashermotherwas。Butherehecomes。”
JustbeforethismomentWinterbornehadseenMelburycrossingthecourtfromhisdoor。Hewascarryinganopenletterinhishand，andcamestraighttoWinterborne。Hisgloomoftheprecedingnighthadquitegone。
“I’dnosoonermadeupmymind，Giles，togoandseewhyGracedidn’tcomeorwritethanIgetaletterfromher——’Clifton：
Wednesday。Mydearfather，’saysshe，’I’mcominghometo-morrow’
that’sto-day，’butIdidn’tthinkitworthwhiletowritelongbeforehand。’Thelittlerascal，anddidn’tshe！Now，Giles，asyouaregoingtoShertonmarketto-daywithyourapple-trees，whynotjoinmeandGracethere，andwe’lldrivehomealltogether？”
Hemadetheproposalwithcheerfulenergy；hewashardlythesamemanasthemanofthesmalldarkhours。Everithappensthatevenamongthemoodiestthetendencytobecheeredisstrongerthanthetendencytobecastdown；andasoul’sspecificgravitystandspermanentlylessthanthatoftheseaoftroublesintowhichitisthrown。
Winterborne，thoughnotdemonstrative，repliedtothissuggestionwithsomethinglikealacrity。TherewasnotmuchdoubtthatMarty’sgroundsforcuttingoffherhairweresubstantialenough，ifAmbrose’seyeshadbeenareasonforkeepingiton。Asforthetimber-merchant，itwasplainthathisinvitationhadbeengivensolelyinpursuanceofhisschemeforunitingthepair。Hehadmadeuphismindtothecourseasaduty，andwasstrenuouslybentuponfollowingitout。
AccompaniedbyWinterborne，henowturnedtowardsthedoorofthespar-house，whenhisfootstepswereheardbythemenasaforesaid。
“Well，John，andLot。”hesaid，noddingasheentered。“Arimymorning。”
“’Tis，sir！”saidCreedle，energetically；for，nothavingasyetbeenabletosummonforcesufficienttogoawayandbeginwork，hefeltthenecessityofthrowingsomeintohisspeech。“Idon’tcarewhothemanis，’tistherimiestmorningwe’vehadthisfall。”
“IheardyouwonderingwhyI’vekeptmydaughtersolongatboarding-school。”resumedMr。Melbury，lookingupfromtheletterwhichhewasreadinganewbythefire，andturningtothemwiththesuddennessthatwasatraitinhim。“Hey？”heasked，withaffectedshrewdness。“Butyoudid，youknow。Well，now，thoughitismyownbusinessmorethananybodyelse’s，I’lltellye。
WhenIwasaboy，anotherboy——thepa’son’sson——alongwithalotofothers，askedme’WhodraggedWhomroundthewallsofWhat？’
andIsaid，’SamBarrett，whodraggedhiswifeinachairroundthetowercornerwhenshewenttobechurched。’TheylaughedatmewithsuchtorrentsofscornthatIwenthomeashamed，andcouldn’tsleepforshame；andIcriedthatnighttillmypillowwaswet：
tillatlastIthoughttomyselfthereandthen——’Theymaylaughatmeformyignorance，butthatwasfather’sfault，andnoneo’
mymaking，andImustbearit。Buttheyshallneverlaughatmychildren，ifIhaveany：I’llstarvefirst！’ThankGod，I’vebeenabletokeepheratschoolwithoutsacrifice；andherscholarshipissuchthatshestayedonasgovernessforatime。Let’emlaughnowiftheycan：Mrs。CharmondherselfisnotbetterinformedthanmygirlGrace。”
Therewassomethingbetweenhighindifferenceandhumbleemotioninhisdelivery，whichmadeitdifficultforthemtoreply。
Winterborne’sinterestwasofakindwhichdidnotshowitselfinwords；listening，hestoodbythefire，mechanicallystirringtheemberswithaspar-gad。
“You’llbe，then，ready，Giles？”Melburycontinued，awakingfromareverie。“Well，whatwasthelatestnewsatShottsfordyesterday，Mr。Bawtree？”
“Well，ShottsfordisShottsfordstill——youcan’tvictualyourcarcassthereunlessyou’vegotmoney；andyoucan’tbuyacupofgenuinethere，whetherorno。Butasthesayingis，’Goabroadandyou’llhearnewsofhome。’Itseemsthatournewneighbor，thisyoungDr。What’s-his-name，isastrange，deep，perusinggentleman；andthere’sgoodreasonforsupposinghehassoldhissoultothewickedone。”
“’Odnameitall。”murmuredthetimber-merchant，unimpressedbythenews，butremindedofotherthingsbythesubjectofit；“I’vegottomeetagentlemanthisverymorning？andyetI’veplannedtogotoShertonAbbasforthemaid。”
“Iwon’tpraisethedoctor’swisdomtillIhearwhatsortofbargainhe’smade。”saidthetop-sawyer。
“’Tisonlyanoldwoman’stale。”saidBawtree。“Butitseemsthathewantedcertainbooksonsomemysteriousscienceorblack-art，andinorderthatthepeoplehereaboutshouldnotknowanythingabouthisdarkreadings，heordered’emdirectfromLondon，andnotfromtheShertonbook-seller。Theparcelwasdeliveredbymistakeatthepa’son’s，andhewasn’tathome；sohiswifeopenedit，andwentintohystericswhensheread’em，thinkingherhusbandhadturnedheathen，and’twouldbetheruinofthechildren。Butwhenhecamehesaidheknewnomoreabout’emthanshe；andfoundtheywerethisMr。Fitzpier’sproperty。Sohewrote’Beware！’outside，andsent’emonbythesexton。”
“Hemustbeacuriousyoungman。”musedthehollow-turner。
“Hemust。”saidTimothyTangs。
“Nonsense。”saidMr。Melbury，authoritatively，“he’sonlyagentlemanfondofscienceandphilosophyandpoetry，and，infact，everykindofknowledge；andbeinglonelyhere，hepasseshistimeinmakingsuchmattershishobby。”
“Well。”saidoldTimothy，“’tisastrangethingaboutdoctorsthattheworsetheybethebettertheybe。Imeanthatifyouhearanythingofthissortabout’em，tentoonetheycancureyeasnobodyelsecan。”
“True。”saidBawtree，emphatically。“AndformypartIshalltakemycustomfromoldJonesandgotothisonedirectlyI’veanythingthematterwithme。ThatlastmedicineoldJonesgavemehadnotasteinitatall。”
Mr。Melbury，asbecameawell-informedman，didnotlistentotheserecitals，beingmoreoverpreoccupiedwiththebusinessappointmentwhichhadcomeintohishead。Hewalkedupanddown，lookingonthefloor——hisusualcustomwhenundecided。Thatstiffnessaboutthearm，hip，andknee-jointwhichwasapparentwhenhewalkedwasthenetproductofthediverssprainsandover-
exertionsthathadbeenrequiredofhiminhandlingtreesandtimberwhenayoungman，forhewasofthesortcalledself-made，andhadworkedhard。Heknewtheoriginofeveryoneofthesecramps：thatinhisleftshoulderhadcomeofcarryingapollard，unassisted，fromTutcombeBottomhome；thatinonelegwascausedbythecrashofanelmagainstitwhentheywerefelling；thatintheotherwasfromliftingabole。Onmanyamorrowafterwearyinghimselfbytheseprodigiousmuscularefforts，hehadrisenfromhisbedfreshasusual；hislassitudehaddeparted，apparentlyforever；andconfidentintherecuperativepowerofhisyouth，hehadrepeatedthestrainsanew。ButtreacherousTimehadbeenonlyhidingillresultswhentheycouldbeguardedagainst，forgreateraccumulationwhentheycouldnot。Inhisdecliningyearsthestorehadbeenunfoldedintheformofrheumatisms，pricks，andspasms，ineveryoneofwhichMelburyrecognizedsomeactwhich，haditsconsequencebeencontemporaneouslymadeknown，hewouldwiselyhaveabstainedfromrepeating。
OnasummonsbyGrammerOlivertobreakfast，helefttheshed。
Reachingthekitchen，wherethefamilybreakfastedinwintertosavehouse-labor，hesatdownbythefire，andlookedalongtimeatthepairofdancingshadowscastbyeachfire-ironanddog-knobonthewhitewashedchimney-corner——ayellowonefromthewindow，andablueonefromthefire。
“Idon’tquiteknowwhattodoto-day。”hesaidtohiswifeatlast。“I’verecollectedthatIpromisedtomeetMrs。Charmond’sstewardinRoundWoodattwelveo’clock，andyetIwanttogoforGrace。”
“WhynotletGilesfetchherbyhimself？’Twillbring’emtogetherallthequicker。”
“Icoulddothat——butIshouldliketogomyself。Ialwayshavegone，withoutfail，everytimehitherto。IthasbeenagreatpleasuretodriveintoSherton，andwaitandseeherarrive；andperhapsshe’llbedisappointedifIstayaway。”
“Yonmaybedisappointed，butIdon’tthinkshewill，ifyousendGiles。”saidMrs。Melbury，dryly。
“Verywell——I’llsendhim。”
Melburywasoftenpersuadedbythequietudeofhiswife’swordswhenstrenuousargumentwouldhavehadnoeffect。ThissecondMrs。Melburywasaplacidwoman，whohadbeennursetohischildGracebeforehermother’sdeath。AfterthatmelancholyeventlittleGracehadclungtothenursewithmuchaffection；andultimatelyMelbury，indreadlesttheonlywomanwhocaredforthegirlshouldbeinducedtoleaveher，persuadedthemildLucytomarryhim。Thearrangement——foritwaslittlemore——hadworkedsatisfactorilyenough；Gracehadthriven，andMelburyhadnotrepented。
Hereturnedtothespar-houseandfoundGilesnearathand，towhomheexplainedthechangeofplan。“Asshewon’tarrivetillfiveo’clock，youcangetyourbusinessverywelloverintimetoreceiveher。”saidMelbury。“Thegreengigwilldoforher；
you’llspinalongquickerwiththat，andwon’tbelateupontheroad。Herboxescanbecalledforbyoneofthewagons。”
Winterborne，knowingnothingofthetimber-merchant’srestitutoryaims，quietlythoughtallthistobeakindlychance。Wishingevenmorethanherfathertodespatchhisapple-treebusinessinthemarketbeforeGrace’sarrival，hepreparedtostartatonce。
Melburywascarefulthattheturnoutshouldbeseemly。Thegig-
wheels，forinstance，werenotalwayswashedduringwinter-timebeforeajourney，themuddyroadsrenderingthatlaboruseless；
buttheywerewashedto-day。Theharnesswasblacked，andwhentheratherelderlywhitehorsehadbeenputin，andWinterbornewasinhisseatreadytostart，Mr。Melburysteppedoutwithablacking-brush，andwithhisownhandstouchedovertheyellowhoofsoftheanimal。