The Woodlanders

e began. “I said first, ‘it is some terrible beast;

r speech, but the question whether he should tell her

t there shone upon Miss Melbury’s face a species of exaltation, which saw no

ed you

face of Moses when he c

said, “How can you be so p

ple? Well, I beg pardon; I didn’t mean to speak

harmond’s late husband bought the property. She is SO nice!” And Grace fell into such an abstracted gaze at the imagi

much longer, because she finds it so lonely and damp in winter.

u standing here. Hoi, Robert!” he cried to a swaying collection of clothes in the dista

ng, sir; I’

f travel, like Alexandre Dumas, and Mery, and Sterne, and others. But she cannot find energy enough to do it herself.” And Grace proceeded to explain Mrs. Charmon

awe. “Suppose you talk over my head

I hate French books. And I love dear old Hintock, AND THE PEOPLE IN IT, fifty times better

sense, but it will take yo

t time. We shoul

y, it is a questio

to her his proposal to have a Christmas party; but homely Christmas gatherings in the venerable and jovial Hint

roved it. A woman who could go to Hintock House and be friendly with its mistress, enter into the views of its mistress, talk like her, and dress not much unlike her, why, she would hardly be contented with him, a

rty had come back, and dismissing Creedle, he w

elves purple in the cold wind —“suppose you know a person, and want to bring that person to a good understanding with yo

e to be

ght be, c

dance w

l, y

a head, one way or the other; I

ite loudly. And as the day was nearly ended, he added, “Here, Marty, I’ll send

like some vast foundery wherein new worlds were being cast. Across it the bare bough of a tree stretched horizontally, revealing every twig ag

they are a-croupied down nearly at the end of the bough. If it were going to be stormy they’d squeeze close to the trunk.

hey are,” sai

nce. Having first to set his nightly gins in the garden, to catch the rabbits that ate his winter-greens, his call was delayed till just after the rising of the moon, whose rays reached the Hintock house

y that his invitation was to a gathering of any importance. So he put it in the mild form of “Can you come in for an hour,

concerned, my dear Giles, you know I’ll come with pleasure. But how do I know what Grace’s notions may be? You see, she has bee

, according as he suggested; and his instinct was, for the moment, to suggest the negative. His errand took him past the church, and the way to h

y Mr. Melbury paused, turned ill upon the grass, and approached a particular headstone, where he read,

was humanized. “Jack, my wronged friend!” he said. “

aid to Grace and Mrs. Melbury, who were

ith him the day after tomorrow; and I’m thinki

ngly the timber-merchant sent Giles the

hich chanced to be rather early in the afternoon, by reason of the somewhat quicker despatch than usual of the timber-merchant’s business that day. To show their sense of the unimportance of t

ing supper to come on about eleven. Being a bachelor of rather retiring habits, the whole of the preparations devolved upon himself and his trusty man and familiar, Robert Creedle, who did

ith a long-handled, three-pronged Beelzebub kind of fork, the heat shining out upon his streaming face and making his eyes like furnaces, the thorns crackling and sputtering; while Creedle, having ranged the pastry dishes in a row on the table till the oven should be ready, was pressing out

and Grace in the fashionable attire which, in part brought home with her from the Continent, she had worn on her visit to Mrs. Charmond’s. The eyes

ey baint come a’re

e background waved a reeking candlestick in his delight. As there

ke in the time,” said the timber-merchant’

h difference. I ho

. Melbury, accusingly, glancing round and po

es,” sai

Hintock band, and

drop in if they’d nothing else

hing before? How should I know what folk mean if they don’t say? Now, shal

y little time. I ought not to have been so backward.” Giles spoke quite anxiously for one of his undemonstrative temper

lp ye get ready for the rest. Here, mis’ess, take off your things, and help him out in his baking, or he won’t get done to-night. I’ll finish heating the oven, and set you free to go and

sh the tarts,” said

er. “‘Tisn’t quite so much in your line

et you, Grace!” said Gi

hanging it up to a nail, carefully rolling back her sleeves, pinning

ions. A kindly pity of his household management, which Winterborne saw in her eyes

cuisine based on utensils, cupboards, and provisions that were strange to them. He groaned to the young man

ated the misgivings he did not care to express. “

ilver and gold. And I don’t care who the man is, I says that a stick

attend to it. You go and g

Creedle, who was still in a tragic mood. “If ye’d ha’ married, d’y

es and his friends entered the parlor, where the Melburys again dropped into position as guests, though the room was not nearly so warm

as so uniform and persistent that he suspected her of seeing even more deficiencies than he was aware of.

at you’ve not lately been used to, I suppos

rything here in dear old Hintock is just as it used to b

e o

use it gets on one’s dress.

rniture-polish, and refrained from rubbing it dry in order not to diminish the mirror-like effect that the mixture p