Phase the First :
The Maiden 0
I On an evening in the latter part of May
a middle-aged man 1
was walking homeward from
Shaston 2
to
the village of Marlott 3
, in
the adjoining Vale of Blakemore 4
, or
Blackmoor 86
.
The pair of legs that carried
him 1
were rickety , and there was a bias in
his 1
gait which inclined
him 1
somewhat to the left of a straight line .
He 1
occasionally gave a smart nod , as if in confirmation of some opinion , though
he 1
was not thinking of anything in particular .
An empty egg-basket was slung upon
his 1
arm , the nap of
his 1
hat was ruffled , a patch being quite worn away at its brim where
his 1
thumb came in taking it off .
Presently
he 1
was met by
an elderly parson astride on a gray mare 5
, who , as
he 5
rode , hummed a wandering tune .
" Good night t ' ee , " said
the man with the basket 1
.
" Good night ,
Sir John 1
, " said
the parson 5
.
The pedestrian 1
, after another pace or two , halted , and turned round .
" Now ,
sir 5
, begging
your 5
pardon ;
we 6
met last market-day on
this road 7
about this time , and
I 1
said ' Good night , ' and
you 5
made reply ' _ Good night ,
Sir John 1
_ , ' as now . "
"
I 5
did , " said
the parson 5
.
" And once before that -- near a month ago . "
"
I 5
may have . "
" Then what might
your 5
meaning be in calling
me 1
'
Sir John 1
' these different times , when
I 1
be
plain Jack Durbeyfield 1
,
the haggler 85
? "
The parson 5
rode a step or two nearer .
" It was only
my 5
whim , "
he 5
said ; and , after a moment 's hesitation : " It was on account of a discovery
I 5
made some little time ago , whilst
I 5
was hunting up pedigrees for the new
county 8
history .
I 5
am
Parson Tringham 5
,
the antiquary , of
Stagfoot Lane 9
87
.
Do n't
you 1
really know ,
Durbeyfield 1
, that
you 1
are
the lineal representative of
the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles 10
88
, who derive
their 10
descent from
Sir Pagan d'Urberville 11
,
that renowned knight who came from
Normandy 12
with
William the Conqueror 13
89
, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll ? "
" Never heard it before ,
sir 5
! "
" Well it 's true .
Throw up
your 1
chin a moment , so that
I 5
may catch the profile of
your 1
face better .
Yes , that 's the d'Urberville nose and chin -- a little debased .
Your 1
ancestor 11
was
one of
the twelve knights who assisted
the Lord of
Estremavilla 16
15
in
Normandy 12
in
his 15
conquest of
Glamorganshire 17
14
90
.
Branches of
your 1
family 30
18
held
manors 19
over all
this part of
England 21
20
;
their 30
names appear in the Pipe Rolls in the time of
King Stephen 22
.
In the reign of
King John 23
one of
them 30
24
was rich enough to give
a manor 25
to
the Knights Hospitallers 26
; and in
Edward the Second 27
's time
your 1
forefather 28
Brian 28
was summoned to
Westminster 29
to attend the great Council
there 29
.
You 30
declined a little in
Oliver Cromwell 31
's time , but to no serious extent , and in
Charles the Second 32
's reign
you 30
were made
Knights of the Royal Oak 33
for
your 30
loyalty .
Aye , there have been generations of
Sir Johns 34
among
you 30
, and if knighthood were hereditary , like a baronetcy , as it practically was in old times , when
men 35
were knighted from father to son ,
you 1
would be
Sir John 36
now . "
"
Ye 5
do n't say so ! "
" In short , " concluded
the parson 5
, decisively smacking
his 5
leg with
his 5
switch , " there 's hardly
such another family in
England 21
37
. "
" Daze
my 1
eyes , and is n't there ? "
said
Durbeyfield 1
.
" And here have
I 1
been knocking about , year after year , from pillar to post , as if
I 1
was no more than
the commonest feller in
the parish 39
38
... And how long hev this news about
me 1
been knowed ,
Pa ' son Tringham 5
? "
The clergyman 5
explained that , as far as
he 5
was aware , it had quite died out of knowledge , and could hardly be said to be known at all .
His 5
own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring when , having been engaged in tracing the vicissitudes of the
d'Urberville family 30
,
he 5
had observed
Durbeyfield 1
's name on
his 1
waggon 40
, and had thereupon been led to make inquiries about
his 1
father 41
and
grandfather 42
till
he 5
had no doubt on the subject .
" At first
I 5
resolved not to disturb
you 1
with such a useless piece of information , " said
he 5
.
" However ,
our 43
impulses are too strong for
our 43
judgement sometimes .
I 5
thought
you 1
might perhaps know something of it all the while . "
" Well ,
I 1
have heard once or twice , 't is true , that
my 1
family 44
had seen better days afore
they 44
came to
Blackmoor 4
.
But
I 1
took no notice o ' t , thinking it to mean that
we 44
had once kept two horses where
we 44
now keep only one .
I 1
've got a wold silver spoon , and a wold graven seal at
home 45
, too ; but , Lord , what 's a spoon and seal ?
... And to think that
I 1
and these noble
d'Urbervilles 30
were one flesh all the time .
'T was said that
my 1
gr ' t-granfer 46
had secrets , and did n't care to talk of where
he 46
came from ... And where do
we 47
raise
our 47
smoke , now ,
parson 5
, if
I 1
may make so bold ;
I 1
mean , where do
we 47
d'Urbervilles 30
live ? "
"
You 30
do n't live anywhere .
You 30
are extinct -- as
a
county 49
family 48
. "
" That 's bad . "
" Yes -- what the mendacious family chronicles call extinct in the male line -- that is , gone down -- gone under . "
" Then where do
we 47
lie ? "
" At
Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill 50
: rows and rows of
you 30
in
your 30
vaults , with
your 30
effigies under Purbeck-marble canopies . "
" And where be
our 47
family mansions and estates 51
? "
"
You 30
have n't any . "
" Oh ?
No lands 84
neither ? "
" None ; though
you 30
once had 'em in abundance , as
I 5
said , for
you 1
family 30
consisted of numerous branches .
In
this county 52
there was
a seat of yours 53
at
Kingsbere 50
, and another at
Sherton 54
, and another in
Millpond 55
, and another at
Lullstead 56
, and another at
Wellbridge 57
. "
" And shall
we 47
ever come into
our 47
own again ? "
" Ah -- that
I 5
ca n't tell ! "
" And what had
I 1
better do about it ,
sir 5
? "
asked
Durbeyfield 1
, after a pause .
" Oh -- nothing , nothing ; except chasten
yourself 1
with the thought of ' how are the mighty fallen . '
It is a fact of some interest to
the local historian 58
and
genealogist 59
, nothing more .
There are
several families 61
among
the cottagers of
this county 52
of almost equal lustre 60
.
Good night . "
" But
you 5
'll turn back and have a quart of beer wi '
me 1
on the strength o ' t ,
Pa ' son Tringham 5
?
There 's a very pretty brew in tap at
The Pure Drop 62
-- though , to be sure , not so good as at
Rolliver 's 63
. "
" No , thank
you 1
-- not this evening ,
Durbeyfield 1
.
You 1
've had enough already . "
Concluding thus ,
the parson 5
rode on
his 5
way , with doubts as to
his 5
discretion in retailing this curious bit of lore .
When
he 5
was gone ,
Durbeyfield 1
walked a few steps in a profound reverie , and then sat down upon the grassy bank by
the roadside 64
, depositing
his 1
basket before
him 1
.
In a few minutes
a youth 65
appeared in the distance , walking in the same direction as that which had been pursued by
Durbeyfield 1
.
The latter , on seeing
him 65
, held up
his 1
hand , and
the lad 65
quickened
his 65
pace and came near .
"
Boy 65
, take up that basket !
I 1
want
' ee 65
to go on an errand for
me 1
. "
The lath-like stripling 65
frowned .
" Who be
you 1
, then ,
John Durbeyfield 1
, to order
me 65
about and call
me 65
'
boy 66
' ?
You 1
know
my 65
name as well as
I 65
know yours ! "
" Do
you 65
, do
you 65
?
That 's the secret -- that 's the secret !
Now obey
my 1
orders , and take the message
I 1
'm going to charge
' ee 65
wi ' ... Well ,
Fred 65
,
I 1
do n't mind telling
you 65
that the secret is that
I 1
'm
one of a noble race 91
-- it has been just found out by
me 1
this present afternoon , P.M. " And as
he 1
made the announcement ,
Durbeyfield 1
, declining from
his 1
sitting position , luxuriously stretched
himself 1
out upon the bank among the daisies .
The lad 65
stood before
Durbeyfield 1
, and contemplated
his 1
length from crown to toe .
"
Sir John d'Urberville 1
-- that 's who
I 1
am , " continued
the prostrate man 1
.
" That is if
knights 67
were
baronets 68
-- which
they 67
be .
'T is recorded in history all about
me 1
.
Dost know of such a place ,
lad 65
, as
Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill 50
? "
" Ees .
I 65
've been
there 50
to
Greenhill Fair 69
. "
" Well , under
the church of
that city 50
70
there lie -- " " 'T is n't
a city 71
,
the place 50
I 65
mean ; leastwise ' twaddn ' when
I 65
was
there 50
--
't 50
was
a little one-eyed , blinking sort o ' place 92
. "
" Never
you 65
mind
the place 72
,
boy 65
, that 's not the question before
us 73
.
Under
the church of
that there parish 75
74
lie
my 1
ancestors 77
--
hundreds of
'em 77
76
-- in coats of mail and jewels , in gr ' t lead coffins weighing tons and tons .
There 's
not a man in
the county o ' South-Wessex 52
78
that 's got
grander and nobler skillentons in
his 78
family 80
79
than I. " " Oh ? "
" Now take up that basket , and goo on to
Marlott 3
, and when
you 65
've come to
The Pure Drop Inn 62
, tell
'em 82
to send a horse and carriage to
me 1
immed ' ately , to carry
me 1
hwome 45
.
And in the bottom o '
the carriage 81
they 82
be to put a noggin o ' rum in a small bottle , and chalk it up to
my 1
account .
And when
you 65
've done that goo on to
my 1
house 45
with the basket , and tell
my 1
wife 83
to put away that washing , because
she 83
need n't finish it , and wait till
I 1
come
hwome 45
, as
I 1
've news to tell
her 83
. "
As
the lad 65
stood in a dubious attitude ,
Durbeyfield 1
put
his 1
hand in
his 1
pocket , and produced a shilling , one of the chronically few that
he 1
possessed .
" Here 's for
your 65
labour ,
lad 65
. "
This made a difference in
the young man 65
's estimate of the position .