Forty: Far From The Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy - Caster Bridge Highway

The woman walked on for a considerable time.  Her steps became weak and she strained her eyes to look afar upon the naked road, now indistinct amid the Penumbrae.  At length her onward walk dwindled to the merest totter, and she opened a gate within which was a haystack.  Underneath this she sat down and soon slept.

The woman awoke to find herself in the depths of a moonless night.  A heavy unbroken crust of cloud stretched across the sky; and a distant halo hung over the town of Casterbridge.

"If I could only get there!" the woman said looking at the halo hung over Casterbridge.  "Meet him the day after tomorrow: God help me!  Perhaps I shall be in my grave before then." 

A clock from the far depth of shadows struck the hour one, in small, attenuated tone.  Two lights arose from the remote shade, and grew larger.  A carriage rolled along the road.  It contained some late diners-out. The light from the carriage showed the crouching woman and her face. She stood up again, and looked around. The road was familiar to her.  Soon she approached a mile-stone.  She drew her fingers across its face to feel the marks.

"Three!" she said.

She leaned against the stone, and rested a while.  She stood herself and pursued her walk.  For a lengthy distance she moved bravely, and afterwards she became weak.  A lone hazel copse.  Heaps of white chips strewn upon the leafy ground.  Woodcutters had been fagoting and making hurdles during the day.  Now it was silence: no rustle, no breeze, no clash of twigs to accompany her. She looked over the gate, opened it, and went in.  Close to the entrance stood a row of fagots bound and unbound.

By the aid of Casterbridge aurora she picked up two fagots, of around three to four feet height, and having a fork like the letter Y at one end.[1] She placed one of these forks under each arm as a crutch, tested them, timidly threw her whole weight upon them, and swung herself forward.  She had made herelf a comfortable crutches.

But the crutches could not help her for a long duration.  She was exhausted and each swing forward became fainter.  At last she swayed sideways, and fell.

Here she lay a shapeless sheep for sometime.  The morning wind began to boom fully over the dead leaves.  She desperately turned round and rose upon her knee, and next rose to her feet.  Steadying herself with one crutch, she took a step, then another, then a third, using the crutches now as a walking stick.  Thus she advanced till the beginning of a long railed fence came to view.

The Casterbridge lights were now individually visible.  The bark of a fox, followed by another from another corner.  "The end of these railing is the end of my journey," she thought when the end was in view.  But she could not cover those last few hundred yards, staggered and fell down.

Something was touching her hand; soft and warm touch.  She opened her eyes, and the touch was on her face.  A dog was licking her cheek.

The dog was huge, heavy, and quiet; standing  darkly against the low horizon.  In her reclining position, she looked up at him; when she moved he withdrew one or two steps. As she did not repulse him, he licked her hand again.

A thought moved within her like lightning.  "Perhaps I can make use of him."  She pointed in the direction of Casterbridge, and the dog seemed to misunderstand: he trotted on.  Then finding she could not follow, he came back and whined.

Then she rose to a stooping posture, and, resting her two arms upon the shoulders of the dog, leant firmly thereon, and murmured stimulating words. Though she felt sorry, her voice was cheerful, and the dog slowly moved forward, and she with mincing step, moved forward beside him, half her weight being thrown upon the animal.  Sometimes she sank, as she had sunk from walking erect, from the crutches, from the rails.

The movement of the dog and his companion was very slow.  They reached the brow of the hill, and the Casterbridge lamps lay beneath them like fallen Pleiads as they walk down the incline. Thus the distance covered and goal was achieved.

The dog and his companion were in front of the Casterbridge Union-House.  Masses of ivy grew up, completely covering the walls.  In the middle of the building was a gate, and by the gate a bell-pull formed of a hanging wire.  The woman raised herself as high as possible upon her knees and could just reach the handle.  She moved it and fell forward in a bowed attitude, and her face was upon her bosom.

It was getting on towards six o'clock. Sounds of movements were coming from the inner parts of the building.  A little door in the large one was opened, and a man appeared inside.  He saw the woman at the door, went back, and came again with a light. He went back again and came back with two bony women.  The two women came out, and lifted the prostrate woman and assisted her in through the doorway.  The man then closed the door.

"How did she get here?" said one of the woman.

"Lord knows," said the other woman.

"There's a dog outside," murmured the guest.

"Where's he?" 

"He helped me." 

"I stoned him away," said the man.

They moved forward --- the man in front bearing the light, two bony women next, supporting between them the weak and tired woman.

Thus they entered inside and disappeared.

       END OF THE CHAPTER 

Nots:-

1. According to Hardy, before picking up the fagots she exercised the faculty of Jacquet Droz, a watch maker of the late 18th century.