Hand of Ethelberta

Thomas Hardy

Description

Through a fortuitous series of events, brave Ethelberta has risen from a humble family background to marry well, travel the world, and emerge as a popular poet and author. Will she be able to overcome her lower-class roots and make her way in the world when her husband's untimely demise leaves her wholly in charge of her own fortune?

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775454045
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE HAND OF ETHELBERTA
A COMEDY IN CHAPTERS
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THOMAS HARDY
 
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The Hand of Ethelberta A Comedy in Chapters First published in 1876 ISBN 978-1-775454-04-5 © 2011 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Preface 1 - A Street in Anglebury—A Heath Near it—Inside the 'Red Lion' Inn 2 - Christopher's House—Sandbourne Town—Sandbourne Moor 3 - Sandbourne Moor (Continued) 4 - Sandbourne Pier—Road to Wyndway—Ball-Room in Wyndway House 5 - At the Window—The Road Home 6 - The Shore by Wyndway 7 - The Dining-Room of a Town House—The Butler's Pantry 8 - Christopher's Lodgings—The Grounds About Rookington 9 - A Lady's Drawing-Rooms—Ethelberta's Dressing-Room 10 - Lady Petherwin's House 11 - Sandbourne and its Neighbourhood—Some London Streets 12 - Arrowthorne Park and Lodge 13 - The Lodge (Continued)—The Copse Behind 14 - A Turnpike Road 15 - An Inner Room at the Lodge 16 - A Large Public Hall 17 - Ethelberta's House 18 - Near Sandbourne—London Streets—Ethelberta's 19 - Ethelberta's Drawing-Room 20 - The Neighbourhood of the Hall—The Road Home 21 - A Street—Neigh's Rooms—Christopher's Rooms 22 - Ethelberta's House 23 - Ethelberta's House (Continued) 24 - Ethelberta's House (Continued)—The British Museum 25 - The Royal Academy—The Farnfield Estate 26 - Ethelberta's Drawing-Room 27 - Mrs. Belmaine's—Cripplegate Church 28 - Ethelberta's—Mr. Chickerel's Room 29 - Ethelberta's Dressing-Room—Mr. Doncastle's House 30 - On the Housetop 31 - Knollsea—A Lofty Down—A Ruined Castle 32 - A Room in Enckworth Court 33 - The English Channel—Normandy 34 - The Hotel Beau Sejour and Spots Near It 35 - The Hotel (Continued), and the Quay in Front 36 - The House in Town 37 - Knollsea—An Ornamental Villa 38 - Enckworth Court 39 - Knollsea—Melchester 40 - Melchester (Continued) 41 - Workshops—An Inn—The Street 42 - The Doncastles' Residence, and Outside the Same 43 - The Railway—The Sea—The Shore Beyond 44 - Sandbourne—A Lonely Heath—The 'Red Lion'—The Highway 45 - Knollsea—The Road Thence—Enckworth 46 - Enckworth (Continued)—The Anglebury Highway 47 - Enckworth and its Precincts—Melchester Sequel - Anglebury—Enckworth—Sandbourne
Preface
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This somewhat frivolous narrative was produced as an interlude betweenstories of a more sober design, and it was given the sub-title of acomedy to indicate—though not quite accurately—the aim of theperformance. A high degree of probability was not attempted in thearrangement of the incidents, and there was expected of the reader acertain lightness of mood, which should inform him with a good-naturedwillingness to accept the production in the spirit in which it wasoffered. The characters themselves, however, were meant to be consistentand human.
On its first appearance the novel suffered, perhaps deservedly, for whatwas involved in these intentions—for its quality of unexpectedness inparticular—that unforgivable sin in the critic's sight—the immediateprecursor of 'Ethelberta' having been a purely rural tale. Moreover, inits choice of medium, and line of perspective, it undertook a delicatetask: to excite interest in a drama—if such a dignified word may be usedin the connection—wherein servants were as important as, or moreimportant than, their masters; wherein the drawing-room was sketched inmany cases from the point of view of the servants' hall. Such a reversalof the social foreground has, perhaps, since grown more welcome, andreaders even of the finer crusted kind may now be disposed to pardon awriter for presenting the sons and daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Chickerel asbeings who come within the scope of a congenial regard.
T. H.
December 1895.
1 - A Street in Anglebury—A Heath Near it—Inside the 'Red Lion' Inn
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Young Mrs. Petherwin stepped from the door of an old and well-appointedinn in a Wessex town to take a country walk. By her look and carriageshe appeared to belong to that gentle order of society which has noworldly sorrow except when its jewellery gets stolen; but, as a fact notgenerally known, her claim to distinction was rather one of brains thanof blood. She was the daughter of a gentleman who lived in a large housenot his own, and began life as a baby christened Ethelberta after aninfant of title who does not come into the story at all, having merelyfurnished Ethelberta's mother with a subject of contemplation. Shebecame teacher in a school, was praised by examiners, admired bygentlemen, not admired by gentlewomen, was touched up withaccomplishments by masters who were coaxed into painstaking by her manygraces, and, entering a mansion as governess to the daughter thereof, wasstealthily married by the son. He, a minor like herself, died from achill caught during the wedding tour, and a few weeks later was followedinto the grave by Sir Ralph Petherwin, his unforgiving father, who hadbequeathed his wealth to his wife absolutely.
These calamities were a sufficient reason to Lady Petherwin for pardoningall concerned. She took by the hand the forlorn Ethelberta—who seemedrather a detached bride than a widow—and finished her education byplacing her for two or three years in a boarding-school at Bonn. Latterlyshe had brought the girl to England to live under her roof as daughterand companion, the condition attached being that Ethelberta was neveropenly to recognize her relations, for reasons which will hereafterappear.
The elegant young lady, as she had a full right to be called if she caredfor the definition, arrested all the local attention when she emergedinto the summer-evening light with that diadem-and-sceptre bearing—manypeople for reasons of heredity discovering such graces only in thosewhose vestibules are lined with ancestral mail, forgetting that a bearmay be taught to dance. While this air of hers lasted, even theinanimate objects in the street appeared to know that she was there; butfrom a way she had of carelessly overthrowing her dignity by versatilemoods, one could not calculate upon its presence to a certainty when shewas round corners or in little lanes which demanded no repression ofanimal spirits.
'Well to be sure!' exclaimed a milkman, regarding her. 'We should freezein our beds if 'twere not for the sun, and, dang me! if she isn't apretty piece. A man could make a meal between them eyes and chin—eh,hostler? Odd nation dang my old sides if he couldn't!'
The speaker, who had been carrying a pair of pails on a yoke, depositedthem upon the edge of the pavement in front of the inn, and straightenedhis back to an excruciating perpendicular. His remarks had beenaddressed to a rickety person, wearing a waistcoat of that preternaturallength from the top to the bottom button which prevails among men whohave to do with horses. He was sweeping straws from the carriage-waybeneath the stone arch that formed a passage to the stables behind.
'Never mind the cursing and swearing, or somebody who's never out ofhearing may clap yer name down in his black book,' said the hostler, alsopausing, and lifting his eyes to the mullioned and transomed windows andmoulded parapet above him—not to study them as features of ancientarchitecture, but just to give as healthful a stretch to the eyes as hisacquaintance had done to his back. 'Michael, a old man like you ought tothink about other things, and not be looking two ways at your time oflife. Pouncing upon young flesh like a carrion crow—'tis a vile thingin a old man.'
"Tis; and yet 'tis not, for 'tis a naterel taste,' said the milkman,again surveying Ethelberta, who had now paused upon a bridge in fullview, to look down the river. 'Now, if a poor needy feller like myselfcould only catch her alone when she's dressed up to the nines for somegrand party, and carry her off to some lonely place—sakes, what a pot ofjewels and goold things I warrant he'd find about her! 'Twould pay enfor his trouble.'
'I don't dispute the picter; but 'tis sly and untimely to think suchroguery. Though I've had thoughts like it, 'tis true, about highwomen—Lord forgive me for't.'
'And that figure of fashion standing there is a widow woman, so I hear?'
'Lady—not a penny less than lady. Ay, a thing of twenty-one orthereabouts.'
'A widow lady and twenty-one. 'Tis a backward age for a body who's soforward in her state of life.'
'Well, be that as 'twill, here's my showings for her age. She was aboutthe figure of two or three-and-twenty when a' got off the carriage lastnight, tired out wi' boaming about the country; and nineteen this morningwhen she came downstairs after a sleep round the clock and a clane-washedface: so I thought to myself, twenty-one, I thought.'
'And what's the young woman's name, make so bold, hostler?'
'Ay, and the house were all in a stoor with her and the old woman, andtheir boxes and camp-kettles, that they carry to wash in because hand-basons bain't big enough, and I don't know what all; and t'other folkstopping here were no more than dirt thencefor'ard.'
'I suppose they've come out of some noble city a long way herefrom?'
'And there was her hair up in buckle as if she'd never seen a clay-coldman at all. However, to cut a long story short, all I know besides about'em is that the name upon their luggage is Lady Petherwin, and she's thewidow of a city gentleman, who was a man of valour in the Lord Mayor'sShow.'
'Who's that chap in the gaiters and pack at his back, come out of thedoor but now?' said the milkman, nodding towards a figure of thatdescription who had just emerged from the