Chapter 16 Sergeant Troy leaves

When Bathsheba ran out of the house the previous night，Troy first replaced the coffin¹ lid，then went upstairs to lie on his bed and wait miserably² for the morning.

The day before，on Monday，he had waited for Fanny，as arranged，on the bridge just outside Casterbridge，for over an hour. He had Bathsheba's twenty pounds and seven pounds of his own to give Fanny. When she did not come，he became angry，remembering the last time she had failed to arrive，on her wedding day. In fact she was at that moment being put in her coffin at the workhouse，but he did not know that. He rode straight to the races at Budmouth and stayed there all afternoon. But he was still thinking of Fanny，and he did not risk any money on the horses. Only on his way home did he suddenly realize that illness could have prevented her from meeting him，and only when he entered the farmhouse³ that evening did he discover that she was dead.

On Tuesday morning Troy got up and，without even thinking about Bathsheba，went straight to the churchyard to find the position of Fanny's grave⁴. He continued on foot to Casterbridge to order the best gravestone available for twenty-seven pounds，which was all the money he had. Having ar-ranged for it to be put on the grave that afternoon，he returned to Weatherbury in the evening，with a basket of flowering plants. The new gravestone was already in place，and he worked solidly⁵ for several hours in the churchyard，putting the plants carefully into the soft earth of her grave. When it start- ed raining，however，he decided⁶ to spend the rest of the night in the shelter⁷ of the church，and finish his planting in the morning.

The rain that night was unusually heavy，and water began to pour from a broken pipe on the church roof straight on to Fanny's grave. As the earth there had only recently been dug，the grave became a kind of muddy⁸ pool. Soon the plants were floating on top of the grave，and then were washed away in the stream of water flowing through the churchyard.

When Troy woke up，stiff and still tired，he went out of the church to finish work on the grave. The rain had stopped，and the sun was shining through the red and gold autumn leaves. The air was warm and clear. As Troy walked along the path，he noticed it was very muddy，and covered with plants. Surely⁹ these could not be the ones he had planted？He turned the corner and saw the damage the heavy rain had done.

The new gravestone was stained¹⁰ with mud，and there was a shallow¹¹ hole in the grave，where the water had poured in. Nearly all the plants had been washed out of the grave.

This strange accident had a worse effect on Troy than any of his troubles，worse even than Fanny's death. He had tried to show his love for her，knowing that he had failed to do so when she was alive. Planting the flowers was also a way of softening¹² his feelings of sadness and guilt¹³ at her death. And now his work had been destroyed！He was too depressed¹⁴ to start work on the grave again. He left it as it was，and went silently¹⁵ out of the churchyard A minute later he had left the village.

Meanwhile Bathsheba had spent a day and a night as a willing¹⁶ prisoner¹⁷ in a small bedroom in her house. Except when Liddy brought her food or messages，she kept the bedroom door locked so that her husband could not come in Liddy knew there was trouble between husband and wife，but did not know the reason. On Wednesday morning she brought breakfast up to Bathsheba.

‘What heavy rain we had in the night，ma'am！’she said.

‘Yes，and there was a strange noise from the churchyard. ’

‘Gabriel thinks it was water from a broken pipe on the church roof，and he's gone there to see. Are you going to the churchyard，ma'am，to look at Fanny's grave？’

‘Did Mr Troy come in last night？’Bathsheba asked anxiously.

‘No，ma'am，he didn't. And Laban Tall says he saw Mr Troy walking out of the village towards Budmouth，’replied Liddy.

Budmouth，thirteen miles away！At once Bathsheba's heart felt lighter¹⁸. ‘Yes，Liddy，I need some fresh air. I'll go to see Fanny's grave，’she said，and after breakfast she walked almost cheerfully¹⁹ to the churchyard.

She saw the hole in the grave and the expensive new grave-stone，but did not think it could be Fanny's. She looked round for a plain grave. Then she noticed Gabriel reading the words on the gravestone，and her eyes followed his：

This stone was put up by Francis Troy in loving memory

of Fanny Robin，who died on October 9，1866，aged 20

Gabriel looked anxiously at her to see if she was upset，but she remained calm. She asked him to fill in the hole，and have the broken water pipe repaired. Finally，to show she did not hate the woman who had caused her such bitterness，she replanted the flowers herself，and cleaned the muddy grave-stone，so that the words could be read clearly. Then she went home.

Troy，meanwhile，was walking towards the south. He could not decide what to do next. All he knew was that he had to get away from Weatherbury. At the top of a hill he saw the sea，stretching for miles in front of him. Now he felt more cheerful，and decided to swim. So he climbed down the cliffs，undressed on the beach and jumped into the sea. The water was so smooth that he swam confidently out to where it was very deep. Here he was surprised and a little frightened to find that he was being carried further out to sea. He suddenly remembered that the Budmouth coast was famous for the num-ber of swimmers drowned there every year，and he began to be afraid that he would soon be one of them. However strongly he swam，the sea pulled him further away from the coast，and he was already beginning to feel tired and breathless. Just then he saw a small boat moving out to sea，towards a ship. With his right arm he swam，and with his left he waved wildly，shouting as loudly as he could. The sailors saw him at once，and rowed over to rescue him.

1 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

2 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

4 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

5 solidly   

adv.坚固地；牢靠地；团结一致地；整整地

参考例句：

• a large, solidly-built house 建造得坚固的大房子
• The whole class goes solidly against the monitor's suggestion. 全班都反对班长的建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 shelter   

n.掩蔽，掩蔽处，避身处；庇护所，避难所，庇护；vt.庇护，保护，隐匿；vi.躲避

参考例句：

• We took shelter from the rain in a cave.我们在一个山洞里避雨。
• Trees are a shelter from the sun.树木可以遮挡阳光。

8 muddy   

adj.泥泞的，污的，肮脏的；vt.使污浊，使沾上泥污

参考例句：

• The road is very muddy.这条路非常泥泞。
• They passed a muddy track through the forest.他们穿过森林的泥泞小路。

9 surely   

adv.确实地，无疑地；必定地，一定地

参考例句：

• It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
• Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。

10 stained   

adj.污染的，玷污的

参考例句：

• My dress was stained. 我的连衣裙弄上了污渍。
• The doors are then stained and varnished. 这些门还要染色涂清漆。

11 shallow   

adj.浅的，肤浅的，浅显易懂的；n.(pl.)浅滩，浅处；v.变浅

参考例句：

• The dish is too shallow to serve soup in.盘子太浅，盛不了汤。
• His analysis was always shallow.他的分析总是很肤浅的。

12 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

13 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

14 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

15 silently   

adv.沉默地，无声地

参考例句：

• She sat in the car,silently fuming at the traffic jam.她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• He didn't shout,he just glared at me silently.他没有喊叫，只是默默地怒视着我。

16 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

17 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

19 cheerfully   

adv.高兴地，愉快地

参考例句：

• The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
• He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。