Chapter 17 Farmer Boldwood begins to hope

When Troy did not return，Bathsheba felt neither happiness nor sadness. She had no hope for the fu-ture. She was sure that one day he would return，and spend the rest of her money. Then they would have to sell the farm. She could do nothing to prevent it.

One Saturday at Casterbridge market，a stranger came up to her. ‘I must tell you，ma'am，’he said，‘your husband is dead. ’

‘No，it can't be true！’gasped Bathsheba. Darkness came over her eyes，and she fell. But not to the ground. Boldwood，who had been standing¹ in a corner watching her，ran forward to catch her.

‘Tell me more，’he said to the stranger，as he held the unconscious girl gently in his arms.

‘The police found her husband's clothes on the beach. He must have been swimming，and drowned off the Budmouth coast. ’

There was a strange excitement in Boldwood's face，but he said nothing. He carried her to a private room at the hotel，where she could rest until she felt well enough to ride home.

When she arrived home，still feeling weak and confused，Liddy had already heard the news. ‘Shall we get some black clothes made for you，ma'am？’said the maid，hesitating a little.

‘No，Liddy. It isn't necessary. You see，I think he may still be alive. I feel—I think I'm sure he's alive！’

But the following Monday Troy's death was reported in the local newspaper. A witness had seen him in deep water，shouting and waving for help. And when his clothes and his watch，found on the beach，were delivered to the farmhouse，Bathsheba began to doubt that he was alive. She opened the back of his watch case and took out the curl² of golden hair.

‘He was Fanny's and she was his，’she said to herself. ‘They should be together. I mean nothing to either of them. Why should I keep her hair？’She held the curl over the fire. ‘No，I won't burn it，I'll keep it in memory of her，poor thing！’

Through the autumn and winter Bathsheba's life was more peaceful She no longer took such an interest in the farm，and very sensibly³ appointed Gabriel Oak⁴ her farm manager. He had already been doing the job unofficially，and now would be paid for it. At last his good qualities were being recognized. Gabriel's luck had certainly changed. Boldwood could not concentrate on farming these days either. His wheat and hay⁵ had all been so damaged by the rain that it was worthless⁶. Weatherbury people were shocked by the changes they had no-ticed recently in Farmer Boldwood. Soon he himself realized that something must be done，and arranged for Gabriel to manage his farm too. So Gabriel was responsible for both the important farms in the area，while their owners sat alone in their lonely farmhouses⁷.

After a time Boldwood started to hope that one day，if Bathsheba remarried at all，she would marry him. He tried to maintain⁸ a friendly，businesslike relationship with her，keeping his love for her out of sight，until the right moment came to propose⁹ again. He had no idea how long he would have to wait to marry her，but he was prepared to wait for the rest of his life.

The right moment did not come until the following summer when most of the Weatherbury people attended the great sheep fair at. Greenhill. Gabriel was there with Bathsheba's and Boldwood's sheep，and so were both his employers¹⁰. This year a travelling circus put up its tent and offered the public a horse-riding show. Most of Bathsheba's farm workers were already in the tent，when Bathsheba herself arrived to see the show. At the back of the tent，behind a curtain，were the circus riders，and one of them，pulling on his boots，was Sergeant¹¹ Troy.

After being rescued，Troy had decided¹² to stay on the ship and work as a sailor，but he was not happy with this travelling life，and finally returned to England. He hesitated to go back to Bathsheba and a comfortable life on the farm. Perhaps Bathsheba would fail at farming and then he would be respon-sible for her. And anyway，perhaps she would not welcome him back. For the moment he was working as actor and horse-rider with the circus. So it was with no plans for the future that Troy found himself at Greenhill fair，dangerously close to Weatherbury.

When he looked through a hole in the curtain to see the audience，he was horrified¹³ to see his wife. She looked more beautiful than he remembered. Perhaps she would laugh at him，a nobleman's son，working in a circus！As he rode into the tent，he was careful to keep his face away from her，and remain wrapped in his cloak¹⁴. She did not seem to recognize him.

When the show was over，Troy went out into the darkness. In the large tent where meals and drinks were being served，he saw Bathsheba talking to a man. Was she forgetting her husband so soon？thought Troy angrily. He decided to listen to their conversation，and knelt¹⁵ down outside the tent，making a little hole with his knife in the heavy cotton so that he could see the two people inside.

She was drinking a cup of tea，which Boldwood had just brought her. Troy watched her every movement. She was as handsome as ever，and she belonged to him. After a few moments Troy got up and walked slowly from the tent. He was considering what to do next.

Meanwhile Boldwood had offered to ride back to Weather-bury with Bathsheba，as it was getting late，and she accepted. Her pity for the man she had hurt so deeply made her behave more kindly¹⁶ towards him than was perhaps sensible¹⁷. Her kind-ness made poor Boldwood dream of their future marriage，and suddenly，unable to stop himself，he said，‘Mrs Troy，will you marry again some day？’

‘You forget that my husband's death has never been proved，so I may not really be a widow，’she said，confused. ‘I've a feeling he's alive，and I'm not thinking of marrying anyone else. ’

‘Do you know，Bathsheba，that according to the lawyers，you can remarry seven years after your husband's supposed death，that is，six years from now？Could you—promise to marry me then？’

‘I don't know. Six years is too far away. I'm bitterly sorry I behaved so stupidly towards you，but—I can promise I'll never marry another man while you want me to be your wife，but—’

‘You could put right the mistake you made by promising¹⁸ to be my wife in six years’time！’There was wild hope in his eyes.

‘Oh，what shall I do？I don't love you，but if I can give you happiness by just promising，then I will—consider—and promise—soon. Shall we say，by Christmas？’

‘You'll promise at Christmas. Well，I'll say no more. ’

As Christmas came nearer，Bathsheba became more anxious，and one day she confessed¹⁹ her difficulty to Gabriel.

‘The saddest reason of all for agreeing to his proposal，’she said，‘is that if I don't，I'm afraid he'll go mad. His feelings are so extreme. I don't say that because I'm vain，but I believe I hold that man's future in my hands. Oh Gabriel，it's a terrible worry！’

‘Then why don't you promise，ma'am？I don't think people would think it wrong. The only thing that makes it wrong in my view is that you don't love him. ’

‘That is my punishment，Gabriel，for playing that foolish trick with the valentine on him. ’Gabriel had given her a reasonable，sensible answer，as she knew he would，but she felt annoyed with his cool advice. Not once had he spoken of his love for her，or said that he could wait for her too. She would have refused him of course，but at least it would have shown that he still admired her.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 curl   

n.(一绺)鬈发；卷曲；vt.卷曲；vi.卷曲；缭绕

参考例句：

• She put her hair in rollers to make it curl.她用卷发夹子把头发弄鬈曲。
• Does her hair curl naturally?她的头发是天然鬈曲的吗？

3 sensibly   

adv.明智地；理智地；能感觉得出地；切合实际地

参考例句：

• There's a lot to be said for eating sensibly. 饮食合理的好处不胜枚举。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They sensibly invested their prize money rather than spending it. 他们明智地把奖金用于投资而不是花掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

5 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

6 worthless   

adj.无价值的，无用的，可鄙的

参考例句：

• Don't read worthless books.不要读没有用的书。
• He was worthless as a painter.他作为画家一事无成。

7 farmhouses   

n.农舍，农场的主要住房( farmhouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Then perhaps she is staying at one of cottages or farmhouses? 那么也许她现在住在某个农舍或哪个农场的房子里吧？ 来自辞典例句
• The countryside was sprinkled with farmhouses. 乡间到处可见农家的房舍。 来自辞典例句

8 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。

9 propose   

v.提出，建议；提名，推荐

参考例句：

• Did he propose marriage to you?他向你求婚了吗？
• I propose resting for an hour.我建议休息一小时。

10 employers   

雇主( employer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• The onus is on employers to follow health and safety laws. 雇主有义务遵行健康安全法。

11 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

12 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。

13 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

14 cloak   

n.斗蓬，披风，掩饰，幌子；vt.掩盖，掩饰

参考例句：

• The snow covered up the fields with a white cloak.积雪给田野盖上了一件白色的外衣。
• She threw a heavy woollen cloak over her shoulders.她把一件厚重的羊毛斗篷披在肩上。

15 knelt   

v.跪( kneel的过去式和过去分词 )；(kneel的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• They knelt down and prayed. 他们跪下来祷告。
• She knelt in supplication. 她跪地祷求。

16 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

17 sensible   

adj.可察觉的，意识到的，实用的；n.可感知物

参考例句：

• Are you sensible of the dangers of your position? 你觉察到你处境中的危险了吗？
• He was sensible enough to mind his own business.他颇有见识，不去管闲事。

18 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

19 confessed   

adj. 众所周知的，公认的 动词confess的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She confessed to the murder. 她供认犯了谋杀罪。
• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned. 他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。