CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ever since the old woman told her story in court, Henchard's life began to get quickly worse. Not only was his reputation ruined, his money was nearly almost entirely gone. On the streets, he could no longer look people in the eye. He was too full of shame.

Soon, all of his things were taken from him in order to pay back the people he owed money. He lost everything, even his house. As a result, he moved into the house that his former employee, Jopp, lived in.

Elizabeth made many attempts to communicate with him by letter, but Henchard would not respond. When she went to Jopp's home to find her father, she, again, was refused.

All around town, the barns and granaries that had once belonged to Henchard's business, were now the property of the most successful man in town, Mr Farfrae. The men who began to work for him, were happy with the change in ownership. No longer were they rudely treated or frightened into working hard. Farfrae was a fair man, who rewarded his men for the work they did.

Henchard, meanwhile, had begun to spend time at a bridge just outside of town. This bridge was very popular among the failures of Casterbridge. This was the place where alcoholics, people without jobs, and the poorest of the poor came to spend their afternoons and evenings.

One afternoon, as he stood staring into the water that passed underneath the bridge, a voice addressed Henchard from behind. It was Jopp. Henchard had moved into his home, because he felt the least ashamed around him.

"You know that Farfrae and that woman moved into your house today?" he asked.

"What?" Henchard said, suddenly standing up straight. "They could have moved anywhere in town! Why did they have to choose my home?"

"He's bought most of your furniture, too," Jopp added before walking away.

The news made Henchard very upset, but he did nothing but continue to stare into the water below. About a half-an-hour later, a wagon approached and another voice addressed Henchard. It was Mr Farfrae this time. He got down from the driver's seat and walked up to the unfortunate man on the bridge.

"I hear that you plan to go abroad," he said.

"Yes. It seems you and I have switched places," answered Henchard, "I'm going to America and you're running the town of Casterbridge. You've even moved into my house."

"Look, don't go. You can stay with my wife and me for a while. We'll leave you alone. You'll not feel uncomfortable there. I promise."

"Thank you, but, I can't."

"Well, if you can't agree to that, at least take some of the furniture I bought. I'm sure some of it might mean a lot to you. I'd like to give it back to you."

"For free?" Henchard asked. He could not believe how generous Farfrae was being. He truly was a good man.

"You know, Farfrae. I'm sorry for the way I treated you before. I realize that I was wrong about you." And then he turned back toward the water and said no more. Farfrae got back upon his wagon and continued his way back to town.

A few days later, Elizabeth went to see Henchard, after hearing that he had caught a cold. At first, he refused to see her, but she ignored this and walked up to his room anyway. He demanded that she leave, but she would not listen and immediately began to care for him. Soon, he calmed down and the two became friendly again.

As soon as he was feeling better, Henchard decided to go and offer his services as a hay-binder to Farfrae's company. They hired him right away and he began to travel around the countryside for them, just as he had done so many years before.

After a while, however, he began to be needed more around Casterbridge than elsewhere. Soon he ended up working just outside the house that had once been his own. He did his best not to let it bother him, but it was hard seeing Farfrae come and go through doors that he knew so well. And, of course, there was Lucetta, who, thanks to her newfound money and power, was now even more attractive to him than before.

Naturally, the time came when people began to talk about the possibility of Farfrae becoming Mayor of Casterbridge. When Henchard heard this, his old angry feelings toward the young man began to come back. It was then that he began to say to people, "I've only two more weeks left!" When asked what he meant by that, he answered, "My promise to myself not to drink! I've only two more weeks and then it's over."

(end of section)