CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The town soon discovered the relationship between the young couple, and both good and bad talk could be heard among the people. Meanwhile, Henchard continued to secretly follow Elizabeth on her walks in order to see how things were progressing with Farfrae.

One day, Elizabeth surprised him at the dinner table by showing him a letter that she had received from a stranger, who did not sign his name.

"This person wants me to meet him near the Roman theater. He says that he had tried to find me before, but that he had been lied to and sent away. What do you think? Should I go?" she asked.

Henchard knew right away that it was Newson. "Yes, you should go," he answered. "I think that I should tell you now. I'm going to leave this town. I want to be alone now in the countryside."

"But what about the shop? Is this because of Farfrae and me?"

"No. I support you being with him, if that's what you want. I don't want the shop anymore. You can run it yourself."

The next evening, Elizabeth walked with Henchard to the edge of town and watched as he continued along the road, far out of sight. He looked, although she did not know it, very much like he had when he first arrived in Casterbridge, so many years before.

Farfrae soon came along and took Elizabeth by the hand.

"So he's gone?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered sadly.

"Well, the friend I told you about is waiting to meet you at my home. Let's go there now."

When they arrived at Farfrae's, the Scotsman opened the front door and let Elizabeth enter first. There, in the living room, sat Newson, the sailor. Very quickly Elizabeth realized the truth. Even if Henchard had been her real father, Newson was the man who raised her when she was young, and her heart reached out to him more than to the other.

Soon father and daughter were comfortable in one another's presence and the sailor then told about how he had been lied to by Henchard a year ago. Elizabeth grew angry and pitied her real father for having believed that she had been dead for so long. He, being a kind man, did not mean to make her angry with Henchard, so he quickly changed the subject.

"When is this wedding happening between you and Farfrae?" he asked.

For the next month, Henchard worked in hay fields all over the countryside. Every day, he thought about Elizabeth and wished that he could once again be with her. The impossibility of it hurt him every minute and he wished he would die.

One day, however, he heard a traveler on the road mention Casterbridge. Henchard immediately ran to him and asked if he had heard about the Mayor getting married.

"Oh, yes! He's not married yet. I believe that the wedding will happen next week on Martin's Day," the man answered and then continued on his way.

For a day and a night, Henchard thought about returning to Casterbridge for the wedding. He could not be sure how his daughter and Farfrae would treat him. In the end, he decided to risk it. He missed her too much, not to go. He left the next morning and arrived in Casterbridge three days later, but not before buying a new suit and a gift for the newly married couple. The gift was a little bird in a cage.

When his carriage entered the town, the church bells began to ring, indicating that the wedding had just finished. Henchard had not planned to attend the actual wedding, because he feared people might be more easily angered by his presence. He was going to attend the party afterward, when people would be friendlier after a few drinks.

He got out of the carriage at the edge of town and waited until dark to go to the Farfrae home. There, he found a large party being held. Inside, people were singing and dancing very happily. He went around back and asked a servant to tell Elizabeth and Donald that an old friend of theirs wished to see them.

Elizabeth soon came through the crowd and, seeing him, said coldly, "Mr Henchard."

"Please, Elizabeth, don't call me that! I know I made big mistakes in the past, but please don't completely forget me!"

"You've done too much to hurt me and my father. How can I forgive you?"

"Yes. You're right," he replied, "I realize now that I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry. Please, go back to your party. I promise never to bother you again."

He then left and Elizabeth never once saw him again.

After a few days, Elizabeth's servant found a birdcage in the back yard. The bird inside was dead from not having anything to eat for days. The servant took the cage to Elizabeth and told her that she remembered that it had belonged to the old worker whom she had briefly spoken to at the wedding party.

Hearing this, Elizabeth began to regret the way she had spoken to Henchard. She then convinced her husband to help her find the old man so that they might once again become friends.

After days of searching the countryside, Elizabeth and Farfrae came across the worker, Whittle, on a quiet roadway.

"Ah! Mr and Mrs Farfrae. He treated my mother well when she was alive. He didn't like me much, but he was good to my mother!"

"Who do you mean?" asked Farfrae.

"Mr Henchard. He's just left us," answered Whittle.

"Do you mean he's dead," asked Elizabeth, with tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, ma'am. I followed him for days, trying to help him. He wouldn't eat anything. Eventually, he became ill and then died. But he gave me this paper a few days before. I can't read though."

Elizabeth took the paper from him. It read:

I, Michael Henchard, wish to be completely forgotten by everyone in this world. Please bury me in an unmarked place in the countryside and then speak to no one about me ever again.

Michael Henchard

Elizabeth did as the letter asked and had Henchard buried near the roadside. And so ended that chapter of her life. She could now go on living in the world, much happier than before. Her father moved to a nearby town that looked out upon the sea. He often came to Casterbridge to visit his daughter and Farfrae. Donald, meanwhile, continued with his business and appeared to be a happier man than ever before.

Elizabeth appreciated her new position in life. And she found it odd that having been so poor and uneducated for so long, she should now live so differently. It changed her view of the world and of life. No longer did she believe that happiness was a just momentary rest from a world of complete sadness.

(end of section)