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" I may have . "
" Then what might your meaning be in calling me ' Sir John ' these different times , when I be plain Jack Durbeyfield , the haggler ? "
The parson rode a step or two nearer .
" It was only my whim , " he said ; and , after a moment 's hesitation : " It was on account of a discovery I made some little time ago , whilst I was hunting up pedigrees for the new county history .
I am Parson Tringham , the antiquary , of Stagfoot Lane .
Do n't you really know , Durbeyfield , that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles , who derive their descent from Sir Pagan d'Urberville , that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror , as appears by Battle Abbey Roll ? "
" Never heard it before , sir ! "
" Well it 's true .
Throw up your chin a moment , so that I may catch the profile of your face better .
Yes , that 's the d'Urberville nose and chin -- a little debased .
Your ancestor was one of the twelve knights who assisted the Lord of Estremavilla in Normandy in his conquest of Glamorganshire .
Branches of your family held manors over all this part of England ; their names appear in the Pipe Rolls in the time of King Stephen .
In the reign of King John one of them was rich enough to give a manor to the Knights Hospitallers ; and in Edward the Second 's time your forefather Brian was summoned to Westminster to attend the great Council there .
You declined a little in Oliver Cromwell 's time , but to no serious extent , and in Charles the Second 's reign you were made Knights of the Royal Oak for your loyalty .
Aye , there have been generations of Sir Johns among you , and if knighthood were hereditary , like a baronetcy , as it practically was in old times , when men were knighted from father to son , you would be Sir John now . "
" Ye do n't say so ! "
" In short , " concluded the parson , decisively smacking his leg with his switch , " there 's hardly such another family in England . "
" Daze my eyes , and is n't there ? "
said Durbeyfield .
" And here have I been knocking about , year after year , from pillar to post , as if I was no more than the commonest feller in the parish ... And how long hev this news about me been knowed , Pa ' son Tringham ? "
The clergyman explained that , as far as he was aware , it had quite died out of knowledge , and could hardly be said to be known at all .
His own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring when , having been engaged in tracing the vicissitudes of the d'Urberville family , he had observed Durbeyfield 's name on his waggon , and had thereupon been led to make inquiries about his father and grandfather till he had no doubt on the subject .
" At first I resolved not to disturb you with such a useless piece of information , " said he .
" However , our impulses are too strong for our judgement sometimes .
I thought you might perhaps know something of it all the while . "
" Well , I have heard once or twice , 't is true , that my family had seen better days afore they came to Blackmoor .
But I took no notice o ' t , thinking it to mean that we had once kept two horses where we now keep only one .
I 've got a wold silver spoon , and a wold graven seal at home , too ; but , Lord , what 's a spoon and seal ?
... And to think that I and these noble d'Urbervilles were one flesh all the time .
'T was said that my gr ' t-granfer had secrets , and did n't care to talk of where he came from ... And where do we raise our smoke , now , parson , if I may make so bold ; I mean , where do we d'Urbervilles live ? "
" You do n't live anywhere .
You are extinct -- as a county family . "
" That 's bad . "
" Yes -- what the mendacious family chronicles call extinct in the male line -- that is , gone down -- gone under . "
" Then where do we lie ? "
" At Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill : rows and rows of you in your vaults , with your effigies under Purbeck-marble canopies . "
" And where be our family mansions and estates ? "
" You have n't any . "
" Oh ?
No lands neither ? "
" None ; though you once had 'em in abundance , as I said , for you family consisted of numerous branches .
In this county there was a seat of yours at Kingsbere , and another at Sherton , and another in Millpond , and another at Lullstead , and another at Wellbridge . "
" And shall we ever come into our own again ? "
" Ah -- that I ca n't tell ! "
" And what had I better do about it , sir ? "
asked Durbeyfield , after a pause .
" Oh -- nothing , nothing ; except chasten yourself with the thought of ' how are the mighty fallen . '
It is a fact of some interest to the local historian and genealogist , nothing more .
There are several families among the cottagers of this county of almost equal lustre .
Good night . "
" But you 'll turn back and have a quart of beer wi ' me on the strength o ' t , Pa ' son Tringham ?
There 's a very pretty brew in tap at The Pure Drop -- though , to be sure , not so good as at Rolliver 's . "
" No , thank you -- not this evening , Durbeyfield .
You 've had enough already . "
Concluding thus , the parson rode on his way , with doubts as to his discretion in retailing this curious bit of lore .
When he was gone , Durbeyfield walked a few steps in a profound reverie , and then sat down upon the grassy bank by the roadside , depositing his basket before him .
In a few minutes a youth appeared in the distance , walking in the same direction as that which had been pursued by Durbeyfield .
The latter , on seeing him , held up his hand , and the lad quickened his pace and came near .
" Boy , take up that basket !
I want ' ee to go on an errand for me . "
The lath-like stripling frowned .
" Who be you , then , John Durbeyfield , to order me about and call me ' boy ' ?
You know my name as well as I know yours ! "
" Do you , do you ?
That 's the secret -- that 's the secret !
Now obey my orders , and take the message I 'm going to charge ' ee wi ' ... Well , Fred , I do n't mind telling you that the secret is that I 'm one of a noble race -- it has been just found out by me this present afternoon , P.M. " And as he made the announcement , Durbeyfield , declining from his sitting position , ...
The lad stood before Durbeyfield , and contemplated his length from crown to toe .
" Sir John d'Urberville -- that 's who I am , " continued the prostrate man .
" That is if knights were baronets -- which they be .
'T is recorded in history all about me .
Dost know of such a place , lad , as Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill ? "
" Ees .
I 've been there to Greenhill Fair . "
" Well , under the church of that city there lie -- " " 'T is n't a city , the place I mean ; leastwise ' twaddn ' when I was there -- 't was a little one-eyed , blinking sort o ' place . "
" Never you mind the place , boy , that 's not the question before us .
Under the church of that there parish lie my ancestors -- hundreds of 'em -- in coats of mail and jewels , in gr ' t lead coffins weighing tons and tons .
There 's not a man in the county o ' South-Wessex that 's got grander and nobler skillentons in his family than I. " " Oh ? "
" Now take up that basket , and goo on to Marlott , and when you 've come to The Pure Drop Inn , tell 'em to send a horse and carriage to me immed ' ately , to carry me hwome .
And in the bottom o ' the carriage they be to put a noggin o ' rum in a small bottle , and chalk it up to my account .
And when you 've done that goo on to my house with the basket , and tell my wife to put away that washing , because she need n't finish it , and wait till I come hwome , as I 've news to tell her . "
As the lad stood in a dubious attitude , Durbeyfield put his hand in his pocket , and produced a shilling , one of the chronically few that he possessed .
" Here 's for your labour , lad . "
This made a difference in the young man 's estimate of the position .
CHAPTER I THERE IS NO ONE LEFT When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen .
It was true , too .
She had a little thin face and a little thin body , thin light hair and a sour expression .
Her hair was yellow , and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another .
Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself , and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people .
She had not wanted a little girl at all , and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah , who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible .
So when she was a sickly , fretful , ugly little baby she was kept out of the way , and when she became a sickly , fretful , toddling thing she was kept out of the way also .
She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants , and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything , because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying , by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and self...
The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months , and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one .
So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at all .
One frightfully hot morning , when she was about nine years old , she awakened feeling very cross , and she became crosser still when she saw that the servant who stood by her bedside was not her Ayah .
" Why did you come ? " she said to the strange woman .
" I will not let you stay .
Send my Ayah to me . "
The woman looked frightened , but she only stammered that the Ayah could not come and when Mary threw herself into a passion and beat and kicked her , she looked only more frightened and repeated that it was not possible for the Ayah to come to Missie Sahib .
There was something mysterious in the air that morning .
Nothing was done in its regular order and several of the native servants seemed missing , while those whom Mary saw slunk or hurried about with ashy and scared faces .