nce felt a
pitying warmth which had been almost chilled out of him by reflection,
was, when now qualified with a slight inaccessibility and a more matured
beauty, the very being to make him satisfied with life. Day after day
proved to him, by her silence, that it was no use to think of bringing
her round by holding aloof; so he gave in, and called upon her again,
Elizabeth-Jane being absent.

He crossed the room to her with a heavy tread of some awkwardness, his
strong, warm gaze upon her--like the sun beside the moon in comparison
with Farfrae's modest look--and with something of a hail-fellow bearing,
as, indeed, was not unnatural. But she seemed so transubstantiated
by her change of position, and held out her hand to him in such cool
friendship, that he became deferential, and sat down with a perceptible
loss of power. He understood but little of fashion in dress, yet enough
to feel himself inadequate in appearance beside her whom he had hitherto
been dreaming of as almost his property. She said something very polite
about his being good enough to call. This caused him to recover balance.
He looked her oddly in the face, losing his awe.

"Why, of course I have called, Lucetta," he said. "What does that
nonsense mean? You know I couldn't have helped myself if I had
wished--that is, if I had any kindness at all. I've called to say that
I am ready, as soon as custom will permit, to give you my name in return
for your devotion and what you lost by it in thinking too little of
yourself and too much of me; to say that you can fix the day or month,
with my full consent, whenever in your opinion it would be seemly: you
know more of these things than I."

"It is full early yet," she said evasively.

"Yes, yes; I suppose it is. But you know, Lucetta, I felt directly my
poor ill-used Susan died, and when I could not bear the idea of marrying
again, that after what had happened between us it was my duty not to let
any unnecessary delay occur before putting things to rights. Still, I
wouldn't call in a hurry, because--well, you can guess how this money
you've come into made me feel." His voice slowly fell; he was conscious
that in this room his accents and manner wore a roughness not observable
in the street. He looked about the room at the novel hangings and
ingenious furniture with which she had surrounded herself.

"Upon my life I didn't know such furniture as this could be bought in
Casterbridge," he said.

"Nor can it