he county-town, was a dozen or fifteen miles off; and
though in those days, when men were executed for horse-stealing, arson,
and burglary, an assize seldom passed without a hanging, it was not
likely that she could get access to the body of the criminal unaided. And
the fear of her husband's anger made her reluctant to breathe a word of
Trendle's suggestion to him or to anybody about him.

She did nothing for months, and patiently bore her disfigurement as
before. But her woman's nature, craving for renewed love, through the
medium of renewed beauty (she was but twenty-five), was ever stimulating
her to try what, at any rate, could hardly do her any harm. 'What came
by a spell will go by a spell surely,' she would say. Whenever her
imagination pictured the act she shrank in terror from the possibility of
it: then the words of the conjuror, 'It will turn your blood,' were seen
to be capable of a scientific no less than a ghastly interpretation; the
mastering desire returned, and urged her on again.

There was at this time but one county paper, and that her husband only
occasionally borrowed. But old-fashioned days had old-fashioned means,
and news was extensively conveyed by word of mouth from market to market,
or from fair to fair, so that, whenever such an event as an execution was
about to take place, few within a radius of twenty miles were ignorant of
the coming sight; and, so far as Holmstoke was concerned, some
enthusiasts had been known to walk all the way to Casterbridge and back
in one day, solely to witness the spectacle. The next assizes were in
March; and when Gertrude Lodge heard that they had been held, she
inquired stealthily at the inn as to the result, as soon as she could
find opportunity.

She was, however, too late. The time at which the sentences were to be
carried out had arrived, and to make the journey and obtain admission at
such short notice required at least her husband's assistance. She dared
not tell him, for she had found by delicate experiment that these
smouldering village beliefs made him furious if mentioned, partly because
he half entertained them himself. It was therefore necessary to wait for
another opportunity.

Her determination received a fillip from learning that two epileptic
children had attended from this very village of Holmstoke many years
before with beneficial results, though the experiment had been strongly
condemned by the neighbouring clergy. April, May,