New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-20

2 of .his books was well known In the country his
| real name being slightly different. He is dead
now That fellow Derriman-Festus Derrfman.
| the Yecmanry officer in THE Trumpet Major, Is
| done TO the life. When I had finished gave the
! book TO my husband-"Here. read that" | said
| and when he had finished looked al each other
| and said WAS there ever such?" and laughed ana
| laughed and read It again. You see. We knew the
| man well and there he was in the book Ike
| DhotoCra oh Show him? Bless you, he was
| that thick-skulled he would have taken It for
| somebody else and told you he thought he mad
! met that chap somewhere. He's knocking about
| now living from hand TO mouth, and sometimes
that far
| estimate given to Hardy's work. The folk here
about take him calmly enough. Dear me, you
| give me quite an interest in him. must get the
rest Of his books; and won't look at tuat man
when l him next"
THE next day VIC were invited into by
| genial worthy with n brilliant complexion and
| black dog Hardy the poet? Yes. often sees 'en
| goen' alarng in a voine noble study, with is cad
I down an a lot o. books under is orm. II never
ave nobody with EN- They tells is books
wonderful deep but I amt read EN-. not l.
don't get time readen nothen but the labels on
| the parcels an the names Of the public houses
I'VE left him at Bere Regis-the Kinssbere
where the D'Urbervilles once held sway. mere
half dead townlet could see while walking
| toward the path which secludes the church from
the street Then we arrived under the churchyard
wall where the Durbeyheds were turned out with
their furniture to shift for themselves. We had
taken a photograph of the church and were ad-
mirng the beautiful windows from the outside
when a pleasant-iaced gentleman or ABOUT MY
passed.
would you like TO 20 In? he asked IF you
come little way. I'll give you the key As We
walked the presence Of strangers sent his thoughts
into the worn path Of reminiscence. -,
~ was showing a gentleman through the
Cd viii * |
he took notes continually ! found afterward II
sent me copy. lie had got hold Of the history Of
a county family who lived here once. and later
took the key and entered the church beneath
which lay the ski ie OF John Puroeyntd
Durbeyneld chanting in rapt monotone the gores
There's a man in the county Of South wes
that's got grander and nobler skillentons in
Irfe grelap and NV folk Wing there in SKIES
as any recorded in history Memorial Inscriptions
almost unreadable in the gloom. showed dimy on
ing conjecture as to the locality OF the DCrberville
innocent. large-eyed. doomed-haunted even TO
we had to cross five miles OF Egdon Heath to
reach the nearest station The aspect on either
staring vacantly down AS If helpless to solve the
Of rank TR'h scws and Waste
rarely evidence Of human occupation. Here
ena toe show hs Of Outer Fh The
sight was suggestive OF Wildeve and Dlggory
Venn and the game Of dice played on Egdon by
the light OF glow worms; on seat in the station
sal a solitary man. with strengthened face, OF
about sixty years establishment. smoking the pipe
Of companionship.
Yes. he said as passed the state OF weather
with him its the moon Is wanted round here. IT'S
a naked starven' PLACE. an don't what use
il be al ar don't. What be the vally OF ancient
British bones and Roman coins In this year Of
Queen Rex? A Teller carnt live longer on
nothen' in n old PLACE than young 'un. ! reckon
oh the written chap he pursued in response
to tentative ausion. I've read some OF his
They It's Eift. Seems It's
lust writen-just sitten' down an written. an not
dozen nothen az arl. What do e do ask ee
Here be ! dozen more proper work than Hardy
ever did. an they don't tark about | an say
hThere's a great chap" Ike they do about e.. 4"
II IS said that the world IL In sense Indebted
10 Mrs Hardy for her husbands novels. in that
she urged him 20 forsake architecture for litera
ture a. a profession. When he had written his
first novel, desperate Remedies she copied out
the entire work from his MS. and sent II 10 the
publisher. As part OF her work she keeps herself
posted IN the literature OF the day. and her hus-
band constantly draws from her knowledge