Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

This is the thread to discuss What the Shepherd Saw, a short story which was collected in A Changed Man and Other Stories.

Janelle will be hosting this read for us, between 16th and 29th June.

**PLEASE ALLOW JANELLE TO COMMENT FIRST! Thanks.

What the Shepherd Saw can be found in

A Changed Man and Other Stories

Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/...

Also online here: https://www.darlynthomas.com/shepherd...

The story was written in Autumn 1881 when Thomas Hardy and his wife, Emma were living in this house in Wimborne, Dorset. He lived here from 1881 to 1883 and also wrote the novel Two on a Tower here.



What the Shepherd Saw was first published in the 1881 Christmas number of the Illustrated London News:

‘What the Shepherd Saw’ was one of six stories in A Changed Man and Other Stories that was printed before international copyright law. The International Copyright Act was passed in 1886. The collection was published in 1913. Here is Thomas Hardy’s introduction to the collection:

‘Prefatory Note:

I reprint in this volume, for what they may be worth, a dozen minor novels that have been published in the periodical press at various dates in the past, in order to render them accessible to readers who desire to have them in the complete series issued by my publishers. For aid in reclaiming some of the narratives I express my thanks to the proprietors and editors of the newspapers and magazines in whose pages they first appeared.--Thomas Hardy. August 1913.’

The subtitle for this story ‘A Tale of Four Moonlight Nights’ and as this suggests it’s divided into four sections, the first three are consecutive and the fourth night is ‘many years’ later.
I’ve divided the story into small chunks where there’s a natural pause in the story.

Reading schedule:

First Night
June16: read to sleeping often till awakened by a smack on the shoulder at three or four in the morning from the crook-stem of the old man. Message 10
June 17: read to All then was silent and empty as before. Message 24
June18: read to The elder shepherd then lay down inside the hut, and the boy went down the hill to the hamlet where he dwelt. Message 35

Second Night
June19: read to in that the moody Duke was labouring under the exaggerated impression which the sight of the meeting in dumb show had conveyed. Message 42
June20: read to though nothing within their boundary had ever been seen by him. Message 49
June21: read to the horse was taken away, and the Duke and Duchess went in. Message 53

Third Night
June22: read to The air is too keen to stand in long. Message 61
June 23: read to and in due course to a public school. Message 68

Fourth Night
June24: read to Now, you go home to bed, Mills, and leave me to manage him.' Message 78
June25: read to the end of the story. Message 85


Unfortunately I couldn’t find any original illustrations for this story.

I look forward to everyone’s comments and I hope you all enjoy the story!

I love the picture of the house Thomas and Emma Hardy lived in while writing this story. It's so fun to think about Hardy maybe sitting at one of the windows while he penned this story, or others.

Thanks also for the cover of the London News, and the info about the copyright laws. Am I right in thinking the lack of international copyright laws when the stories were first published, that meant Hardy could easily use the newspapers and magazines to gather the stories together in 1913? Is that why Hardy is thanking them in the quote you provided?? I find all that fascinating. I can't imagine a world without copyright laws!

I'm very much looking forward to reading this. I'm intrigued by the subtitle. The moonlight nights make it sound mysterious.

Janelle, I enjoy Hardy's short stories, and am looking forward to reading this one too.

Connie wrote: "Janelle, I enjoy Hardy's short stories, and am looking forward to reading this one too."

Thanks Connie, you’re a hard act to follow :)

Bridget wrote: "Am I right in thinking the lack of international copyright laws when the stories were first published, that meant Hardy could easily use the newspapers and magazines to gather the stories together in 1913? Is that why Hardy is thanking them
..."
Bridget, I’m not sure how it works but most short story collections note where they were originally published so there must be some sort of permission required? As for the copyright laws, I assume things could be published without any royalties or payment to the author before the international act. It’s not actually stated anywhere but I think by including the stories in ‘A Changed Man’ meant they were now covered internationally and could no longer be reprinted without permission from or payment to Hardy.

What the Shepherd Saw

First Night
Summary: Part 1

It’s a moonlit night at Christmas and a young shepherd boy is in the shepherds hut parked in a clump of furze looking out over the flock as it is lambing season. To the south in his view is a conspicuous object on the hill known locally as The Devil’s Door, an old Druidical ruin.
The old shepherd arrives after inspecting the flock and asks the boy if he is sleepy. The boy says no so the shepherd leaves to get some sleep after warning the boy to keep his eye out but allowing him a couple of hours sleep as it’s Christmas. This was the boys usual routine anyway, go out check the flock then come back and sleep until woken up in the early hours by the shepherd smacking him on the shoulder.

Definitions:

Furze : Furze, also known as gorse or whin, is a perennial evergreen shrub belonging to the pea family. It forms a much-branched, stunted shrub usually no taller than six feet high. The leaves are very small and in older plants, they form into long needle-like thorns. It is found in rough pastures, heaths and rocky places, preferring a dry soil.

Locations

Marlbury Downs = Marlborough Downs, Wiltshire
Aldbrickham = Reading, Berkshire

Lambing Corner = Towards the upper end of Clatford Bottom in the Marlborough Downs, two miles west of Marlborough and north of the Bristol road. The downs are now arable , and the devils den (devils door or druidical trilithon) will be seen in a field on the left.

Reference for locations: A Hardy Companion by F.B. Pinion

The opening of the story:
The genial Justice of the Peace—now, alas, no more who made himself responsible for the facts of this story, used to begin in the good old-fashioned way with a bright moonlight night and a mysterious figure, an excellent stroke for an opening.

Hardy is setting the stage for a supernatural tale or ghost story by showing some typical motifs that the reader will already be familiar with. The Justice of the Peace is used as a framing narrative for the story, a trusted person telling the tale.

The Devil’s Door

The Devil's Den or Devil's Den is a dolmen burial chamber on Fyfield Hill near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. The chamber is part of a neolithic passage grave on Fyfield Down. Two standing stones, a capstone and two fallen stones are all that remain of what was the entrance to a long mound, described in the 1920s as being around 230 ft long (70 metres). The capstone is believed to weigh 17 tons.The burial chamber was reconstructed in 1921.
(From Wikipedia)



Most dolmen burial chambers date from the late Neolithic 4000-3000BCE.

For more info: https://wiltshireliteraryguide.co.uk/...

The Wheeled Shepherds Hut



A shepherd’s hut was a mobile structure on four iron wheels that could be moved around the field so that the shepherd could stay with his flock during lambing season. He was also on hand to lamb the ewes and protect the flock from predators like foxes and poachers. The shepherd hut offered shelter, warmth, and a base to care for poor or orphaned lambs.

Ref: https://ruralhistoria.com/2023/04/14/...

Shepherds huts are being converted to tiny homes or holiday accommodation these days!

Sorry for the long posts today, there was a lot in that short section!

Over to you, what did you think about the opening?

Please don't apologise Janelle - you've provided us with a treat here thank you! 😁

A couple of present day additions ... the Marlborough Downs lie NW of Marlborough, Wiltshire, and sheep are still to be found there 😊 The "Devil's Den" is situated on the moors, about 2 miles west of Marlborough in Clatford Bottom. For Neolithic specialists, it is a chambered long barrow.

And this bit is me speculating ...

We know that Gabriel Oak was based on an actual shepherd who lived in Puddletown ("Weatherbury") whom Thomas Hardy knew very well. I wonder if he is going to use this same person. And look what I just found. Doesn't this hut (which someone studying them thinks might have been his) look very like the example you found for us Janelle? https://goldhillmuseum.org.uk/was-thi...

Thank you Janelle for all the details about the background of this article. While not much happens in this segment, there are loads of things to pay attention to from the setting and time of year, the lambing hut (so basic yet they have lasted more than a 100 years!), to language and the basic characters. This was grand reading.

Excellent beginning, Janelle. I so enjoyed the link to the Shepard's Huts. Of course, I immediately thought of Gabriel Oak at the first mention of the hut. What fun to use Jean's link to see what may have been the actual hut Thomas Hardy had in mind while writing.

I do love a good ghost story at Christmas, and this one is off to a good start. How lonely it must have been for the young boy to be all alone on that moonlight Christmas night.

I loved the use of the word "furze". Perhaps its a familiar word to people from Dorset and Wiltshire, but it was a new word for me, and I just love it!

Bionic Jean wrote: "Please don't apologise Janelle - you've provided us with a treat here thank you! 😁

A couple of present day additions ... the Marlborough Downs lie NW of Marlborough, Wiltshire, and sheep are still..."

Thanks so much for that, Jean! What a great find :)

Pamela wrote: "Thank you Janelle for all the details about the background of this article. While not much happens in this segment, there are loads of things to pay attention to from the setting and time of year, ..."

Pamela, I really liked the atmospheric setting Hardy sets up. I did look up whether lambing would be happening in winter but apparently some parts of England lambing season can begin as early as November.

Bridget wrote: "Excellent beginning, Janelle. I so enjoyed the link to the Shepard's Huts. Of course, I immediately thought of Gabriel Oak at the first mention of the hut. What fun to use Jean's link to see what m..."

Bridget, I really like ‘furze’ too. I couldn’t find a winter photo (all are when it’s flowering) but I really liked this one:

Bridget wrote: "I loved the use of the word "furze". Perhaps its a familiar word to people from Dorset and Wiltshire, but it was a new word for me"

I'm more familiar with the name Gorse for this plant.

Laurel, Gorse does seem to be the more common name.

First Night
Summary Part 2:

The boy woke around 11pm. He checks out the window on one side and all is quiet. Out the other window he sees a well dressed man walking in front of the trilithon. Then he sees a second person approaching, a woman. The man embraces her but she pulls away.

'But not for this,’ she answered, in offended accents. And then, more good-naturedly, 'I have come, Fred, because you entreated me so! What can have been the object of your writing such a letter?

The boy overhears the conversation that follows. The man (Captain Fred Ogbourne) says he has travelled long to meet her, that he has heard that she (Harriet, the Duchess) is treated badly by her husband, the Duke.
Harriet says the Duke is a good husband and tells Fred he shouldn’t have come. The Duke is away for a couple more days and Fred asks her to meet him again the next night as he holds her hand and wrist.

'Then own two things to me; that you did love me once, and that your husband is unkind to you often enough now to make you think of the time when you cared for me.'
'Yes—I own them both,' she answered faintly. 'But owning such as that tells against me; and I swear the inference is not true.'

After she agrees to meet him again, He releases her and she returns to her home.
Quiet returns.

Shakeforest Towers = Clatford Hall

Located a few miles west of Marlborough on the Southern side of the London-Bristol road. The Devils Den is on the other side.



The Hall dates from the later 16th century with 19th century additions.

The Duchess seems more reluctant about this clandestine meeting than the Captain.

What are your thoughts?

I agree she seems more reluctant. My guess is she came to this meeting out of pity for a friend from her youth, which speaks highly of her character. When she answers Fred's questions about the duke being unkind, I'm not sure if I believe her response. Maybe she speaks the truth when she says "Yes -- I own them both", but then again Fred had hold of her hand and waist, and he was behaving erratically. Maybe she was afraid of Fred in that moment and just told him what he wanted to hear? And she ran away from him when he released her. I'm curious to see if she will show up for the second meeting.

Btw, Janelle, I loved the picture of the sheep in the furze/gorse bush!

That she retains some tender feelings for Fred is obvious, but also obvious is that she is a virtuous woman and will not easily act upon them. Meeting a man in the night when your husband is gone is a foolish risk to take, for exactly the reason that eyes (in this case just a shepherd boy) can see you and you be unaware of having been seen. I'm not sure any explanation would be enough to satisfy a Duke whom she admits is "warm-tempered".

I liked the poetic descriptions in the first day's reading, especially about the Christmas moon:

"The Christmas moon (he would say) was showing her cold face to the upland, the upland reflecting the radiance in frost-sparkles so minute as only to be discernible by an eye near at hand.

In the second day's reading, I wonder about the relationship between the Duchess and Captain Ogbourne. It seems like the Duchess is downplaying her husband's temper, and it would be very dangerous to upset the Duke.

The boy seems to have a lot of responsibility for someone so young. Does he comprehend that he is seeing a secret meeting of possible former sweethearts?

Such a delightful discussion and all of you have hit the high notes. I wondered why the duchess would meet Captain Ogbourne — if more than memories of earlier days. If it was just that, it would be quite easy and safer to meet in her home with witnesses that nothing untoward is happening.

But it is definite that she never considered Ogbourne's passionate response. This is definitely a bad sign and hopefully, she doesn't follow through (although you and I know she will).

What a position for this young shepherd! And I wonder if the two thought of this location logically. Surely they know that lambing does occur at this time of year.

Bridget wrote: "I agree she seems more reluctant. My guess is she came to this meeting out of pity for a friend from her youth, which speaks highly of her character. When she answers Fred's questions about the duk..."

I agree with you Bridget that perhaps the Duchess is just saying what Fred wants to hear. She does seem worried about him to me.

Sara wrote: "That she retains some tender feelings for Fred is obvious, but also obvious is that she is a virtuous woman and will not easily act upon them. Meeting a man in the night when your husband is gone i..."

Agreed, Sara, a foolish risk indeed!

Connie wrote: "I liked the poetic descriptions in the first day's reading, especially about the Christmas moon:

"The Christmas moon (he would say) was showing her cold face to the upland, the upland reflecting t..."

Connie, great point about the boy’s responsibility and also how much he understands what he’s seeing here.

Pamela wrote: "Such a delightful discussion and all of you have hit the high notes. I wondered why the duchess would meet Captain Ogbourne — if more than memories of earlier days. If it was just that, it would be..."

Pamela, I’d imagine they chose the location because it’s a standout monument and easy to find. I think maybe she agreed to the meeting because of something in the letter that worried her.

First Night summary Part 3:

It was still for only a moment as a third figure appeared from behind the trilithon. A horseman. It was clear he had witnessed the meeting but unable to hear the conversation so they would’ve appeared to him as a lovers. (It would be years later that the boy was old enough to realise this.)

The third individual stood still for a moment, as if deep in meditation.

The man stood for a while looking at the ground then left in a different direction from the previous two figures and soon a horse could be heard on the highway.
The boy remained at the window staring at the Devils Den until he was awakened from his reverie by the shepherd hitting him in the back.
The shepherd complains about the boy (we hear his name for the first time, Bill Mills) letting the fire go out. He then goes out to check on the ewes and again Bill is in trouble as a couple of the sheep are at risk. The shepherd sends him off telling him to return at breakfast time.

So it’s the end of the third night.

Thoughts on who the horseman is?

Ah, Janelle...I thought the sound of the horse was the last man leaving (a sign of his standing that he had a horse and I also gathered the highway would lead away from the Duke's home). Now I have to ponder in a new direction and consider a new player in the drama.

The boy being chastised about the sheep prevents him from any chatty conversation which might have resulted in his telling the older shepherd what he has seen.

I wondered if the horseman was one of the Duke's henchman who was tasked with keeping an eye on the Duchess while the Duke was away, and reporting back to him. It could also be the Duke himself on his way home who stopped when he saw the two figures on the hill, lit up by the bright Christmas moon.

I also assumed the horseman was riding away on his horse and like Sara, I will now have to rethink this.

I felt a little empathy with the old shepherd when he chastised Bill for not paying attention to the lambs. I’ve said a similar thing to my kids, grumbling about how they didn’t do a chore correctly and how I was going to have to fix it. But then, I also understand Bill is young, and it’s maybe too much responsibility for him, especially at Christmas. And who would be able to look away from the drama of the captain and the duchess having a conversation? Not me!

I think we are in agreement about the old shepherd and the dressing down he game the boy. But I can also understand how he could have forgotten all by the activities by those others. But I have no doubt about who was the horseman and it is a sign that something more will happen as a result of that nights activities.

Such great comments! Well todays summary will tell us who the horseman is.

Second Night Part 1 summary

The second night began much as the first night. The old shepherd left around 10pm and the boy was already thinking of the meeting. He wasn’t sleepy at all this night and also a bit afraid (but more afraid of the old shepherd finding him missing than seeing another secret meeting!)

Just before 11pm the first figure appeared, the horseman from the night before. He circled the trilithon and approached the hut where the moon shone on his face revealing him to be the duke!

Fear seized upon the shepherd-boy: the Duke was Jove himself to the rural population, whom to offend was starvation, homelessness, and death, and whom to look at was to be mentally scathed and dumbfounded.

The boy closed the stove so no light showed and then hid under the straw in the corner.
The Duke, looking for a hiding place, discovered the hut and entered, then went to the window where the boy had just been.

Almost immediately the young man from the previous night appeared and waited in front of the Devils Den. The dukes breathing became heavier and he rushed out of the hut to confront Captain Fred.

'You have dishonoured her, and you shall die the death you deserve!' came to the shepherd's ears, in a harsh, hollow whisper through the boarding of the hut.

The boy went back to the window but he could only see shadows of what took place but he did hear something heavy fall. A few minutes later The Duke appeared dragging the Captain by the collar around behind the trilithon into a hollow of thorns, furze and old badger holes. Then he returned alone to the side of the hut to continue waiting, ‘Now for the second’.

It was plain to the boy that the Duke was now waiting for his wife for a purpose too terrible to imagine.

Well this wasn’t what I was expecting when I first read this story! What a shock for the young boy to be witness to such violence.

What are your thoughts on this turn of events?

I was expecting it to be the Duke and for him to be angry, but this turn of events took me by surprise. The boy now has a moral dilemma to face. The Duke is important beyond just his status, he is the sustenance of the village, but the boy has apparently witnessed a murder and is about to witness something more if the wife shows.

My first thoughts went to the young shepherd boy who is hiding. The Duke has already killed the Captain. What will he do if he discovers the innocent boy, a witness, under the hay?

The Duchess is also is not safe, especially if she shows up for a meeting by the Devil's Door.

It looks like we cross-posted, Sara, but have the same fears for the other people involved.

I agree. I didn't expect the Duke to act yet and unfortunately, there is the turn that although the shepherd boy didn't see exactly what happened, now he is trapped and indeed, if it was murder, the Duke has even less to hold him back from striking out on the young man. And of course, there is the Duchess as well who is in danger.

I didn't think the horseman was the Duke, rather I figured he worked for the Duke. I loved the way Hardy compared the Duke to Jove. I immediately understood the power the Duke has over everyone. This is quite a pickle for the boy and the Duchess.

I think we all have the same fears now. Sara, I like how you point out the boy now has a moral dilemma to face.

Todays section is short.

Second Night Part 2 summary:

The jealous duke waited and waited but his wife didn’t arrive. He checked his watch occasionally and seemed surprised. At about 11.30 he returned behind the trilithon for about 15mins then disappeared, returning soon on horseback. He looked a while for his wife but then rode down in the direction of the manor house.
The young shepherd, was more scared of what lay in the ditch than the old shepherd and followed the Duke down towards the road. The boy felt much more comfortable once he could hear the hoof beats because ‘though in awe of the Duke because of his position, he had no moral repugnance to his companionship on account of the grisly deed he had committed, considering that powerful nobleman to have a right to do what he chose on his own lands.’
The house was a familiar sight to the boy although he had never been beyond its walls.

So the Duchess didn’t go to the meeting. Any thoughts on this short section or what might happen next?