{"product_id":"2940012348746","title":"TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES","description":"Contents\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the First:    The Maiden, I-XI\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Second:   Maiden No More, XII-XV\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Third:    The Rally, XVI-XXIV\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Fourth:   The Consequence, XXV-XXXIV\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Fifth:    The Woman Pays, XXXV-XLIV\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Sixth:    The Convert, XLV-LII\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Phase the Seventh:  Fulfilment, LIII-LIX\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhase the First: The Maiden\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking\u003cbr\u003ehomeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining\u003cbr\u003eVale of Blakemore, or Blackmoor.  The pair of legs that carried him\u003cbr\u003ewere rickety, and there was a bias in his gait which inclined him\u003cbr\u003esomewhat to the left of a straight line.  He occasionally gave a\u003cbr\u003esmart nod, as if in confirmation of some opinion, though he was not\u003cbr\u003ethinking of anything in particular.  An empty egg-basket was slung\u003cbr\u003eupon his arm, the nap of his hat was ruffled, a patch being quite\u003cbr\u003eworn away at its brim where his thumb came in taking it off.\u003cbr\u003ePresently he was met by an elderly parson astride on a gray mare,\u003cbr\u003ewho, as he rode, hummed a wandering tune.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Good night t'ee,\" said the man with the basket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Good night, Sir John,\" said the parson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe pedestrian, after another pace or two, halted, and turned round.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Now, sir, begging your pardon; we met last market-day on this road\u003cbr\u003eabout this time, and I said 'Good night,' and you made reply '_Good\u003cbr\u003enight, Sir John_,' as now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I did,\" said the parson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And once before that--near a month ago.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I may have.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Then what might your meaning be in calling me 'Sir John' these\u003cbr\u003edifferent times, when I be plain Jack Durbeyfield, the haggler?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe parson rode a step or two nearer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It was only my whim,\" he said; and, after a moment's hesitation: \"It\u003cbr\u003ewas on account of a discovery I made some little time ago, whilst I\u003cbr\u003ewas hunting up pedigrees for the new county history.  I am Parson\u003cbr\u003eTringham, the antiquary, of Stagfoot Lane.  Don't you really know,\u003cbr\u003eDurbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient\u003cbr\u003eand knightly family of the d'Urbervilles, who derive their descent\u003cbr\u003efrom Sir Pagan d'Urberville, that renowned knight who came from\u003cbr\u003eNormandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey\u003cbr\u003eRoll?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Never heard it before, sir!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well it's true.  Throw up your chin a moment, so that I may catch\u003cbr\u003ethe profile of your face better.  Yes, that's the d'Urberville nose\u003cbr\u003eand chin--a little debased.  Your ancestor was one of the twelve\u003cbr\u003eknights who assisted the Lord of Estremavilla in Normandy in his\u003cbr\u003econquest of Glamorganshire.  Branches of your family held manors over\u003cbr\u003eall this part of England; their names appear in the Pipe Rolls in the\u003cbr\u003etime of King Stephen.  In the reign of King John one of them was rich\u003cbr\u003eenough to give a manor to the Knights Hospitallers; and in Edward the\u003cbr\u003eSecond's time your forefather Brian was summoned to Westminster to\u003cbr\u003eattend the great Council there.  You declined a little in Oliver\u003cbr\u003eCromwell's time, but to no serious extent, and in Charles the\u003cbr\u003eSecond's reign you were made Knights of the Royal Oak for your\u003cbr\u003eloyalty.  Aye, there have been generations of Sir Johns among\u003cbr\u003eyou, and if knighthood were hereditary, like a baronetcy, as it\u003cbr\u003epractically was in old times, when men were knighted from father\u003cbr\u003eto son, you would be Sir John now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ye don't say so!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In short,\" concluded the parson, decisively smacking his leg with\u003cbr\u003ehis switch, \"there's hardly such another family in England.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Daze my eyes, and isn't there?\" said Durbeyfield.  \"And here have I\u003cbr\u003ebeen knocking about, year after year, from pillar to post, as if I\u003cbr\u003ewas no more than the commonest feller in the parish...  And how long\u003cbr\u003ehev this news about me been knowed, Pa'son Tringham?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe clergyman explained that, as far as he was aware, it had quite\u003cbr\u003edied out of knowledge, and could hardly be said to be known at all.\u003cbr\u003eHis own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring\u003cbr\u003ewhen, having been engaged in tracing the vicissitudes of the\u003cbr\u003ed'Urberville family, he had observed Durbeyfield's name on his\u003cbr\u003ewaggon, and had thereupon been led to make inquiries about his\u003cbr\u003efather and grandfather till he had no doubt on the subject.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"At first I resolved not to disturb you with such a useless piece of\u003cbr\u003einformation,\" said he.  \"However, our impulses are too strong for our\u003cbr\u003ejudgement sometimes.  I thought you might perhaps know something of\u003cbr\u003eit all the while.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, I have heard once or twice, 'tis true, that my family had seen\u003cbr\u003ebetter days afore they came to Blackmoor.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152423272688,"sku":"2940012348746","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012348746_p0.jpg?v=1763567757","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012348746","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}