And yet a day on which a blighting sorrow may fall upon a man.  For if it be true that Nature at certain moments seems charged with a presentiment of one individual lot must it not also be true that she seems unmindful unconscious of another?  For there is no hour that has not its births of gladness and despair, no morning brightness that does not bring new sickness to desolation as well as new forces to genius and love.  There are so many of us, and our lots are so different, what wonder that Nature’s mood is often in harsh contrast with the great crisis of our lives?  We are children of a large family, and must learn, as such children do, not to expect that our hurts will be made much of—­to be content with little nurture and caressing, and help each other the more.

It was a busy day with Adam, who of late had done almost double work, for he was continuing to act as foreman for Jonathan Burge, until some satisfactory person could be found to supply his place, and Jonathan was slow to find that person.  But he had done the extra work cheerfully, for his hopes were buoyant again about Hetty.  Every time she had seen him since the birthday, she had seemed to make an effort to behave all the more kindly to him, that she might make him understand she had forgiven his silence and coldness during the dance.  He had never mentioned the locket to her again; too happy that she smiled at him—­still happier because he observed in her a more subdued air, something that he interpreted as the growth of womanly tenderness and seriousness.  “Ah!” he thought, again and again, “she’s only seventeen; she’ll be thoughtful enough after a while.  And her aunt allays says how clever she is at the work.  She’ll make a wife as Mother’ll have no occasion to grumble at, after all.”  To be sure, he had only seen her at home twice since the birthday; for one Sunday, when he was intending to go from church to the Hall Farm, Hetty had joined the party of upper servants from the Chase and had gone home with them—­almost as if she were inclined to encourage Mr. Craig.  “She’s takin’ too much likin’ to them folks i’ the house keeper’s room,” Mrs. Poyser remarked.  “For my part, I was never overfond o’ gentlefolks’s servants—­they’re mostly like the fine ladies’ fat dogs, nayther good for barking nor butcher’s meat, but on’y for show.”  And another evening she was gone to Treddleston to buy some things; though, to his great surprise, as he was returning home, he saw her at a distance getting over a stile quite out of the Treddleston road.  But, when he hastened to her, she was very kind, and asked him to go in again when he had taken her to the yard gate.  She had gone a little farther into the fields after coming from Treddleston because she didn’t want to go in, she said:  it was so nice to be out of doors, and her aunt always made such a fuss about it if she wanted to go out.  “Oh, do come in with me!” she said, as he was going to shake hands with her at the gate, and he could not resist that.  So he went in, and Mrs. Poyser was contented with only a slight remark on Hetty’s being later than was expected; while Hetty, who had looked out of spirits when he met her, smiled and talked and waited on them all with unusual promptitude.