Thomas Hardy's Dorset by Robert Thurston Hopkins
Robert Thurston Hopkins, E. Harries
eBook
(HardPress, Aug. 27, 2013)
To the traveller who takes an interest in the place he visits, Dorset will prove one of the most highly attractive counties in the kingdom. To the book-lover it is a land of grand adventure, for here is the centre of the Hardy Country, the home of the Wessex Novels. It is in Dorset that ancient superstitions and curious old customs yet linger, and strange beliefs from ages long ago still survive. It is good to find that the kindly hospitality, the shrewd wisdom and dry wit, for which the peasantry in Thomas Hardy's novels are famous, have not been weakened by foolish folk who seek to be "up to date." Old drinks and dishes that represent those of our forefathers, and the mellow sound of the speech that was so dear to Raleigh and Drake, are things that are now giving way to the new order of life, alas! but they are dying hard, as behoves things which are immemorial and sacramental. The rustics are perhaps not quite so witty as they are in Hardy's The Return of the Native and other novels, but they possess the robust forms and simple manners of a fine old agricultural people, while they show their spirit by the proverb, "I will not want when I have, nor, by Gor, when I ha'n't, too!"Heavy of gait, stolid of mien, and of indomitable courage, the true Wessex man is a staunch friend and a very mild enemy. He is a genial fellow and, like Danton, seems to find no use for hate. He knows that all things done in hate have to be done over again. Imperturbable to the last ditch, he is rarely shaken into any exclamation of surprise or wrath. When he is, "Dang-my-ole-wig!" "Dallee!" with a strong accent on the "ee," or "Aw! dallybuttons!" are the kind of mild swear-words one hears. But when he gets into the towns he forgets these strange phrases and his dialect becomes less broad.Heavy and stolid the Dorset rustic may be, though there is no reason to suppose that he is slower than any other rustic, but one is inclined to think that the "stupidity" of the countryman covers a deep, if only half-realised, philosophy. Nevertheless we must admit that Hodge often wins through in his slow way. There is a good deal of humour in the Dorset rustic, but perhaps most of his wit is unconscious. That reminds me of the story of a Dorset crier who kept the officials of the Town Hall waiting for two hours on a certain morning. They were about to open the proceedings without him when a boy rushed in and handed the Mayor a message. He read the message and seemed deeply affected. Then he announced:"I have just received a message from our crier, saying, 'Wife's mother passed away last night. Will not be able to cry to-day.'"CONTENTSDORSET FOLK AND DORSET WAYSBARFORD ST MARTIN TO TISBURY AND SHAFTESBURYTHE VALE OF BLACKMOORBLANDFORD TO DORCHESTERDORCHESTERA LITERARY NOTE: THOMAS HARDY AND WILLIAM BARNESBERE REGIS AND THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF TURBERVILLEROUND AND ABOUT WEYMOUTHPOOLESWANAGE AND CORFE CASTLEMY ADVENTURE WITH A MERRY ROGUETHE DEVON AND DORSET BORDERLANDRAMBLES AROUND BRIDPORTROUND ABOUT BEAMINSTERA GLOSSARY OF WEST-COUNTRY PROVINCIALISMSILLUSTRATIONSBirthplace of Thomas HardyStocks at Tollard RoyalThe Green Dragon at Barford St MartinThe Giant, Cerne AbbasBingham's MelcombeHurdle-making at Bere RegisWoolbridge HouseCorfe Castle, 1865The Famous Tillywhim Caves, 1860Corfe Castle, 1860The Lonely SingerThe River Buddle, Lyme RegisThe Master Smith of Lyme RegisDrake Memorial at Musbury