"TO-MORROW is our grand day, you know. Where shall we go?"
"I have leave from three till nine. Wherever we can get to and come back from in that time. Not ruins, Jude--I don't care for them."
"Well--Wardour Castle. And then we can do Fonthill if we like-- all in the same afternoon."
"Wardour is Gothic ruins--and I hate Gothic!"
"No. Quite otherwise. It is a classic building--Corinthian, I think; with a lot of pictures."
"Ah--that will do. I like the sound of Corinthian. We'll go."
Their conversation had run thus some few weeks later, and next morning they prepared to start. Every detail of the outing was a facet reflecting a sparkle to Jude, and he did not venture to meditate on the life of inconsistency he was leading. His Sue's conduct was one lovely conundrum to him; he could say no more.
There duly came the charm of calling at the college door for her; her emergence in a nunlike simplicity of costume that was rather enforced than desired; the traipsing along to the station, the porters' "B'your leave!," the screaming of the trains-- everything formed the basis of a beautiful crystallization. Nobody stared at Sue, because she was so plainly dressed, which comforted Jude in the thought that only himself knew the charms those habiliments subdued. A matter of ten pounds spent in a drapery-shop, which had no connection with her real life or her real self, would have set all Melchester staring. The guard of the train thought they were lovers, and put them into a compartment all by themselves.
"That's a good intention wasted!" said she.
Jude did not respond. He thought the remark unnecessarily cruel, and partly untrue.
They reached the park and castle and wandered through the picture-galleries, Jude stopping by preference in front of the devotional pictures by Del Sarto, Guido Reni, Spagnoletto, Sassoferrato, Carlo Dolci, and others. Sue paused patiently beside him, and stole critical looks into his face as, regarding the Virgins, Holy Families, and Saints, it grew reverent and abstracted. When she had thoroughly estimated him at this, she would move on and wait for him before a Lely or Reynolds. It was evident that her cousin deeply interested her, as one might be interested in a man puzzling out his way along a labyrinth from which one had one's self escaped.
When they came out a long time still remained to them and Jude proposed that as soon as they had had something to eat they should walk across the high country to the north of their present position, and intercept the train of another railway leading back to Melchester, at a station about seven miles off. Sue, who was inclined for any adventure that would intensify the sense of her day's freedom, readily agreed; and away they went, leaving the adjoining station behind them.
It was indeed open country, wide and high. They talked and bounded on, Jude cutting from a little covert a long walking-stick for Sue as tall as herself, with a great crook, which made her look like a shepherdess. About half-way on their journey they crossed a main road running due east and west--the old road from London to Land's End. They paused, and looked up and down it for a moment, and remarked upon the desolation which had come over this once lively thoroughfare, while the wind dipped to earth and scooped straws and hay-stems from the ground.
They crossed the road and passed on, but during the next half-mile Sue seemed to grow tired, and Jude began to be distressed for her. They had walked a good distance altogether, and if they could not reach the other station it would be rather awkward. For a long time there was no cottage visible on the wide expanse of down and turnip-land; but presently they came to a sheepfold, and next to the shepherd, pitching hurdles. He told them that the only house near was his mother's and his, pointing to a little dip ahead from which a faint blue smoke arose, and recommended them to go on and rest there.
This they did, and entered the house, admitted by an old woman without a single tooth, to whom they were as civil as strangers can be when their only chance of rest and shelter lies in the favour of the householder.
"A nice little cottage," said Jude.
"Oh, I don't know about the niceness. I shall have to thatch it soon, and where the thatch is to come from I can't tell, for straw do get that dear, that 'twill soon be cheaper to cover your house wi' chainey plates than thatch."
They sat resting, and the shepherd came in. "Don't 'ee mind I," he said with a deprecating wave of the hand "bide here as long as ye will. But mid you be thinking o' getting back to Melchester to-night by train? Because you'll never do it in this world, since you don't know the lie of the country. I don't mind going with ye some o' the ways, but even then the train mid be gone."
They started up.
"You can bide here, you know, over the night--can't 'em, Mother? The place is welcome to ye. 'Tis hard lying, rather, but volk may do worse." He turned to Jude and asked privately: "Be you a married couple?"
"Hsh--no!" said Jude.
"Oh--I meant nothing ba'dy--not I! Well then, she can go into Mother's room, and you and I can lie in the outer chimmer after they've gone through. I can call ye soon enough to catch the first train back. You've lost this one now."
On consideration they decided to close with this offer, and drew up and shared with the shepherd and his mother the boiled bacon and greens for supper.
"I rather like this," said Sue, while their entertainers were clearing away the dishes. "Outside all laws except gravitation and germination."
"You only think you like it; you don't: you are quite a product of civilization," said Jude, a recollection of her engagement reviving his soreness a little.
"Indeed I am not, Jude. I like reading and all that, but I crave to get back to the life of my infancy and its freedom."
"Do you remember it so well? You seem to me to have nothing unconventional at all about you."
"Oh, haven't I! You don't know what's inside me."
"What?"
"The Ishmaelite."
"An urban miss is what you are."
She looked severe disagreement, and turned away.
The shepherd aroused them the next morning, as he had said. It was bright and clear, and the four miles to the train were accomplished pleasantly. When they had reached Melchester, and walked to the Close, and the gables of the old building in which she was again to be immured rose before Sue's eyes, she looked a little scared. "I expect I shall catch it!" she murmured.
They rang the great bell and waited.
"Oh, I bought something for you, which I had nearly forgotten," she said quickly, searching her pocket. "It is a new little photograph of me. Would you like it?"
"WOULD I!" He took it gladly, and the porter came. There seemed to be an ominous glance on his face when he opened the gate. She passed in, looking back at Jude, and waving her hand.
“明天咱们该痛痛快快玩一天，对不对？你看咱们上哪儿去好！”
“三点到九点，我可以自己支配。随便上哪儿去，都得按时来回。裘德，别到什么古迹之类的地方——那玩意儿我可不想看。”
“那就到沃都堡好啦。要是玩得有意思，还可以到圣泉冈——一个下午足够啦。”
“沃都堡是哥特式遗迹——我讨厌哥特式！”
“你错了，恰好相反，它是个古典建筑——我想是哥林多式；里边有好多绘画。”
“啊——那行啊。我喜欢哥林多这个声音。咱们去好啦。”
这次谈话是在他们上次见面几个礼拜之后。第二天早晨他们做了出发准备。裘德觉着这次远足的每个细节都跟钻石的棱面一样闪闪发光，但是他根本没仔细想想他这样的生活够多么矛盾。他的苏的一言一行在他看就妙在捉摸不透，所以他也不便再说什么。
他满心高兴到校门口等苏。她打扮得很简朴，像是位修女，但这纯粹是不得已而为之，并非她性之所好。他们悠悠荡荡走到车站，乘务员喊着“一路好！”，火车发出尖叫声——一切的一切构成一块美丽的晶体的必不可少的侧面。一路上没人死盯着苏看，因为她的装束平淡无奇，一点不惹眼。这反倒叫裘德感到舒眼，因为他觉着只有他才知道在这样服饰掩盖下的魅力。其实很简单，只要到服装店花上十镑，苏就能叫麦尔切斯特全城为之倾倒，但这跟她的真正生活真正本色又何尝有一点关系。车上的乘警以为他们是情侣，就把他们安置在一个隔间，让他们两个单独呆在那儿。
“这可是好心白费蜡！”她说。
裘德没答话。他觉着她说得这么残酷，大可不必，再说也不算全对。
他们到了园林和城堡，信步浏览了几处画廊，裘德爱驻足代尔·萨托、居多·莱尼、斯派诺莱托、萨索费拉托、卡洛·多尔齐等人的虔诚之作前细心观看，苏也耐心陪着，一面偷偷观察和分析他脸上的表情，只见他看到圣母图、神圣家庭图和诸圣图，都是毕恭毕敬，如人忘我之境。她对他的心意有了透彻了解之后，自己就朝前边去了，在列里和雷诺兹的画前等他。显然她对这位表亲的兴趣非常之高，好比一个人自己已经从迷宫逃出来，却兴味盎然地瞧着另一个人还在迷宫里边瞎转悠，出不来。
从沃都堡出来的时候，他们剩的时间还很敷余。裘德提出来一吃完饭，他们就从现在的地点穿过北面高地，直达大约七英里外的车站，迎上从另一条铁路开过来的回麦尔切斯特的火车。苏呢，她一心想的是，不管什么惊险之举，只要加强这一天自由感就行，所以立刻表示赞成。他们就这样走了，把近边的车站甩到后边。
那一带乡下真是纵横开阔，地头又远，地势又高。他们一边聊着，一边深一脚浅一脚地往前走。裘德在小野林子里砍下一根长枝子，给苏当拐棍儿，跟她身量一般高，上头还有个弯把儿，她拿着它就像个牧羊姑娘。这段路程走了大约一半的时候，又穿过一条东西打直的大路，那就是从前伦敦到地角的老路。他们站了一下，环顾左右，只见当年那条车水马龙的通衢大道满目荒凉；风从地上掠过，扬起了碎麦秸和草杆儿。
他们穿过大路后继续往前走，可是才走了半英里，苏就显出累了。裘德一看她这样，不由得急起来。他们前前后后已经走了老远，要是走不到车站，可就麻烦了。有好长时间，在广袤的丘陵和萝卜地上，看不见乡下房子的影子，不过他们没多会儿就到了一个羊圈边上，牧羊人正在旁边扎篱笆帐。他指着前面小山洼子冒出的一缕青烟，对他们说这一带只有他妈和他两个住家；好意劝他们再往前走走，就上那边歇歇脚。
他们听了他的话，进了那家房子，一位没牙瘪嘴老太婆把他们让到里边。他们俩尽量客客气气的，出门人全靠主人家好心，才有机会歇脚，躲避风吹雨打，所以都是这样客气。
“小房子蛮好嘛。”裘德说。
“哦，怎么个好法，我还看不出来。我倒想该加加草才行，可哪儿去弄草呢，我也说不上，干草贵得那么厉害，很快你房子盖屋顶就得用磁盘子，那比草还便宜多呢。”
他们坐着休息，牧羊人进了家。“你们用不着管我。”他说，摇摇手，示意他们别动。“随你们便，呆多长都行。可你们还想坐火车回麦尔切斯特吧？你们没到这方来过。就闹不清乡下地脚儿。我倒不在乎陪你们走段路，不过就算这么着，火车怕也过去啦。”
他们马上跳起来。
“你们就凑合着在这儿过夜吧——妈，你瞧行不行？这地方可是要委屈委屈你们。这儿是怪不舒服的，可有的地方还糟呢。”他转过身来对裘德悄悄地问：“你们这对儿结了婚吧？”
“嘘——不是一对儿！”裘德说。
“哦——我可不是瞎说八道——我可不是！那好吧，回头她先上我妈屋里，你跟我睡在外边灶间好啦。我准早早地叫你们赶头班火车，这班车已经误啦。”
他们商量之后决定接受这番好意，又坐下来，然后跟牧羊人和他妈一块儿吃了顿咸肉燉青菜的晚饭。
“我挺喜欢这样的日子。”苏说，款待他们的主人这时把盘子拿到一边去了。“这儿只有万有引力定律和万物萌长定律，没别的法呀、律呀，无法无天啦。”
“你这是自以为喜欢这样的日子，实际上你不喜欢，你是地地道道的文明产物啊。”裘德说，一想起她订了婚，醋劲又有点上来了。
“我才不是你说的那样呢，裘德。我喜欢看看书什么的，这倒是，可我老渴望回到婴儿期，还有那会儿的自由。”
“你真把婴儿期记得那么清楚吗？依我看你根本没什么超出习俗的地方。”
“哦，我没有！你是一点也不知道我的底细。”
“什么底细？”
“以实玛利的后人。”
“可你是个地地道道城里头的小姐啊。”
她明显不同意他说的，神情严厉，走到一边去了。
牧羊人照他说的，第二天一早把他们喊起来。天朗气清，他们轻松愉快地走完了赶火车的四英里路，然后到了麦尔切斯特，随即走到界园，她露出一点惊怕的样子，因为那座要把她再次圈禁的大楼的山墙赫然耸立在眼前。“我盼着它好好整我吧！”她嘟嘟囔囔的。
他们扯动大门的门铃，等着。
“哦，我给你买了件东西，简直忘光啦。”她说得很快，在口袋里摸着。“这是我新照的一张小相片。你大概喜欢吧？”
“我大概喜欢！”他高兴地接过相片，这时门房来了。他一边开门，一边脸上闪了那么丧气的一眼。她进去了，回头看了看裘德，摇摇手。