Afterthelapseofafewdayshefoundhimselfhopingthatshewouldwriteagain。Buthereceivednofurthercommunication；andintheintensityofhissolicitudehesentanothernote，suggestingthatheshouldpayheravisitsomeSunday，thedistancebeingundereighteenmiles。
Heexpectedareplyonthesecondmorningafterdespatchinghismissive；butnonecame。Thethirdmorningarrived；thepostmandidnotstop。ThiswasSaturday，andinafeverishstateofanxietyaboutherhesentoffthreebrieflinesstatingthathewascomingthefollowingday，forhefeltsuresomethinghadhappened。
Hisfirstandnaturalthoughthadbeenthatshewasillfromherimmersion；butitsoonoccurredtohimthatsomebodywouldhavewrittenforherinsuchacase。Conjectureswereputanendtobyhisarrivalatthevillageschool-housenearShastononthebrightmorningofSunday，betweenelevenandtwelveo’clock，whentheparishwasasvacantasadesert，mostoftheinhabitantshavinggatheredinsidethechurch，whencetheirvoicescouldoccasionallybeheardinunison。
Alittlegirlopenedthedoor。`MissBrideheadisup-stairs，’
shesaid。`Andwillyoupleasewalkuptoher？’
`Issheill？’askedJudehastily。
`Onlyalittle-notvery。’
Judeenteredandascended。Onreachingthelandingavoicetoldhimwhichwaytoturn-thevoiceofSuecallinghisname。Hepassedthedoorway，andfoundherlyinginalittlebedinaroomadozenfeetsquare。
`Oh，Sue！’hecried，sittingdownbesideherandtakingherhand。
`Howisthis！Youcouldn’twrite？’
`No-itwasn’tthat！’sheanswered。`Ididcatchabadcold-
butIcouldhavewritten。OnlyIwouldn’t！’
`Whynot？-frighteningmelikethis！’
`Yes-thatwaswhatIwasafraidof！ButIhaddecidednottowritetoyouanymore。Theywon’thavemebackattheschool-that’swhyIcouldn’twrite。Notthefact，butthereason！’
`Well？’
`Theynotonlywon’thaveme，buttheygavemeapartingpieceofadvice——’
`What？’
Shedidnotanswerdirectly。`IvowedIneverwouldtellyou，Jude-itissovulgaranddistressing！’
`Isitaboutus？’
`Yes。’
`Butdotellme！’
`Well-somebodyhassentthembaselessreportsaboutus，andtheysayyouandIoughttomarryassoonaspossible，forthesakeofmyreputation！……There-nowIhavetoldyou，andIwishIhadn’t！’
`Oh，poorSue！’
`Idon’tthinkofyoulikethatmeans！ItdidjustoccurtometoregardyouinthewaytheythinkIdo，butIhadn’tbegunto。
Ihaverecognizedthatthecousinshipwasmerelynominal，sincewemetastotalstrangers。Butmymarryingyou，dearJude-why，ofcourse，ifIhadreckoneduponmarryingyoulshouldn’thavecometoyousooften！
AndIneversupposedyouthoughtofsuchathingasmarryingmetilltheotherevening；whenIbegantofancyyoudidlovemealittle。PerhapsIoughtnottohavebeensointimatewithyou。Itisallmyfault。Everythingismyfaultalways！’
Thespeechseemedalittleforcedandunreal，andtheyregardedeachotherwithamutualdistress。
`Iwassoblindatfirst！’shewenton。`Ididn’tseewhatyoufeltatall。Oh，youhavebeenunkindtome-youhave-tolookuponmeasasweetheartwithoutsayingaword，andleavingmetodiscoveritmyself！
Yourattitudetomehasbecomeknown；andnaturallytheythinkwe’vebeendoingwrong！I’llnevertrustyouagain！’
`Yes，Sue，’hesaidsimply；`Iamtoblame-morethanyouthink。
IwasquiteawarethatyoudidnotsuspecttillwithinthelastmeetingortwowhatIwasfeelingaboutyou。Iadmitthatourmeetingasstrangerspreventedasenseofrelationship，andthatitwasasortofsubterfugetoavailmyselfofit。Butdon’tyouthinkldeservealittleconsiderationforconcealingmywrong，verywrong，sentiments，sinceIcouldn’thelphavingthem？’
Sheturnedhereyesdoubtfullytowardshim，andthenlookedawayasifafraidshemightforgivehim。
Byeverylawofnatureandsexakisswastheonlyrejoinderthatfittedthemoodandthemoment，underthesuasionofwhichSue’sundemonstrativeregardofhimmightnotinconceivablyhavechangeditstemperature。Somemenwouldhavecastscruplestothewinds，andventuredit，obliviousbothofSue’sdeclarationofherneutralfeelings，andofthepairofautographsinthevestrychestofArabella’sparishchurch。Judedidnot。Hehad，infact，comeinparttotellhisownfatalstory。Itwasuponhislips；
yetatthehourofthisdistresshecouldnotdiscloseit。Hepreferredtodwellupontherecognizedbarriersbetweenthem。
`Ofcourse-Iknowyoudon’t-careaboutmeinanyparticularway，’hesorrowed。`Yououghtnot，andyouareright。Youbelongto-Mr。
Phillotson。Isupposehehasbeentoseeyou？’
`Yes，’shesaidshortly，herfacechangingalittle。`ThoughI
didn’taskhimtocome。Youareglad，ofcourse，thathehasbeen！ButIshouldn’tcareifhedidn’tcomeanymore！’
Itwasveryperplexingtoherloverthatsheshouldbepiquedathishonestacquiescenceinhisrival，ifJude’sfeelingsofloveweredeprecatedbyher。Hewentontosomethingelse。
`Thiswillblowover，dearSue，’hesaid。`Thetraining-schoolauthoritiesarenotalltheworld。Youcangettobeastudentinsomeother，nodoubt。’
`I’llaskMr。Phillotson，’shesaiddecisively。
Sue’skindhostessnowreturnedfromchurch，andtherewasnomoreintimateconversation。Judeleftintheafternoon，hopelesslyunhappy。
Buthehadseenher，andsatwithher。Suchintercourseasthatwouldhavetocontenthimfortheremainderofhislife。Thelessonofrenunciationitwasnecessaryandproperthathe，asaparishpriest，shouldlearn。
Butthenextmorningwhenheawokehefeltrathervexedwithher，anddecidedthatshewasratherunreasonable，nottosaycapricious。Then，inillustrationofwhathehadbeguntodiscernasoneofherredeemingcharacteristicstherecamepromptlyanote，whichshemusthavewrittenalmostimmediatelyhehadgonefromher：
Forgivemeformypetulanceyesterday！Iwashorridtoyou；
Iknowit，andIfeelperfectlymiserableatmyhorridness。Itwassodearofyounottobeangry！Judepleasestillkeepmeasyourfriendandassociate，withallmyfaults。I’lltrynottohelikeitagain。
IamcomingtoMelchesteronSaturday，togetmythingsawayfromtheT。S。，&；c。Icouldwalkwithyouforhalfanhour，ifyouwouldlike？-YourrepentantSue。Judeforgaveherstraightway，andaskedhertocallforhimatthecathedralworkswhenshecame。
JudetheObscureChapter24III-viMeanwhileamiddle-agedmanwasdreamingadreamofgreatbeautyconcerningthewriteroftheaboveletter。HewasRichardPhillotson，whohadrecentlyremovedfromthemixedvillageschoolatLumsdonnearChristminster，toundertakealargeboys’schoolinhisnativetownofShaston，whichstoodonahillsixtymilestothesouth-westasthecrowflies。
Aglanceattheplaceanditsaccessorieswasalmostenoughtorevealthattheschoolmaster’splansanddreamssolongindulgedinhadbeenabandonedforsomenewdreamwithwhichneithertheChurchnorliteraturehadmuchincommon。Essentiallyanunpracticalman，hewasnowbentonmakingandsavingmoneyforapracticalpurpose-thatofkeepingawife，who，ifshechose，mightconductoneofthegirls’schoolsadjoininghisown；forwhichpurposehehadadvisedhertogointotraining，sinceshewouldnotmarryhimoffhand。
AboutthetimethatJudewasremovingfromMarygreentoMelchester，andenteringonadventuresatthelatterplacewithSue，theschoolmasterwassettlingdowninthenewschool-houseatShaston。Allthefurniturebeingfixed，thebooksshelved，andthenailsdriven，hehadbeguntositinhisparlourduringthedarkwinternightsandre-attemptsomeofhisoldstudies-onebranchofwhichhadincludedRoman-Britannicantiquities-anunremunerativelabourforanationalschool-masterbutasubject，that，afterhisabandonmentoftheuniversityscheme，hadinterestedhimasbeingacomparativelyunworkedmine；practicabletothosewho，likehimself，hadlivedinlonelyspotswheretheseremainswereabundant，andwereseentocompelinferencesinstartlingcontrasttoacceptedviewsonthecivilizationofthattime。
AresumptionofthisinvestigationwastheoutwardandapparenthobbyofPhillotsonatpresent-hisostensiblereasonforgoingaloneintofieldswherecauseways，dykes，andtumuliabounded，orshuttinghimselfupinhishousewithafewurns，tiles，andmosaicshehadcollected，insteadofcallingrounduponhisnewneighbours，whofortheirparthadshowedthemselveswillingenoughtobefriendlywithhim。Butitwasnotthereal，orthewhole，reason，afterall。Thusonaparticulareveninginthemonth，whenithadgrownquitelate-tonearmidnight，indeed-andthelightofhislamp，shiningfromhiswindowatasalientangleofthehill-toptownoverinfinitemilesofvalleywestward，announcedasbywordsaplaceandpersongivenovertostudy，hewasnotexactlystudying。
Theinterioroftheroom-thebooks，thefurniture，theschoolmaster’sloosecoat，hisattitudeatthetable，eventheflickeringofthefire，bespokethesamedignifiedtaleofundistractedresearch-morethancreditabletoamanwhohadhadnoadvantagesbeyondthoseofhisownmaking。Andyetthetale，trueenoughtilllatterly，wasnottruenow。Whathewasregardingwasnothistory。Theywerehistoricnotes，writteninaboldwomanlyhandathisdictationsomemonthsbefore，anditwastheclericalrenderingofwordafterwordthatabsorbedhim。
Hepresentlytookfromadraweracarefullytiedbundleofletters，few，veryfew，ascorrespondencecountsnowadays。Eachwasinitsenvelopejustasithadarrived，andthehandwritingwasofthesamewomanlycharacterasthehistoricnotes。Heunfoldedthemonebyoneandreadthemmusingly。
Atfirstsightthereseemedinthesesmalldocumentstobeabsolutelynothingtomuseover。Theywerestraightforward，frankletters，signed`SueB-
`；justsuchonesaswouldbewrittenduringshortabsences，withnootherthoughtthantheirspeedydestruction，andchieflyconcerningbooksinreadingandotherexperiencesofatrainingschool，forgottendoubtlessbythewriterwiththepassingofthedayoftheirinditing。Inoneofthem-quitearecentnote-theyoungwomansaidthatshehadreceivedhisconsiderateletter，andthatitwashonourableandgenerousofhimtosayhewouldnotcometoseeheroftenerthanshedesiredtheschoolbeingsuchanawkwardplaceforcallers，andbecauseofherstrongwishthatherengagementtohimshouldnotbeknown，whichitwouldinfalliblybeifhevisitedheroften。Overthesephrasestheschool-masterpored。
Whatpreciseshadeofsatisfactionwastobegatheredfromawoman’sgratitudethatthemanwholovedherhadnotbeenoftentoseeher？Theproblemoccupiedhim，distractedhim。
Heopenedanotherdrawer，andfoundthereinanenvelope，fromwhichhedrewaphotographofSueasachild，longbeforehehadknownher，standingundertrellis-workwithalittlebasketinherhand。Therewasanotherofherasayoungwoman，herdarkeyesandhairmakingaverydistinctandattractivepictureofher，whichjustdisclosed，too，thethoughtfulnessthatlaybehindherlightermoods。ItwasaduplicateoftheoneshehadgivenJude，andwouldhavegiventoanyman。Phillotsonbroughtithalf-waytohislips，butwithdrewitindoubtatherperplexingphrases：ultimatelykissingthedeadpasteboardwithallthepassionateness，andmorethanallthedevotion，ofayoungmanofeighteen。
Theschoolmaster’swasanunhealthy-looking，old-fashionedface，renderedmoreold-fashionedbyhisstyleofshaving。Acertaingentlemanlinesshadbeenimpartedtoitbynature，suggestinganinherentwishtodorightlybyall。Hisspeechwasalittleslow，buthistonesweresincereenoughtomakehishesitationnodefect。Hisgreyinghairwascurly，andradiatedfromapointinthemiddleofhiscrown。Therewerefourlinesacrosshisforehead，andheonlyworespectacleswhenreadingatnight。Itwasalmostcertainlyarenunciationforceduponhimbyhisacademicpurpose，ratherthanadistasteforwomen，whichhadhithertokepthimfromclosingwithoneofthesexinmatrimony。
Suchsilentproceedingsasthoseofthiseveningwererepeatedmanyandofttimeswhenhewasnotundertheeyeoftheboys，whosequickandpenetratingregardwouldfrequentlybecomealmostintolerabletotheself-consciousmasterinhispresentanxiouscareforSue，makinghim，inthegreyhoursofmorning，dreadtomeetanewthegimletglances，lesttheyshouldreadwhatthedreamwithinhimwas。