Page 276 - tess-of-the-durbervilles

And I was in the Sixth Standard when I left school, and they
said I had great aptness, and should make a good teacher, so
it was settled that I should be one. But there was trouble in
my family; father was not very industrious, and he drank a
little.’
‘Yes, yes. Poor child! Nothing new.’ He pressed her more
closely to his side.
‘And then—there is something very unusual about it—
about me. I—I was—‘
Tess’s breath quickened.
‘Yes, dearest. Never mind.’
‘I—I—am not a Durbeyfield, but a d’Urberville—a de-
scendant of the same family as those that owned the old
house we passed. And—we are all gone to nothing!’
‘A d’Urberville!—Indeed! And is that all the trouble,
dear Tess?’
‘Yes,’ she answered faintly.
‘Well—why should I love you less after knowing this?’
‘I was told by the dairyman that you hated old families.’
He laughed.
‘Well, it is true, in one sense. I do hate the aristocrat-
ic principle of blood before everything, and do think that
as reasoners the only pedigrees we ought to respect are
those spiritual ones of the wise and virtuous, without re-
gard to corporal paternity. But I am extremely interested in
this news—you can have no idea how interested I am! Are
you not interested yourself in being one of that well-known
line?’
‘No. I have thought it sad—especially since coming here,

276 Tess of the d’Urbervilles