"'Tis all a pity but so 'tis, and can't be gainsaid. Th' old gentleman
hev come down so low, that 'tis the Union and nought else."
"Is that for sure?"
"Oh, yes, for certain sure. He is a-goin' into workhouse to-morrow
maarning."
But he did not go there.
In the morning some one came running into Dale's yard, and shouted
what had happened since dark last night.
"Th' old gentleman hev a done fer hisself."
He had been found hanging from the biggest of the apple trees behind
his cottage. He had set a ladder against the tree, gone up it, fixed
the rope firmly, put the noose round his neck, and stepped off into
the air. That was the way they did for themselves in this part of
Hampshire.
XXVI
The suicide of Mr. Bates had a great effect on Dale. The sadness and
regret that he felt at the time continued to tinge his thoughts for a
long while afterward. He could not shake off the horror of that
midnight scene, as he imagined it--the God-fearing man breaking the
divine laws, the man full of years who was so near the grave and yet
could not wait till it received him naturally, the poor feeble old
creature taxing all his remnant of strength to knock out the small
spark of life that already had begun to gleam so dimly.
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