Thomas Hardy Read Free Page A

The middle row consisted of singers (tenor), Thomas Hardy II (tenor violin), James Hardy (treble violin) and singers (treble). In the front row were singers (bass), Thomas Hardy I (bass viol) and singers (treble). Finally, at the rear there were more singers, stationed beneath the arch of the church’s tower. 14
    What of the young Thomas Hardy III? He would never have the pleasure of meeting his grandfather and namesake, Thomas I, who died in 1837 – three years before he himself was born. Nevertheless, he inherited the family gift for making music and was said to be able to tune a violin from the time that he was ‘barely breeched’. 15
    When he was aged 4, Thomas III’s father gave him a toy concertina inscribed with his name and the date. Thomas III was said to have an ‘ecstatic temperament’ and music could have a profound effect on him. For example, of the numerous dance tunes played by his father of an evening, and ‘to which the boy danced a “ pas seul ” in the middle of the room’, there were always ‘three or four that always moved the child to tears’. They were Enrico , The Fairy Dance , Miss Macleod of Ayr and My Fancy Lad . Thomas III would later confess that ‘he danced on at these times to conceal his weeping’, and the fact that he was overcome by emotion in this way reveals just what an immensely sensitive and emotional person he was. 16
    As Thomas III grew older he learned, under the instruction of his father, to play the violin and soon, like his forefathers before him, was much in demand on this account. He always referred to the instrument as a ‘fiddle’, and to those who played it as ‘fiddlers’. 17 It was the rule, laid down by his mother, that he must not accept any payment for his services. Nonetheless, he did on one occasion succumb to temptation, and with the ‘hatful of pennies’ collected, he purchased a volume entitled The Boys’ Own Book , of which his mother Jemima disapproved, since it was mainly devoted to the light-hearted subject of games.

    Hardy’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Hand, was well-read and the possessor of her own library of thirty or so books (which was unusual for one who occupied a relatively low station in life). She was familiar with the writings of Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele, and others of the so-called ‘ Spectator group’ (those who contributed to the Spectator magazine, founded in 1828): also with John Milton, Samuel Richardson and John Bunyan. The ten volumes of Henry Fielding’s works which she possessed would one day pass to her grandson, Thomas Hardy III. 18
    Elizabeth’s daughter, Jemima, inherited her mother’s love of books, together with a desire to read every one that she could lay her hands on. Under Jemima’s influence, therefore, it seemed inevitable that her own offspring, including the young Thomas III, would follow in her footsteps. And there were others, including Thomas III’s godfather, Mr King, 19 who encouraged the boy in his reading; for example, by presenting him with a volume entitled The Rites and Worship of the Jews by Elise Giles, even though he had not, as yet, attained the age of 8. 20 In fact, according to his sister Katharine, Thomas III had been able to read since the age of 3, and on Sundays, when the weather was considered too wet for him to attend church, it was his habit to don a tablecloth and read Morning Prayer while standing on a chair, and recite ‘a patchwork of sentences normally used by the vicar’.
    Thomas III was considered by his parents to be a delicate child, and for this reason he was not sent to school until he was aged 8 (instead of 5, which was the normal practice). And so it was not until the year 1848 that he arrived at school for his first day of lessons. He was early, and he subsequently recalled awaiting, ‘tremulous and alone’, the arrival of the schoolmaster, the schoolmistress and his fellow pupils.
    The Bockhampton National School, which had been newly opened