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It was a large dairy．There were nearly a hundred milking cows．Dairyman Crick milked six or eight of the difficult ones with his own hands． He could not trust them to the dairymaids， because if the cows were badly milked their milk would simply dry up．
For a while there was no more talk among the milkers． Suddenly Mr Crick got up from his stool．
We're not getting as much milk from them as usual，’he said．‘We'd better sing them a song， friends， that's the only thing to do．’So the group of milkers started singing，to encourage the cows to give more．
Mr Crick went on，‘But I think bulls like music better than cows．Did I tell you all about William Dewy？ On his way home after a wedding he found himself in a field with an angry bull． He took his violin and played some Christmas church music and down went the bull on his knees！ Just like the animals around baby Jesus！ And so William was able to escape．’
‘It's a curious story．It takes us back to the past，when belief in God was a living thing．’This unusual remark came from under a cow．
‘Well， it's quite true， sir， believe it or not．I knew the man well，’said Mr Crick．
‘Oh yes， I'm sure it's true，’said the man behind the brown cow．Tess could not see his face，and could not understand why the head－dairyman himself should call him sir．The man stayed under the cow long enough to milk three，at times saying something angrily to himself．Then he stood up， stretching his arms．Tess could now see him clearly． He wore the clothes of a dairyman but underneath he was quite different．He looked educated and gentlemanly．
But now she realized that she had seen him before． He was one of the three walking brothers who had stopped their walk to admire the May－Day dance in Marlott a few years before． He had danced with some of the other girls but not with her． He had not noticed her and had gone on his way． For a moment she was worried that if he recognized her he might discover her story． But she soon saw he did not remember her at all． Since she had seen him in Marlott，his face had grown more thoughtful． He now had a young man's moustache and beard． From the time he had spent milking one cow，he was clearly a beginner at dairy work．
Tess discovered that only two or three of the dairymaids slept in the house，besides herself．They all shared a big bedroom near the cheese room． That night one of the girls insisted on telling Tess about all the people at the dairy． To Tess，half asleep， the whispers seemed to be floating in the air．
‘Mr Angel Clare—he's the one who's learning milking— he's a parson's son and thinks a lot and doesn't notice girls． His father is parson at Emminster，some way from here．His sons，except Mr Clare，are going to be parsons too．’
Tess gradually fell asleep．
9
Neither Angel Clare nor his family had originally chosen farming as a profession for him． When he was a boy， people admired his great qualities．Now he was a man， something vague and undecided in his look showed that he had no particular purpose in life．He was the youngest son of a poor parson．One day when he was studying at home， his father discovered that Angel had ordered a book of philosophy， which questioned the Church's teaching． How could his son become a priest if he read such books？ Angel explained that he did not in fact wish to enter the Church like his brothers， because the Church's views were too strict and did not allow free thinking． The simple parson was shocked． He was a man of fixed ideas and a firm believer． And if Angel did not want to become a priest， what was the use of sending him to study at Cambridge？ For the parson the whole point of going to university was to become a minister of God．
‘I want to use my mind，’Angel insisted．‘ I want to read philosophy．I want to question my belief，so that what is left after I have questioned it， will be even stronger．’
‘But Angel，your mother and I have saved and saved to send you to university like your brothers． But how can we send you there if it is not in the service of God？’
So Angel did not have the advantage of a university education． After some years studying at home he decided to learn farming．He thought this kind of work could give him what he most valued，independence and freedom to think．So he came to Talbothays at twenty－six，as a student．
At first he stayed up in his room most of the time in the evenings，reading and playing his harp．But he soon preferred to read human nature by taking his meals in the general dining－room with the dairy people． The longer he stayed， the more Clare liked living with these simple country people． No longer did he see them as lacking in intelligence． He realized they were no different from him： he and they were all people walking on the dusty road which ends in death．He began to like working outside． He was learning about nature and about life． He came to know the changing seasons，morning and evening，different winds，waters and mists，shade and silence，and the voices of nature．All this he had never known before．
For several days after Tess's arrival，Clare，sitting reading a book，hardly noticed she was there．But one morning at breakfast he was reading music and listening to the tune in his head，when he heard a musical voice which seemed to become part of his tune． He looked round at Tess， seated at the table．
‘What a fresh and pure daughter of nature that dairymaid is！’thought Angel．He seemed to remember something about her，something which took him back into a happy past， before decision made his life difficult． This memory made him look more often at Tess than the other dairymaids．
10
Dairyman Crick insisted that all the dairy people should milk different cows every day， not just their favourites． He was worried that a dairymaid might leave the dairy， and then her cows would not like being milked by a stranger． However， Tess began to find that the cows which came to her usually happened to be her favourites． This made her milking much easier． But she soon realized that it was not by chance， as it was Angel Clare who sent the cows in for milking．
‘Mr Clare，you have sent me my favourite cows！’she accused him one morning， blushing．
‘Well， it doesn't matter，’ said he．‘ You will always be here to milk them．’
‘Do you think so？I hope I shall．But I don't know．’Afterwards she was angry with herself． She had spoken too seriously to him， as if he were involved in her staying or leaving． In the evening after milking she walked in the garden alone， thinking about it．
It was a typical summer evening in June． The air was delicate and there was a complete， absolute silence． It was broken by the sound of a harp． The notes floated in the still air， strong and clear． Tess listened like a fascinated bird． She drew near to Clare， who still had not seen her． She was conscious of neither time nor space． The tune moved through her mind and body， bringing tears to her eyes． The waves of colour of the wild flowers mixed with the waves of sound．Angel finished playing， and caught sight of her． She blushed and moved away．
‘Why are you going， Tess？’he asked．‘Are you afraid？’
‘Oh no， sir， not of outdoor things．’
‘But indoors？’
‘Well， yes， sir．’
‘Life in general？’
‘Yes，sir．’
‘Ah， so am I，very often． Being alive is rather serious，don't you think so？’
‘It is， now you put it like that．’
‘All the same， I wouldn't expect a young girl like you to feel that． Why？ Come， tell me．’
After a moment's hesitation she answered，‘The trees ask questions with their eyes， don't they？ And you seem to see hundreds of tomorrows all in a line，the first big and clear， the others getting smaller． But they all look fierce and cruel． But you can drive away all these ideas with your music， sir！’
He was surprised to find that this dairymaid had such sad thoughts． She was expressing in her own words the ache of modern life． This sadness made her more interesting to him．He did not know that her experien