The Withered Arm: The Withered Arms (Penguin Little Black Classics)

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Tender engines were preferred on the line, the Adams Jubilee class being dominant at first, supplanted by the T9 class 4-4-0 being dominant in the Edwardian era. Until the mid-1940s the weight restriction over Meldon Viaduct and the short turntable at Padstow prevented anything larger than the Southern Railway mixed traffic 2-6-0 types from working over the line. However, after the turntable was replaced, the Bulleid Light Pacific locomotives were able to use the line. [4] On summer Saturdays in the 1950s, some trains loaded to ten coaches, and in that era the Standard 2-6-4T class came into use on the line. [11] She uncovered her left hand and arm; and their outline confronted Rhoda's gaze as the exact original of the limb she had beheld and seized in her dream. Upon the pink round surface of the arm were faint marks of an unhealthy colour, as if produced by a rough grasp. Rhoda's eyes became riveted on the discolorations; she fancied that she discerned in them the shape of her own four fingers. The place on my arm seems worse, and troubles me!' the young farmer's wife went OIL 'It is so mysterious! I do hope it will not be an incurable wound. I have again been thinking of what they said about Conjuror Trendle. I don't really believe in such men, but I should not mind just visiting him, from curiosity - though on no account must my husband know. Is it far to where he lives?'

I go to see her! I wouldn't look up at her if she were to pass my window this instant. She was with Mr Lodge, of course. What did he say or do?' Some were good enough,' he said approvingly; 'but not many of them for such as this. This is of the nature of a blight, not of the nature of a wound; and if you ever do throw it off, it will be all at once.'Mrs Lodge urged, and Rhoda finally assented, though with much misgiving. Sad as' the journey would be to her, she could not conscientiously stand in the way of a possible remedy for her patron's strange affliction. It was agreed that, to escape suspicion of their mystic intent, they should meet at the edge of the heath at the corner of a plantation which was visible from the spot where they now stood.

They crept up the hill in the twilight and entered the cottage. It was built of mud-walls, the surface of which had been washed by many rains into channels and depressions that left none of the original flat face visible, while here and there in the thatch above a rafter showed like a bone protruding through the skin. She hastily repudiated any such wish, all the more from a curious creeping feeling that the condemned wretch's destiny was becoming interwoven with her own; and having engaged a room for the night, sat down to think. Williams, R.A. (1973). The London & South Western Railway, volume 2: Growth and Consolidation. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5940-1. The assizes were in July, and she went to the inn as before. There was to be one execution - only one - for arson.Burdened at first with moodiness and remorse, he eventually changed for the better, and appeared as a chastened and thoughtful man.

The following day, Rhoda meets the real Gertrude, who turns out to be very kind and likable. However, Gertrude happens to relate that she began to feel a pain in her left arm in the middle of the previous night. She shows Rhoda her arm, where several bruises shaped like fingerprints have appeared. Over the coming weeks, Gertrude’s arm atrophies, and Lodge begins to find her disgusting. Gertrude asks Rhoda to take her to a shaman named Conjuror Trendle; she complies, fearing that Trendle will realize that she caused the disease and bring an end to their new friendship. Trendle creates an image of the source of the disease and shows it to Gertrude. The narrator does not describe the image; only that Gertrude immediately dislikes Rhoda. Rhoda soon moves out of the area with her son. An Imaginative Woman" (28 November 1973, BBC2), adapted by William Trevor, directed by Gavin Millar, and starring Claire Bloom. Initially, in 1888, the collection contained five stories, all previously published in periodicals.... At these proofs of a kindly feeling towards her and hers Rhoda's heart reproached her bitterly. This innocent young thing should have her blessing and not her curse. When she left them a light seemed gone from the dwelling. Two days later she came again to know if the boots fitted; and less than a fortnight after paid Rhoda another call. On this occasion the boy was absent. Under the terms of the Railways Act 1921, the railway companies of Great Britain were to be amalgamated into four "groups"; the new Southern group was to include the LSWR (as a "constituent"), and the North Cornwall Railway was to be absorbed: the Company was still in existence as an entity although the line was worked as an intrinsic part of the LSWR. This process of "grouping" took practical effect at the beginning of 1923, although a number of technical requirements resulted in the official transfer dates varying. [10]Perfect for revising the fiction component of GCSE English Langauge, everything you need to reinforce core English skills at KS4 can be found right here. It raised questions about morality, friendship, and reaping what you sow. Hardy seemed to punish every single character here, and, flawed as they were, it felt as though the higher hand of judgement had reached a reasonable verdict. a b c d e f g Wilson, B.G. (September–October 1949). "The North Cornwall Line of the Southern Region" (PDF). The Railway Magazine. Vol.95, no.583. pp.326–329 . Retrieved 29 October 2008. Rhoda's son is a flat character, and Gertrude's husband is underdeveloped as well. For instance, most of the description we receive of the farmer Gertrude married comes after her death:

Casterbridge, the county-town, was a dozen or fifteen miles off; and though in those days, when men were executed for horse-stealing, arson, and burglary, an assize seldom passed without a hanging, it was not likely that she could get access to the body of the criminal' unaided. And the fear of her husband's anger made her reluctant to breathe a word of Trendle's suggestion to him or to anybody about him.The Withered Arm and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction by English poet and novelist Thomas Hardy. It consists of works produced between 1874 and 1888, each of which takes place in a fictional region of Britain called “Wessex.” The stories involve local folklore, superstition, and myth to build brief, yet complex character sketches of the unique people who live in Wessex. In making these characterizations, Hardy invokes a variety of genres, from ghost story to suspense.