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FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD.
out gallantry: stepping close to her hanging feet, he said in a hesitating voice,—
"Do you happen to want a shepherd, ma'am?"
She lifted the Shetland veil tied round her face, and looked all astonishment. Gabriel and his cold-hearted darling, Bathsheba Everdene, were face to face.
Bathsheba did not speak, and he mechanically repeated in an abashed and sad voice,―
"Do you want a shepherd, ma'am?"