Far from the Madding Crowd Chapter LV

In which the solemn arrival of a judge to Casterbridge stirs anxious curiosity among the villagers, as the shadow of a grave sentence looms over Boldwood, whose troubled mind reveals itself through curious hoards of feminine finery. The community waits with bated breath for a final mercy that might spare a life, whilst the melancholy presence of a changed Bathsheba casts a tender sorrow over the proceedings.