Under the Greenwood Tree Part 1 Chapter 4: Going the Rounds

In which a venerable band of village musicians, clad in snow-white smocks and thick coats against the wintry night, set forth with lanterns and instruments to serenade the scattered hamlets of Mellstock, their melodies echoing through the silent fields and ancient lanes. As they pause before an unresponsive schoolhouse, the familiar strains of their ancestral hymns fall softly on the frosted air, stirring reflections on the passage of time and the steadfast value of their simple, stringed music amidst encroaching modern sounds.