1 00:00:54,708 --> 00:00:56,710 [foreboding music] 2 00:01:35,482 --> 00:01:36,684 [birds squawk] 3 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:19,226 [Abigail] Tuesday, January 1st, 1856. 4 00:02:27,734 --> 00:02:29,703 Fair and very cold. 5 00:02:32,739 --> 00:02:34,608 This morning, 6 00:02:34,641 --> 00:02:37,511 ice in our bedroom for the first time all winter. 7 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,224 [distant shouting] 8 00:02:55,295 --> 00:02:58,599 [sheep bleating] 9 00:03:17,384 --> 00:03:18,819 [Abigail] The water froze on the potatoes 10 00:03:18,852 --> 00:03:20,554 as soon as they were washed. 11 00:03:22,589 --> 00:03:25,793 With little pride, and less hope, 12 00:03:26,893 --> 00:03:28,462 we begin the new year. 13 00:03:28,995 --> 00:03:31,999 [humming] 14 00:03:32,032 --> 00:03:33,167 [Abigail] On the porch after sunup, 15 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,535 I could hear the low chirping of sparrows 16 00:03:35,568 --> 00:03:38,305 in the hedgerows that are now buried in the snow. 17 00:03:48,782 --> 00:03:49,817 [sniffle] 18 00:03:55,021 --> 00:03:57,691 [utensils clinking] 19 00:03:59,526 --> 00:04:01,729 [fire crackling] 20 00:04:08,068 --> 00:04:10,704 [chickens clucking] 21 00:04:15,008 --> 00:04:18,412 [Abigail] Dyer has maintained that with good health, 22 00:04:18,445 --> 00:04:20,080 and a level head, 23 00:04:20,113 --> 00:04:21,748 there is always an excellent chance 24 00:04:21,781 --> 00:04:23,450 for a farmer willing to work. 25 00:04:37,030 --> 00:04:40,467 He feels he can never fully rid himself of his burdens. 26 00:04:42,102 --> 00:04:45,605 And I'm certain that because his mind is in such a bad state, 27 00:04:45,638 --> 00:04:47,474 it affects his whole system. 28 00:04:49,609 --> 00:04:50,644 [sniffing] 29 00:04:52,145 --> 00:04:53,580 [door creaking] 30 00:04:55,882 --> 00:04:57,818 [cows mooing] 31 00:05:15,068 --> 00:05:16,436 [Abigail] He told me this morning 32 00:05:16,470 --> 00:05:19,740 that contentment was like a friend he never gets to see. 33 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:22,609 You're late with the milking. 34 00:05:22,642 --> 00:05:23,811 She wasn't suffering. 35 00:05:25,445 --> 00:05:26,480 And you? 36 00:05:34,654 --> 00:05:35,756 [crows cawing] 37 00:05:40,627 --> 00:05:43,930 [Abigail]Since our acquisition of this farm, 38 00:05:43,963 --> 00:05:47,534 my husband had kept a ledger to help him see the year whole. 39 00:05:49,135 --> 00:05:51,505 This way he knows what each crop 40 00:05:51,538 --> 00:05:54,608 and field pays from year to year. 41 00:05:54,641 --> 00:05:57,878 And Dyer has asked me to keep a diary of matters 42 00:05:57,911 --> 00:06:00,447 that might otherwise go overlooked... 43 00:06:03,082 --> 00:06:06,520 From tools lent out to bills outstanding. 44 00:06:08,488 --> 00:06:09,923 That I have done. 45 00:06:12,559 --> 00:06:15,896 But there would be no record in these dull and simple pages 46 00:06:15,929 --> 00:06:17,831 of the most passionate circumstances 47 00:06:17,864 --> 00:06:19,466 of our seasons past. 48 00:06:20,099 --> 00:06:22,469 [fire crackling] 49 00:06:22,502 --> 00:06:25,072 No record of our emotions or fears. 50 00:06:26,172 --> 00:06:27,808 Our greatest joys. 51 00:06:28,842 --> 00:06:30,778 Our most piercing sorrows. 52 00:06:40,854 --> 00:06:43,190 With our child, 53 00:06:43,223 --> 00:06:45,692 it was as if I'd found my bearings. 54 00:06:48,161 --> 00:06:51,098 But I too rarely told her that she was our treasure. 55 00:06:53,733 --> 00:06:54,802 Would you like to try? 56 00:06:58,571 --> 00:06:59,907 Like this, papa? 57 00:07:02,175 --> 00:07:03,210 That's it. 58 00:07:05,745 --> 00:07:08,181 [Abigail] She often seemed separate from us, 59 00:07:08,214 --> 00:07:11,852 as if she was working at just fitting in where she could. 60 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,056 They saw his brothers and sisters 61 00:07:16,089 --> 00:07:18,058 and they were the mouse's family... 62 00:07:19,859 --> 00:07:21,528 [Abigail] There is something so affecting 63 00:07:21,561 --> 00:07:23,897 about mute and motionless grief and illness 64 00:07:23,930 --> 00:07:25,565 in a child so young. 65 00:07:25,598 --> 00:07:28,902 -[coughing] -[heavy breathing] 66 00:07:28,935 --> 00:07:31,738 She put her arms around me and said nothing else. 67 00:07:36,309 --> 00:07:38,512 But it felt like we were speaking. 68 00:07:50,557 --> 00:07:51,958 [thud] 69 00:07:51,991 --> 00:07:55,896 -[strained breathing] -[soft singing] 70 00:08:05,705 --> 00:08:09,877 [humming] 71 00:08:37,971 --> 00:08:39,205 [deep sigh] 72 00:08:43,076 --> 00:08:45,011 [distant sobbing] 73 00:08:48,881 --> 00:08:51,752 [ominous music] 74 00:10:06,292 --> 00:10:08,395 [Abigail] I have become my grief. 75 00:10:13,733 --> 00:10:16,369 I have become my grief. 76 00:10:16,402 --> 00:10:20,273 [church bell tolling] 77 00:10:21,741 --> 00:10:24,010 [Abigail] "Welcome sweet day of rest", 78 00:10:24,043 --> 00:10:26,813 says the hymn. 79 00:10:26,846 --> 00:10:31,785 And Sunday is most welcome for its few hours of quiet ease. 80 00:10:33,019 --> 00:10:34,054 As for me. 81 00:10:35,054 --> 00:10:36,790 I no longer attend. 82 00:10:38,291 --> 00:10:40,961 After the calamity of Nellie's loss, 83 00:10:42,095 --> 00:10:44,164 what calm I enjoy 84 00:10:44,197 --> 00:10:47,701 does not derive from the notion of a better world to come. 85 00:10:51,771 --> 00:10:53,740 I want to purchase an atlas. 86 00:10:55,875 --> 00:10:57,878 -[man 1] It could be a bother. -[man 2] No, no. No bother. 87 00:10:59,178 --> 00:11:02,816 -[horses huffing] -[wood creaking] 88 00:11:08,087 --> 00:11:09,089 Who is that? 89 00:11:10,022 --> 00:11:11,091 [Dyer] His name is Finney. 90 00:11:12,291 --> 00:11:15,028 -His wife Tallie. -Hyah! 91 00:11:15,061 --> 00:11:16,162 [Dyer] I met them at the feed store. 92 00:11:16,195 --> 00:11:17,898 They seem to keep to themselves. 93 00:11:20,399 --> 00:11:22,069 They're renting the Zebrun farm. 94 00:11:26,906 --> 00:11:29,076 [gentle music] 95 00:11:36,783 --> 00:11:38,452 [Abigail]Monday, February 4th. 96 00:11:40,987 --> 00:11:42,956 Why is ink like fire? 97 00:11:42,989 --> 00:11:44,390 [deep sigh] 98 00:11:44,423 --> 00:11:46,059 Because it is a good servant, 99 00:11:47,026 --> 00:11:48,528 and a hard master. 100 00:11:48,561 --> 00:11:49,830 [grinding] 101 00:11:54,433 --> 00:11:55,769 Did you say something? 102 00:11:58,104 --> 00:11:59,940 I want to purchase an atlas. 103 00:12:07,513 --> 00:12:09,949 I suppose there are more frivolous purchases 104 00:12:09,982 --> 00:12:11,017 one could make. 105 00:12:17,523 --> 00:12:19,159 I've saved 90 cents of my own. 106 00:12:19,192 --> 00:12:21,394 I can't imagine a better way to spend it. 107 00:12:25,298 --> 00:12:27,200 Could buy your husband a gift. 108 00:12:32,004 --> 00:12:33,373 What better gift could I give him 109 00:12:33,406 --> 00:12:35,509 than a wife who is no longer a dullard? 110 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:41,981 [Abigail] My self-education 111 00:12:42,015 --> 00:12:45,018 seems the only way to keep my unhappiness 112 00:12:45,051 --> 00:12:46,386 from overwhelming me. 113 00:12:52,058 --> 00:12:53,994 [pigs grunting] 114 00:12:58,231 --> 00:13:00,500 [somber music] 115 00:13:13,512 --> 00:13:16,883 [pigs squealing] 116 00:13:31,464 --> 00:13:32,465 [squelches] 117 00:13:59,058 --> 00:14:00,193 Good afternoon. 118 00:14:04,030 --> 00:14:06,232 I've been using a broom on my porch. 119 00:14:06,265 --> 00:14:07,367 The snow is so dry. 120 00:14:10,369 --> 00:14:11,371 I'm Tallie. 121 00:14:13,372 --> 00:14:14,407 Abigail. 122 00:14:18,144 --> 00:14:19,412 I hope I'm not intruding. 123 00:14:20,112 --> 00:14:21,013 No. 124 00:14:21,047 --> 00:14:23,549 I just, I needed to get away for the day. 125 00:14:23,582 --> 00:14:25,385 The farm is a slaughterhouse right now. 126 00:14:25,418 --> 00:14:27,053 My husband is killing his hogs. 127 00:14:32,358 --> 00:14:33,526 Would you like to come in? 128 00:14:34,593 --> 00:14:35,896 Yes, I'd love that. 129 00:14:39,732 --> 00:14:42,202 Or we could just stay out on the porch, shivering. 130 00:14:47,139 --> 00:14:48,441 I know it's the dullest of all things 131 00:14:48,474 --> 00:14:50,009 to have an ignorant neighbor come by 132 00:14:50,042 --> 00:14:51,611 and spoil a Sunday afternoon. 133 00:14:51,644 --> 00:14:53,479 Oh, no, you're the most welcome here. 134 00:14:53,512 --> 00:14:55,982 But I know the feeling. 135 00:14:56,015 --> 00:14:58,651 Sometimes, I imagine during the Widow Weldon's visits 136 00:14:58,684 --> 00:15:02,455 that I've been plunged up to my eyes in a vat of the prosaic. 137 00:15:02,488 --> 00:15:04,123 Oh, Widow Weldon! 138 00:15:04,156 --> 00:15:05,725 She got going on the county levy once... 139 00:15:05,758 --> 00:15:08,461 [Abigail] She saw I had noticed her hair, 140 00:15:08,494 --> 00:15:11,197 and admitted she had been vain about it as a girl. 141 00:15:11,230 --> 00:15:14,133 She said that back then, she'd worn it longer 142 00:15:14,166 --> 00:15:17,070 and plaited in a bun at the back of her head. 143 00:15:19,505 --> 00:15:22,442 In the winter sun through the window, 144 00:15:22,475 --> 00:15:25,345 her skin had an underflush of rose and violet 145 00:15:25,378 --> 00:15:29,182 which so disconcerted me that I had to look away. 146 00:15:34,053 --> 00:15:35,188 As always, 147 00:15:36,288 --> 00:15:38,057 when it came to speaking 148 00:15:38,090 --> 00:15:41,995 and attempting to engage another's affections, 149 00:15:42,028 --> 00:15:45,598 circumstances doomed me to striving and anxiety. 150 00:15:47,433 --> 00:15:51,571 From my earliest youth, I was like a pot-bound root, 151 00:15:51,604 --> 00:15:54,007 all curled in upon itself. 152 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,209 I hope I'm not keeping you from something. 153 00:15:56,242 --> 00:15:57,243 No. 154 00:16:00,146 --> 00:16:01,348 I'm glad you've come. 155 00:16:03,449 --> 00:16:06,052 Finney saw your husband at the cooperage. 156 00:16:06,085 --> 00:16:08,488 He mentioned his new method for farrowing his piglets. 157 00:16:10,056 --> 00:16:12,625 With some asperity? 158 00:16:12,658 --> 00:16:15,195 My husband mentions everything with some asperity. 159 00:16:18,064 --> 00:16:19,332 I told him that once, 160 00:16:20,366 --> 00:16:21,567 and... 161 00:16:21,601 --> 00:16:24,103 he observed in response that it seemed to be quite a favor 162 00:16:24,136 --> 00:16:25,605 to get a kind word from me. 163 00:16:25,638 --> 00:16:27,440 And I told him that if he was married to himself, 164 00:16:27,473 --> 00:16:29,509 he'd soon find out what a favor it was. 165 00:16:29,542 --> 00:16:31,177 [soft laugh] 166 00:16:31,210 --> 00:16:32,612 My mother always said that having children 167 00:16:32,645 --> 00:16:34,147 would resolve that dilemma. 168 00:16:35,281 --> 00:16:37,117 My mother made the same claim. 169 00:16:39,685 --> 00:16:40,720 And yet... 170 00:16:41,787 --> 00:16:43,089 Here we are... 171 00:16:44,457 --> 00:16:45,792 Both childless. 172 00:16:47,693 --> 00:16:50,329 [fire crackling] 173 00:16:50,362 --> 00:16:52,599 My daughter, Nellie, would have been five today. 174 00:16:54,667 --> 00:16:56,636 Oh. 175 00:16:56,669 --> 00:16:58,038 How did she pass? 176 00:17:01,207 --> 00:17:02,608 Diphtheria. 177 00:17:02,641 --> 00:17:03,810 Last September. 178 00:17:05,778 --> 00:17:07,180 I'm so sorry. 179 00:17:08,481 --> 00:17:09,516 [door opens] 180 00:17:14,854 --> 00:17:16,289 -Hello. -Oh. 181 00:17:16,755 --> 00:17:17,757 Good afternoon. 182 00:17:18,457 --> 00:17:19,459 I'm Dyer. 183 00:17:20,759 --> 00:17:21,761 Tallie. 184 00:17:27,633 --> 00:17:29,569 Oh, it's late, isn't it? I should be getting on. 185 00:17:31,570 --> 00:17:33,139 Don't go on my account. 186 00:17:33,172 --> 00:17:34,207 Oh, no. 187 00:17:36,575 --> 00:17:38,277 That's a nice wrap you have. 188 00:17:38,310 --> 00:17:40,113 Thank you. 189 00:17:40,146 --> 00:17:42,215 I never receive compliments for my clothes. 190 00:17:44,583 --> 00:17:45,785 [Dyer coughing] 191 00:17:47,453 --> 00:17:49,255 I'm so glad you've come. 192 00:17:49,288 --> 00:17:50,723 Meeting you has made my day. 193 00:17:51,457 --> 00:17:52,459 It has? 194 00:17:53,526 --> 00:17:55,228 Well... 195 00:17:55,261 --> 00:17:58,264 How pleasant and uncommon it is to make someone's day. 196 00:17:59,632 --> 00:18:02,502 Thursday, February 14th. 197 00:18:04,570 --> 00:18:06,639 Dyer's third night with the fever. 198 00:18:06,672 --> 00:18:09,309 [heavy coughing] 199 00:18:10,543 --> 00:18:11,611 Drink this. 200 00:18:12,378 --> 00:18:14,447 [Dyer coughing] 201 00:18:28,794 --> 00:18:30,797 I plan on getting sick more often. 202 00:18:32,665 --> 00:18:34,367 My wife smiles at me. 203 00:18:39,738 --> 00:18:43,376 [coughing continues] 204 00:18:43,409 --> 00:18:45,145 Promise me you're not gonna die. 205 00:18:46,645 --> 00:18:48,347 [deep breath] 206 00:18:48,380 --> 00:18:50,750 That would be the opposite of my intention. 207 00:18:57,356 --> 00:18:58,591 [Abigail] I've restored him somewhat 208 00:18:58,624 --> 00:19:00,359 with an enema of molasses, 209 00:19:00,392 --> 00:19:01,895 warm water and lard. 210 00:19:03,596 --> 00:19:06,566 Also a drop of turpentine next to his nose. 211 00:19:09,835 --> 00:19:13,506 I spent the day reconsidering my conversation with Tallie. 212 00:19:15,507 --> 00:19:18,277 We compared childhood beds... 213 00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:19,411 Mine in which the straw 214 00:19:19,445 --> 00:19:22,548 was always breaking up and thinning out. 215 00:19:22,581 --> 00:19:25,785 And hers, which was as hard, she claimed, 216 00:19:25,818 --> 00:19:27,520 as the Pharaoh's heart. 217 00:19:31,624 --> 00:19:33,393 [Dyer] I should be taking care of you. 218 00:19:34,793 --> 00:19:35,795 I agree. 219 00:19:37,796 --> 00:19:39,866 [soft giggling] 220 00:19:43,702 --> 00:19:47,673 [Abigail] Her manner is sweet and calm and gracious. 221 00:19:47,706 --> 00:19:49,609 And yet her spirits seem to quicken 222 00:19:49,642 --> 00:19:52,478 at the prospect of further conversation with me. 223 00:19:55,047 --> 00:19:57,383 I find that everything I wish to tell her 224 00:19:57,416 --> 00:20:00,253 loses its eloquence in her presence. 225 00:20:02,855 --> 00:20:05,491 So how did you come to meet Dyer? 226 00:20:05,524 --> 00:20:07,426 He was the oldest son of a neighbor. 227 00:20:07,459 --> 00:20:09,262 He helped out on my father's farm. 228 00:20:10,362 --> 00:20:12,498 And was he instantly smitten by you? 229 00:20:12,531 --> 00:20:13,833 [scoffs] 230 00:20:13,866 --> 00:20:15,001 He was, wasn't he? 231 00:20:15,034 --> 00:20:16,836 He was instantly smitten by you. 232 00:20:20,806 --> 00:20:25,511 He admired what he viewed as my practical good sense. 233 00:20:25,544 --> 00:20:28,981 You don't countenance words like "smitten", do you? 234 00:20:29,014 --> 00:20:31,317 I suspect I use all the same words you do. 235 00:20:31,350 --> 00:20:33,486 I suspect you don't. 236 00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:35,288 In speech, yes, because you're shy. 237 00:20:35,321 --> 00:20:37,023 But I bet you're more accomplished in your writing. 238 00:20:42,695 --> 00:20:43,696 Thank you. 239 00:20:45,964 --> 00:20:49,435 Your good sense, that's all your husband was smitten with? 240 00:20:52,438 --> 00:20:54,274 And my efficient habits. 241 00:20:55,407 --> 00:20:56,442 That's all? 242 00:20:56,975 --> 00:20:58,444 My handy ways. 243 00:21:02,681 --> 00:21:04,550 Dyer likes mechanical things. 244 00:21:07,019 --> 00:21:08,554 I have no doubt he would've been happier 245 00:21:08,587 --> 00:21:09,989 had he been allowed to pursue 246 00:21:10,022 --> 00:21:12,892 the natural scientific bent of his mind. 247 00:21:12,925 --> 00:21:15,061 Circumstances forced him into farming. 248 00:21:16,695 --> 00:21:20,066 And despite all of that, his heart compelled him to you? 249 00:21:23,469 --> 00:21:25,471 Well... 250 00:21:25,504 --> 00:21:28,507 You would have to ask him about that. 251 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:30,376 And what would you say if I asked you? 252 00:21:40,586 --> 00:21:42,989 I suppose that as a suitor, he was... 253 00:21:44,089 --> 00:21:47,059 not generous, but he was just. 254 00:21:47,092 --> 00:21:50,396 And that he was affectionate, if not constant. 255 00:21:59,538 --> 00:22:01,474 I wasn't sure of his suitability. 256 00:22:05,878 --> 00:22:08,414 But my family felt that more improving 257 00:22:08,447 --> 00:22:09,515 might be in the offing. 258 00:22:11,683 --> 00:22:14,554 After all, it is a long lane that has no turning. 259 00:22:20,025 --> 00:22:22,695 You both have much to be thankful for. 260 00:22:25,697 --> 00:22:26,733 We do. 261 00:22:45,918 --> 00:22:47,153 It's still too soon. 262 00:22:50,823 --> 00:22:51,691 Sorry. 263 00:22:51,724 --> 00:22:54,727 [Abigail] Tuesday, February 19th. 264 00:22:55,928 --> 00:22:58,698 [deep breath] 265 00:23:02,734 --> 00:23:06,872 My reluctance seems to have become his shame. 266 00:23:06,905 --> 00:23:10,843 His nighttime pleasures, which were never numerous, 267 00:23:10,876 --> 00:23:13,612 have curtailed even more. 268 00:23:13,645 --> 00:23:17,483 And I have so far refused to engage his persistence 269 00:23:17,516 --> 00:23:19,485 on the subject of another child. 270 00:23:54,086 --> 00:23:55,087 [Dyer] Evening. 271 00:23:56,522 --> 00:23:57,857 [Tallie] This is my husband Finney. 272 00:23:57,890 --> 00:23:58,924 And you already know Dyer. 273 00:23:58,957 --> 00:23:59,992 Our paths have crossed. 274 00:24:00,025 --> 00:24:02,595 And this is the Abigail that I've been mentioning. 275 00:24:02,628 --> 00:24:04,663 My wife talks about you as if you're all about the house, 276 00:24:04,696 --> 00:24:05,897 and everything reminds her of you. 277 00:24:05,931 --> 00:24:08,934 Oh, well, it's all I can do but sit cross-legged and morose 278 00:24:08,967 --> 00:24:10,002 whenever she's away. 279 00:24:11,603 --> 00:24:13,672 -Come in. -Thank you. 280 00:24:13,705 --> 00:24:16,476 The rain so heavy that it broke down our mill. 281 00:24:20,779 --> 00:24:21,814 Did you miss me? 282 00:24:23,048 --> 00:24:24,083 Yes. 283 00:24:25,651 --> 00:24:26,786 You look different. 284 00:24:28,053 --> 00:24:29,121 No... 285 00:24:29,154 --> 00:24:30,223 [soft laugh] 286 00:24:32,291 --> 00:24:33,860 Finney seems agreeable. 287 00:24:36,762 --> 00:24:38,564 Yes, he is, when he chooses to be. 288 00:24:43,902 --> 00:24:45,037 [deep breath] 289 00:24:47,673 --> 00:24:48,941 [chuckles] 290 00:24:52,911 --> 00:24:55,080 [Finney] I guess I'm supposed to offer a toast. 291 00:24:55,113 --> 00:24:56,348 But when it comes to the social graces, 292 00:24:56,381 --> 00:24:59,318 I'm about as smooth as coming down a rocky hill in the dark. 293 00:24:59,351 --> 00:25:01,053 What my husband means is he's so happy 294 00:25:01,086 --> 00:25:02,221 to finally get together, 295 00:25:02,254 --> 00:25:03,689 and to see Dyer again. 296 00:25:05,290 --> 00:25:06,526 [clinking] 297 00:25:06,959 --> 00:25:08,027 Cheers. 298 00:25:10,095 --> 00:25:11,697 Part of what I value about my wife 299 00:25:11,730 --> 00:25:14,133 is how she taught me to associate with my fellow beings. 300 00:25:19,137 --> 00:25:21,240 Finney, that's a handsome neck tie you've chosen. 301 00:25:21,940 --> 00:25:23,042 Thank you. 302 00:25:23,075 --> 00:25:24,210 But with my neck, 303 00:25:24,243 --> 00:25:26,946 my head sticks out like a chicken in a poultry wagon. 304 00:25:26,979 --> 00:25:28,314 Your tart was wonderfully savory. 305 00:25:28,347 --> 00:25:29,982 Oh, did you like it? I'm so glad. 306 00:25:30,015 --> 00:25:31,183 I was worried I wouldn't have enough eggs 307 00:25:31,216 --> 00:25:33,719 -because we had an accident. -Oh. 308 00:25:33,752 --> 00:25:36,589 My hired hand pulled down a box of eggs and broke two dozen. 309 00:25:36,622 --> 00:25:38,257 I announced that he was unlucky to eggs 310 00:25:38,290 --> 00:25:40,192 and no longer allowed to approach them. 311 00:25:40,225 --> 00:25:43,195 "Unlucky to eggs." I like that. 312 00:25:43,228 --> 00:25:45,864 I told him that his shirt had so many holes, 313 00:25:45,897 --> 00:25:47,633 he can make a necklace of it. 314 00:25:47,666 --> 00:25:50,836 Well, we often wish we could afford a hired hand. 315 00:25:50,869 --> 00:25:53,105 We've suffered a great deal from the carelessness of hired hands. 316 00:25:53,138 --> 00:25:55,140 Mr. Holt's hired hand is said to have swum his horse 317 00:25:55,173 --> 00:25:56,942 over the canal despite the cold. 318 00:25:56,975 --> 00:25:57,977 Really? 319 00:25:59,111 --> 00:26:00,779 Yes. 320 00:26:00,812 --> 00:26:01,981 Winter's been so hard, 321 00:26:02,014 --> 00:26:03,282 sometimes Mrs. Weldon's son 322 00:26:03,315 --> 00:26:05,918 has had to deliver the mail on skis. 323 00:26:05,951 --> 00:26:08,721 Now our letters can get lost at breakneck speed. 324 00:26:08,754 --> 00:26:10,990 Did you write letters to Tallie when you were courting? 325 00:26:12,324 --> 00:26:13,326 I did. 326 00:26:16,261 --> 00:26:17,663 And did Tallie keep them? 327 00:26:20,899 --> 00:26:22,368 Only Tallie knows for sure. 328 00:26:23,368 --> 00:26:25,638 [fire crackling] 329 00:26:30,242 --> 00:26:32,911 [Abigail]Monday, February 25th. 330 00:26:32,944 --> 00:26:34,714 -[man shouting] -[sheep bleating] 331 00:26:44,856 --> 00:26:47,693 Finney and Tallie's bond confounds me. 332 00:26:49,394 --> 00:26:51,263 At times, when their eyes meet, 333 00:26:51,296 --> 00:26:55,868 they seem yoked in opposition to one another, 334 00:26:55,901 --> 00:26:59,105 while at other times, there seems a shared regard. 335 00:27:01,473 --> 00:27:03,409 There is something going on between us 336 00:27:03,442 --> 00:27:05,044 that I cannot unravel. 337 00:27:08,714 --> 00:27:09,715 Hold this here. 338 00:27:16,855 --> 00:27:17,890 Okay. 339 00:27:30,836 --> 00:27:31,837 Thank you. 340 00:27:53,191 --> 00:27:54,226 [door slams] 341 00:27:57,462 --> 00:27:58,698 Hello, Dyer. 342 00:27:59,765 --> 00:28:00,766 Well, hello. 343 00:28:01,333 --> 00:28:02,901 You're off? 344 00:28:02,934 --> 00:28:04,136 Yes, to town. 345 00:28:05,437 --> 00:28:06,839 Have a good day. 346 00:28:07,806 --> 00:28:09,041 She'll be pleased to see you. 347 00:28:09,841 --> 00:28:12,144 [cows mooing] 348 00:28:15,347 --> 00:28:16,348 [knocking] 349 00:28:20,051 --> 00:28:21,320 Happy birthday! 350 00:28:24,122 --> 00:28:25,424 Brought you some things. 351 00:28:29,795 --> 00:28:30,896 Hand-knitted? 352 00:28:31,530 --> 00:28:33,031 I hoped you'd like them. 353 00:28:33,064 --> 00:28:34,100 I do. 354 00:28:41,139 --> 00:28:42,174 An Atlas! 355 00:28:47,412 --> 00:28:49,415 The United States of America. 356 00:28:52,918 --> 00:28:55,454 Oh and a little pot of apple sauce with an egg on top. 357 00:29:01,493 --> 00:29:03,028 My feet are freezing. 358 00:29:03,061 --> 00:29:04,330 Oh, let me warm them. 359 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,369 [dog barking] 360 00:29:17,142 --> 00:29:18,144 How's Finney? 361 00:29:20,178 --> 00:29:21,180 He's Finney. 362 00:29:33,458 --> 00:29:34,527 Ah, it tickles. 363 00:29:40,599 --> 00:29:44,503 [metal clanking] 364 00:29:44,536 --> 00:29:47,273 My husband records trespassers in his journals. 365 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:50,509 And this morning, when I asked him 366 00:29:50,542 --> 00:29:52,177 what he intends to do about them, 367 00:29:52,210 --> 00:29:54,380 his response was so unpleasant that I... 368 00:29:55,580 --> 00:29:57,049 resolved to visit you... 369 00:29:59,150 --> 00:30:00,853 so that there would be something in my day 370 00:30:00,886 --> 00:30:02,221 other than his meanness. 371 00:30:06,057 --> 00:30:08,961 Dyer thinks he has many estimable qualities. 372 00:30:08,994 --> 00:30:10,195 [Tallie] He does. 373 00:30:10,229 --> 00:30:13,165 And he also uses a ledger to keep accounting of whom I visit 374 00:30:13,198 --> 00:30:14,366 and how long I stay. 375 00:30:14,399 --> 00:30:15,634 Why? 376 00:30:15,667 --> 00:30:17,202 I have no idea. 377 00:30:17,235 --> 00:30:18,637 As he's gotten more like this, 378 00:30:18,670 --> 00:30:20,472 I've given up trying to figure out 379 00:30:20,505 --> 00:30:22,508 all the peculiarities of his... 380 00:30:24,142 --> 00:30:25,444 odd little world. 381 00:30:29,447 --> 00:30:32,484 I suppose he's especially unhappy with me since... 382 00:30:34,519 --> 00:30:36,288 I'm yet to give him a child. 383 00:30:44,562 --> 00:30:46,098 What does it feel like? 384 00:30:48,366 --> 00:30:50,069 Like nothing at first. 385 00:30:51,169 --> 00:30:54,106 But then when she began to stir... 386 00:30:54,139 --> 00:30:56,375 it's like butterflies flapping their wings. 387 00:30:58,610 --> 00:31:01,146 Later, like a rabbit... 388 00:31:01,179 --> 00:31:03,048 when she kicked her legs at night. 389 00:31:06,518 --> 00:31:07,920 It frightens me. 390 00:31:13,591 --> 00:31:15,394 The thought of having none of that. 391 00:31:21,433 --> 00:31:22,568 And of giving birth. 392 00:31:23,635 --> 00:31:25,437 Most of us feel that way. 393 00:31:28,373 --> 00:31:29,375 But... 394 00:31:30,575 --> 00:31:33,946 when the time comes, I will be there... 395 00:31:33,979 --> 00:31:35,247 to guide you through it. 396 00:31:44,022 --> 00:31:45,457 Dyer must want another child. 397 00:31:52,464 --> 00:31:53,499 I understand. 398 00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:56,702 [wind whooshing] 399 00:32:03,108 --> 00:32:05,577 [horse neighing] 400 00:32:27,198 --> 00:32:28,200 [door slams] 401 00:32:29,401 --> 00:32:30,469 Birthday gifts. 402 00:32:32,771 --> 00:32:35,341 [heavy breathing] 403 00:32:42,814 --> 00:32:44,350 A box of raisins. 404 00:32:45,750 --> 00:32:47,619 That needle case you've been needing. 405 00:32:47,652 --> 00:32:49,221 And a tin of sardines. 406 00:32:50,121 --> 00:32:51,123 You spoil me. 407 00:32:53,758 --> 00:32:57,096 Oh, you got gifts from your new friend. 408 00:33:00,565 --> 00:33:02,034 She left hours ago. 409 00:33:05,136 --> 00:33:06,305 I just saw her leave. 410 00:33:12,377 --> 00:33:16,248 -[wind howling] -[horse panting] 411 00:33:16,281 --> 00:33:17,382 [Abigail]The great storm began 412 00:33:17,416 --> 00:33:20,819 with a faint groaning in the northeast. 413 00:33:20,852 --> 00:33:23,689 It was like a noise of a locomotive. 414 00:33:24,489 --> 00:33:26,492 [high pitched tone] 415 00:33:29,661 --> 00:33:32,664 [sheep bleating] 416 00:33:47,412 --> 00:33:51,517 [indistinct shouting] 417 00:34:00,592 --> 00:34:04,063 [grunting] 418 00:34:11,336 --> 00:34:13,338 [wind thrashing] 419 00:34:15,540 --> 00:34:16,809 [indistinct chatter] 420 00:34:20,411 --> 00:34:21,447 Help! 421 00:34:22,747 --> 00:34:23,749 [shouting] 422 00:34:36,694 --> 00:34:38,697 [foreboding music] 423 00:34:58,850 --> 00:35:00,652 [man 3] Come closer, girl. 424 00:35:00,685 --> 00:35:02,187 It's warmer over here. 425 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,536 [striking match] 426 00:35:23,308 --> 00:35:25,777 I'm sorry, I'll be going. 427 00:35:25,810 --> 00:35:27,146 You should wait it out. 428 00:35:30,915 --> 00:35:32,217 [groaning] 429 00:35:36,955 --> 00:35:38,157 Come on, mare. 430 00:35:46,397 --> 00:35:48,901 [foreboding music] 431 00:36:03,381 --> 00:36:04,683 Dyer! 432 00:36:13,725 --> 00:36:14,927 Dyer! 433 00:36:25,603 --> 00:36:27,940 [tense music] 434 00:36:38,683 --> 00:36:39,985 Dyer! 435 00:36:50,662 --> 00:36:53,232 [wind thrashing] 436 00:37:00,071 --> 00:37:03,475 [Abigail]How long would it be before I receive word of Tallie? 437 00:37:05,677 --> 00:37:07,246 How long could I wait? 438 00:37:10,882 --> 00:37:12,818 How long will the feed in the barn last? 439 00:37:15,953 --> 00:37:18,790 Each cow eats 26 pounds of forage every day. 440 00:37:19,957 --> 00:37:22,327 You should know that. 441 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,864 They start to skinny down after three days. 442 00:37:25,897 --> 00:37:28,700 Heard the newspaper predicts the storm'll let up by then. 443 00:37:28,733 --> 00:37:29,968 But that's probably based on 444 00:37:30,001 --> 00:37:32,404 an expert's consultation of a goose bone. 445 00:37:42,780 --> 00:37:43,981 [sighs deeply] 446 00:37:44,015 --> 00:37:47,486 "In a real crisis of nature, we're all at another's mercy." 447 00:37:48,019 --> 00:37:49,054 Yes. 448 00:37:51,389 --> 00:37:52,390 My mother liked to say, 449 00:37:52,424 --> 00:37:55,060 "We tumble from one mortification to another." 450 00:38:01,999 --> 00:38:05,070 When I was seven, an earthquake knocked down our house and barn. 451 00:38:07,605 --> 00:38:08,607 Did I tell you? 452 00:38:09,607 --> 00:38:10,642 Never. 453 00:38:11,843 --> 00:38:13,578 -An earthquake? -Yes. 454 00:38:16,481 --> 00:38:18,350 I remember something woke me before dawn. 455 00:38:18,383 --> 00:38:19,584 I don't know what. 456 00:38:21,686 --> 00:38:23,021 My father was calling out. 457 00:38:25,923 --> 00:38:29,494 But I couldn't tear myself away from the window. 458 00:38:29,527 --> 00:38:33,832 I saw birds fluttering in the air, afraid to set down. 459 00:38:33,865 --> 00:38:36,401 The river was roiling, and I couldn't move. 460 00:38:38,403 --> 00:38:39,438 And then... 461 00:38:44,175 --> 00:38:47,679 Finally, I jumped down to our collapsed stairwell, 462 00:38:49,814 --> 00:38:51,716 as all my brothers had done before me. 463 00:38:51,749 --> 00:38:54,086 And we all huddled together in the dark on the porch. 464 00:39:04,495 --> 00:39:05,930 Later, my mother said 465 00:39:05,963 --> 00:39:08,767 that the dread never fully went away after that. 466 00:39:13,471 --> 00:39:15,974 She said, "What was safe if the solid earth could do that?" 467 00:39:19,210 --> 00:39:22,948 [deep breath] Mother. 468 00:39:32,523 --> 00:39:35,927 [rapid breathing] 469 00:39:41,566 --> 00:39:43,168 Tallie! You're frozen! 470 00:39:48,739 --> 00:39:51,609 Tallie! Stay awake! Stay awake! 471 00:39:51,642 --> 00:39:53,612 Open your eyes! Open your eyes! 472 00:39:55,246 --> 00:39:57,516 [blowing] 473 00:39:59,016 --> 00:40:00,018 Keep your eyes open! 474 00:40:00,885 --> 00:40:01,887 Keep your eyes open! 475 00:40:03,754 --> 00:40:04,990 Look at me. 476 00:40:07,124 --> 00:40:08,860 I would die without you. 477 00:40:16,100 --> 00:40:17,569 Then you're safe. 478 00:40:19,670 --> 00:40:20,906 Because I am here. 479 00:40:23,007 --> 00:40:25,110 [Abigail] Monday, March 17th. 480 00:40:41,292 --> 00:40:44,195 Half the chickens are lost. 481 00:40:44,228 --> 00:40:47,832 I dug ice and snow from their dead open mouths 482 00:40:47,865 --> 00:40:50,502 in an attempt to revive them. 483 00:40:56,874 --> 00:40:59,744 [splashing] 484 00:41:23,834 --> 00:41:24,870 Hobnails... 485 00:41:26,170 --> 00:41:27,572 For better traction. 486 00:41:30,875 --> 00:41:32,977 [Abigail] The Widow Weldon's son, on his rounds, 487 00:41:33,010 --> 00:41:36,080 reported that Tallie had gotten home safely, 488 00:41:36,113 --> 00:41:38,917 with, he thought, only a bit of frostbite. 489 00:41:38,950 --> 00:41:41,086 We haven't seen your friend down the lane for a while. 490 00:41:42,119 --> 00:41:44,122 Finney took her to Oneonta. 491 00:41:47,892 --> 00:41:49,928 So everything is tedious and lonesome? 492 00:41:51,228 --> 00:41:53,598 [Abigail]Thursday, April 10th. 493 00:41:54,098 --> 00:41:56,101 [light music] 494 00:41:57,835 --> 00:42:00,171 Biscuits and dried mackerel for breakfast. 495 00:42:02,073 --> 00:42:04,742 Dyer has augmented the padding in the cattle pens 496 00:42:04,775 --> 00:42:07,679 with his hoardings of maple leaves and old straw. 497 00:42:09,714 --> 00:42:12,117 It always seems that Tallie will never appear. 498 00:42:13,884 --> 00:42:16,754 But I remind myself that time and the needle wear 499 00:42:16,787 --> 00:42:18,290 through the longest morning. 500 00:42:19,890 --> 00:42:22,227 And I have noted that when she does arrive, 501 00:42:23,861 --> 00:42:27,165 my heart is like a leaf borne over a rock 502 00:42:27,198 --> 00:42:29,300 by rapidly moving water. 503 00:42:29,333 --> 00:42:31,636 [dog barking] 504 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:38,643 [dramatic music] 505 00:42:50,321 --> 00:42:51,389 Hello. Oh! 506 00:42:51,422 --> 00:42:53,324 Oh! Careful. 507 00:42:53,357 --> 00:42:55,393 [laughing] 508 00:42:55,426 --> 00:42:58,096 Stay. Sit, sit. 509 00:42:59,030 --> 00:43:00,098 [chuckles] 510 00:43:03,267 --> 00:43:05,003 [dog whines] 511 00:43:05,036 --> 00:43:07,839 [Abigail]Saturday, April 12th. 512 00:43:07,872 --> 00:43:11,209 -I spent the last two days... -Very damp, cloudy and cool. 513 00:43:12,376 --> 00:43:14,045 Smoky. 514 00:43:14,078 --> 00:43:16,748 Perhaps the forest is somewhere on fire. 515 00:43:19,250 --> 00:43:21,886 Your nose is being gracious. 516 00:43:21,919 --> 00:43:24,956 [Abigail] Monday, April 14th. 517 00:43:24,989 --> 00:43:27,725 A terribly bad spring so far, 518 00:43:27,758 --> 00:43:30,061 but the clover has come up through it, 519 00:43:30,094 --> 00:43:31,329 and is all right. 520 00:43:33,264 --> 00:43:34,265 And how's Finney? 521 00:43:35,433 --> 00:43:36,968 The soul of patience. 522 00:43:38,335 --> 00:43:41,206 He's mentioning again the idea of migrating west. 523 00:43:43,941 --> 00:43:45,644 You're planning on moving west? 524 00:43:46,711 --> 00:43:48,880 Perhaps. 525 00:43:48,913 --> 00:43:53,184 I had an uncle who moved to Ohio and came to a desperate end. 526 00:43:53,217 --> 00:43:55,720 Which is what one might expect from Ohio. 527 00:43:57,755 --> 00:43:59,858 -Tomorrow? -Hm. 528 00:44:04,929 --> 00:44:07,999 [Abigail]Thursday, April 17th. 529 00:44:08,032 --> 00:44:11,369 Rain in torrents nearly all night. 530 00:44:11,402 --> 00:44:14,939 The lane is flooded and the ditches brim full. 531 00:44:14,972 --> 00:44:18,009 This morning, only a slight shower. 532 00:44:18,042 --> 00:44:20,912 Tallie came later than her usual time today. 533 00:44:22,179 --> 00:44:24,082 She offered no explanation. 534 00:44:25,116 --> 00:44:27,819 [soft music] 535 00:44:47,304 --> 00:44:51,876 I'm sorry that your childhood was anything less than joyous. 536 00:44:51,909 --> 00:44:53,244 Joyous it was not. 537 00:44:54,411 --> 00:44:56,114 But I made my own happinesses. 538 00:44:59,216 --> 00:45:02,453 My husband says, "God puts heavy stones in your path, 539 00:45:02,486 --> 00:45:04,122 it's up to us to step over them." 540 00:45:06,857 --> 00:45:08,893 Stones are what the fortunate receive. 541 00:45:10,194 --> 00:45:14,132 My mother's mother was born in 1780 542 00:45:14,165 --> 00:45:16,000 right here in Schoharie County. 543 00:45:18,002 --> 00:45:20,505 I often wonder at the courage 544 00:45:20,538 --> 00:45:22,474 and the resourcefulness of those women. 545 00:45:24,441 --> 00:45:27,411 Imagine faring forth into a wilderness, 546 00:45:27,444 --> 00:45:29,981 hoping to build the foundations of a home. 547 00:45:34,318 --> 00:45:37,222 Maybe they had a certain high hopefulness that we don't have. 548 00:45:42,393 --> 00:45:44,062 [horse neighing in distance] 549 00:45:46,030 --> 00:45:47,065 When can you come? 550 00:45:48,265 --> 00:45:49,300 Tuesday. 551 00:45:56,106 --> 00:45:57,241 -Hello, Tallie! -Good day. 552 00:45:57,274 --> 00:45:59,143 Was your afternoon gladsome? 553 00:45:59,176 --> 00:46:00,245 Yes, it was, very. 554 00:46:03,414 --> 00:46:05,150 -Goodbye. -Goodbye. 555 00:46:10,254 --> 00:46:12,190 [Abigail] I felt, 556 00:46:12,223 --> 00:46:14,892 looking at her expression, 557 00:46:14,925 --> 00:46:18,830 as if she were in full sail on a flood tide, 558 00:46:18,863 --> 00:46:21,299 while I bobbed along down backwards. 559 00:46:22,166 --> 00:46:23,968 And yet, 560 00:46:24,001 --> 00:46:27,238 I never say on her countenance the indifference 561 00:46:27,271 --> 00:46:30,308 of fortunate towards the less fortunate. 562 00:46:31,375 --> 00:46:32,477 [sighs] 563 00:46:45,022 --> 00:46:46,224 [dog panting] 564 00:47:02,406 --> 00:47:03,408 Good day. 565 00:47:04,174 --> 00:47:05,243 Good day. 566 00:47:05,276 --> 00:47:06,277 Are you sick, too? 567 00:47:07,311 --> 00:47:08,346 Not at all. 568 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:11,149 I was hoping to compare colds. 569 00:47:12,650 --> 00:47:14,052 I'll make you tea and honey? 570 00:47:40,477 --> 00:47:41,512 What? 571 00:47:43,981 --> 00:47:44,949 Every morning I wake up 572 00:47:44,982 --> 00:47:47,652 and I think that I never want to be far from you. 573 00:47:58,128 --> 00:48:00,298 And under your influence, since you're so good with words, 574 00:48:00,331 --> 00:48:01,399 I've composed a poem. 575 00:48:04,601 --> 00:48:07,271 It's entitled... 576 00:48:07,304 --> 00:48:09,307 "Oh, Sick and Miserable Heart, Be Still." 577 00:48:17,281 --> 00:48:18,683 When I was a little girl, 578 00:48:18,716 --> 00:48:20,685 I thought I could cultivate my intellect 579 00:48:20,718 --> 00:48:22,987 and do something for the world. 580 00:48:25,756 --> 00:48:30,328 But my life has surprised me by being far more ordinary. 581 00:48:36,100 --> 00:48:37,268 You're talking about that moment 582 00:48:37,301 --> 00:48:41,138 that I have dreamed about, when we're carried in triumph 583 00:48:41,171 --> 00:48:44,408 for having done something wonderful or received at home 584 00:48:44,441 --> 00:48:48,012 with tears and shouts of joy. 585 00:48:48,045 --> 00:48:49,247 Do you know what I wonder? 586 00:49:00,357 --> 00:49:02,526 Is it possible... 587 00:49:02,559 --> 00:49:05,496 that such a moment hasn't yet come for either of us? 588 00:49:08,232 --> 00:49:09,534 I think it has. 589 00:49:13,537 --> 00:49:14,672 Or that it could. 590 00:49:15,305 --> 00:49:16,307 You do. 591 00:49:18,409 --> 00:49:19,444 So what do you think? 592 00:49:21,145 --> 00:49:22,347 What do you think about us? 593 00:49:27,284 --> 00:49:29,153 I don't know how to put it into words. 594 00:49:29,186 --> 00:49:30,188 Well, try. 595 00:49:32,423 --> 00:49:34,025 -I have tried. -Well, try again. 596 00:49:34,058 --> 00:49:35,293 What do you imagine? 597 00:49:41,532 --> 00:49:43,200 I imagine that I love 598 00:49:43,233 --> 00:49:46,304 how our encircling feelings leave nothing out... 599 00:49:48,305 --> 00:49:49,774 for us to want or seek. 600 00:49:54,611 --> 00:49:56,347 I've presumed too much. 601 00:50:06,590 --> 00:50:09,226 It's been my experience that it's not always those 602 00:50:09,259 --> 00:50:13,431 who show the least who actually feel the least. 603 00:50:19,169 --> 00:50:21,472 [scratching] 604 00:50:21,505 --> 00:50:23,341 Just my dog's toenails on the wood. 605 00:50:44,428 --> 00:50:46,697 Why didn't you do what you attempted to do? 606 00:50:56,874 --> 00:50:58,576 [soft gasp] 607 00:51:18,328 --> 00:51:20,431 [gentle music] 608 00:51:27,204 --> 00:51:28,706 I worry you'll catch my cold. 609 00:51:31,375 --> 00:51:33,544 You smell like a biscuit. 610 00:51:33,577 --> 00:51:35,246 [soft laugh] 611 00:51:41,318 --> 00:51:42,687 I have to go home. 612 00:52:02,639 --> 00:52:04,609 [Abigail]Astonishment and joy. 613 00:52:12,683 --> 00:52:14,819 Astonishment and joy. 614 00:52:25,229 --> 00:52:26,297 [sighs deeply] 615 00:52:26,330 --> 00:52:28,599 Astonishment and joy. 616 00:52:30,901 --> 00:52:34,205 [breathing deeply] 617 00:52:35,472 --> 00:52:37,475 [bright music] 618 00:52:49,953 --> 00:52:51,389 -[lock clinking] -[door opens] 619 00:52:53,023 --> 00:52:55,493 You haven't accomplished any of your responsibilities. 620 00:52:57,928 --> 00:53:00,932 -Do you need assistance? -No, I don't think so. 621 00:53:14,978 --> 00:53:16,948 So it's a cold plate for supper tonight? 622 00:53:27,691 --> 00:53:28,859 I'll milk the cows. 623 00:53:40,404 --> 00:53:42,607 [tranquil music] 624 00:54:06,863 --> 00:54:08,666 [Abigail] Friday, May 30th. 625 00:54:11,335 --> 00:54:13,470 The sunshine streaming through the branches 626 00:54:13,503 --> 00:54:16,841 makes a tremendous farrago of light and shade. 627 00:54:23,547 --> 00:54:27,451 We hold our friendship between us and study it, 628 00:54:29,019 --> 00:54:32,523 as if it were the incomplete map of our escape. 629 00:54:41,998 --> 00:54:43,534 When the day is done, 630 00:54:44,668 --> 00:54:46,103 my mind turns to her, 631 00:54:46,136 --> 00:54:48,472 and I think, with a special heat, 632 00:54:50,540 --> 00:54:52,710 "Why are we to be separated?" 633 00:54:55,545 --> 00:54:57,748 [approaching footsteps] 634 00:55:15,399 --> 00:55:17,801 Your smile stopped. Is it meant for someone else? 635 00:55:17,834 --> 00:55:19,537 Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. 636 00:55:25,075 --> 00:55:27,445 We need calico and buttons and shoe thread. 637 00:55:32,783 --> 00:55:35,086 Am I troubling you, sitting here with you like this? 638 00:55:36,753 --> 00:55:37,788 Not at all. 639 00:55:43,794 --> 00:55:44,928 I may be late coming to it, 640 00:55:44,961 --> 00:55:46,997 but I've learned consideration of others. 641 00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:51,902 I've learned the need for human sympathy 642 00:55:53,670 --> 00:55:55,039 and the unfulfilled want of it. 643 00:55:57,007 --> 00:55:58,943 I feel I've provided you with sympathy. 644 00:56:01,912 --> 00:56:03,414 I suppose that's so. 645 00:56:12,088 --> 00:56:13,557 [sighs sharply] 646 00:56:14,891 --> 00:56:15,926 [knocks on door] 647 00:56:19,896 --> 00:56:21,031 The smile returns. 648 00:56:29,206 --> 00:56:30,508 [Tallie] Good day. 649 00:56:34,044 --> 00:56:35,045 [door slamming] 650 00:56:40,851 --> 00:56:41,852 [gasps] 651 00:56:43,887 --> 00:56:48,158 [rapid breathing] Oh. 652 00:56:48,191 --> 00:56:50,461 I believe that intimacy increases goodwill. 653 00:56:51,194 --> 00:56:53,464 And if that's the case, 654 00:56:53,497 --> 00:56:54,832 then every minute we spend together 655 00:56:54,865 --> 00:56:56,767 will make us more cheerful workers. 656 00:56:59,536 --> 00:57:01,105 Won't our farms benefit from that? 657 00:57:02,572 --> 00:57:03,641 Won't our husbands? 658 00:57:06,877 --> 00:57:08,712 All our burdens will be lightened. 659 00:57:24,728 --> 00:57:27,465 [humming] 660 00:57:35,105 --> 00:57:38,876 [Abigail] When she left, I was like a skiff at sea 661 00:57:38,909 --> 00:57:41,879 with neither hand nor helm to guide it. 662 00:57:44,714 --> 00:57:47,117 They're cleaning out the drain under the street along the fork. 663 00:57:50,587 --> 00:57:52,590 And several people are down with fever. 664 00:57:58,295 --> 00:58:01,164 Holt came by to hang the bacon. 665 00:58:01,197 --> 00:58:03,934 He still hasn't recovered from being beaten by two strangers. 666 00:58:05,268 --> 00:58:08,639 He had to be hauled to his home in his cart. 667 00:58:08,672 --> 00:58:10,574 He said the men who did it were gonna kill him, 668 00:58:10,607 --> 00:58:13,010 and then realized they were mistaken as to who he was. 669 00:58:13,043 --> 00:58:14,678 Lately, it seems like all you talk about 670 00:58:14,711 --> 00:58:16,180 are highwaymen and house breakers. 671 00:58:20,116 --> 00:58:22,152 [breathes deeply] 672 00:58:23,587 --> 00:58:25,289 On the contrary, 673 00:58:25,322 --> 00:58:27,224 I often defer to your sensitivities. 674 00:58:29,292 --> 00:58:30,761 And I haven't even told you about 675 00:58:30,794 --> 00:58:32,329 all the reports in the county of men 676 00:58:32,362 --> 00:58:34,965 who've poisoned and killed their wives 677 00:58:34,998 --> 00:58:37,134 because I haven't found it a fitting subject for supper. 678 00:58:40,971 --> 00:58:43,073 [Abigail] "Killed their wives," he used those words? 679 00:58:43,106 --> 00:58:44,642 [Tallie] Mm-hm. those words. 680 00:58:46,109 --> 00:58:48,679 Have you had any disagreements? 681 00:58:48,712 --> 00:58:51,014 Yes, about my wifely duties. 682 00:58:51,047 --> 00:58:53,551 I told him that I was opposed to it, that I was not willing. 683 00:58:56,286 --> 00:58:57,655 And he accepted that? 684 00:58:59,055 --> 00:59:00,958 Well, he hasn't touched me since, so... 685 00:59:06,930 --> 00:59:07,998 [branch snapping] 686 00:59:12,969 --> 00:59:14,638 But I made myself feel better... 687 00:59:15,972 --> 00:59:17,241 by composing a poem. 688 00:59:18,942 --> 00:59:20,344 Can I read you the opening stanza? 689 00:59:21,878 --> 00:59:23,380 You can read me the entire poem. 690 00:59:23,413 --> 00:59:25,349 No, I'll start with the opening stanza. 691 00:59:31,988 --> 00:59:33,757 "I love flowering gardens. 692 00:59:34,357 --> 00:59:36,660 I love creeping plants. 693 00:59:36,693 --> 00:59:38,862 I love walking in the air, 694 00:59:38,895 --> 00:59:40,664 but I fear swarming ants." 695 00:59:45,769 --> 00:59:47,838 I don't think I can support the rhyme. 696 00:59:47,871 --> 00:59:50,908 [laughing] 697 00:59:52,942 --> 00:59:54,745 You see why I didn't read the whole thing? 698 00:59:55,812 --> 00:59:57,214 I'm sorry. 699 00:59:57,247 --> 00:59:59,683 I've always been contrary and maladroit. 700 01:00:05,955 --> 01:00:07,791 Earlier, I... I felt that... 701 01:00:10,026 --> 01:00:13,930 whenever I would draw close to you, you would retreat, 702 01:00:13,963 --> 01:00:16,333 and that, if I kept still, you would return 703 01:00:16,366 --> 01:00:19,269 but you'd stay at a distance, like those sparrows 704 01:00:19,302 --> 01:00:22,272 that stay in the farmyard and won't come into the house. 705 01:00:23,807 --> 01:00:26,843 -That's not how I feel. -How do you feel, then? 706 01:00:26,876 --> 01:00:28,779 When I was in school, 707 01:00:28,812 --> 01:00:30,447 the teacher had me read "Cordelia" 708 01:00:30,480 --> 01:00:32,049 to an older boy's "King Lear." 709 01:00:33,483 --> 01:00:34,384 Near the end of the play, 710 01:00:34,418 --> 01:00:37,421 the king and his daughter are imprisoned, 711 01:00:37,454 --> 01:00:39,657 but he views it in a positive way. 712 01:00:41,191 --> 01:00:43,961 "Come, let's away to prison," he says. 713 01:00:45,895 --> 01:00:49,299 "We two alone shall sing like birds in a cage." 714 01:00:50,400 --> 01:00:51,435 Imprisoned... 715 01:00:54,037 --> 01:00:55,339 In a positive way? 716 01:00:56,806 --> 01:01:00,310 Well, maybe that one has to read the entire play. 717 01:01:00,343 --> 01:01:02,345 It may be only in plays where people 718 01:01:02,378 --> 01:01:05,315 are imprisoned in a positive way. 719 01:01:05,348 --> 01:01:07,985 You don't think there's a cage that could work to our benefit? 720 01:01:14,124 --> 01:01:15,225 I just... 721 01:01:19,863 --> 01:01:21,065 I only know that... 722 01:01:24,033 --> 01:01:25,469 I've never liked cages. 723 01:01:41,518 --> 01:01:42,986 [wood creaking] 724 01:01:45,288 --> 01:01:48,792 I hope you had a good afternoon in Shangri-La or Timbuktu, 725 01:01:48,825 --> 01:01:49,993 wherever it is you've been. 726 01:01:50,026 --> 01:01:51,895 I had a busy afternoon, yes. 727 01:01:51,928 --> 01:01:53,196 I would think. 728 01:01:53,229 --> 01:01:55,232 Five hours you've been gone. 729 01:01:55,265 --> 01:01:56,399 I went to the drapers. 730 01:01:56,432 --> 01:01:58,869 I couldn't find anything I liked. 731 01:01:58,902 --> 01:02:00,804 Then I stopped by the tinker for a sack of coffee, 732 01:02:00,837 --> 01:02:03,440 but he's now asking 60 cents, and I only had 50. 733 01:02:03,473 --> 01:02:05,408 Then I thought I would buy you a treat of some kind, 734 01:02:05,441 --> 01:02:07,144 but Mr. Arnolds reminded me 735 01:02:07,177 --> 01:02:09,046 that I still owed for my last transactions so... 736 01:02:10,947 --> 01:02:12,816 [sighs] I was forced to close up my purse. 737 01:02:14,117 --> 01:02:15,318 [chuckles] 738 01:02:15,351 --> 01:02:17,154 Tell me everything about your day. 739 01:02:17,187 --> 01:02:18,288 Don't hold anything back. 740 01:02:18,322 --> 01:02:21,391 You're not interested in how your wife spends her time. 741 01:02:21,424 --> 01:02:23,393 I don't feel I have a wife. 742 01:02:23,426 --> 01:02:26,329 I feel I have a selfish whore who... 743 01:02:26,362 --> 01:02:28,832 who'd rather wander off to another man's house 744 01:02:28,865 --> 01:02:30,267 than contribute any labor. 745 01:02:35,138 --> 01:02:36,973 Well, Dyer was off in the fields, 746 01:02:37,006 --> 01:02:39,176 and her house is on the way back home, so... 747 01:02:41,244 --> 01:02:42,813 So it's just Abigail and you 748 01:02:42,846 --> 01:02:45,282 tittering and gossiping away the hours? 749 01:02:45,315 --> 01:02:48,418 Enjoying each other's company. 750 01:02:48,451 --> 01:02:51,888 I have certain expectations, and you have certain duties. 751 01:02:51,921 --> 01:02:54,858 We've talked all night and day about your expectations. 752 01:02:57,260 --> 01:02:58,595 I will not stay with a woman 753 01:02:58,628 --> 01:03:00,897 if it continually requires contention. 754 01:03:00,930 --> 01:03:03,366 Well, then you shouldn't stay with me, should you? 755 01:03:03,399 --> 01:03:05,135 Don't ask for more than you can handle. 756 01:03:13,910 --> 01:03:17,347 [Abigail] Sunday, June 8th. 757 01:03:17,380 --> 01:03:20,951 All afternoon, a hawk has been using a single cloud above us 758 01:03:20,984 --> 01:03:22,853 -as its own parasol. -[gunshot] 759 01:03:38,935 --> 01:03:41,104 To ward off others of its kind. 760 01:03:55,451 --> 01:03:59,423 [Abigail] Our whole house now seems both angry and repentant. 761 01:04:03,126 --> 01:04:04,294 God help us. 762 01:04:10,600 --> 01:04:12,636 [owl hooting] 763 01:04:32,121 --> 01:04:35,225 When three days went by without a word from her, 764 01:04:35,258 --> 01:04:38,361 I stole over to her house to look on her 765 01:04:38,394 --> 01:04:40,130 from what I imagined to be 766 01:04:40,163 --> 01:04:42,232 a vantage point of perfect safety. 767 01:04:50,640 --> 01:04:54,344 By turning the lens piece, I could draw her face nearer, 768 01:04:54,377 --> 01:04:57,981 and hold it there until she turned away. 769 01:04:58,014 --> 01:05:00,517 Her image provoked a sensation in me 770 01:05:00,550 --> 01:05:03,153 like the violence that sends a floating branch 771 01:05:03,186 --> 01:05:06,189 far out over a waterfall's precipice 772 01:05:06,222 --> 01:05:08,158 -before it plummets. -[glass shattering] 773 01:05:08,191 --> 01:05:09,592 -[door opens] -[barking] 774 01:05:09,625 --> 01:05:10,627 [cocks gun] 775 01:05:16,099 --> 01:05:19,169 [panting] 776 01:05:22,038 --> 01:05:25,175 "For the wife does not have the authority over her own body, 777 01:05:25,208 --> 01:05:26,242 but the husband does. 778 01:05:26,275 --> 01:05:27,677 Do not deprive one another, 779 01:05:27,710 --> 01:05:29,512 so that Satan may not tempt you 780 01:05:29,545 --> 01:05:31,715 because of your lack of self-control." 781 01:05:31,748 --> 01:05:35,352 Ephesians 5:33. "Submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord..." 782 01:05:35,385 --> 01:05:37,454 [Abigail] Monday, June 9th. 783 01:05:37,487 --> 01:05:40,057 [thunder rumbling] 784 01:05:53,636 --> 01:05:55,072 Merciful father... 785 01:05:56,639 --> 01:05:59,076 Turn the channel of events. 786 01:06:12,555 --> 01:06:15,525 Wednesday, June 11th. 787 01:06:19,762 --> 01:06:23,033 Dyer has been silent all day, 788 01:06:23,066 --> 01:06:25,535 and I was happy to be left in my solitude. 789 01:06:39,749 --> 01:06:40,784 Hello! 790 01:06:41,851 --> 01:06:43,720 Tallie... 791 01:06:43,753 --> 01:06:45,255 We haven't seen you for days. 792 01:06:47,156 --> 01:06:48,191 Have you been ill? 793 01:06:50,126 --> 01:06:51,528 -Nothing serious, I hope. -[Finney] Ho! 794 01:06:54,363 --> 01:06:55,432 She's been under the weather. 795 01:06:57,300 --> 01:07:00,236 -[Dyer] Good afternoon. -[Tallie] Good afternoon. 796 01:07:00,269 --> 01:07:03,406 We want to invite you to dinner again this Saturday next. 797 01:07:03,439 --> 01:07:06,376 But it's our turn. We should be feasting you. 798 01:07:06,409 --> 01:07:08,311 In the meantime, please be our guests. 799 01:07:09,779 --> 01:07:10,781 [Dyer] We'd love to. 800 01:07:11,447 --> 01:07:12,482 Six? 801 01:07:13,516 --> 01:07:15,118 -[Dyer] Six it is. -Hup! 802 01:07:23,826 --> 01:07:25,829 [ominous music] 803 01:07:33,202 --> 01:07:34,838 [Abigail]My mother once told me in a fury 804 01:07:34,871 --> 01:07:36,773 when I was a little girl 805 01:07:36,806 --> 01:07:38,708 that my father asked nothing of her 806 01:07:38,741 --> 01:07:40,877 except that she work in the garden, 807 01:07:40,910 --> 01:07:43,646 harvest the produce, preserve the fruit, 808 01:07:43,679 --> 01:07:46,349 tend the poultry, milk the cows, 809 01:07:46,382 --> 01:07:48,184 manage the household duties, 810 01:07:48,217 --> 01:07:50,787 and help out in the fields when needed. 811 01:07:50,820 --> 01:07:52,622 She said she appeared in his ledger 812 01:07:52,655 --> 01:07:55,092 only when she purchased a dress. 813 01:07:56,492 --> 01:07:57,828 Am I anywhere in there? 814 01:08:01,330 --> 01:08:04,200 I'm recording spring expenses. 815 01:08:04,233 --> 01:08:06,436 [Abigail] And how have things changed? 816 01:08:06,469 --> 01:08:08,404 Daughters are married off so young 817 01:08:08,437 --> 01:08:11,741 that everywhere you look a slender and unwilling girl 818 01:08:11,774 --> 01:08:14,677 is being forced to stem a sea of tribulations 819 01:08:14,710 --> 01:08:17,314 before she is even full-grown in height. 820 01:08:21,250 --> 01:08:22,419 That's its purpose! 821 01:08:28,357 --> 01:08:32,496 [indistinct chatter] 822 01:08:41,571 --> 01:08:42,606 Come on. Come on. 823 01:08:50,546 --> 01:08:51,648 Morning. 824 01:09:08,864 --> 01:09:09,933 Morning, Jim. 825 01:09:10,766 --> 01:09:12,435 Morning, ma'am. 826 01:09:12,468 --> 01:09:13,670 I've got a new book for you. 827 01:09:13,703 --> 01:09:15,238 Do you know, I'd actually like to see 828 01:09:15,271 --> 01:09:16,906 that blue dress you have there. 829 01:09:16,939 --> 01:09:18,208 All right, lady. 830 01:09:22,812 --> 01:09:23,880 [woman 1] Over here! 831 01:09:34,657 --> 01:09:35,825 It's two and a half. 832 01:09:37,827 --> 01:09:38,895 I'll take it. 833 01:09:46,335 --> 01:09:47,938 [baby crying] 834 01:09:54,944 --> 01:09:56,879 [baby crying] 835 01:09:56,912 --> 01:09:58,882 [shushing] 836 01:09:59,515 --> 01:10:00,717 [humming] 837 01:10:10,626 --> 01:10:11,728 My change? 838 01:10:17,366 --> 01:10:18,401 Thank you. 839 01:10:20,336 --> 01:10:22,872 [Abigail]The Mannings' oldest daughter tipped over an oil lamp 840 01:10:22,905 --> 01:10:24,674 and it set the house ablaze. 841 01:10:24,707 --> 01:10:26,409 -[woman 2] Fire! -[Abigail] Ho! Ho! 842 01:10:28,010 --> 01:10:29,412 -[man 4] Fire! -Before she was driven 843 01:10:29,445 --> 01:10:31,681 from the house by the flames, 844 01:10:31,714 --> 01:10:33,783 she heard calls from her sister, 845 01:10:33,816 --> 01:10:35,819 who was trapped in the upper loft. 846 01:10:36,686 --> 01:10:38,688 [foreboding music] 847 01:10:40,623 --> 01:10:43,393 [indistinct shouting] 848 01:10:46,495 --> 01:10:48,431 [Mrs. Manning cries] 849 01:10:48,464 --> 01:10:50,000 Get her out of there. 850 01:10:55,638 --> 01:10:57,573 Cassie! 851 01:10:57,606 --> 01:10:59,709 [indistinct chatter] 852 01:11:08,050 --> 01:11:09,552 Get her out! 853 01:11:14,123 --> 01:11:15,458 Get her out! 854 01:11:20,429 --> 01:11:23,900 [crying] 855 01:11:37,980 --> 01:11:41,484 Your wife is to be commended on her hospitality and cooking. 856 01:11:46,021 --> 01:11:47,824 I can recall the day... 857 01:11:47,857 --> 01:11:50,393 No, thank you. 858 01:11:50,426 --> 01:11:55,565 ...when every family was fed, clothed, shot, sheltered, 859 01:11:55,598 --> 01:11:57,800 and warmed from the products a good wife 860 01:11:57,833 --> 01:11:59,736 gathered within her own fence line. 861 01:12:02,037 --> 01:12:04,640 I heard down by the loggers that Mrs. Mannings' oldest 862 01:12:04,673 --> 01:12:07,143 got fiercely burned in the house fire. 863 01:12:07,176 --> 01:12:09,045 -Cassie. -[Tallie] And died. 864 01:12:10,446 --> 01:12:12,349 [Abigail] Yes, she did. 865 01:12:14,517 --> 01:12:15,852 Well, as my father used to say, 866 01:12:17,086 --> 01:12:18,955 "The supreme disposer of all events 867 01:12:18,988 --> 01:12:21,591 does sometimes disappoint our earthly hopes." 868 01:12:26,996 --> 01:12:29,065 What a marvelous hanging lamp. 869 01:12:29,098 --> 01:12:31,067 Finney purchased it so that everyone could read 870 01:12:31,100 --> 01:12:33,069 with equal ease around the room. 871 01:12:33,102 --> 01:12:34,938 I wasn't brought up to read over much, 872 01:12:36,906 --> 01:12:39,108 but I do believe a father should give his children 873 01:12:39,141 --> 01:12:41,644 every chance to improve. 874 01:12:41,677 --> 01:12:43,747 Children being a sore point in this household. 875 01:12:46,649 --> 01:12:47,817 And yours, I'd expect. 876 01:12:51,754 --> 01:12:53,089 You'll have to forgive my husband. 877 01:12:57,860 --> 01:13:00,029 Even so, 878 01:13:00,062 --> 01:13:02,131 whatever misfortunes arrive at my doorstep, 879 01:13:02,164 --> 01:13:04,868 I seek to improve my lot with my own industry. 880 01:13:06,535 --> 01:13:07,604 I... 881 01:13:09,038 --> 01:13:10,973 I study my options closely, 882 01:13:11,006 --> 01:13:14,010 and just attend to everything with more vehemence. 883 01:13:14,043 --> 01:13:16,579 Well, then you should be commended for that. 884 01:13:16,612 --> 01:13:18,080 I'll give you an example. 885 01:13:18,113 --> 01:13:21,083 When I first began farming, 886 01:13:21,116 --> 01:13:23,119 I was so vexed at my own inability 887 01:13:23,152 --> 01:13:25,455 to stop my dogs barking 888 01:13:25,488 --> 01:13:27,857 that one January, during a storm, 889 01:13:27,890 --> 01:13:31,060 I held the dog around the corner of the barn in a gale 890 01:13:31,093 --> 01:13:32,495 until it froze to death. 891 01:13:35,998 --> 01:13:40,036 I nearly froze to death myself, at least froze my hands, 892 01:13:40,069 --> 01:13:41,871 even with my heavy work gloves. 893 01:13:41,904 --> 01:13:43,440 That is reprehensible. 894 01:13:46,175 --> 01:13:48,911 [Dyer] Did I see outside that you use an old shovel plow? 895 01:13:48,944 --> 01:13:51,848 Well, since you're interested in my machinery, 896 01:13:53,649 --> 01:13:56,752 I have a hinged harrow that's been giving me trouble. 897 01:13:56,785 --> 01:14:00,089 The spikes catch the rocks and roots, and they break off. 898 01:14:00,122 --> 01:14:02,892 Well, our harrow has upright discs. 899 01:14:02,925 --> 01:14:04,027 Work better? 900 01:14:05,027 --> 01:14:06,062 Yeah, it seems to. 901 01:14:09,632 --> 01:14:11,067 Bring the desserts. 902 01:14:11,100 --> 01:14:13,102 I think we're stuffed. 903 01:14:13,135 --> 01:14:14,837 My husband insists on his pastries 904 01:14:14,870 --> 01:14:16,473 and preserved fruits and creams. 905 01:14:17,306 --> 01:14:18,541 Well, good. 906 01:14:20,576 --> 01:14:21,845 [plates clattering] 907 01:14:26,782 --> 01:14:27,884 What is happening? 908 01:14:27,917 --> 01:14:29,585 Are you in danger? 909 01:14:29,618 --> 01:14:31,287 What happened to your neck? 910 01:14:31,320 --> 01:14:33,523 No, I just took a fall over a fence. 911 01:14:35,024 --> 01:14:36,192 I hadn't heard. 912 01:14:37,927 --> 01:14:39,863 There are many things about which you haven't heard. 913 01:14:47,970 --> 01:14:49,038 [Abigail] Back at the table, 914 01:14:49,071 --> 01:14:51,508 Tallie kept strict custody of her eyes. 915 01:14:52,975 --> 01:14:56,012 Her husband's mood seemed to have darkened. 916 01:14:56,045 --> 01:14:58,848 He served the pastries and creams himself, 917 01:15:00,883 --> 01:15:02,752 leaving only her plate empty. 918 01:15:19,068 --> 01:15:21,604 Saturday, June 21st. 919 01:15:23,138 --> 01:15:24,741 My heart a maelstrom. 920 01:15:25,841 --> 01:15:28,144 My head a bedlam. 921 01:15:28,177 --> 01:15:30,747 A whole week and no visit from Tallie. 922 01:15:32,615 --> 01:15:33,650 No word. 923 01:15:42,958 --> 01:15:45,895 My anxieties often force me to stop my work 924 01:15:45,928 --> 01:15:48,031 and pace the house like an inmate. 925 01:15:49,765 --> 01:15:50,934 I have to see her. 926 01:15:52,368 --> 01:15:54,571 [suspenseful music] 927 01:16:10,285 --> 01:16:11,588 Ho, ho! 928 01:16:18,727 --> 01:16:20,964 [horse breathing heavy] 929 01:16:29,838 --> 01:16:31,874 Tallie! Tallie! 930 01:16:38,280 --> 01:16:39,315 [gasps] 931 01:17:10,245 --> 01:17:12,248 [ominous music] 932 01:17:20,989 --> 01:17:22,091 -[thud] -[gasps] 933 01:17:23,926 --> 01:17:24,994 What has happened? 934 01:17:25,994 --> 01:17:27,063 They're gone. 935 01:17:29,498 --> 01:17:31,300 And no goodbye? 936 01:17:31,333 --> 01:17:32,835 We need to call the sheriff. 937 01:17:38,273 --> 01:17:41,711 And report what exactly? That our neighbors moved? 938 01:17:41,744 --> 01:17:43,879 It's the Zebrun farm. They were renting. 939 01:17:43,912 --> 01:17:44,914 I'll go then. 940 01:17:45,447 --> 01:17:47,049 For what reason? 941 01:17:47,082 --> 01:17:48,151 There's blood! 942 01:17:51,320 --> 01:17:52,855 And you never had an accident? 943 01:18:00,429 --> 01:18:01,998 So we'll just do nothing? 944 01:18:19,081 --> 01:18:21,084 I'll make the rounds of the neighbors. 945 01:18:23,185 --> 01:18:24,787 And if we are not satisfied, 946 01:18:24,820 --> 01:18:26,189 we can take your fears to the sheriff. 947 01:18:29,358 --> 01:18:30,359 Thank you. 948 01:18:34,997 --> 01:18:38,033 [Abigail] Monday, June 23rd. 949 01:18:38,066 --> 01:18:41,003 Dyer said Mrs. Nottoway recalled spotting their caravan 950 01:18:41,036 --> 01:18:44,807 on the country road in the late evening, heading northwest. 951 01:18:44,840 --> 01:18:45,875 [Dyer] Mrs. Nottoway? 952 01:18:45,908 --> 01:18:47,943 She believed she spied Tallie's figure 953 01:18:47,976 --> 01:18:51,046 alongside her husband's but was unsure. 954 01:18:51,079 --> 01:18:55,885 A hired hand, she thought, was driving the second wagon. 955 01:18:55,918 --> 01:18:58,154 Sunday, June 29th 956 01:18:58,187 --> 01:19:00,923 I spotted the sheriff on his way to church. 957 01:19:00,956 --> 01:19:04,160 I conveyed my accusations, to no response. 958 01:19:06,995 --> 01:19:09,331 Dyer said that no one would investigate a crime 959 01:19:09,364 --> 01:19:11,467 without evidence that a crime had been committed. 960 01:19:11,500 --> 01:19:12,535 Calm myself? 961 01:19:12,568 --> 01:19:14,403 I refused to calm myself, 962 01:19:14,436 --> 01:19:18,007 so he tied me to a chair and administered laudanum. 963 01:19:18,040 --> 01:19:21,010 Monday, June 30th. 964 01:19:21,043 --> 01:19:23,913 Bleary and short of breath from the laudanum... 965 01:19:27,616 --> 01:19:29,051 I wake weeping, 966 01:19:29,985 --> 01:19:31,187 retire weeping, 967 01:19:32,287 --> 01:19:34,791 stand before my duties weeping. 968 01:19:37,392 --> 01:19:39,428 [ominous music] 969 01:19:40,262 --> 01:19:42,998 Sunday, July 6th. 970 01:19:43,031 --> 01:19:46,135 I am a library without books, 971 01:19:46,168 --> 01:19:50,306 a sea of fear, agitation and want. 972 01:19:50,339 --> 01:19:54,276 Dyer speaks of how much we have for which to be grateful. 973 01:19:54,309 --> 01:19:57,346 I sit violently conscious of the ticking clock 974 01:19:57,379 --> 01:19:59,415 while he weeps at what he imagines 975 01:19:59,448 --> 01:20:02,451 to be his own poor, forgotten self. 976 01:20:02,484 --> 01:20:04,320 Wednesday, July 9th. 977 01:20:06,121 --> 01:20:08,224 Despite some hours without the laudanum, 978 01:20:08,257 --> 01:20:10,860 I was so befogged and wild with grief 979 01:20:10,893 --> 01:20:12,829 that Dyer left me for the afternoon, 980 01:20:13,595 --> 01:20:16,098 unsettled and wary of my state. 981 01:20:20,936 --> 01:20:23,239 Tuesday, July 22nd. 982 01:20:32,447 --> 01:20:33,950 [horse neighing] 983 01:20:36,051 --> 01:20:37,854 [galloping] 984 01:20:39,288 --> 01:20:41,423 -Weldon? -Good day. 985 01:20:41,456 --> 01:20:42,925 The renters at Zebrun's farm are gone. 986 01:20:42,958 --> 01:20:44,393 Did they leave a forwarding address? 987 01:20:45,594 --> 01:20:47,964 No. You've got a letter. 988 01:20:50,532 --> 01:20:51,601 Hyah. 989 01:20:56,571 --> 01:20:57,607 Is it from her? 990 01:21:00,142 --> 01:21:01,210 It is. 991 01:21:02,411 --> 01:21:04,914 -Oh. -Origin? 992 01:21:04,947 --> 01:21:06,449 Onondaga County. Do you know it? 993 01:21:09,084 --> 01:21:10,419 It's north of Syracuse. 994 01:21:19,294 --> 01:21:20,396 Are you gonna read it? 995 01:21:22,731 --> 01:21:24,000 To myself. 996 01:21:38,580 --> 01:21:42,418 [Tallie] Abigail, Abigail, Abigail. 997 01:21:42,451 --> 01:21:45,955 I'm sorry that all I have to send you is this letter, 998 01:21:45,988 --> 01:21:49,625 and I'm sorry for all that a letter cannot be. 999 01:21:51,293 --> 01:21:53,930 Even the best letter is just a little bit of someone. 1000 01:21:55,664 --> 01:21:58,167 I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye, 1001 01:21:59,701 --> 01:22:02,137 and I'm sorry that we seem to have traded 1002 01:22:02,170 --> 01:22:04,006 one sort of misery for another. 1003 01:22:06,341 --> 01:22:08,711 It turns out that houses deep in the backwoods 1004 01:22:08,744 --> 01:22:12,682 always seem to be awful and unnatural in their loneliness. 1005 01:22:14,349 --> 01:22:15,684 If there were only a ruined abbey 1006 01:22:15,717 --> 01:22:18,988 around here with bats in it, the view would be perfect. 1007 01:22:21,256 --> 01:22:25,260 Our roof is ramshackle and sheds water nicely in dry weather 1008 01:22:25,293 --> 01:22:29,765 but we have to spread milk pans around the floor when it rains. 1009 01:22:29,798 --> 01:22:31,734 Still, outside the kitchen, 1010 01:22:31,767 --> 01:22:36,205 there are already anemones and heart's-ease, 1011 01:22:36,238 --> 01:22:38,707 and even prettier flowers which my stupidity 1012 01:22:38,740 --> 01:22:42,111 keeps me from naming for you. 1013 01:22:42,144 --> 01:22:46,048 I believe I've enjoyed myself less these last few weeks 1014 01:22:46,081 --> 01:22:48,417 than any other female who ever lived. 1015 01:22:50,519 --> 01:22:52,521 During what little time I have to myself, 1016 01:22:52,554 --> 01:22:55,157 Finney reads aloud instructions for wives 1017 01:22:55,190 --> 01:22:56,692 from the Old Testament. 1018 01:22:59,394 --> 01:23:01,130 But when it comes to the Bible, 1019 01:23:01,163 --> 01:23:03,465 I have to say that there are a lot of passages 1020 01:23:03,498 --> 01:23:05,534 he may know word for word, 1021 01:23:05,567 --> 01:23:07,336 but which haven't touched his heart. 1022 01:23:09,237 --> 01:23:11,440 I can't account for his state of mind except to say 1023 01:23:11,473 --> 01:23:15,044 that my company must be intensely disagreeable to him. 1024 01:23:16,111 --> 01:23:17,313 And if that's the case, 1025 01:23:18,146 --> 01:23:19,281 I'm sorry for it. 1026 01:23:25,687 --> 01:23:28,157 [horse approaching] 1027 01:23:31,493 --> 01:23:32,528 Ho... 1028 01:23:34,196 --> 01:23:35,264 [mailman] Good afternoon! 1029 01:23:38,133 --> 01:23:39,402 [Finney] Afternoon. 1030 01:23:41,570 --> 01:23:42,671 Whoa. 1031 01:23:42,704 --> 01:23:43,739 Hey. 1032 01:23:45,373 --> 01:23:46,575 I've got something for you. 1033 01:23:48,743 --> 01:23:49,779 There you go. 1034 01:23:50,512 --> 01:23:51,613 Thank you. 1035 01:23:51,646 --> 01:23:52,681 Good day. 1036 01:23:53,415 --> 01:23:54,784 Hyah. Come on. 1037 01:24:06,695 --> 01:24:08,798 -Is it for me? -From Schoharie County. 1038 01:24:12,601 --> 01:24:14,570 -Your Abigail. -Give that to me. 1039 01:24:14,603 --> 01:24:16,372 Give it. Finney, give... 1040 01:24:18,673 --> 01:24:19,674 Finney! 1041 01:24:19,708 --> 01:24:22,511 "What's to become of the thousands of our sex 1042 01:24:22,544 --> 01:24:24,279 scattered out in the wilderness 1043 01:24:24,312 --> 01:24:27,116 and obliged to tax our strengths? 1044 01:24:27,149 --> 01:24:28,750 I feel as if, at that selfsame hour 1045 01:24:28,783 --> 01:24:29,818 when our prospects were brightest, 1046 01:24:29,851 --> 01:24:32,555 that in the dim distance a black shadow approached. 1047 01:24:33,488 --> 01:24:35,390 And yet still, 1048 01:24:35,423 --> 01:24:37,726 imagine the happiest of unions for us of the sort 1049 01:24:37,759 --> 01:24:39,695 in which two families previously at daggers drawn 1050 01:24:39,728 --> 01:24:42,364 are miraculously brought together on love's account. 1051 01:24:47,869 --> 01:24:49,638 It is your face I bear through the night. 1052 01:24:49,671 --> 01:24:51,773 It is to you I devote a dreaming space 1053 01:24:51,806 --> 01:24:55,144 before I turn myself to sleep, but there is no sleep. 1054 01:24:55,177 --> 01:24:58,614 It's as if within me everything clamors for air, 1055 01:24:58,647 --> 01:25:00,749 and I think if it's like this now, 1056 01:25:00,782 --> 01:25:01,884 what will it be like later? 1057 01:25:03,285 --> 01:25:06,522 I send you what love and support I can. 1058 01:25:08,223 --> 01:25:10,259 I send you all my heart's hopes. Abigail." 1059 01:25:21,870 --> 01:25:23,539 [sheep bleating] 1060 01:25:35,550 --> 01:25:37,352 [Tallie] Please know that force alone 1061 01:25:37,385 --> 01:25:40,756 couldn't have gotten me here to a place like this. 1062 01:25:40,789 --> 01:25:44,893 I was told I had to act in support of interest, 1063 01:25:44,926 --> 01:25:49,932 happiness and the reputation of someone I once loved. 1064 01:25:52,334 --> 01:25:53,936 As far as I can figure, 1065 01:25:53,969 --> 01:25:56,939 we're now still only about 85 miles apart. 1066 01:25:58,440 --> 01:26:00,475 But of course, 1067 01:26:00,508 --> 01:26:02,878 people like us don't go on long visits. 1068 01:26:04,779 --> 01:26:07,783 [ominous music] 1069 01:26:39,314 --> 01:26:42,484 [Abigail] Dyer refused first to permit my departure, 1070 01:26:42,517 --> 01:26:43,953 and then to accompany me, 1071 01:26:46,354 --> 01:26:47,555 and only caught up to the cart 1072 01:26:47,589 --> 01:26:50,325 at the end of our property and climbed aboard. 1073 01:26:50,358 --> 01:26:51,393 [sighs] 1074 01:26:53,995 --> 01:26:56,898 We were the very picture of anguish, 1075 01:26:56,931 --> 01:26:59,235 rattling along side by side. 1076 01:27:00,935 --> 01:27:05,674 The night was fair and warm with the appearance of a coming rain. 1077 01:27:05,707 --> 01:27:06,775 A shower. 1078 01:27:08,943 --> 01:27:10,946 [tense music] 1079 01:27:32,734 --> 01:27:34,536 [horse whinnies] 1080 01:27:48,650 --> 01:27:50,652 [Tallie] It's so hard to write about 1081 01:27:50,685 --> 01:27:52,754 how much I want to thank you, 1082 01:27:52,787 --> 01:27:55,457 but I have to start somewhere. 1083 01:27:56,891 --> 01:27:58,960 Abigail... 1084 01:27:58,993 --> 01:28:04,099 I want to tell you that being with you, even alone, 1085 01:28:04,132 --> 01:28:07,703 has been like being a part of the biggest 1086 01:28:07,736 --> 01:28:12,941 and most spacious community I could ever imagine. 1087 01:28:12,974 --> 01:28:17,045 I feel closer to you than I would a sister since 1088 01:28:17,078 --> 01:28:19,415 everything amazing that I feel, 1089 01:28:20,615 --> 01:28:22,851 I chose to feel. 1090 01:28:25,620 --> 01:28:28,057 And do you know what memory it is that I most cherish? 1091 01:28:30,458 --> 01:28:34,463 It's of you turning to me with that smile you gave me 1092 01:28:35,864 --> 01:28:39,535 once you realized that you were loved. 1093 01:28:42,771 --> 01:28:46,007 I have no way of knowing what is to come, 1094 01:28:46,040 --> 01:28:49,611 but I do know that all of the trust 1095 01:28:49,644 --> 01:28:52,681 and care and courage we shared, 1096 01:28:53,915 --> 01:28:55,684 that will all shine on us 1097 01:28:57,051 --> 01:28:58,454 and protect us. 1098 01:29:00,488 --> 01:29:03,759 You are my city of joy. 1099 01:29:05,527 --> 01:29:07,830 You are my city of joy. 1100 01:29:09,497 --> 01:29:11,533 [dramatic music] 1101 01:29:39,594 --> 01:29:40,729 [Dyer] Whoa. 1102 01:29:48,203 --> 01:29:49,704 [Finney] Might I ask your business? 1103 01:29:49,737 --> 01:29:52,507 We've come to see Tallie. Where is she? 1104 01:29:52,540 --> 01:29:54,810 I heard you on the road. 1105 01:29:54,843 --> 01:29:56,978 You made such a racket. I took you for the tin knocker. 1106 01:29:57,011 --> 01:29:57,879 We've ridden for three days. 1107 01:29:57,912 --> 01:29:59,147 We are not leaving without seeing her. 1108 01:29:59,180 --> 01:30:02,217 I'm not concerned with what you will or will not leave without. 1109 01:30:02,250 --> 01:30:03,652 [Dyer] Keep a civil tongue, friend. 1110 01:30:03,685 --> 01:30:05,554 Where is she? 1111 01:30:05,587 --> 01:30:06,855 I treated her with tea of soot 1112 01:30:06,888 --> 01:30:09,524 and pine-tree root to good effect, 1113 01:30:09,557 --> 01:30:10,892 but sickness always tests our willingness 1114 01:30:10,925 --> 01:30:12,795 to bow before the greatest authority. 1115 01:30:14,062 --> 01:30:15,997 My guess is that it was diphtheria. 1116 01:30:16,030 --> 01:30:17,032 No! 1117 01:30:18,700 --> 01:30:20,535 [Finney] There is some alienation from marital... 1118 01:30:20,568 --> 01:30:22,704 [panting] 1119 01:30:29,644 --> 01:30:30,813 [sobs] 1120 01:30:53,668 --> 01:30:54,770 [sniffles] 1121 01:31:11,953 --> 01:31:14,756 [deep breathing] 1122 01:31:23,998 --> 01:31:26,034 [ominous music] 1123 01:31:28,136 --> 01:31:30,072 [heavy breathing] 1124 01:31:40,648 --> 01:31:41,783 What time is it? 1125 01:31:44,285 --> 01:31:45,554 I don't care. 1126 01:31:58,633 --> 01:32:01,203 -I have to go. -You're gonna make a mark. 1127 01:32:06,207 --> 01:32:08,544 [sobs] 1128 01:32:09,243 --> 01:32:10,279 Come on. 1129 01:32:11,779 --> 01:32:12,848 Come on. 1130 01:32:15,083 --> 01:32:16,151 Come on. 1131 01:32:27,295 --> 01:32:30,933 [church bell tolling] 1132 01:32:37,338 --> 01:32:39,241 [baby crying] 1133 01:32:47,148 --> 01:32:49,618 [somber music] 1134 01:33:06,000 --> 01:33:08,704 [Abigail] Sunday, August 31st. 1135 01:33:10,338 --> 01:33:12,274 Weather very hot and sunny. 1136 01:33:14,342 --> 01:33:16,277 I cleaned out the shed 1137 01:33:16,310 --> 01:33:18,814 which was full of rusty and dusty rubbish, 1138 01:33:19,747 --> 01:33:21,950 washed the windows, 1139 01:33:21,983 --> 01:33:23,919 and preserved apples for the winter. 1140 01:33:26,954 --> 01:33:29,958 Fourteen dollars from the sale of our milk and butter. 1141 01:33:32,293 --> 01:33:34,696 I have cut my hand with a paring knife. 1142 01:33:38,099 --> 01:33:40,869 I console myself with the conviction 1143 01:33:40,902 --> 01:33:43,004 that someday in the future when Dyer 1144 01:33:43,037 --> 01:33:46,675 is forced to travel to Syracuse for feed or supplies, 1145 01:33:47,942 --> 01:33:49,811 I will join him, 1146 01:33:49,844 --> 01:33:52,881 and take his rifle and go to Skaneateles 1147 01:33:52,914 --> 01:33:55,050 and kill Finney where he sits. 1148 01:34:02,223 --> 01:34:04,192 Dyer has been at work on the barn. 1149 01:34:10,231 --> 01:34:13,435 Each day, we enact our separation. 1150 01:34:18,306 --> 01:34:21,009 Sometimes after it gets dark, 1151 01:34:21,042 --> 01:34:24,012 we walk over the hills across our upper fields 1152 01:34:24,045 --> 01:34:25,714 for the wide, wide view. 1153 01:34:28,249 --> 01:34:30,986 And Dyer tries to imagine us as we were, 1154 01:34:33,755 --> 01:34:35,490 while I try to imagine Tallie 1155 01:34:35,523 --> 01:34:37,992 and that cordial and accepting home 1156 01:34:38,025 --> 01:34:40,128 that existed solely in our dreams. 1157 01:34:41,863 --> 01:34:44,999 I imagine Tallie and Nellie somewhere together, 1158 01:34:45,032 --> 01:34:47,769 and Nellie running her brush through Tallie's hair. 1159 01:34:49,937 --> 01:34:53,041 I imagine banishing forever those sentiments of my own 1160 01:34:53,074 --> 01:34:55,143 that she chastened and refined. 1161 01:34:57,979 --> 01:35:01,149 I imagine resolving to do what I can for Dyer. 1162 01:35:04,185 --> 01:35:07,022 And I imagine continuing to write in this ledger, 1163 01:35:08,489 --> 01:35:10,291 here, 1164 01:35:10,324 --> 01:35:12,094 as though this was my life. 1165 01:35:15,296 --> 01:35:17,466 As though my life was not elsewhere. 1166 01:35:19,167 --> 01:35:21,169 [somber music] 1167 01:35:38,052 --> 01:35:39,855 [sheep bleating] 1168 01:35:47,328 --> 01:35:48,363 [thumping] 1169 01:35:53,534 --> 01:35:56,037 I've always feared that I would bring misfortune 1170 01:35:56,070 --> 01:35:57,272 to those I loved. 1171 01:36:18,526 --> 01:36:20,529 Are you really saying nothing to that? 1172 01:36:24,632 --> 01:36:26,368 I don't know where to start. 1173 01:36:31,973 --> 01:36:35,310 I can't imagine what more we could do for one another... 1174 01:36:38,346 --> 01:36:40,148 with our constraints. 1175 01:36:41,282 --> 01:36:42,317 You can't? 1176 01:36:47,255 --> 01:36:48,323 I can't. 1177 01:36:55,596 --> 01:36:56,598 You can't? 1178 01:37:01,235 --> 01:37:02,904 [exhales] 1179 01:37:06,207 --> 01:37:07,242 Well, then... 1180 01:37:11,412 --> 01:37:13,982 It's a good thing we remember that our imaginations 1181 01:37:14,015 --> 01:37:15,884 can always be cultivated. 1182 01:37:17,418 --> 01:37:20,422 [dramatic music] 1183 01:38:32,393 --> 01:38:37,933 ♪ And well beyond ♪ 1184 01:38:39,133 --> 01:38:44,672 ♪ The world to come ♪ 1185 01:38:44,705 --> 01:38:50,144 ♪ I'll section my heart ♪ 1186 01:38:50,177 --> 01:38:56,184 ♪ For my own sympathies ♪ 1187 01:38:56,217 --> 01:39:02,023 ♪ And I believe ♪ 1188 01:39:02,056 --> 01:39:08,129 ♪ We shall receive ♪ 1189 01:39:08,162 --> 01:39:13,234 ♪ Surrendering hope ♪ 1190 01:39:13,267 --> 01:39:18,006 ♪ From a true sovereignty ♪ 1191 01:39:19,040 --> 01:39:23,712 ♪ It was like a dream ♪ 1192 01:39:24,678 --> 01:39:29,717 ♪ You came to be ♪ 1193 01:39:29,750 --> 01:39:35,356 ♪ Then happenstance drew you ♪ 1194 01:39:35,389 --> 01:39:39,594 ♪ Next to me ♪ 1195 01:39:40,661 --> 01:39:46,034 ♪ Are you the one ♪ 1196 01:39:46,067 --> 01:39:51,406 ♪ To whom I belong ♪ 1197 01:39:51,439 --> 01:39:57,578 ♪ And here stays resembling ♪ 1198 01:39:57,611 --> 01:40:03,351 ♪ My only song ♪ 1199 01:40:03,384 --> 01:40:07,655 ♪ In my world ♪ 1200 01:40:07,688 --> 01:40:11,760 ♪ To come ♪ 1201 01:40:14,328 --> 01:40:18,433 ♪ Fate to be ♪ 1202 01:40:18,466 --> 01:40:25,373 ♪ As morning sun ♪ 1203 01:40:25,406 --> 01:40:31,813 ♪ Deeply in your arm ♪ 1204 01:40:32,780 --> 01:40:38,286 ♪ To sweet lovers ♪ 1205 01:40:38,319 --> 01:40:42,724 ♪ Will succumb ♪ 1206 01:40:43,757 --> 01:40:47,495 ♪ Will succumb ♪ 1207 01:41:01,542 --> 01:41:05,647 ♪ Why if you were born ♪ 1208 01:41:06,714 --> 01:41:12,220 ♪ The winter's morn ♪ 1209 01:41:12,253 --> 01:41:17,191 ♪ Pair of wings carried thee ♪ 1210 01:41:17,224 --> 01:41:21,596 ♪ Back to me ♪ 1211 01:41:21,629 --> 01:41:26,834 ♪ To begin, it means ♪ 1212 01:41:26,867 --> 01:41:31,506 ♪ Constancy ♪ 1213 01:41:31,539 --> 01:41:36,777 ♪ Beholding the fathomless ♪ 1214 01:41:36,810 --> 01:41:40,849 ♪ Destiny ♪ 1215 01:41:42,349 --> 01:41:45,453 ♪ In my world ♪ 1216 01:41:46,353 --> 01:41:50,692 ♪ To come ♪ 1217 01:41:52,593 --> 01:41:56,164 ♪ Free to be ♪ 1218 01:41:56,197 --> 01:41:59,767 ♪ As one ♪ 1219 01:41:59,800 --> 01:42:03,905 ♪ In some sweet ♪ 1220 01:42:03,938 --> 01:42:09,944 ♪ Oblivion ♪ 1221 01:42:09,977 --> 01:42:15,616 ♪ To the sweet nights ♪ 1222 01:42:15,649 --> 01:42:19,521 ♪ Will succumb ♪ 1223 01:43:46,407 --> 01:43:51,912 ♪ And well beyond ♪ 1224 01:43:51,945 --> 01:43:56,884 ♪ The world to come ♪ 1225 01:43:56,917 --> 01:44:01,489 ♪ A deafening heart ♪ 1226 01:44:01,522 --> 01:44:07,395 ♪ Beats fast for thee ♪