When Henery Fray returns to the malthouse to inform the men of the bailiff’s firing, Hardy describes his entrance with a burst of alliteration:
A few minutes later when the remaining ones were on their legs and about to depart Fray came back again in a hurry. He flourished his finger and threw a gaze teeming with tidings just where his glance alighted by accident, which happened to be in Joseph Poorgrass’ eye.
Henery has dramatically re-entered to let everyone know that Bailiff Pennyways has been caught stealing barley from Bathsheba’s farm and has been fired. This news sends a shock through the men, as they know this means a new bailiff must be hired, which will impact the professional politics on the farm.
Hardy adds further drama to the scene by drawing the reader’s attention to Henery’s behavior and manner with alliteration. The reader’s eye falls on Henery’s gestures ( “flourished his finger”), on the intensity of his gaze (which is “teeming with tidings”), and how, in his excitement, he loses track of where he is looking (“his glance alighted by accident”). This is quite a lot of build-up for a piece of gossip, and the mood of this part of the scene could be seen as semi-comedic or ironic. Almost immediately after Henery breaks the news about the bailiff, Susan Tall’s husband announces that Fanny Robbin, the youngest employee on the farm, has gone missing. The alliteration here also builds the intensity of the scene for this final reveal.
