Far from the Madding Crowd she screams. At this, Boldwood shoots Troy dead and tries unsuccessfully to turn the gun on himself. Although Boldwood is convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged, his friends petition the Home Secretary for mercy, claiming insanity. This is granted, and Boldwood's sentence is commuted to "confinement during Her Majesty's pleasure". Bathsheba, profoundly chastened by guilt and grief, buries her husband in the same grave as Fanny Robin and her child and adds a suitable inscription. Throughout her tribulations, Bathsheba comes to rely increasingly on her oldest and, as she admits to herself, only real friend, Gabriel. When he
Uriah the Hittite time, long enough for the original tumult and overwhelming emotional grief suffered by the survivors to have subsided, and by David's day, many residents of non-Israelite descent who followed the Israelite religion had come to be accepted as Israelites. It is likely this included Uriah, as his name in Hebrew means "God is my light". In addition, his status as an officer in the army and as one of David's "mighty men" would indicate acceptance within the ethnic community. The Talmud states two opinions as to who Uriah was. 1) He was a convert to Judaism. 2) He lived amongst