The eighth chapter is exceedingly brief, and relates that Gibbons, the amateur naturalist of the district,     1     lying out on the spacious open downs without a soul     2     a couple of miles of him, as he thought, and almost dozing, heard close to him the sound as of a man coughing, sneezing, and     3     swearing savagely to himself; and looking, beheld nothing. Yet the voice was indisputable. It continued to swear with that breadth and variety     4     distinguishes the swearing of a cultivated man. It grew to a climax, diminished again, and died     5     in the distance, going     6     it seemed to him in the direction of Adderdean. It lifted to a spasmodic sneeze and ended. Gibbons had heard nothing of the morning’s occurrences,     7     the phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished; he got up hastily, and hurried     8     the steepness of the hill towards the village, as fast as he could go.