Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel by Alexander Lange Kielland (best ereader for pdf and epub txt) 📕

The Ship Was To Be. Tom Swore That He Knew Nothing About It,  And Morten

Answered That It Was "A Thing Which Did Not Concern Schoolboys." From

Which Gabriel Inferred That Neither Of Them Knew Much About It,  And,  At

All Events,  Not Morten.

During The Summer Gabriel Got On But Poorly At School; It Seemed Really

Too Hard That He Should Have To Pore Over His Books,  While The Work Was

Going On With All Its Noise And Bustle In The Ship-Yard. His

Character-Book Showed A Sad Spectacle,  And Each Month When He Had To

Take It In To His Father,  He Made Up His Mind To Make A Little Speech,

Of Which The Burden Was To Be,  That He Did Not Wish To Continue His

Studies,  But To Be Employed In The Office,  Or Be Allowed To Go To Sea,

Or Anywhere His Father Chose To Send Him. But Each Time When He Stood

Before Those Cold Blue Eyes,  Every Word Seemed To Vanish From His

Memory,  And He Looked So Helpless And Confused That His Father Shook His

Head As He Left The Room,  And Said--

"I Can'T Make The Boy Out. I Don'T Think He Will Ever Grow Into A Man."

When First Madeleine Came To Sandsgaard,  Gabriel Had Found It A Great

Relief To Confide His Woes To Her. But Now She Had Got Too Clever For

Him,  And Refused To Be Frightened By His Threats Of Running Away To Sea,

Or Giving His Master,  Mr. Aalbom,  Some Rat-Poison In His Toddy,  And He

Ended By Feeling Jealous Of Delphin.

Fanny Had For Some Time Remarked That Delphin Was Openly Paying His

Attentions To Madeleine,  And The More Plainly Her Sharp Eyes Took In The

Situation,  The More Clearly Did She Perceive That She Had Been Relegated

To The Unenviable Position Of Third Person. She Knew That Delphin Had

Been Used To The Society Of Christiania; He Was Neither So Young Nor So

Green As Most Of Her Father'S Assistants,  And She Therefore Found His

Society Agreeable. But When She Found That,  As Usual,  He Began At Once

To Show His Admiration For Her,  She Thought To Herself He Was No

Different To The Rest. But Now She Began To Take A Little More Notice Of

Him; Perhaps It Was Hardly Worth While To Let Him Slip Entirely Out Of

Her Hands; And When She Looked At Herself In The Glass,  She Could Not

Help Laughing And Thinking How Absurd It Was For Any One,  With Her

Pretensions To Beauty,  To Be Contented To Accept Her Present Humiliating

Position.

Fanny Had Arranged That Madeleine Should Take Music Lessons In The Town,

And Delphin Had Got To Know Exactly When These Music Lessons Took Place.

Madeleine Met Him Very Frequently,  And They Generally Managed To Go A

Little Out Of The Way On Her Return,  Either In The Streets,  Or In The

Park. Madeleine Found These Meetings Rather Amusing,  And Talked Gaily

And Openly With Her Admirer.

"Now,  Mr. Delphin," She Said To Him One Day,  "How Is It You Are So

Sarcastic And Critical When You Are In Society? When We Are Alone You

Are Much More Agreeable."

"The Reason Is,  Miss Madeleine,  That When I Am Talking Alone With You,  I

Show More Of My Natural Character; When I Am In conversation With Other

People,  I Rather Prefer To Conceal My Opinions."

"So You Conceal Your Opinions?" Said She,  Laughing.

"Yes. What I Mean Is,  I Don'T Care For Every Passer-By To Pry Into My

Mind. I Generally Keep The Blinds Down."

"Yes,  Now I Understand," She Answered Seriously; Not That She Remarked

The Preference Shown Her,  But She Could Not Help Thinking How Much Of

Her Own Life Was Also Concealed By A Curtain.

In One Of The Small Streets Near The Sea They Had To Pass Through A

Crowd Of Fishermen,  Who Had Been Out All Night,  And Were Carrying Home

Their Lines,  Tarpaulins,  And Large Baskets Full Of Fish.

"Bah!" Said Delphin,  When They Had Passed,  "I Can'T Bear That Smell Of

Fish. But I Forgot,  Miss Garman; You Must Have Had Plenty Of It When You

Lived At Bratvold."

"Oh Yes!" Answered Madeleine,  With Some Confusion.

"Well,  For My Part," He Continued,  In a Merry Tone,  "I Can Say With

Truth That I Am A Friend Of The People,  But I Must Confess That When The

Dear Creatures Come Too Near My Nose My Affection For Them Somewhat

Cools. There Is Something About That Mixture Of Fish,  Tobacco,  Tar,  And

Wet Woollen Clothes That I Can'T Get Over."

Madeleine Could Not But Feel What A Vivid Description This Was Of The

People Among Whom She Had Lived,  And Of Him To Whom She Had So

Nearly--Ah,  It Was Well She Had Not Betrayed The Secret To Any One.

As They Were Crossing The Market Delphin Pointed To Some One Going In

The Direction Of Sandsgaard.

"I Declare,  There Is Mr. Johnsen Going To Sandsgaard Again To-Day. Do

You Know,  Miss Garman,  He Has Gone A Little Wrong In His Head?" But

Madeleine Had Heard Nothing About It.

"Yes,  He Is Quite Wrong In His Head," Continued Her Companion; "But It

Is Not Yet Perfectly Clear Whether He Is In Love Or Whether It Is

Religious Mania. In Favour Of The First Theory,  That He Is In Love,  We

Have The Fact That He Rushes Over To Sandsgaard Nearly Every Day,  And Is

Seen Talking _Tete-A-Tete_ With Miss Rachel. In Favour Of The Other

Theory,  That He Has Gone Wrong On The Subject Of Religion,  It Is Said

That He Intends To Give Us No End Of A Sermon One Of These Sundays.

Won'T You Go To Hear Him?"

"Well,  I Don'T Know; But If The Others Go,  I Dare Say I May Go Too."

"No! Now Promise Me You Will Go To Church That Sunday," Said He,  Looking

At Her Imploringly.

There Was No Time For An Answer; They Were Close To The Door,  And

Madeleine Had Caught A Glimpse Of Fanny Behind The Curtains Of The

Sitting-Room.

In The Mean Time Mr. Johnsen Went On His Way. It Was Quite True That He

Was Going To Sandsgaard,  But Delphin'S Statement That He Was There Every

Day Was An Exaggeration. Since That Sunday,  When The Conversation Had

Waxed So Warm,  He Had Not Been At Sandsgaard; But His Thoughts Had Been

Occupied Ever Since By The Recollection Of His Last Conversation With

Rachel In The Garden.

Eric Johnsen Came,  As He Often Said,  Of A Poor Family. At The Garmans'

He Was First Brought Into Contact With That Luxury Which He Had Hitherto

Despised,  And He Had Made Up His Mind Beforehand That He Would Not Allow

Himself To Be Dazzled By It,  And Therefore On His First Introduction Had

Made His Best Endeavour To Put On An Air Of Severity,  And To Show

Himself Superior To Its Attractions. But Now He Was Not Only Astonished

By The Well-Ordered And Unpretentious Comfort Of The House,  But He Was

Also Shaken In His Preconceived Notions About The Rich,  When He Came To

Make The Acquaintance Of The Garmans. Johnsen Had Expected To Find

Something More Ostentatious,  Especially At Table; But The Solid Tone Of

The Household,  And The Easy And Polished Manners Of The Family,  Perhaps

Most Of All The Presence Of Rachel,  Finally Caused Him To Change His

Original Ideas. He Regarded With Suspicion The Satisfaction He Felt,

After Having Been At Sandsgaard A Few Times. He Was On His Guard Against

Everything That Tended To Draw Him Away From His Calling. There Was One

Point Which He Felt Of The Highest Importance,  Which Was,  Since He Had

His Origin From The Poor And Indigent,  It Was Among Them His Work Ought

To Lie,  Among Paupers And In Pauper Schools.

One Day Johnsen Actually Found Himself Hesitating Before The Door Of His

School,  Shrinking From Going Into Its Tainted Atmosphere,  When It Was

Not Actually Necessary For Him To Do So. The Discovery Caused Him At

First The Greatest Uneasiness. Now,  However,  Rachel'S Society Was

Beginning To Have More Influence Over Him. It Was No Longer The Comfort

Of Sandsgaard Which Attracted Him--Of That He Was Quite Certain; Neither

Had He Any Feeling For The Young Lady Except Interest,  A Deep,  Earnest

Interest,  After All The Stirring Impressions He Had Received Through

Her. She Had A Wonderful Power Over Him. Her Words Seemed To Shed A Ray

Of Light Over Much Which He Had Hitherto Overlooked. He Had,  Like The

Rest Of Us,  The Germs Of Doubt In His Heart,  And He Was Still So Young

And Fresh That His Aspirations Were But Loosely Covered,  And Had Not Yet

Had Time To Wither Entirely In His Heart. When,  Therefore,  He Was

Suddenly Thrown Into The Society Of A Woman Of Such Intellectual Power,

His Mind Seemed As It Were To Awake,  And Her Influence And His Own

Reviving Energies Kindled Within Him A Desire For Action Which Increased

With Each Day That Passed. The Tiresome And Uninteresting Work Of His

Daily Life Seemed Aimless To Him. He Must Find Some Other Means Of

Publishing His Convictions--This Was Now Clear To Him. He Went,

Therefore,  To His Adviser,  Ready To Engage In any Combat Into Which She

Might Think Fit To Send Him.

Rachel Generally Did At Home Pretty Much As She Liked. She Disdained All

The Hundred Restraints Which Are Generally Considered So Necessary For A

Young Girl; They Plainly Did Not Apply In Her Case--She Was So Different

To Others. As Soon,  Therefore,  As Johnsen Had Exchanged A Few Words With

Old Mrs. Garman,  She Said,  Without Further Ado,  "Come,  Mr. Johnsen,  Let

Us Take A Turn In The Garden," Without Her Mother Being In The Least

Astonished. Rachel Had Grown Up Quite Beyond Her Power Of Restraint,  And

If It Came To The Worst,  Thought Mrs. Garman,  This Unusual _Penchant_

For A Clergyman Was Not The Worst One Rachel Could Have Hit Upon.

The Two Went Down Into The Garden,  Where They Walked As Usual Up And

Down The Central Path. He Found It Rather Difficult To Lead The

Conversation In The Direction He Wished. His Tone Was Therefore Somewhat

Doubtful,  As He Said,  "I Have Thought A Great Deal About Our Last

Conversation; In Fact,  I Have Hardly Thought Of Anything Else Since,

And,  With Your Permission,  I Should Like To Say A Few More