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

"No,  Not Exactly; It Would Not Do. I Can'T Very Well Go Up There Dressed

For Riding,  And If I Were To Ride In These Clothes I Should Look Absurd.

But I Thought Of Riding Out There This Evening,  Somewhere About Seven

O'Clock. Just Fancy Me Coming In Over The Garden Wall With A Flying

Salute,  And Lighted By The Last Rays Of The Evening Sun! Why,  It Would

Be Irresistible."

"Well,  I Am Afraid,  Or Perhaps I Ought Rather To Say I Hope,  That Miss

Madeleine Will Not Fully Appreciate Your Novel Way Of Paying Her Your

Addresses," Said Worse,  Half-Seriously.

"Ah,  My Most Respected Friend,  You Know Very Little Of Woman'S Heart;

And How Should You,  When Your Ideal Is A Woman Who Goes In For Her

Rights? A Tall Bony Creature With A Moustache Under Her Nose,  And

'Woman'S Wrongs' Under Her Arm."

"Leave Off,  Will You?" Cried Worse. "You Are Just In Your Most

Disagreeable Vein. You Had Better Go Off To Young Mrs. Garman. She Will

Find You Most Amusing To-Day."

"A Good Idea,  Which I Was Already Thinking Of," Answered Delphin,  As He

Took His Hat; "And At The Same Time I Will Take A Place For Myself In

Her Carriage For To-Morrow."

"Won'T You Drive With Me?" Cried Worse After Him.

"No,  Thanks; I Would Rather Go With Mrs. Garman,  If For Nothing Else

Than To Have The Pleasure Of Seeing Her Worthy Husband On The Box," Said

He,  As He Went Out Of The Door.

Jacob Worse Stood Watching Him. At First He Had Been Very Glad To Make

Delphin'S Acquaintance. There Were Not Many Young Men In The Town With

Whom He Could Associate. Delphin Was Intelligent,  Well Read On Different

Subjects,  And When Alone Was Good Company Enough. But By-And-By He

Showed More Of The Frivolous Side Of His Character,  And Worse Began To

Get A Little Tired Of His Friend.

Fanny Was Sitting All This Time In a State Of Absolute Boredom. Little

Christian Frederick Had Gone Out With His Nurse,  And The Street Was

Uninteresting,  Dusty,  Hot,  And Thronged By Country People Making Their

Saturday Purchases. She Did Not Care To Look Out Of The Window,  But Sat

Leaning Back In Her Most Comfortable Armchair,  Yawning In Front Of The

Glass. Would It Be Better To Send For Madeleine? It Was Several Days

Since She Had Paid Her A Visit. But Then She Would Have To Play The Part

Of Go-Between Again. Or Should She Begin On Her Own Account? Yes; Why

Not? But Then He Never Came Except When Madeleine Was There. It Really

Was Too Tiresome.

When He Now Came Unexpectedly Into The Room It Gave Her Quite A Start,

But She Still Remained Leaning Back In Her Armchair,  And Gave Him Her

Left Hand,  Which Was The Nearest,  As She Said,  "I Am Glad To See You. I

Was Just Thinking Of You As I Was Sitting Here All Alone."

"It Was Very Kind Of You,  I Am Sure," Answered He,  As He Sat Down In a

Chair In Front Of Her.

"Yes; All Sorts Of Foolish Things Come Into One'S Head When One Is

Sitting Alone."

"I Hope I Was Not The Most Foolish Thing That Could Come Into Your

Thoughts," Answered Delphin,  Jestingly. "But It Is Quite True; You Have

Been Left A Great Deal Alone Lately."

"Yes; But Perhaps I Have My Own Reasons For It."

"May I Venture To Ask What These Reasons Are?"

"Perhaps It Would Be Better If I Were To Tell You," Said She,  Regarding

Attentively The Point Of Her Shoe,  Which Projected From Her Dress As She

Lay Back In Her Chair. She Had Tiny Pointed French Shoes With Straps

Across The Instep,  Through Which Appeared A Blue Silk Stocking.

"I Assure You I Shall Be Very Thankful,  And At The Same Time Most

Discreet."

"Well,  Then,  Madeleine Is So Young," Said Fanny,  As If Following The

Train Of Her Own Thoughts,  "That I Feel It To A Certain Extent My Duty

To Look After Her,  And--"

"I Scarcely See That It Is Absolutely Necessary," Answered He.

"Yes; But When A Girl So Inexperienced As Madeleine Is Brought Into

Contact With Gentlemen Who Are--Well,  Who Are So Clever As,  For

Instance,  Yourself,  Mr. Delphin,  You See--" She Looked At Him As She

Paused In Her Sentence.

"You Are Paying Me Too Great A Compliment," Said He,  Laughing; "And

Besides,  You Can Never Imagine That I Would Take Advantage--"

"Nonsense!" Rejoined Fanny; "I Know All About That. You Are Just Like

All The Rest. You Would Never Hesitate To Take Advantage Of Even The

Slightest Opportunity; Would You,  Now? Tell Me Frankly."

"Well," Answered He,  Rising,  "If You Really Wish For An Honest Answer,  I

Must Confess That When I See A Strawberry That Nobody Else Seems To

Notice,  I Generally Pick It."

"Yes; It Is Just That Greediness That All Men Have,  And Which I Find,  At

The Same Time,  So Dangerous And Incomprehensible."

"Yes; But,  Mrs. Garman,  Strawberries Are Really So Delicious."

"Yes,  When They Are Ripe," Answered Fanny.

The Words Fell From Her Lips As Smoothly As Butter. Delphin Had Taken A

Few Paces Across The Room,  And Just Turned In Time To See The Last

Glimpse Of A Look Which Must Have Been Resting On Him While She Spoke.

It Was Not Very Often That He Lost His Self-Possession In a Conversation

Of This Kind,  But The Discovery He Had Made,  Or Thought That He Had

Made,  With All Its Uncertainty,  And The Feeling Of Pleased Vanity It

Brought With It,  Confused Him,  And He Stood Stammering And Blushing

Before Her. She Still Lay Stretched In The Armchair,  A Position Which

Displayed To The Best Advantage The Lines Of Her Lovely Form. Her Beauty

Was Fully Matured,  And Showed Freedom And Elegance In every Movement.

She Could See That She Had Said Enough For The Present,  And She Got Up

Without Apparently Taking Any Notice Of His Confusion.

"You Must Think," Said She Quickly,  With A Smile,  "That It Is Absurd For

Me To Preach You A Sermon. We All Have To Attend To Our Own Affairs; And

If You Will Excuse Me,  I Have To Go And Try On A Dress. Good-Bye,  Mr.

Delphin; I Hope You Will Find Your Strawberries To Your Taste."

Delphin Was Quite Confounded; But Before He Had Had Time To Get His Hat

She Put Her Head In at The Door,  Still Smiling,  And Cried,  "You Will

Drive Over With Me To-Morrow?" And,  Without Waiting For An Answer,  She

Nodded Her Head And Disappeared.

Delphin Had Hardly Recovered Himself When He Went For His Ride To

Sandsgaard,  And He Quite Forgot About The Flying Salute Over The Garden

Wall,  For There Was No One To Be Seen Either At The Window Or In Front

Of The House. The Fact Was,  His Adventure Had Made Such An Impression On

Him That He Did Not Take Very Much Notice.

Fanny At First Repelled His Advances Haughtily; But He Accepted His Fate

With Resignation. George Delphin Was Not The Man To Lose His Time Or His

Temper,  In a Hopeless Pursuit. There Are Many Respectable Prizes In a

Lottery Without Aiming At The First. But Now Here Was The Chance Of

Winning The Great Prize,  The Charming Fanny,  The Admiration Of All. His

Heart Swelled With Pride,  And If Jacob Worse Could Have Seen The Look

With Which He Regarded The Passers-By,  It Would Certainly Have Reminded

Him Of General Prim.

The Next Day At Sandsgaard,  Fanny And Madeleine Were Together During The

Whole Afternoon. Delphin Could Not Manage To Get An Opportunity Of

Talking To Either Separately. Just Once He Came Upon Fanny In The

Morning-Room At The Piano,  But She Got Up And Went Out Hurriedly As He

Entered. As They Drove Home That Evening Scarcely A Word Passed Between

Them. Fanny Kept Gazing The Whole Time Over The Fjord,  Of Which They

Caught Glimpses From Time To Time Through The Trees Of The Avenue. It

Was A Still,  Peaceful Autumn Evening,  And Delphin Was In an Excited

Mood. Each Time He Moved He Felt The Rustle Of Her Silk Dress,  The Folds

Of Which Nearly Filled The Carriage. Both Sat Quite Silent To The End Of

The Drive.

During The Next Few Days Madeleine Was Again Staying With Her Cousin,

Whom She Found More Gracious Than Ever. Delphin Came Even More

Frequently Than Before; But She Did Not Meet Him During Her Walks,  A

Fact Which She Related To Fanny. Fanny Said With A Smile That Delphin

Was Perfectly Right,  And His Conduct Was Only Proper,  Now That People

Had Begun To Talk About Their Frequent Walks Together.

Madeleine Thought With Regret Upon How Much There Is To Be Careful Of In

This World; But A Short Time Afterwards She Met Mr. Delphin,  And During

The Pleasant Walk They Had Together He Was Most Attentive,  And In The

Best Of Spirits.

Fanny Was Now More Beaming Than Ever. Whenever She Saw Her Own And

Madeleine'S Reflection In The Glass,  Which,  To Tell The Truth,  Was Very

Often The Case,  A Smile Of Satisfaction Would Pass Over Her Features.

Without Madeleine Having A Suspicion,  The _Roles_ Had Been Changed,  And

The Play Was Ready To Begin,  Now That Fanny Had Made Up Her Mind That

The Parts Were In The Right Hands.

All The Miss Sparres,  Of Whom There Were Five,  Rushed To The Window.

"It Is Mr. Johnsen,  The New School-Inspector! No,  It Isn'T! Yes,  It Is!

It _Is_ Mr. Johnsen! Do You Think I Don'T Know Him,  Although He Has Got

A New Coat? I Declare,  He Is Coming In!"

"Clementine,  You Have