Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel - Alexander Lange Kielland (best way to read ebooks txt) 📗

Said. It Is Cowardly."

 

She Regretted The Word The Moment It Was Spoken. She Said It Because She

Had Just Used The Same Expression In Her Conversation With Johnsen; But,

However,  Without Saying Anything Further,  She Went Into The House.

 

Jacob Worse Remained Thoughtfully Contemplating His Cigar. At Last,

Then,  The Storm Had Burst. The Ill Humour He Had So Long Noticed In Her

Had Found Vent. He Knew She Meant What She Said. She Thought He Was A

Coward. There Had Hitherto Been A Kind Of Friendly Comradeship Between

Them,  Which Excluded Any Attempts At Courtesy. She Had Told Him That

Their Friendship Must Be On This Footing,  If He Wished It To Continue.

He Had Accepted His Position,  And They Had Often Talked Freely Together,

But Latterly Less Than Had Formerly Been The Case.

 

Jacob Worse Turned Round,  And Found Himself Face To Face With Mr.

Johnsen,  Who Was Coming Up The Path With His Eyes Fixed On The Ground.

He At Once Perceived That Here Was To Be Found The Cause For Rachel'S

Extraordinary Conduct,  And The Discovery Did Not Tend To Put Him In a

Better Humour.

 

Mr. Hiorth The Magistrate,  And Mr. Aalbom The Schoolmaster,  Were Seated

Together In The Old Summer-House Near The Pond. They Were Generally To

Be Found Together On These Sunday Afternoons At Sandsgaard. The

Opportunity For Talking Scandal Was One Not To Be Neglected.

 

Hiorth'S Family Had Been For A Long Time In The Service Of The State,  A

Fact Of Which He Was Not A Little Proud; And After His Daughter'S

Marriage With Morten Garman,  Who Was One Of The Most Eligible Young Men

Of The District,  His Somewhat Sensitive Feelings Began To Revolt Against

The Self-Satisfaction Which The Garman Family Seemed To Have Inherited

With Their Solid Prosperity.

 

Aalbom Was,  Therefore,  Not Afraid To Give Free Play To His Bitter

Tongue,  And After A Good Dinner He Was Just In The Vein For So Doing.

 

"They Are Asleep," Said He. "I Dare Bet They Are Both Of Them Fast

Asleep. Have You Not Noticed That Both The Consul And His Brother

Disappear After Dinner Every Sunday?"

 

"Yes,  I Have Remarked That I Don'T Generally See Them When The Coffee

Comes; But It Is Only For About A Quarter Of An Hour," Answered The

Magistrate,  As He Brushed Some Cigar-Ash Off His Coat,  Just Where His

New North Star Order Hung.

Chapter 8 Pg 56

"They Are Not Treating You Properly," Continued Aalbom; "Especially When

Richard Calls Himself An _Attache_,  And Has Some Pretensions To Good

Manners."

 

"Oh! Well,  As Far As He Is Concerned," Answered The Other,  "He Means To

Show His Contempt For People In Office. Richard Garman,  Like All People

Who Have Led Shady Lives,  Is An Ultra-Radical."

 

"No Doubt,  Sir. And I Am Not Very Certain About The Consul Either; He

Has No Respect For A Cultivated Intellect."

 

"But Can You Expect Anything Better From A Man In Trade?"

 

"A Shopkeeper,  You Might Say," Whispered Aalbom,  Looking Cautiously

Around. "There,  Now," He Added,  "I Declare If It Is Not Raining! Just

What One Might Have Expected. We Had A Little Sunshine In The Morning,

And So Of Course It Must Rain In The Afternoon. What A Climate! What A

Country!" And,  Amid A Torrent Of Ejaculations And Anathemas,  They Both

Went Hurriedly Round The Pond,  And Reached The House Just As The Rain

Began To Fall In earnest.

 

The Company Generally Sat Downstairs When The Weather Was Fine,  In The

Room With The French Windows Opening Into The Garden; But Now,  As It Had

Begun To Rain,  And The Wind Began To Rustle Through The Flowers And The

Virginian Creeper On The Railings,  They Went Upstairs.

 

Whether It Was That The Two Garmans Had Really Wished To Show Their

Contempt For People In Office By Taking A Nap,  Or Whether Their Absence

Had Been Accidental,  They Had Both Returned To The Company,  And Richard

Was Standing With His Back To The Fireplace,  And The Consul Was Under

The Old Clock,  In conversation With Jacob Worse.

 

It Was Generally Supposed That It Was To These Sunday Afternoon

Conversations With Worse That The Consul Owed His Perfect Knowledge Of

Every Event That Took Place In The Town.

 

Madeleine Was Sitting By The Window,  Looking Out At The Rain. She Was

Quite Astonished To Find How Agreeable Pastor Martens Could Be. Her

Knowledge Of Clergymen Had Hitherto Been Confined To Her Father'S

Descriptions Of Them,  Which Were Amusing Enough,  But Far From

Flattering.

 

But Mr. Martens Was Quite Lively,  If Not Merry. He Had Not Attempted To

Say Anything Serious,  And She Had Nothing Against Him Except That He Hit

Very Hard At Croquet; But He Played Really Well,  And Seemed To Enjoy It.

It Was A Pity That The Rain Had Come Before They Had Finished Their

Game.

 

It Was One Of Those Evenings When It Is Not Dark Enough To Light The

Candles,  But Is Still Too Dark For Any One To See To Work; And A Wet

Evening,  Even In Summer,  Can Become Very Tiresome Before Lights,  Cards,

And Such Like Make Their Appearance.

 

Mrs. Garman And Mrs. Aalbom Sat Gossiping On The Sofa; And Fanny,  Who In

The Course Of The Day Had Received More Than One Reproving Look From Her

Mother-In-Law For Flirting With Delphin,  Was Now Doing Penance With The

Old Ladies,  To Whom Pastor Martens Had Also Attached Himself.

Chapter 8 Pg 57

 

Quite A Group Had Gathered Round The Fireplace By The _Attache_,

Consisting Of The Magistrate,  Mr. Aalbom,  And Delphin. Morten Had

Disappeared,  No One Knew Whither.

 

Delphin Was Anxious To Slip Away,  So As To Get An Opportunity Of Having

A Chat With Madeleine; But Richard Would Not Let Him Go--He Was Just The

Man After The _Attache'S_ Heart. He Reminded Him Of His Own Youth,  With

His Polite Assurance And Ready Wit. The Old Diplomatist Had A Weakness

For Getting Up Little Disputes Among His Acquaintances,  While He

Himself,  By Alternately Assisting The Two Sides,  Took Care To Preserve

The Balance Between Them,  And Maintain A Good Tone In The Discussion.

From This Point Of View George Delphin Was Quite A Treasure. He Had Just

That Irritating Manner Which Sometimes Became Very Nearly Offensive,  But

Was At The Same Time So Polished,  That It Would Indicate A Want Of Good

Breeding To Be Annoyed At It. It Was Thus A Real Treat For Uncle Richard

To See The Magistrate,  With All His Aplomb,  Writhe Under Delphin'S

Adroit And Sarcastic Rejoinders. Aalbom,  On The Other Hand,  Was Not So

Well Bred,  And Often,  Therefore,  Broke Through Conventionalities,  To The

Great Delight Of Both The _Attache_ And The Magistrate.

 

Uncle Richard Had On This Occasion Led The Conversation In a Direction

Which He Knew Would Be At The Same Time Entertaining And Interesting.

The Subject Was The Position Of The Country With Regard To Other

Nations. Mr. Hiorth Had Been In Paris Under Louis Philippe,  And Delphin

Had Two Years Previously Made A Summer Tour Through Europe,  While The

Schoolmaster Had Been At The University Of Copenhagen. Delphin'S Account

Of His Travels Was Most Animated,  And Culminated In The Greatest

Admiration For Paris. The Magistrate Maintained That Paris Was A

Dangerous,  Restless,  And Vicious Town. This Was The Result Of His

Observation In 1847,  And It Was Generally Allowed That Since That Time

It Had Become Even Worse. Aalbom Vainly Tried To Get In Something About

Thorwaldsen'S Museum.

 

The Conversation Began To Get Lively. The _Attache_ Distributed His Aid

With The Greatest Impartiality,  And Winked Knowingly At Delphin,  When To

All Appearances He Had Quite Gone Over To The Magistrate'S Side. Each

Point As It Arose Was Discussed With The Greatest Eagerness,  Until They

Arrived At Woman'S Position In Society. The Magistrate Was Very Strong

On The Subject Of French Immorality,  But He Was Unluckily Obliged To

Curtail His Remarks On Account Of The Ladies. Aalbom,  Who Was Able To

Take Up A Firm Position On The Ground Of His Acquaintance With "The

Origin And History Of The French Language," Came To The Assistance Of

His Friend With A String Of The Most Frightful Quotations From Rabelais

To Zola. Both Then Began To Compare The Women Of Their Own Country With

Those Of Northern Europe Generally,  And Managed To Make The Comparison A

Very Favourable One,  Holding Up Their Countrywomen As Veritable

Heroines; And As Both Richard Garman And Delphin Were Far Too Gallant To

Dispute Their Theory,  So The Other Two Had Full Enjoyment Of Their

Triumph.

 

Jacob Worse Now Got Up And Joined The Group. He Had Not Been Able To

Help Partly Overhearing The Conversation,  And Ruffled As He Was By

Rachel'S Accusations,  He Could No Longer Keep Silence. The Consul Smiled

As He Joined The Others,  And Said In a Low Tone,  "I Will Keep My Eye

Upon You,  And If It Gets Too Hot,  Will Come To Your Assistance."

Chapter 8 Pg 58

 

From The Moment Jacob Worse Began To Take Part In The Conversation,  The

_Attache_ Felt That The Reins Were Slipping Out Of His Hands. Worse Went

At It Hammer And Tongs; Not That He Raised His Voice,  Or Used Unbecoming

Expressions,  But His Views Were So Subversive And So Original,  That The

Others Were Forthwith Reduced To Silence. At The First Onset He Brushed

Aside All The Nonsense About Norwegian Women,  And That Sort Of Thing,

And Went On Boldly To Consider The Position Of Woman Generally With

Regard To Man. The Magistrate Asked Him Superciliously If He Meant Them

To Understand That He Was In Favour Of Emancipation; And When Worse

Answered That He Was,  The Magistrate Asked Him With A Smile How He

Thought He Would Be Treated By An "Emancipated Wife." Worse,  However,

Maintained That It Was Not A Question How A Man Was Treated,  But What

The Relation Really Was Which Existed Between The Two. The Time Must Be

Drawing To A Close When The Sole Consideration Was,  What A Man Found

Most Agreeable,  And It Was To Be Hoped That The Young Men Of The Future

Would Be Ashamed To Argue From That Basis. This Was Plainly A Hit,  Not

Only At The Magistrate,  But At All Married Men Of His Generation. Aalbom

Protested Warmly Against Worse'S Theory,  And His Wife Could Be Heard

Ejaculating In The Distance. Pastor Martens Now Came And Joined The

Disputants.

 

Jacob Worse Was Becoming Excited; He Spoke Hurriedly,  And His Tone

Showed That He Only Restrained Himself By An Effort. On What Absurd

Principles,  He Maintained,  Was The Education Of Women Generally

Conducted! How Many Thousands Ended Their Career,  Worn Out