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

There Is A Thing

I Must Find Fault With You For,  It Is Your Want Of Self-Reliance. Don'T

You Suppose That,  With Your Gifts And Attainments,  You Could Get A Far

Higher Post If You Only Chose To Apply For It?"

 

"No; But,  Christian Frederick--" Exclaimed The _Attache_,  Regarding His

Brother With Astonishment.

 

"It'S Perfectly True," Replied The Consul. "If You Want The Post,  They

Must Give It To You; And If There Should Be Any Difficulty,  I Feel

Pretty Certain That A Word From Us To The Authorities Would Soon Settle

It."

 

The Matter Was Thus Concluded,  And Richard Garman Was Appointed

Lighthouse-Keeper At Bratvold,  Either Because Of His Gifts And

Attainments Or By Reason Of A Timely Word To The Authorities. The Very

Sameness Of His Existence Did The Old Cavalier Good; The Few Duties He

Had,  He Performed With The Greatest Diligence And Exactitude.

 

He Passed Most Of His Spare Time In Smoking Cigarettes,  And Looking Out

To Sea Through The Large Telescope,  Which Was Mounted On A Stand,  And

Which He Had Got As A Present From Christian Frederick. He Was Truly

Weary,  And He Could Not But Wonder How He Had So Long Kept His Taste For

The Irregular Life He Had Led In Foreign Lands. There Was One Thing That

Even More Excited His Wonder,  And That Was How Well He Got On With His

Income. To Live On A Hundred A Year Seemed To Him Nothing Less Than A

Work Of Art,  And Yet He Managed It. It Must Be Acknowledged That He Had

A Small Private Income,  But His Brother Always Told Him It Was As Good

As Nothing; How Much It Was,  And From What Source It Was Really Derived,

He Never Had An Idea. It Is True That There Came Each Year A Current

Account From Garman And Worse,  Made Out In The Consul'S Own Hand,  And He

Also Frequently Got Business Letters From His Brother; But Neither The

One Nor The Other Made Things Clearer To Him. He Signed His Name To All

Papers Which Were Sent To Him,  In What Appeared The Proper Place.

Sometimes He Got A Bill Of Exchange To Execute,  And This He Did To The

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Best Of His Ability; But Everything Still Remained To Him In The Same

State Of Darkness As Before.

 

One Thing,  However,  Was Certain: Richard Got On Capitally. He Kept Two

Assistants For The Lanterns; He Had His Riding Horse Don Juan,  And A

Cart-Horse As Well. His Cellar Was Well Filled With Wine; And He Always

Had A Little Ready Money At Hand,  For Which He Had No Immediate Use.

Thus,  When Any One Complained To Him Of The Bad Times,  He Recommended

Them To Come Into The Country; It Was Incredible How Cheaply One Could

Live There.

 

In The Ten Years They Had Passed At Bratvold,  Madeleine Had Grown To

Womanhood,  And Had Thriven Beyond General Expectation; And When She Had

Got Quite At Home In The Language (Her Mother Had Been A Frenchwoman),

She Soon Got On The Best Of Terms With All Their Neighbours. She Did Not

Remain Much In The House,  But Passed Most Of Her Time At The Farmhouses,

Or By The Sea,  Or The Little Boat Haven.

 

A Whole Regiment Of Governesses Had Attempted To Teach Madeleine,  But

The Task Was A Difficult One; And When The Governesses Were Ugly Her

Father Could Not Abide Them,  And When One Came Who Was Pretty There Were

Other Objections. Richard Paid Frequent Visits To Sandsgaard,  Either On

Don Juan Or In The Garmans' Dogcart,  Which Was Sent To Fetch Him. The

Chilly,  Old-Fashioned House,  And The Reserved And Polished Manners Of

Its Inmates,  Had Made A Repellant Impression On Madeleine. For Her

Cousin Rachel,  Who Was Only A Few Years Her Elder,  She Had No Liking.

She Preferred,  Therefore,  To Remain At Home,  And Her Father Was Never

Absent For More Than A Few Days At A Time. She Spent Most Of Her Time On

The Shore Or In The Neighbouring Cottages,  In The Society Of Fishermen

And Pilots. Merry And Fearless As She Was,  These Men Were Glad To Take

Her Out In Fine Weather In Their Boats. She Thus Learnt To Fish,  To

Handle A Sail,  Or To Distinguish The Different Craft By Their Rig.

 

Madeleine Had One Particular Friend Whose Name Was Per,  Who Was Three Or

Four Years Older Than Herself,  And Who Lived In The Cottage Nearest To

The Lighthouse. Per Was Tall And Strongly Built,  With A Crop Of Stiff,

Sandy Hair,  And A Big Hand As Hard As Horn From Constant Rowing; His

Eyes Were Small And Keen,  As Is Often Seen Among Those Who From Their

Childhood Are In The Habit Of Peering Out To Sea Through Rain And Fog.

 

Per'S Father Had Been A Widower,  And Per His Only Child,  But He Managed

To Get Married Again,  And Now The Family Increased Year After Year. The

Neighbours Were Always Urging Per To Get His Father To Divide The

Property With Him,  But Per Preferred To Wait The Turn Of Events. The

Longer He Waited The More Brothers And Sisters He Had To Share With. His

Friends Laughed At Him,  And Somebody One Day Called Him "Wait Per," A

Joke Which Caused Great Amusement At The Time,  And The Nickname Stuck To

Him Ever Afterwards. Beyond This,  Per Was Not A Lad To Be Laughed At; He

Was One Of The Most Active Boatmen Of The Community,  And At The Same

Time The Most Peaceable Creature On Earth. He Did Not Trouble To

Distinguish Himself,  But He Had A Kind Of Natural Love For Work,  And,  As

He Was Afraid Of Nothing,  The General Feeling Was That Per Was A Lad

That Would Get On.

 

The Friendship Between Per And Madeleine Was Very Cordial On Both Sides.

At First Some Of The Other Young Fellows Tried To Take Her From Him,  But

One Day It So Happened That When She Was Out With Per,  A Fresh

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North-Westerly Breeze Sprang Up. Per'S Boat And Tackle Were Always Of

The Best,  So That There Was No Real Danger; But Nevertheless Her Father,

Who Had Seen The Boat Through The Big Telescope,  Came In all Haste Down

To The Shore,  And Went Out On To The Little Pier To Meet Them.

 

"There'S Father," Said Madeleine; "I Wonder If He Is Anxious About Us?"

 

"I Think He Knows Better Than That," Said Per,  Thoughtfully.

 

All The Same The _Attache_ Could Not Help Feeling A Little Uneasy As He

Stood Watching The Boat; But When Per With A Steady Hand Steered Her In

Through The Fairway,  And Swung Her Round The Point Of The Pier,  So That

She Glided Easily Into The Smooth Water Behind It,  The Old Gentleman

Could Not Help Being Impressed By His Skill. "He Knows What He'S About,"

He Muttered,  As He Helped Up His Daughter; And Instead Of The Lecture He

Had Prepared,  He Only Said,  "You Are A Smart Lad,  Per; But I Never Gave

You Permission To Sail With Her Alone."

 

There Was No One Near Enough To Hear The Old Gentleman'S Words,  But When

The Spectators Who Were Standing Near Saw That Per Shook Hands With Both

Madeleine And Her Father In a Friendly Manner,  They Could All Perceive

That Per Was In The Lighthouse-Keeper'S Good Books For The Future,  And

From That Day It Was Taken For Granted That Per Alone Had The Right To

Escort The Young Lady.

 

Per Thought Over And Over Whom He Should Take With Him In The Boat. He

Saw Well Enough That The Whole Pleasure Would Be Spoilt If One Of His

Friends Came With Them. At Length He Hit Upon A Poor Half-Witted Lad,

Who Was Also Hard Of Hearing Into The Bargain. No One Could Make Out

What Per Wanted With "Silly Hans" In His Boat; But There! Per Always Was

An Obstinate Fellow. Both He And Madeleine Were Well Contented With His

Choice; And When,  A Few Days After,  She Put Her Head In at The Door,  And

Called To Her Father,  "I'M Just Going For A Little Sail With Per," She

Was Able To Add With A Good Conscience,  "Of Course,  He Has Got Some One

With Him,  Since You Really Make Such A Point Of It." She Could Not Help

Laughing To Herself As She Ran Down The Slope.

 

Richard,  In The Mean Time,  Betook Himself To The Big Telescope. Right

Enough: Per Was Sitting Aft,  And He Saw Madeleine Jump Down Into The

Boat. On The Forward Thwart There Sat A Male Creature,  Dressed In

Homespun,  With A Yellow Sou'Wester On Its Head.

 

"_Bien!_" Said The Old Gentleman,  With A Sigh Of Relief. "It Is Well

They Have Got Some One With Them--In Every Respect."

 

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The Highest Point On The Seven Miles Of Flat,  Sandy Coast Was The

Chapter 2 Pg 8

Headland Of Bratvold,  Where The Lighthouse Was Built Just On The Edge Of

The Slope,  Which Here Fell So Steeply Off Towards The Sea As To Make The

Descent Difficult And Almost Dangerous,  While In ascending It Was

Necessary To Take A Zigzag Course. The Sheep,  Which Had Grazed Here From

Time Out Of Mind,  Had Cut Out A Network Of Paths On The Side Of The

Hill,  So That From A Distance These Paths Seemed To Form A Pattern Of

Curves And Projections On Its Face.

 

From The Highest And Steepest Point,  On Which The Lighthouse Was Built,

The Coast Made A Slight Curve To The Southward,  And At The Other End Of

This Curve Was The Large Farm Of Bratvold,  Which,  With Its Numerous And

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