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Marry A Clergyman,  And He Had A Kind Of Dim Feeling That He Would

Have Done Better To Have Kept Her Under The Observation Of The Big

Telescope. But The Old Gentleman,  Who Had Never Been Very Strong-Minded,

Had Become Still More Feeble In His Sorrow,  And Now That He Could No

Longer Go To Christian Frederick For Advice,  He Gave Way In everything.

 

As For Madeleine Herself,  The Exhaustion Which Followed Her Illness Had

Produced A Feeling Of Indifference; And Now That The Important Step Had

Once Been Taken,  She Allowed Herself To Be Led Without Offering Any

Opposition,  And Did Not Find It Disagreeable,  When The Pastor Took Upon

Himself To Think And Act For Her In everything. But When It Came To

Saying Good-Bye To Her Father She Gave Way,  And Was Carried Senseless To

The Carriage.

 

Martens Soon Found That If He Wished To Educate Madeleine To Be A

Pattern Wife After His Own Heart,  He Must Get Her Away From Sandsgaard.

With The Same Object In View,  He Sought,  And Standing As Well As He Did

With Those In authority,  Soon Obtained,  A Living At Some Distance In The

Country; And,  A Year After His Betrothal,  He Celebrated His Marriage At

His Mother'S House.

 

After His Ride Along The Shore,  George Delphin Suffered From A Dangerous

Attack Of Inflammation Of The Lungs. His Illness Lasted So Long That A

Substitute Had To Be Provided For The Time In The Magistrate'S Office;

And As Soon As He Recovered Sufficiently To Write,  He Informed The

Magistrate That He Wished To Resign His Situation. The Magistrate

Accepted His Resignation With Alacrity,  For George Delphin Had Never

Been The Kind Of Man He Liked.

 

Chapter 24 Pg 155

Than At An Ordinary _Pension;_ But I Am Almost Certain That Both Mr. And

Mrs. Barnett,  Who Is A French Lady,  Are The Sort Of People You Will

Like. And It Is Exactly In The American Society Of Paris That You Will

Have The Best Opportunity Of Finding Employment If You Wish For It. At

Any Rate,  You Can Stay Some Time In Mr. Barnett'S House,  Until You Find

Something Else You Prefer."

 

His Tone Was Deliberate And Decided,  As If He Already Regarded The

Matter As Finally Settled; And When Rachel Got Up To Take Her Leave She

Found That Her Mind Was Already Made Up,  Without Being Conscious Of How

She Had Arrived At Her Conclusion. She Looked Forward To A New And More

Active Life,  With Mingled Feelings Of Expectation And Pleasure. But At

The Same Time She Was Somewhat Hurt--No,  Not Hurt,  But Sad--No,  Not

Exactly Sad,  Either; But She Could Not Help Thinking It Was

Extraordinary,  That He Should Show Himself So Eager To Get Her Away.

 

Jacob Worse Followed Her To The Door Leading Into The Street,  But When

She Had Gone He Did Not Go Back To The Office,  But Crossed Over The Yard

To His Mother'S.

 

A Month Later,  Gabriel And Rachel Set Off Under The Escort Of Old

Svendsen; Gabriel To Dresden,  And Rachel To Paris. Madeleine Also

Quitted Sandsgaard. Her Intended Had Arranged,  With The Assistance Of

The Doctor,  That She Should Go To The Baths Of Modum,  Where Martens'S

Mother,  Who Was The Widow Of A Clergyman From The East Coast,  Was To

Take Care Of Her.

 

Uncle Richard Was Utterly Confounded When He Heard Madeleine Was Going

To Marry A Clergyman,  And He Had A Kind Of Dim Feeling That He Would

Have Done Better To Have Kept Her Under The Observation Of The Big

Telescope. But The Old Gentleman,  Who Had Never Been Very Strong-Minded,

Had Become Still More Feeble In His Sorrow,  And Now That He Could No

Longer Go To Christian Frederick For Advice,  He Gave Way In everything.

 

As For Madeleine Herself,  The Exhaustion Which Followed Her Illness Had

Produced A Feeling Of Indifference; And Now That The Important Step Had

Once Been Taken,  She Allowed Herself To Be Led Without Offering Any

Opposition,  And Did Not Find It Disagreeable,  When The Pastor Took Upon

Himself To Think And Act For Her In everything. But When It Came To

Saying Good-Bye To Her Father She Gave Way,  And Was Carried Senseless To

The Carriage.

 

Martens Soon Found That If He Wished To Educate Madeleine To Be A

Pattern Wife After His Own Heart,  He Must Get Her Away From Sandsgaard.

With The Same Object In View,  He Sought,  And Standing As Well As He Did

With Those In authority,  Soon Obtained,  A Living At Some Distance In The

Country; And,  A Year After His Betrothal,  He Celebrated His Marriage At

His Mother'S House.

 

After His Ride Along The Shore,  George Delphin Suffered From A Dangerous

Attack Of Inflammation Of The Lungs. His Illness Lasted So Long That A

Substitute Had To Be Provided For The Time In The Magistrate'S Office;

And As Soon As He Recovered Sufficiently To Write,  He Informed The

Magistrate That He Wished To Resign His Situation. The Magistrate

Accepted His Resignation With Alacrity,  For George Delphin Had Never

Been The Kind Of Man He Liked.

 

Chapter 24 Pg 156

During The Whole Time Of The Illness,  Fanny Was In a State Of Nervous

Excitement. To Visit The Invalid,  Or Put Herself In any Sort Of

Communication With Him,  Was Quite Out Of The Question. She Had Thus To

Content Herself With Such News As She Could Pick Up,  Either Accidentally

Or Through Morten; But She Dared Not Ask As Many Questions As She Could

Have Wished. One Day When She Was Standing Before The Glass,  She

Discovered Three Small Wrinkles At The Corner Of Her Left Eye. When She

Laughed,  They Improved Her; But When She Was Serious,  They Made Her Look

Old. Nothing Seemed To Suit Her Any Longer,  Not Even Mourning,  In Which

She Had Always Looked Her Best. Fanny,  In Fact,  Suffered As Much As She

Was Capable Of Suffering,  And One Day She Received A Note From Him,  In

Which He Said Adieu.

 

"I Start To-Night,  And Say Farewell Thus To Spare Us Both A Painful

Parting. Farewell!" This Was All The Note Contained.

 

Her Lovely Complexion Turned Almost To An Ashen Grey,  But Only For A

Moment. The Whole Night She Lay Awake,  Listening To Her Husband,  Who Lay

Breathing Heavily By Her Side; But The Next Morning Found Her Sitting By

Her Window,  As Calm And Bright As Ever. Many Of Her Friends,  As She Had

Expected,  Came To Visit Her,  But She Disappointed Them All. Delphin'S

Sudden Departure Was A Subject Of Conversation In Which She Joined,

Jesting And Laughing As Usual. Her Friends Could Perceive No Change In

Her,  And Yet How Much Scandal Had Been Talked About Her And Delphin! It

Was A Lesson To People To Keep Their Tongues To Themselves.

 

But Fanny Herself Noticed Several Changes In Her Appearance,  And Was

Reminded Of It Every Time She Saw Her Reflection In The Glass.

 

In Small Circles Great Events Seem To Come All At Once,  One After

Another In Startling Succession. The Worthy Town Had Been Quite Upset By

All Those Remarkable Events,  Of A Joyful,  Mournful,  Or Mixed Nature,

Which Followed After The Night Of The Fire At Sandsgaard; And While Busy

Tongues Kept Reverting To The Materials For Gossip Thus Provided,  The

Years Rolled By Without Anything Further Taking Place.

 

Tom Robson Had Taken Martin With Him To America,  Where They Disappeared.

 

Contrary To His Intention,  Torpander Did Not Travel Home To Sweden. He

Put Off His Departure From Time To Time. _Her_ Grave Never Seemed Pretty

Enough,  And He Never Felt Perfectly Certain That It Would Be Kept

Properly In Order. He Thus Remained Where He Was,  And At Last Moved Over

To Old Anders Begmand'S Cottage. The Old Man'S Head Had Become Somewhat

Affected. He Received His Week'S Pay Every Saturday,  Without,  However,

Doing Any Work To Earn It. And Now Torpander Grew To Be Quite A Fixture

In The Cottage,  And The Two Would Sit For Many A Winter'S Evening Over

The Fire,  Repeating To Each Other The Same Stories,  Which Never Varied

Year After Year,  About Her Who Had Been,  And Still Continued For Both,

The Very Sunshine Of Their Lives.

 

Uncle Richard Soon Gave Up The Lighthouse At Bratvold,  And He And Mrs.

Garman Shared Sandsgaard Between Them. Downstairs The Lady Went About In

Her Wheel-Chair,  And She Had Had All The Thresholds Of The Doors

Removed,  So That She Might Be Able To Have Herself Rolled Into The

Kitchen.

 

Chapter 24 Pg 157

Upstairs Uncle Richard Continued His Ceaseless Wanderings,  In and Out,

To And Fro,  Just As He Had Begun On The Day After His Brother'S Death.

Once Only He Had Had Don Juan Saddled; But When He Was Brought Round To

The Door,  The Old Gentleman,  Thought He Was Too Fresh For Him. He Put

His Hand Before His Eyes,  And Had Don Juan Taken Back Again,  To The

Stable.

 

Summer And Winter,  Day After Day,  The Sound Of His Footfall Overhead

Never Ceased. A Long Strip Of Soft Carpet Had Been Put Down The Whole

Length Of The House,  Partly For Warmth,  And Partly To Deaden The Sound

Of His Step.

 

In Winter He Wore A Long Coat Lined With Fur,  A Fur Cap,  And A Pair Of

Deerskin Gloves; And There Were Some People Who Confidently Maintained

That He Carried An Open Umbrella When The Weather Was Wet. In The Little

Room On The North Side,  There Was A Cupboard In Which A Bottle Of

Burgundy Was Always Kept Standing. When The Old Gentleman Got To This

Point He Would Pause,  Drink A Glass Of The Wine,  And Look Thoughtfully

In The Large Mirror. He Then Shook His Head And Continued His

Wanderings.

 

No Change Took Place In Miss Cordsen. The Well-Starched Cap-Strings And

The Odour Of Dry Lavender Still Followed Her Wherever She Went; While

All The Secrets Of The Family Lay Carefully Preserved,  Together With Her

Own,  To Both Of Which The Closely Pressed Mouth,  With Its Innumerable

Wrinkles,  Formed A Lock Of The Safest Description.

 

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