Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel, Alexander Lange Kielland [best novels to read in english .txt] 📗

He Made An Effort,  And,  Looking

Beyond The Dean In His Need,  He Sought Her Who Was Really The Cause Of

His Standing Where He Did. He Was Not Disappointed,  For The Moment His

Eyes Met The Calm And Determined Face,  A Change Seemed To Come Over Him.

Her Eye Rested Upon Him With An Inquiring And Almost Anxious Expression,

Which He Well Understood.

 

She Should Not Be Disappointed Of Her Trust In Him,  And With Renewed

Strength,  And Without A Tremor In His Voice,  He Began Upon The Last Part

Of His Discourse. Ever Higher And Fuller Rang His Voice,  Until Its

Sonorous Tone Filled The Church,  And Was Re-Echoed From The Vaulted

Roof. The Congregation Followed Him With Attention,  While Some Of The

Old Women Were Moved To Tears. And Now A Sensation Of Uneasiness Seemed

To Pass Through Those Who Composed The Great Assembly. It Was Indeed An

Chapter 11 Pg 81

Extraordinary Sermon,  With Its Earnest Entreaties To Be Thoroughly

Upright And Sincere,  And With Its Reckless Condemnation Of All Forms And

Ceremonies,  All Of Which Were But Of Secondary Consideration. It Seemed

Too Bold,  Too Exaggerated.

 

He Seemed Anxious To Confess His Sceptical Opinions,  In Holding Which He

Did Not Stand Alone. He Was Only Alone In confessing Them. He Knew Only

Too Well That Fine Web Of Soothing Compromise,  With Which People Were In

The Habit Of Deadening Their Consciences. He Knew It Still Better,  Too,

From His Own Point Of View As A Clergyman,  Who Even More Than Others Was

Bound To Live In The Full Glare Of Truth,  Even Though He Might Be

Despised,  Hated,  And Persecuted By An Unreasoning World. If He Followed

The Beaten Track,  Whither Would It Lead? To A Position Of Comfort And

Respectability,  In Which The First Duty Was To Throw A Veil Over One'S

Own Heart And Those Of Others: To Suppress All Doubt And Inquiry,  And To

Deaden All Real Life In The Individual,  So That The Whole Machine Might

Continue Its Regular Movements Without Noise Or Friction. But Truth Was

A Two-Edged Sword,  Sharp And Shining As Crystal. When The Light Of Truth

Broke Into The Heart Of Man,  It Caused An Agony As Piercing As When A

Woman Brings Her Child Into The World.

 

But,  Instead Of This,  Was A Man To Lead A Life Of Slumber,  Shut In by

Falsehood And Form,  Without Force Or Courage; Giving No Sign Of Firmness

Or Power,  But Stuffed And Padded Like The Hammers Of A Piano?

 

He Was So Carried Away By His Thoughts That He Forgot His Notes And Said

Many Things He Would Never Have Dared To Write; And After The Last

Thundering Outburst,  He Concluded With A Short And Burning Prayer For

Himself And For All,  To Have Power To Defy The Falsehood By Which Man

Was Bound,  And To Live A Life Of Sincerity.

 

He Then Went On In an Entirely Changed Voice With The Rest Of The

Service; But Rachel Particularly Noticed That He Left Out The Prayer For

The Arms Of The Country,  By Land And Sea; And Now,  As He Read The

Prayers In a Calm,  Quiet Voice,  The Assembly Seemed To Breathe More

Freely,  As If After A Storm.

 

Among The Men Could Be Heard Whispers,  And The Prevailing Idea Seemed To

Be That The Sermon Was A Complete Scandal; While Those Who Had To Do

With The Law Were Of Opinion That He Would Be Cited Before The

Consistorial Court. Among The Women The Feeling Seemed Rather Undecided,

And Many Inquiring Glances Were Thrown Towards Where The Men Were

Sitting,  In The Hope Of Divining What The Opinion Would Be,  Either Of A

Husband,  Or A Brother,  Or,  In Fact,  Of That Particular Person Of The

Opposite Sex,  According To Whose Decision Each Woman Was In The Habit Of

Forming Her Own.

 

Most Eyes,  However,  Sought The Dean,  Who Sat As He Had Done During The

Whole Sermon,  Slightly Leaning Back On His Seat,  And Holding A Large

Hymn-Book,  Which Was A Gift From His Previous Congregation,  Between His

Hands. From The Upper Windows On The Other Side Of The Church A Subdued

Light Fell On His Form. The Face Had The Same Exalted And Peaceful

Expression; Not A Sign Of Uneasiness Or Annoyance Had Passed Over It

During The Whole Sermon,  Which Was Not Without A Soothing Effect Upon

The Congregation. The Feeling Of Restlessness And Excitement Was

Universal,  But Most People Seemed Inclined To Defer,  Their Final

Judgment.

 

Chapter 11 Pg 82

Pastor Martens Had Left The Pew Immediately After The Sermon,  For He Had

To Conduct The Communion Service. While He Performed It,  His Somewhat

Unmusical Voice Trembled With Inward Emotion. There Could Be No Doubt

Whatever As To What Were The Inspector'S Real Opinions.

 

The Chaplain Could Not Help Being Rather Pleased At The Satisfaction The

Dean Would Now Be Obliged To Render Him,  For It Had Been Quite Against

The Chaplain'S Wish And Advice,  That Johnsen Was Allowed To Preach At

The Morning Service. It Would Have Been More Advisable To Have Given Him

A First Trial Either At A Bible-Reading,  Or At Most At The Evening

Service. But Now The Murder Was Out,  And He Had Shown His Feeling Of

Antagonism To The Church Before The Whole Congregation. What Would The

Dean Do? The Affair Would Naturally Have To Be Reported.

 

As Soon As The Service Was Over,  Martens Left The Altar And Hurried Into

The Sacristy,  Into Which He Had Already Seen The Dean Enter.

 

"What Do You Say To That,  Sir?" He Cried Breathlessly,  As He Shut The

Door After Him.

 

Dean Sparre Was Sitting In His Armchair,  Reading The Hymn-Book He Had In

His Hand. At The Chaplain'S Question He Raised His Head With An

Expression Of Mild Reproof At The Disturbance,  And Said Abstractedly,

"To What Are You Alluding?"

 

"Why,  The Sermon; Of Course I Allude To The Sermon; It Is Perfectly

Scandalous!" Cried The Chaplain,  Excitedly.

 

"Well,  Certainly," Answered The Dean,  "I Cannot Say That It Was A Good

Sermon,  Taken As A Whole,  But If You Take Into Consideration--"

 

"But Really,  Sir--" Interrupted The Chaplain.

 

"It Appears To Me,  And It Is Not The First Time I Have Noticed It,  My

Dear Martens,  That You Do Not Quite Get On With Our New Fellow-Worker;

But Is It Not To Us That He Ought Really To Look For Support?"

 

The Chaplain Cast Down His Eyes; There Was Some Extraordinary Power

About His Superior. Not An Instant Before He Had Formed His Opinion

Quite Clearly,  But The Moment He Found Himself Face To Face With The

Dean'S Genial Countenance,  All His Ideas Seemed To Change.

 

"It Grieves Me To Be Obliged To Speak To You Thus,  My Dear Martens,  But

I Do So With The Best Intentions; And,  Then,  We Are Alone."

 

"But Don'T You Think,  Sir,  That He Was Far Too Bold?" Asked The

Chaplain.

 

"Yes,  Clearly,  Clearly So," Assented The Dean,  In a Friendly Tone. "He

Was Unguarded,  Like All Beginners; Perhaps The Most Unguarded I Have

Heard. But Then We Know Quite Well That The Same Thing Often Occurred In

Our Own Time. It Would Be Quite Unreasonable To Expect The Spirit'S Full

Maturity In The Young."

 

This Remark Caused Martens Involuntarily To Think Of His Own First

Attempt. He Answered,  However,  "But He Maintained That We Ministers,

Above All Others,  Are Living A Life Of Falsehood,  Shut In by Meaningless

Chapter 11 Pg 83

Forms."

 

"Exaggeration! A Wild And Dangerous Exaggeration! In That I Quite Agree

With You,  My Dear Martens. But,  On The Other Hand,  Which Of Us Can Deny

That A Ceremonial,  Be It Ever So Beautiful And Full Of Meaning,  Still In

The Course Of Time,  When It Is Frequently Repeated,  Loses Something Of

Its Influence Over Us? But Who Will Dare Cast The First Stone? Is It Not

Youth,  As We See,  Who Has Not Yet Experienced The Wear Of That

Continuous Labour Which Strives To Be True To The End? And Then

Naturally We Get Exaggeration--Dangerous Exaggeration. But," Continued

The Dean,  "Before Everything,  Let Us Agree To Look Upon His Sermon In

The Right Light,  For The Opinion Of Many Will Be Formed Upon Ours,  And

If We Now Allow This Young Man To Slip Out Of Our Hands He Will,  Likely

Enough,  Be Entirely Lost For The Good Work; And I Must Say I Have Great

Hopes Of Him. I Feel Sure That In His Right Place,  Which Would Be In a

Large Town--For Instance,  In christiania--He Will Make A Name For

Himself In The Church,  And I Venture To Think That His Labours Will Bear

Abundant Fruit."

 

Martens Again Looked Up At The Dean As He Pronounced These Words,  And

For The First Time He Now Perceived What It Was That Made His Manner So

Irresistible. It Was The Smile,  That Changing And Varying Smile,  Which

Yet Never Entirely Left The Noble Features. It Seemed To Mingle In all

He Said,  Like A Warm And Soothing Sunbeam; And As The Chaplain

Constrained Himself To Alter His Opinion Under Its Influence,  He Felt

That The Muscles Of His Mouth Involuntarily Assumed The Dean'S

Expression.

 

Madame Rasmussen Could Not Conceal Her Astonishment At The Moderation

With Which The Chaplain Spoke Of Johnsen'S Sermon. She Was Herself In

The Highest Degree Shocked,  And When Mr. Martens Told Her That,  In His

Opinion,  Mr. Johnsen Would Be Likely To Become A Clergyman Of

Considerable Note In christiania Some Day,  She Almost Thought That He

Was Carrying His Forbearance Too Far. Still She Could Not But Like

Pastor Martens,  Who Had Now Lived With Her For Two Years Without A

Single Ill Word Having Passed Between Them. Madame Rasmussen Was A Young

Widow,  Plump,  Good-Looking,  And Light-Hearted. She Had No Children,  And

It Was Quite A Pleasure To Her To Manage For The Chaplain--To Prepare

His Little Dishes,  And To Keep His Things In Order. She Was The Only

Person In The Whole Town Who Really Knew That Martens Wore A Wig. This

Was Not,  However,  A Thing To Be Spoken About,  And Nobody Else Was

Admitted Into The Secret.

 

As Mrs. Garman Drove Home From Church With Rachel And Madeleine,  She

Spoke Disapprovingly Of Johnsen'S Sermon. She Considered That It Was

Highly Improper For A Young Man To Be So Forward And Daring; But It Was

Quite In accordance With The Spirit Of The Times,  As Pastor Martens Had

Explained On The Previous Sunday.

 

"Ah,  Pastor Martens Is Quite A Different Man,  Is He Not?" Asked Mrs.

Garman,  Addressing Madeleine,  As Rachel Made No Reply.

 

"Yes--Oh Yes!" Answered