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

Pressed Down Until His Hat Got Jammed In among The Ribs. Then All At

Once It Began The Same Tactics From Below,  And Blew Up Under The

Umbrella,  And Between The Master'S Long Legs,  Filling Out The Closely

Buttoned Waterproof,  Until It Bid Fair To Blow It Away Altogether.

 

All October And November Went On Much In The Same Fashion,  And People

Who Were Given To Jokes Began To Say That They Had Quite Forgotten The

Sun'S Appearance.

 

Chapter 15 Pg 100

At Last,  One Day Well On In december,  The Dreadful Weather Seemed To

Have Worn Itself Out For A Time. The Sky Was Perfectly Clear,  And Not

Even The Smallest Cloud Was To Be Seen Which Could Give Rise To

Apprehension. During The Night There Had Been A Few Degrees Of Frost,

And The Roads,  Which Had For A Long Time Been Nearly Impassable,  Became

All At Once Hard And Dry. On The Puddles Lay The First Ice,  As Thin And

Clear As Glass,  And The Meadows Were Hoary With Frost.

 

The Chaplain Was On His Way To Sandsgaard,  With His Newly Acquired Smile

On His Features. The Lovely Weather Enlivened Him,  And Made His Thoughts

Cheerful And Full Of Hope; For The Chaplain Was Going A-Wooing.

 

It Was Fully Two Years Since Martens Had Lost His First Wife; He Had

Really Regretted His Loss,  But Now It Was A Long Time Ago. It Would Have

Been Quite Improper,  And Not At All In accordance With The Views Of The

Congregation,  For So Young A Widower To Remain Single Longer Than Was

Absolutely Required By The Ordinary Rules Of Society. Now,  The Chaplain

Knew Just As Well As Any One That A Particular Charm Attaches To An

Unmarried Clergyman--That Is,  For A Time; And He Also Fully Agreed With

Dean Sparre,  When He Said A Short Time Previously,  "If A Congregation Is

To Have The Peaceful,  Comforting Feeling That Their Souls Are Well Cared

For,  They Should Have The Example Of A Peaceful,  Homely Life Before

Their Eyes,  In The Form Of A Motherly Wife At The Rectory,  And Even

Better Still,  A Family Of Happy Children."

 

And Besides,  Pastor Martens Was Really In Love. Madeleine Garman Had

Long Ago,  In Fact As Soon As Ever She Left Bratvold,  Taken Possession Of

His Heart By Her Modest And Natural Demeanour; And No Worldly

Expectations Mingled In The Chaplain'S Affections. He Knew That Richard

Garman Had Not A Shilling,  And He Was Sufficiently Free From Prejudice

To Disbelieve The General Report That Madeleine'S Father Had Never Been

Properly Married To Her Mother. In Madeleine He Hoped To Find The

Retiring And Simple-Minded Woman For Whom He Was Seeking,  And Latterly,

Since Her Manners Had Become Even More Quiet,  He Had Paid Her Greater

Attention,  And It Appeared To Him That She Met Him In a Modest And

Womanly Manner.

Chapter 15 Pg 101

On His Arrival At Sandsgaard,  He Met Mrs. Garman In Her Room,  And To Her

He Entrusted His Secret. At First She Did Not Seem To Take To The Idea,

But On Second Thoughts She Appeared More Favourably Disposed. She

Considered That Sooner Or Later Something Of The Kind Must Happen,  And

It Was Perhaps Just As Well That The Chaplain,  Who Was Already So Dear

To Her Should Become A Member Of The Family. She Therefore Said,  When

She Had Made Up Her Mind--

 

"Well,  Mr. Martens,  If You Really Think That Madeleine Will Make You A

Good Wife In The Eyes Of God And Man,  I Have Nothing To Do But Give You

My Very Best Wishes On The Choice You Have Made. You Will Find Madeleine

In The Green-Room."

 

Pastor Martens Went Off To The Green-Room,  And Returned After A Quarter

Of An Hour Had Elapsed; But Mrs. Garman'S Astonishment Defies

Description,  When She Learnt That He Had Met With A Refusal.

 

"Tell Me," She Groaned--"Tell Me Every Word. Oh,  The Poor Misguided

Child!"

 

"I Am Afraid I Cannot Tell You Every Word That Passed,  Mrs. Garman,"

Answered Martens,  Pale With Emotion; "I Am Too Much Shocked And--"

 

"And Surprised Too,  I Am Sure," Said Mrs. Garman,  Concluding His

Sentence; "Yes,  That I Can Readily Believe. What Is The Matter With The

Child? What Reason Did She Give?"

 

"She Did Not Say Much," Answered The Pastor; "She Seemed To Be Almost

Afraid Of Me. She Went Off To The Door And Began To Cry,  And Said--"

 

"What--What Did She Say?"

 

"She Simply Kept Repeating 'No,'" Answered The Chaplain,  Quite

Crestfallen.

 

Mrs. Garman Could Not Disguise Her Astonishment.

 

The Bright Sunshine Had Not The Same Enlivening Effect Upon The Pastor

As He Returned To His Lodgings. He,  However,  Managed To Control Both His

Feelings And His Countenance. This Was A Trial That He Would Have To

Receive With Humility. The Only Thing That Annoyed Him Was,  That He Had

Said Anything About It To Mrs. Garman.

 

Mr. Martens'S Proposal Was The Only Thing That Was Wanted To Complete

The Life Of Wretchedness,  Which Madeleine Had Passed Ever Since That

Moonlight Autumn Evening; And Yet The Chaplain Was To A Certain Extent

Right,  When He Thought That Madeleine Had Met Him With Some Degree Of

Warmth. There Was,  In Fact,  Something In The Almost Fatherly Manner With

Which He Treated Her,  Something Which Seemed To Soothe Her Affrighted

Heart. She Had A Longing To Be Able To Feel Confidence In Somebody,  And

The Calm,  Earnest Clergyman Seemed To Her So Different From All Those

For Whom She Had Such An Abhorrence,  Since She Had Made Her Fatal

Discovery. And Now He,  Too,  Was To Come To Her With The Same Story;

Told,  Certainly,  In a Different Way--That She Was Quite Willing To

Allow; But Still The Gist Of It Was The Same--The Very Same Whichever

Chapter 15 Pg 102

Way She Turned.

 

Mrs. Garman Took Her Most Severely To Task For Having So Unreasonably

And Foolishly Rejected Such A Man As Pastor Martens; And At Length,  What

With One Thing And Another,  The Poor Girl Quite Lost Her Health,  And The

Doctor Had As Much As He Could Do To Pull Her Through An Obstinate

Attack Of Low Fever.

 

George Delphin Had Soon Got To Know From Fanny That It Was Old Miss

Cordsen Who Had Seen Them In The Garden,  And Given Them The Timely

Warning. This Was For Him A Greater Relief Than Fanny Expected; For,

After The First Feeling Of Pride And Delight At Having Gained His Lovely

Prize,  Delphin Had Felt More And More Compunction In His Inmost Heart

Every Time He Thought Of Madeleine. He Was Not Willing To Break Off With

Fanny--This Was More Than He Dared To Do; But,  Careless And Clever As He

Was,  He Thought That He Would Be Able For The Present To Keep Up The

Double Game With Both.

 

He Could Make Up His Mind When The Time Came,  And He Would Make Up His

Mind,  Too,  If He Could Win Madeleine,  And If He Thought She Was Worth

The Price Of Breaking Off With The Lovely Fanny. But Within A Few Days

After That Evening On Which They Had Been So Careless,  His Eyes Began To

Be Opened. Fanny Was Not At Sandsgaard That Day,  For Little Christian

Frederick Had Got The Measles,  And Delphin,  Therefore,  Attempted To Talk

With Madeleine In The Good-Natured And Patronizing Way Which He Had

Hitherto Done. But A Single Look From Her Frightened Eyes Was Enough For

Him; He Could Not Endure Her Glance,  And Became Silent,  And Immediately

After Dinner Made An Excuse For Taking His Leave. He Had Promised To

Look In at Fanny'S During The Afternoon,  And He Found Her Expecting Him,

As She Came From The Child'S Sick-Room In a Charming Demi-Toilette. When

He Came In,  She Ran Forwards With Her Hands Stretched Out To Meet Him.

Delphin Did Not Take Them,  But Said With A Serious Air--

 

"I Know Now Who It Was That Saw Us That Evening; It Was Not Miss

Cordsen."

 

"That Is What I Have Long Suspected," Answered Fanny,  With A Smile; "But

I Did Not Wish To Alarm You. Besides,  Madeleine Is Far Too Stupid To

Allow Of Her Doing Us Any Harm."

 

At That Moment He Was Almost Afraid Of Her. He Felt He Could Not Remain

With Her Any Longer,  Although She Besought Him To Do So.

 

Fanny Stood Watching Him As He Went Down The Street,  Biting Her Lips To

Restrain Her Feelings; But The Tears Stood In Her Eyes,  And She Kept A

Convulsive Hold On The Curtains,  Behind Which She Was Concealing

Herself. For The Conquest She Had Made,  Which Had Also On Her Side Been

At First Only Mere Vanity,  Had Ended By Becoming A Serious Matter. She

Really Loved Him,  And Could Now See Clearly Exactly How The Situation

Lay.

 

Christmas Came And Passed. The Ordinary Festivities Of The Season Went

On As Usual At The Garmans'; But This Year They Were Less Merry Than

Usual. There Were Several Members Of The Family Who Each Had To Bear His

Own Separate Sorrow; And Little Christian Frederick,  The Only Hope Of

Chapter 15 Pg 103

The Family,  Was Lying At Home,  Slowly Recovering From The Measles. Uncle

Richard Never Seemed To Gain Quite His Usual Christmas Spirits,  For

Madeleine'S Appearance Caused Him Considerable Anxiety. Since He Had No

Longer Been Able To Keep Her Under His Eye By Means Of The Big

Telescope,  She Had Quite Got Beyond His Ken Amongst All The Others With

Whom She Constantly Mixed,  And Whenever They Happened By Chance To Find

Themselves Alone Together,  Madeleine Did Nothing But Cry,  And That Was

More Than Her Father Could Bear.

 

Morten Was Dreading The Settling Of The Year'S Accounts With His Father.

That Part Of The Business Which