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

Funerals. No,

No! It Is Quite True What I Say. The Poor Are Just As Much Trouble In

Death As They Are In Life!"

 

Chapter 23 Pg 149

There Was Once A New Manager Of The Cemetery Who Wished To Get Rid Of

Abraham,  Who Caused General Indignation When He Went Tumbling About

Tipsy Among The Graves. But The Dean Said,  "What Is To Become Of The

Poor Man? He Will Remain As A Burden Either To You Or To Me; And

Besides,  He Has Been With Us As Long As I Have Been Here,  And I Have

Always Been Able To Bear With His Sad Infirmity. It Would Really Go To

My Heart To Drive Him Away." And So The Public Were Content To Keep

Abraham As An Evidence Of Dean Sparre'S Kindness Of Heart.

 

As Woodlouse Stood Looking At The Bones,  He Was Absorbed In

Philosophical Meditation,  And He Could Not Help Thinking That There Was

A Sort Of Air Of Defiance In The Grin,  With Which One Of The Skulls

Returned His Gaze. It Struck Him That This Skull Might Perhaps Be

Thinking How Peaceful It Was To Rest Here In The Sacred Earth Of The

Churchyard. But Surely It Was Just As Peaceful Over There In The House

In Which The Bones Were Placed; And If Neither Church Nor Provost,

Chaplain Nor Sexton,  Gravedigger Nor Organist,  Bell-Ringer Nor Acolyte,

No,  Not One Of Them Had Got His Due,  It Was Quite Impossible That It

Should Be Otherwise. And When He Came To Consider Further,  He Thought

That He Could Discover In These Bare Bones And These Bleached Skulls,  An

Expression He Knew Only Too Well In Life; A Kind Of Cleared-Out

Expression,  Which Seems To Cling To Those Who Have Not Paid Their Debts.

 

Meanwhile Pastor Martens'S Sonorous Voice Echoed Over The Cemetery As He

Was Approaching The End Of His Discourse. "The Six Feet Of Earth" Was

Repeated Again And Again,  Like The Refrain Upon Which A Good Composer

Will Hang A Whole Symphony; And Each Time It Seemed To Make A Deeper

Impression. The Account In The Evening Papers Might Perhaps Be Slightly

Exaggerated,  When It Said That Not An Eye Was Dry; But Certain Is It

That Many Wept,  And Not Only Women,  But Men Also. Some Even Of The

Merchants,  Who Had Carried The Coffin,  Were Seen Using Their

Pocket-Handkerchiefs.

 

It Was Really An Extraordinary Address. Just At The Commencement It Had

Caused An Uneasy Feeling,  When Martens Began To Speak About The Great

Riches Of The Deceased. There Was Some Apprehension Lest He Should Make

Some Ill-Timed Application Of The Parable Of The Camel And The Needle'S

Eye; But The Speaker Had Just Managed To Say The Right Thing. There Is

Nothing Which Gives The Poor So Much Pleasure,  As To Hear How Little

Power Really Belongs To Earthly Wealth,  And How Little There Is To

Grudge When It Comes To The Last. And So This Allusion To "The Six Feet

Of Earth" Had A Good Effect Throughout.

 

When The Funeral Discourse Was Over,  Abraham Came Forward With The Box

Which Was To Hold The Earth To Be Thrown On The Coffin.

 

Struggling With His Inmost Feelings,  The Pastor Seized The Box,  Filled

It With Mould,  And Uncovered His Head. Off In a Moment Came All The

Various Hats,  And Just As Many Various Heads Were Disclosed To View.

Some Were Smooth,  Some Were Rough,  Some Had Long Hair,  And On Others The

Hair Was Clipped As Close As The Top Of A Hair Trunk,  While Here And

There Appeared A Skull As Smooth As A Billiard Ball.

 

The Clergyman Threw The Earth Into The Grave,  Deeply Moved,  And Almost

Mechanically,  As If The Task Were Too Much For Him. The Loose Mould

Could Be Heard Rustling Down On The Flowers And Silk Ribbons. One More

Short And Thrilling Prayer Was Heard; The Service Was Over,  And The Hats

Chapter 23 Pg 150

Appeared Again.

 

The Bandsmen,  Who Had Been Standing In a Group Among The Mourners,

Keeping Their Instruments Under Their Coats,  So That They Might Not Get

Cold,  Suddenly Broke Out Into Music,  At A Mysterious Sign From The

Bandmaster. The Effect Was Striking. Just As When A Stone Is Thrown Into

The Water,  And The Ripples Roll Outwards In an Ever-Widening Circle,  So

Did The Mighty Waves Of Sound Drive Back The Bystanders In all

Directions,  Until There Was Quite An Open Place Around The Players. The

Undertaker Turned The Opportunity To Advantage,  And Took His Place At

The Head Of The Procession,  Which Returned In The Same Order As It Came.

 

At A Short Distance Behind The Musicians,  Came The Precentor With His

Choristers. He Was Terribly Annoyed By The Band,  And In a Great State Of

Anxiety,  Lest The Sorrowing Relatives Of The Deceased Should Not Notice,

How Much Extra Trouble He Had Taken With The Singing.

 

The Undertaker,  On The Contrary,  Was Extremely Pleased With The Band,

Which Had Made Such A Nice Clear Space For Him,  And When He Got Home To

His Wife He Said,  "Even If The Drums Of My Ears Are Nearly Broken,  I

Must Say I Fully Appreciate The Effect Of A Brass Band. Nothing Can Be

More Opportune,  When One Has To Lead A Procession Through A Large Crowd

At A Respectable Funeral."

 

At A Short Distance From The Grave,  The Clergyman Left The _Cortege_ And

Went In a Different Direction Across The Cemetery. As Soon As He Was Out

Of Sight Of The Crowd,  He Took A Short Cut Over The Graves,  Which In

That Part Of The Cemetery Were Low And Overgrown With Grass,  And Every

Now And Then He Held Up His Cassock,  And Stepped Over One Which Lay In

His Path.

 

Abraham The Sexton Had Got An Extra Lurch On,  In Honour Of The Grand

Funeral,  And Came Stumbling Along After The Pastor,  Carrying The Black

Box,  Which Was The Same That Was Used For All Burials,  Without

Distinction.

 

When The Pastor Arrived At Marianne'S Grave,  He Found Anders Begmand And

Some Others From The West End,  Who Had Already Been In The Consul'S

Procession. The Chaplain Took Off His Hat And Wiped His Brow,  As He

Stood Looking Round For Abraham. The Others Also Uncovered Their Heads.

At Length Abraham Came Up,  And The Three Handfuls Of Earth Fell,

Hurriedly And Mechanically,  On The Simple Coffin. "Of Earth Thou Art,  To

Earth Thou Shalt Return,  And From The Earth Thou Shalt Rise Again.

Amen."

 

The Pastor Went Scrambling Along Farther Over The Graves. There Were

Still Some Other Poor People To Be Buried,  And It Was Getting Late.

Chapter 24 Pg 151

 

The Young Consul'S Death Did Not Bring With It Any Great Changes,  Either

In The Household Or In The Business. Everything Was In Such A Solid And

Well-Regulated Condition,  That It Kept On Going Like A Good Machine. The

New Driver Had As Much As He Could Manage,  And There Were Some Who

Thought That The More Delicate Parts Of The Complicated Mechanism Would

Be Likely To Suffer Under His Hands.

 

At The Same Time,  No One Could Say Of Morten That He Did Not Bring Great

Energy To Bear On His New Duties. Now,  Indeed,  It Was Almost Impossible

To Find Him; He Was Continually On The Go Between The Town And

Sandsgaard. His Carriage Might Be Seen Waiting At The Most Unlikely

Corners,  Or All Of A Sudden He Would Pop Up Out Of A Boat At The Quay,

Tear Off To The Office,  Call Out Something To The Bookkeeper,  And Flash

Out Of The Door Again. But When The Bookkeeper Hurried After Him,  To Ask

What The Instructions Were,  All He Saw Was A Glimpse Of The Dogcart As

It Turned The Corner.

 

The Business Men In The Town Used To Say,  Quietly Among Themselves,  That

It Was Easier To Work Against Morten Than With Him. Garman And Worse'S

Predominance Began To Grow Weaker,  And What Had Been The Central Power

Was Now Distributed In Several Hands. The Year Which Followed Was Not A

Prosperous One For Shippers; Most Of The Ships Belonging To The Firm Had

Been Working Either At A Loss Or At A Very Small Profit. The Most

Successful Was The _Phoenix_,  Which Had Been Put On The Guano Trade. She

Still Continued To Be A Favourite,  And Her Voyages Were Followed With

Great Interest In The Newspapers. The Poet Of The Town Had Written Some

Verses In Her Honour:--

 

     "Rock Proud,  Thou Fire'S Daughter,

     Thy Flame-Enshrouded Helm!"

 

It Was Doubtless This Allusion To The Helm,  Which Had Been Most In

Danger At The Time Of The Fire,  Which Caused The Success Of The Poem,

And Insured It A Permanent Position In all The Concerts.

 

In Accordance With The Express Wishes Of The Deceased,  Jacob Worse Had

Been Chosen As Guardian For Rachel And Gabriel. Mrs. Garman Was Still To

Remain In The Position Of Partner,  With Morten As Manager Of The

Business. For Each Of The Younger Children A Considerable Sum Was Set

Apart; A Sum,  In Fact,  Which Was Just About Equal To That With Which

Morten Had Entered The Firm.

 

Rachel Had Thus To Go To Jacob Worse For An Explanation Of Her Affairs,

For She Wanted To Have A Clear Idea Of What She Really Possessed,  And

What Her Exact Position Was. Worse Answered Her In a Calm And Measured

Business Tone.

 

"Well,  Then,  This Money," Said She,  One Day,  In Worse'S Office,  "Is My

Own,  And Is Entirely Under My Own Control?"

 

"Yes,  In addition To Your Share In The Business," Added Worse,  In

Explanation; "And If Your Mother Should Die,  Your Part Of Her Property

Will Come To You At The Division Which Will Follow. It Will Then Depend

Upon You Or Your Future Husband--"

 

Chapter 24 Pg 152