w
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN
 
 WORKS OF 
 BJORNSTJERNE BJORNSON 
 
 I'ATRIOTS EDITION 
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN 
 
 Translated from the Norse 
 By 
 
 RASMUS B. ANDERSON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
 
 Copyright, 1881, 1882, 
 BT IIOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. 
 
 All rights reserved.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE Fisher Maiden was written in 1867 and 
 1868, and was published simultaneously in Norway 
 and Germany. The popularity of the story is 
 sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that it has 
 appeared in four German and in two English trans- 
 lations, the present being the third. 
 
 The characters are, perhaps, less ideal than those 
 of his peasant stories, and the style throughout in- 
 dicates that the author has entered upon a new era 
 in his literary development. His aim here is to 
 show how irresistible is the power of innate voca- 
 tion and natural talent, and to vindicate the theatre 
 as a place not only of amusement, but also of in- 
 struction, against the unjust criticisms of the clergy. 
 
 In the weird poem, in the eleventh chapter, on 
 the young viking, Mr. Bjornson depicts, in strangely 
 orofound sentences, his own career, his early strug- 
 gles, and the victory he so quickly gained. Indeed* 
 as Bjornson said to me in 1872, the Fisher Maiden 
 s Bjornson himself, and in the young viking h
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 has given, in a few enigmatic strokes, a picture of 
 both the heroine and the author. Nowhere does 
 Mr. Bjoruson's patriotism burst forth in purer and 
 nobler strains than in the short poem that follows 
 Boon after that on the young viking. It is all 
 aglow with love and pride and confidence and hope, 
 and is a perfect mirror of the poet's feelings and 
 aspirations in the midst of his great success. 
 
 The poems in this volume are translated by Au- 
 gusta Plesner and Frederika Richardson, with the 
 exception of the one at the end of chapter iv., be- 
 ginning, " Ah, sweet is Love's first meeting ! " and 
 the one in chapter ix., beginning " Joy now is kin- 
 dled," both of which are by Auber Forestier. Music 
 has been written for "Ah, sweet is Love's first 
 meeting," by Halfdan Kjerulf, and for " Joy now 
 is kindled," by Edward Grieg. The latter may b 
 found in the "Norway Music Album." 
 
 RASMUS B. ANDERSON 
 
 ABOARD, MADISON, WISCONSIN. 
 March, 1882.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 "to 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHERE herring have for a long time been 
 
 3 caught in abundance, there gradually grows 
 
 up a town, provided that other circumstances 
 
 are favorable. Not only may it be said of such 
 
 X towns that they are cast up out of the sea, 
 
 but at a great distance they actually resemble 
 
 washed-up timber and fragments of wreck, or 
 
 a mass of keeled boats, overturned by the 
 
 fishermen for shelter some stormy night. A 
 
 nearer view shows how entirely by chance the 
 
 *~ whole has been built, for here a rock lies in the 
 
 ^jnidst of a thoroughfare, there water divides 
 
 the borough into three or four parts, while 
 
 the streets wind and curve in every direction. 
 
 But there is one quality common to them all : 
 
 there is refuge in the harbor for the largest 
 
 hips ; it is as snug in there as in a box ; and 
 
 therefore these havens are very grateful to 
 
 Teasels that with tattered sails and battered 
 
 87622
 
 8 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 bulwarks are driven in from the open sea in 
 search of a breathing-place. 
 
 In a small town of this kind all is still; 
 everything noisy is banished to the wharves, 
 where are moored the peasants' boats, and 
 where ships load and unload. Along the 
 wharves runs the one street of our little town ; 
 the white and red one and two-story houses 
 are on the opposite side ; but they are not 
 built wall to wall, they have neat gardens 
 around them ; and so there is a long, broad 
 street which, when the wind blows landward, 
 is filled with the odor of whatever may be on 
 the wharves. It is quiet here not from fear 
 of the police, for as a rule there is none, but 
 from dread of gossip, since all the inhabitants 
 know one another. When you walk down the 
 street you must bow at each window, where 
 usually sits an old lady who is ready to return 
 your greeting. Moreover, you must salute ev- 
 ery one you meet ; for all these people, as they 
 move so noiselessly about, are continually re- 
 flecting on what is proper in general and for 
 themselves in particular. He who oversteps 
 the standard prescribed for his rank or social 
 position, forfeits his good name , for not only 
 is he known to his neigh oors, but so are his 
 father and his grandfather, and inquiries are
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 at once made as to whether there has ever be- 
 fore been seen a tendency in the family to un- 
 seemly behavior. 
 
 To this peaceful town fared, many years ago, 
 that worthy man, Per Olsen. He came from 
 the country, where he had earned a livelihood 
 by peddling and fiddling. He opened a shop 
 in the town for his old customers, where, in 
 addition to his other wares, he sold brandy and 
 bread; and he might often be heard pacing 
 up and down in the chamber behind the shop, 
 playing spring-dances and wedding-marches. 
 Each time he passed the glass loop-hole in the 
 door, he would peep through, and if a customer 
 was entering the shop he would wind up his 
 playing with a trill and go in. Business flour 
 ished ; he married and had a son whom he 
 named after himself, calling him not Per, 
 though, but Peter. 
 
 Little Peter was to become what Per knew 
 he was not an educated man ; and so the boy 
 was entered at the Latin school. When those 
 who should have been his comrades thrashed 
 him home from their games because he was a 
 son of Per Olsen, his father thrashed him back 
 again, there was no other way of educating 
 the boy. Consequently little Peter felt for- 
 saken at school, grew indolent, and gradually
 
 10 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 became so totally indifferent to everything that 
 his father could neither beat a smile nor a tear 
 out of him. Then Per did away with the flog- 
 gings and placed the boy in the shop. Greatly 
 was he astonished when he saw his son dealing 
 out to each customer exactly what was asked 
 for, neither giving a grain too much, nor eating 
 a prune himself, but weighing, reckoning, and 
 entering the sales, with unmoved countenance, 
 usually without speaking, and though slowly 
 yet with scrupulous accuracy. 
 
 Again the father became hopeful, and sent 
 his son by a herring boat to Hamburg, in 
 order to place him at a commercial college, and 
 give him an opportunity to acquire polished 
 manners. Peter was absent eight months ; that 
 was long enough, no doubt. Before starting 
 for home he had provided himself with six new 
 suits of clothes, and when he landed he wore 
 them all, one ovor the other, "for all articles 
 in actual wear are exempt from duty." He 
 made precisely the same appearance in the 
 street the next day as when he came ashore, 
 minus his circumference. He walked stiff and 
 straight, without a curve in his arms or hands ; 
 Vie bowed with a sudden jerk, bending as if he 
 had no joints, only to grow the next moment 
 us rigid as ever; he had become the embodi-
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 11 
 
 uent of politeness, but not a word did he have 
 to say for himself ; his manners were abrupt 
 and tinged with a certain shyness. He no 
 longer wrote his name Olsen, but Ohlsen, 
 w,hich gave the wags of the town opportunity 
 for the following conundrum : 
 
 44 How far did Peter Olsen get in Hamburg? " 
 
 Answer: " To the first letter." 
 
 He had furthermore meditated calling him- 
 self " Pedro ; " but having had so much annoy- 
 ance to endure for the sake of the A, he gave 
 up this idea and subscribed himself P. Ohlsen. 
 He enlarged his father's business, and at the 
 age of twenty-two married a shop-girl with 
 red hands in order to have some one to 'keep 
 house ; for his father had just become a widower 
 and Peter thought it was safer to take a wife 
 than a housekeeper. On the anniversary of 
 their wedding-day, she presented him with a 
 son, who a week later was christened Pedro. 
 
 Now that worthy Per Olsen had become a 
 grandfather, he felt, as it were, an inner call to 
 grow old, so he gave up his business to his son, 
 took a seat on a bench outside the door and 
 smoked plug tobacco in a short pipe. Discov- 
 ering one day that life was growing tedious out 
 there he began to wish for a speedy death, and 
 as all his wishes had been quietly fulfilled, so i< 
 was with this one.
 
 12 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 While Peter, the son, had inherited exclu- 
 sively one side of his father's talents business 
 shrewdness, Pedro, the grandson, seemed to 
 have exclusively inherited the other taste 
 and ear for music. He was very slow in learn- 
 ing to read, but could sing quite early ; he 
 played the flute so well that he attracted much 
 attention ; he had a refined look and a tender 
 heart. This, however, was only a source of an- 
 noyance to his father, who wanted to bring the 
 boy up to his own business-like activity. When 
 Pedro was forgetful about anything, he was 
 neither scolded nor flogged as his father had 
 been ; he was pinched. This was done very qui- 
 etly, with a kindliness of manner that might al- 
 most be termed politeness. Each evening when 
 his mother undressed him she counted the black 
 and blue spots on his body and covered them 
 with kisses ; but she offered no resistance, for 
 she herself got pinched. For every rent in the 
 boy's clothes, which were his father's Ham- 
 burg suits made over, for every stain on his 
 school-books, she was blamed. Consequently, 
 the continual cry was : " Do not do that, Pedro I 
 Take care, Pedro I Remember, Pedro ! " and 
 the boy was afraid of his father and tired of his 
 mother. At the hands of his comrades he suf- 
 fered no harm, as he always began to cry at the
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 13 
 
 [east provocation and beg them to spare his 
 clothes; but he was nicknamed "withered- 
 branch," and not deemed worthy of much notice. 
 He was like a sickly, featherless duckling, al- 
 ways waddling about after the flock and running 
 far away by itself to eat the scanty morsel it had 
 succeeded in snatching from the others. No 
 one shared with him, neither did he, therefore, 
 share with any one. 
 
 Soon, however, he discovered that his lot 
 would be different among the humbler children 
 of the town ; they had more patience with him 
 because he was more genteel than they. A 
 tall, sturdy girl, who held undisputed sway over 
 a whole troop of boys, took a fancy to him. He 
 never grew weary of looking at her. She had 
 raven-black hair which formed one mass of 
 curls about her head, and was never combed 
 save with the fingers; she had vigorous blue 
 eyes, a narrow brow, and all her features blended 
 into but one expression. She was always in a 
 whirl of excitement or at work, went barefoot, 
 bare-armed, and sunburned in the summer, and 
 in the winter was clad as lightly as other chil- 
 dren are in the summer. Her father was a pilot 
 and fisherman ; she ran from house to house sell- 
 ing his fish, she sat at the oars keeping the boat 
 fitill against wind and tide, and when he was
 
 14 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 out piloting, she carried on the fishing alone. 
 No one could pass her without turning to take 
 a second look, so self-reliant was shei Her 
 name was Guulaug, but she was called the 
 fisher maiden, a title she accepted as her rank. 
 In the childish games she always sided with 
 the weak ; she had an impulse to defend others, 
 and she now became the protector of this re- 
 fined, delicate boy. 
 
 In her boat he could play his flute, which 
 had been solemnly forbidden at home, as it was 
 thought it would take his mind from his studies. 
 She rowed him out on the fjord, she took him 
 with her on her long fishing expeditions, soon 
 he even made night excursions with her. They 
 used to row out toward the setting sun in the 
 clear, calm summer evenings, he playing his 
 flute, or listening to her while she told him all 
 she knew a]pout mermen, spectres, shipwrecks, 
 foreign lands, and black people, just as she had 
 heard it from the sailors. She shared her food 
 with him as she did her knowledge, and he 
 accepted all, giving nothing in return ; for he 
 neither brought food from home nor imagina- 
 tion from school. They would row about until 
 the sun went down behind the snow-clad mount- 
 ains and then, landing on some rocky island, 
 kindle a fire, that is, she would gather together
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 15 
 
 twigs and brushwood, while he sat and looked on. 
 She always carried along with her one of her fa- 
 ther's sea-jackets and a bed-spread for him ; in 
 these she would wrap him. She tended the fire 
 and he went to sleep ; she kept herself awake 
 with snatches of songs and hymns, singing in a 
 loud clear voice until he was asleep, then in a 
 softer tone. When the sun once more rose in 
 the opposite horizon, and cast over the mount- 
 ains a pale yellow light as a harbinger of its 
 approach, she would awaken him. The forest 
 was still dark, the meadow gloomy, but both 
 gradually became suffused with a gleaming, 
 roseate light until the mountain crest glowed 
 and all the colors of the rainbow came pouring 
 over the scene. Then they would push the 
 boat back into the water, plow the waves in 
 the dark morning breeze, and soon near the 
 shore where the other fishermen were anchored. 
 When winter set in and the trips ceased, he 
 sought her in her home; he came frequently 
 and watched her while she worked ; but neither 
 he nor she spoke much ; it seemed as if they 
 were merely waiting together for the summer 
 When it came it robbed him, alas, of the new 
 prospects life was unfolding to him. Gunlaug's 
 father died, and she left the town, while Pedro, 
 by the advice of his teachers, was put into the
 
 16 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 shoj. There he served behind the counter 
 with his mother ; for his father, who had grad- 
 ually become the color of the groats he had so 
 long been weighing, was forced to take to his 
 bed in the back chamber. Even from there he 
 wanted to have part in everything going on ; 
 must know what each one had sold, but would 
 pretend not to hear until he got his wife or son 
 near enough to pinch them. And when the 
 wick had become quite dry in this small lamp, 
 one night it went out. The wife wept, she 
 knew not precisely why ; but the son could not 
 press out a tear. As they had money enough 
 to live on, they wound up the business, re- 
 moved every trace of it, and turned the shop 
 into a sitting-room. There the mother sat by 
 the window knitting stockings; Pedro estab- 
 lished himself in the room on the other side of 
 the passage, and devoted his time to flute-play- 
 ing. No sooner had summer come, however, 
 than he bought a little light sailing-boat, crossed 
 over to the rocky island, and stopped where 
 Gunlaug was wont to anchor. 
 
 And one day, as he lay reposing in the 
 heather, he saw a b'oat steering straight toward 
 him ; it came alongside his own, and Gunlaug 
 stepped out. She was wholly unchanged, al- 
 though she was now fully grown and tallr
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 17 
 
 than other women. But the moment she laid 
 eyes on him she slowly drew back ; it had not 
 occurred to her that he too had grown up. 
 
 She did not know this pale, thin face ; it was 
 no longer sickly and refined, it was dull and 
 heavy. But as he gazed at her his eyes became 
 filled with the calm light of bygone dreams ; 
 she came forward again, and each step nearer 
 seemed to take a year from him ; when she 
 stood beside him, where he had jumped up, he 
 laughed like a child, talked like a child ; that 
 old face was like a mask concealing a hidden 
 child : he had become older, it was true, but 
 he had not grown. 
 
 Still, it was just this child she was seeking, 
 and now that she had found him again she 
 knew not what next she should do ; she laughed 
 and blushed. Involuntarily he felt something 
 like power rising within him; it was for the 
 first time in his life. At the same moment he 
 grew handsome it was, perhaps, but for an 
 instant, but in that instant she was won. 
 
 Hers was one of those natures that can only 
 love the weak on whom tenderness has been 
 lavished by them. She had meant to pass two 
 days in town ; she remained two months. Dur- 
 ing these two months Pedro grew more than 
 during all the rest of his youth ; he was so far 
 a
 
 18 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 nplifted beyond his dream-life and lethargy that 
 he made plans he resolved to go abroad and 
 study music. One day when he was speaking 
 of this, she grew pale and said: "Yes but 
 then we must get married first." He looked at 
 her; she fixed her eyes firmly on him in return; 
 then they both flushed crimson, and he said, 
 " What would people say to that ? " 
 
 Gunlaug had never imagined that he could 
 have a will opposed to her own, because she had 
 never cherished a wish that was not his. But 
 now she read in the depths of his soul that he 
 had never for a moment thought of sharing with 
 her anything but what she herself had given. 
 In one minute she discovered that it had been 
 thus all their lives. She had begun with com- 
 passion and ended with love for the object of 
 her own kindness. Well for her could she 
 but have retained her self-control a little while 
 longer. He saw her rising anger, and in terror 
 cried : " I will." She heard it ; but indignation 
 at her own stupidity and his wretched weakness, 
 at her own shame and his cowardice, seethed 
 up with such fiery speed to the point of explo- 
 sion, that never did love kindled in childhood 
 ftnd radiant sunset, cradled by the waves and 
 moonbeams, with the tones of a flute and low 
 singing for an accompaniment, have a more
 
 THE FISUER MAIDEN. 19 
 
 sorrowful end. She seized him with both hands, 
 lifted him from the ground and thrashed him 
 to her heart'i content ; then she rowed back to 
 town and forthwith started on foot across the 
 mountains. 
 
 Pedro had sailed out that morning a love- 
 sick youth, on his way to conquer manhood ; 
 he rowed home again an aged person who had 
 never known manhood. His life owned but one 
 remembrance, and that his own folly had lost ; 
 he had but one place of resort in the world, and 
 thither he no longer dared go. While brooding 
 over his own wretchedness and how all this had 
 come to pass, his enterprising mood sank, as it 
 were, into a slough, never more to" rise. The 
 small boys of the town, remarking his strange 
 ways, soon began tormenting him, and as he 
 had always been a mysterious character to the 
 townsfolk, no one knowing anything about his 
 ways or means, it did not occur to any one to 
 interfere in his behalf. Soon he scarcely dared 
 stir out of his house, at all events, not in the 
 streets. His whole existence became one strug- 
 gle with the boys, who doubtless did him the 
 same service as gnats of a hot summer day: 
 without them he would have sunk into an un- 
 broken stupor. 
 
 Nine years later Gunlaug returned to the
 
 20 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 town quite as unexpectedly as she had left it. 
 She brought with her a little girl about eight 
 years old, the image of her former self, only 
 that everything about the child was more re- 
 fined and seemed, so to speak, as if wrapt in 
 a dream. Gunlaug had been married, it was 
 said, money had been left her, and now she 
 had come back to open a sailor's inn. 
 
 This she managed so well that merchants 
 and skippers got into the habit of coming to 
 her to hire hands, sailors to seek employment. 
 She never charged a penny commission, but des- 
 potically wielded the power this agency gave 
 her. Although she was but a woman, and 
 never left her house, she was most emphati- 
 cally, " the influential man " of the town. She 
 was called " fisher Gunlaug," or " Gunlaug on 
 the hill-side;" her title of "fisher maiden " was 
 transferred to her daughter, who went ranging 
 about the town at the head of an army of small 
 boys. 
 
 It is the daughter's story which is here to 
 be told. She had something of her mother's 
 strength of character, and she found opportu 
 nity to use it.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE many lovely gardens of the town, no\* 
 in their second and third bloom, were fragrant 
 after rain. The sun was setting behind the 
 mountains of eternal snow ; the whole sky 
 above them was in a blaze of glory, and the 
 snow peaks gave back a subdued reflection. 
 The nearer mountains lay wrapped in shadows, 
 but they were nevertheless radiant with theii 
 many-hued autumnal forests. The rocky isl- 
 ands which formed a long line in the midst of 
 the fjord, as if they came rowing into the har- 
 bor, revealed still more gorgeous coloring in 
 their dense woods than did the mountains, be- 
 cause they could more distinctly be seen. The 
 sea was calm ; a large ship was just being towed 
 in. The inhabitants of the town sat out on the 
 steps of their porches, that were well sheltered 
 by the rose-bushes on either side; they were 
 talking across from porch to porch, running 
 over to visit one another, or exchanging greet- 
 ings with the passers-by, who were on their 
 way to the long avenues outside the town
 
 22 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Save the occasional tones of a piano, floating 
 through some open window, scarcely a sound 
 broke in upon the conversation ; the last rays 
 of the setting sun, as they lingered on the sea, 
 increased the sense of perfect peace. 
 
 Then suddenly there arose as great a tumult 
 in the heart of the town, as if a battery had been 
 opened there. Boys shouted, girls screamed, 
 other boys hurrahed, old women scolded and 
 commanded, the policeman's big dog barked, 
 and every cur in town bayed in return. Peo- 
 ple inside were forced to come pouring out in 
 the street. So tremendous became the noise 
 that even the amtmand 1 had to turn on his 
 porch and drop the words, " Something must 
 be the matter." 
 
 " What is it ? " was asked in excited tones of 
 those on the steps by people rushing in from 
 the avenues. " Ay, what is it? " replied those 
 on the steps. " Dear me ! what can be the 
 matter?" all now inquired when any one ap- 
 peared from the centre of the town. But as 
 this town lies like a half-moon about a gently 
 winding bay, it was quite a long time before 
 the reply could reach both ends of the street. 
 M It is only the fisher maiden." 
 
 This adventurous spirit, screened by a for- 
 
 1 The magistrate.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 28 
 
 midable mother, and sure of the protection of 
 every seaman (for an extra dram was to be had 
 gratis of the mother for such service), at the 
 head of her small army had made an assault on 
 a large apple-tree in Pedro Ohlsen's orchard. 
 The plan of attack was as follows : some of the 
 small boys were to attract Pedro to the front of 
 his house by slapping the rose-bushes against 
 the window-panes ; meanwhile, one was to 
 shake the tree, which stood in the centre of the 
 garden, and the rest were to fling apples in all 
 directions over the fence not to steal them, 
 far from it ! merely to have some fun. 
 
 This ingenious plan had been hatched that 
 same evening in the rear of Pedro's garden ; 
 but, as luck would have it, Pedro was seated 
 just inside the fence, and heard every word. 
 Somewhat before the appointed time he man- 
 aged to get the intoxicated policeman of the 
 town and his large dog into his back room, 
 where they were both treated. When the 
 fisher maiden's curly pate was seen above the 
 paling, and at the same time a multitude of lit- 
 tle eager faces were peeping through on every 
 side, Pedro suffered the small rogues to shake 
 the rose-bushes in the front of the house with 
 all their might he calmly waited in the back 
 room. And when the whole troop had noise-
 
 24 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 lessly gathered about the tree in the garden, 
 just as the fisher maiden, barefoot and tattered, 
 had climbed up to give it a shaking, the back 
 door burst open, and Pedro and the policeman 
 rushed out, armed with clubs, and with the 
 great dog at their heels. A shriek of dismay 
 arose among the boys ; a troop of little girls, 
 who in all innocence were playing " tag " out- 
 side the fence, supposing some one was being 
 murdered in the garden, fell to screaming most 
 lustily. The boys who had escaped, hurrahed ; 
 those who had been caught in the fence howled 
 under the strokes of the clubs, and in order 
 that the whole might be complete, a number of 
 old women, who always spring up where the 
 shrieks of boys are heard, blended their shrill 
 voices with the rest. Even Pedro and the po- 
 liceman were alarmed, and began to make 
 terms with the old women; but, meanwhile, 
 the boys ran away. The dog, who had been 
 the greatest terror of all to the boys, clearing 
 the fence, set out in pursuit of them, for this 
 was sport for him. On they sped through the 
 town like wild ducks : boys, girls, the dog, and 
 screams. 
 
 All the while the fisher maiden sat quietly 
 up the tree, thinking that nobody had noticed 
 her. Cowering in the topmost branch, she
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 26 
 
 followed, through the foliage, the progress of 
 the contest. But when the policeman, in a fit 
 of fury, had made a sally on the old crones out- 
 side, Pedro Ohlsen, left alone in the garden, 
 walked straight under the tree, looked up, and 
 called out : 
 
 " Come down this moment, you wretch I " 
 
 There was heard not the slightest sound from 
 the tree. 
 
 " Will you come down, I say ? I know you 
 are up there ! " 
 
 The most profound silence I 
 
 ** I will go into the house for my gun and 
 shoot up at you ; yes, I will ! " 
 
 He made a movement to go. 
 
 " Booh-hooh-hooh I " come from the tree. 
 
 " Oh, you may bawl as much as you please, 
 for I am going to put a whole charge of shot 
 into you up there ; I can tell you I " 
 
 "Oh, booh-hooh-hooh-hooh ! " came in owl- 
 like tones. " I am so frightened." 
 
 " Oh, the deuce you are ! You are the 
 worst mischief-maker of the whole lot ; but I 
 have you now ! " 
 
 " Oh, you dear, good, kind man, you ! I will 
 never do so any more." 
 
 And with this she aimed a rotten apple right 
 at his nose, and a ringing peal of laughter fol-
 
 26 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 lowed it. The apple was mashed over his 
 whole face ; and while he was wiping it away, 
 she sprang down and was scaling the fence be- 
 fore he could reach her. She would have 
 cleared it had she not been so terrified lest he 
 was at her heels, that she let go instead of 
 calmly working her way over. When he 
 caught hold of her she set up a scream ; it rang 
 out with such a shrill, wailing, piercing sound 
 that he grew alarmed, and loosed his grasp. 
 At her signal of terror, the people outside the 
 paling uplifted their voices, too ; and hearing 
 this she at once gathered courage. 
 
 44 Let me go, or I will tell my mother ! " she 
 threatened, and was now all flash and fire. 
 
 Then he recognized her face, and shrieked, 
 44 Your mother ? Who is your mother ? " 
 
 " Gunlaug on the hill-side, fisher Gunlaug," 
 the girl repeated, triumphantly, for she saw his 
 dismay. 
 
 Near-sighted as he was, he had never noticed 
 her before now ; he was the only one in town 
 who did not know who she was ; he did not so 
 much as know that Gunlaug was in the place. 
 Like one possessed he cried out : 
 
 44 What is your name ? " 
 
 44 Petra I " the girl shouted, still louder than 
 before.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 27 
 
 " Petra ! " shrieked Pedro, and turning, fled 
 into the house as if he had encountered the 
 Evil One himself. 
 
 But as the pallor of terror and that of the 
 direst wrath bear a close resemblance to each 
 other, Petra supposed he had rushed in after 
 his gun. Fear overpowered her, she already 
 felt the shot in her back, and as the garden gate 
 was just then broken open from the outside, she 
 bolted through, her dark hair flowing behind 
 her like a stream of terror, her eyes flaming; 
 the dog, whom she met in her flight, turned 
 and pursued her, barking, and then she bolted 
 into the house, stumbling against her mother 
 who was just coming in from the kitchen with 
 a dish of soup in her hand: The girl fell on 
 the dish, the soup streamed over the floor, and 
 a " the deuce take it ! " from the mother, ac- 
 companied the fall. But as Petra lay sprawl- 
 ing there in the soup, she bawled : 
 
 " He is going to shoot me, mother, to shoot 
 me." 
 
 " Who is going to shoot you, you troll ? " 
 
 " He Pedro Ohlsen I We were taking his 
 apples ! " she never dared speak anything 
 but truth. 
 
 " Of whom are you talking, child ? " 
 
 " Of Pedro Ohlsen ; he is after me with a 
 big gun ; he means to shoot me I "
 
 28 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " Pedro Ohlsen ! " exclaimed the mother in a 
 burst of rage, and then laughed, and looked 
 taller than ever. The child began to cry, and 
 would have run away ; but her mother rushed 
 at her, her white teeth glittering like those 
 of a beaSt of prey, clutched her shoulder and 
 raised her from the floor. 
 
 "Did you tell him who you were? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, yes, yes ! " and the child held up 
 her hands imploringly. 
 
 At this the mother drew herself up to her 
 full height, exclaiming, 
 
 " And so he has found it out ! What did he 
 say?" 
 
 " He ran in after his gun ; he meant to shoot 
 me." 
 
 "jBTe shoot you ! " laughed Gunlaug, in bitter 
 scorn. 
 
 Frightened and bespattered with soup, the 
 child had stolen into a corner, where she stood 
 wiping herself, amid her tears, when her mother 
 again approached her. 
 
 " If you ever go to him," said she, seizing 
 her daughter, and giving her a shaking, " or 
 speak with him, or listen to him, God have 
 mercy on you both ! Tell him so from me ! ' 
 she repeated, in a threatening tone, for the 
 child did not answer at once.
 
 THE KISHLK MAIDEN. 29 
 
 44 Yes, yes, yes, yes ! " 
 
 44 Tell him so from me 1 " she once more re- 
 peated, but softly now, and nodding her head 
 with each word, she walked off. 
 
 The child washed herself, changed her clothes, 
 and in Sunday attire sat down on the steps out- 
 side. But remembering the alarm she had just 
 been in, she sobbed until the tears began to 
 flow again. 
 
 44 Why do you cry, my child ? " asked a 
 voice in more kindly tones than she had ever 
 heard from any one. 
 
 She looked up: before her stood a man of 
 graceful build, with a noble countenance, and 
 wearing spectacles. She rose at once ; for this 
 was Hans Odegaard, a young man, in whose 
 presence the whole town stood up. 
 
 44 Why do you cry, my child ? " 
 
 Looking up into his face, she told him that 
 she and 44 some other boys " had meant to take 
 apples from Pedro Ohlsen's garden, but Pedro 
 and the policeman had been after them, and 
 then, on remembering that her mother had 
 shaken her faith on the score of the shooting, 
 she dared not speak of it, but drew a long sigh 
 instead. 
 
 " Is it possible," said he, " that a child of 
 your age can take part in so great a sin ? "
 
 80 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Petra stared at him; she had known verj 
 well that she had been doing wrong ; but she 
 was accustomed to having this indicated to her 
 in the following manner : " You imp of dark- 
 ness ! You black woolly Satan ! " Now she 
 felt mortified. 
 
 " What a shame that you do not go to school 
 and learn God's commandments about good and 
 evil 1 " 
 
 She stood stroking her frock, and replied that 
 her mother did not wish to have her go to 
 school. 
 
 "You cannot even read, I suppose." 
 
 Yes, of course she could read. 
 
 He produced a small book and handed it to 
 her. She glanced into it, then turned it round, 
 and looked at the cover. 
 
 " I cannot read such fine print," said she. 
 
 But he insisted on her trying, and all at once 
 she became surprisingly stupid ; her eyes and 
 her lips drooped, all her limbs became relaxed. 
 
 " G-o-d, God, t-h God the L-o-r God, the 
 Lord, s-a God, the Lord, said to M-M-" 
 
 " Bless me ! you cannot read yet I And you 
 are a child of from ten to twelve years old. 
 Would you not like to learn to read ? " 
 
 She managed to drag out that she would 
 very much like to do so.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 31 
 
 " Then corae with me ; we must set to work 
 forthwith." 
 
 She moved, but merely to look into the 
 house. 
 
 " Yes, tell your mother," said he. 
 
 The mother was just passing, and, seeing her 
 child speak with a stranger, she came out on 
 the flag-stone. 
 
 "He wants to teach me to read," said the 
 child, doubtfully, fixing her eyes on her mother. 
 
 Gunlaug made no reply, but, with arms 
 akimbo, stood looking at Odegaard. 
 
 "Your daughter is an ignorant child," said 
 he, M you cannot justify yourself before either 
 God or man if you let her grow up in this 
 way." 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked Gunlaug, sharply. 
 
 " Hans Odegaard, your priest's son." 
 
 Her face cleared a little; she had heard 
 much good of him. 
 
 " From time to time when I have been at 
 home, I have noticed this child," he began 
 once more. " To-day I have had my attention 
 called to her afresh. She must no longer busy 
 herself only with what is evil " 
 
 44 What is that to you ? " the mother's face 
 plainly expressed. 
 
 He calmly asked, however : " You surely ex- 
 pect her to learn something ? "
 
 82 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 "No." 
 
 A faint flush overspread his face. 
 
 "Why not?" he asked. 
 
 " Are people any better, do you think, for 
 having learning ? " 
 
 She had had but one experience, to that 
 she held fast. 
 
 " It astonishes me that any person can ask 
 such a question." 
 
 " No, indeed ; I know they are no better for 
 it," and with this she started down the steps to 
 put an end to this nonsense. But he stepped 
 in her way. 
 
 " Here is a duty which you must not shirk," 
 said he. " You are an unwise mother." 
 
 Gunlaug measured him from head to foot. 
 
 " Who told you what I am," said she, and 
 swept past him. 
 
 " You yourself this very moment ; for had 
 you been otherwise you must have seen that 
 this child will go to ruin unless something be 
 done." 
 
 Gunlaug turned ; her eye met his ; she saw 
 that he really meant what he said, and it 
 frightened her. Hitherto she had only had 
 sea-faring men and trades-people to deal with ; 
 such language as this was new to her. 
 
 ' What do you want with the child ? " she 
 asked.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 88 
 
 41 To teach her what is needful for her soul's 
 salvation ; aiid then find out what she is des- 
 tined to be." 
 
 " My child shall be nothing but what I 
 choose." 
 
 "Yes, indeed, she shall ; she shall be what 
 God chooses." 
 
 Gunlaug stood mute. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " said she, 
 drawing nearer. 
 
 " I mean she must cultivate the faculties shf 
 is endowed with ; it is for this purpose God 
 has given them to her." 
 
 Now Gunlaug came close up to him : " Am 
 not I, her mother, to have authority over her ? " 
 she inquired, as if truly desirous of learning. 
 
 " You are ; but you must heed the counsel 
 of others who know better than yourself ; you 
 must consider the will of God." 
 
 Gunlaug stood silent for a moment. " But 
 if she learns too much 1 " said she. " The 
 child of poor people," she added, glancing ten- 
 derly at her daughter. 
 
 " If she learns too much for her station, she 
 has in so doing attained a higher one," he re- 
 plied. 
 
 She at once caught the meaning of his 
 words ; but she said, as though thinking aloud,
 
 34 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 
 
 her gaze resting more and more sadly on the 
 child the while : 
 
 " That is dangerous." 
 
 "That is not the point," said he, mildly. 
 " The question is, what is right." 
 
 " Into her vigorous eye there came a strange 
 expression : she gave him another penetrating 
 look; but there was so much sincerity in his 
 voice, his words, and his face that Gunlaug felt 
 herself defeated. She walked up to her child, 
 laid her hands on her head, but could not 
 speak. 
 
 " I will teach her from this day forth until 
 she is confirmed," said he, wishing to aid her ; 
 " I mean to interest myself in this child." 
 
 " And then you will take her away from 
 me?" 
 
 He hesitated and looked inquiringly at her. 
 
 " Of course, you are far wiser than I ; yet if 
 you had not spoken in the name of the Lord " 
 She paused. She had been smoothing down 
 her daughter's hair ; now she took the kerchief 
 from her own neck and fastened it around Pe- 
 tra. This was the only sign she gave of her 
 consent that the child should go with the 
 young man ; but she hastened behind the house 
 as though she could not bear to see her go. 
 
 This behavior filled Hans Odegaard with a
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 86 
 
 sudden alarm at what, in bia youthful zeal, he 
 had taken upon himself. The girl, on her 
 part, was inspired with awe for the first person 
 who had ever conquered her mother ; and with 
 this mutual fear these two set forth to begin 
 the lessons. 
 
 From day to day it seemed to the young 
 teacher that his pupil grew in intelligence and 
 knowledge, and his conversations with her 
 often took a peculiar direction. He would 
 bring forward characters from the Bible and 
 from secular history in such a manner as to 
 point out the call given them by God. He 
 would dwell on Saul, who roved wildly about ; 
 on David, the shepherd lad, who tended his 
 father's flocks until Samuel came and laid his 
 hands on him in the name of the Lord. High- 
 est of all, though, was the call when the Lord 
 Himself walked upon earth and extended it to 
 fishermen. The poor fishermen rose and fol- 
 lowed Him to poverty and to death, but 
 always joyfully, for the feeling that we are 
 called supports ua under every adversity. 
 
 This idea so pursued Petra that at last she 
 could bear it no longer, and she asked him 
 about her own calling. He gazed at her until 
 she grew crimson, then replied, that through 
 work we find our vocation ; it may be modest 
 and humble, but it exists for all.
 
 8fl THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Now a great zeal took possession of her; i 1 * 
 gave the impulse of mature energy to her work 
 its intensity entered into her play, and it made 
 her grow pale and thin. Romantic longings 
 filled her mind : to cut her hair short, dress 
 herself as a boy, sally forth into the world and 
 enter into its struggles 1 But when her teacher 
 one day told her how pretty her hair was if she 
 would but keep it in order, she became fond of 
 her long hair, and for its sake was ready to sac- 
 rifice heroic fame. 
 
 After this it was more to her than ever be- 
 fore to be a girl, and her work progressed more 
 calmly, while fitful dreams hovered over it.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HANS ODEGAABD'S father had as a youth 
 wandered out from the parish of Odegaard, in 
 the diocese of Bergen. People had interested 
 themselves in him, and he was now a learned 
 man and a stern preacher. He was, moreover, 
 an authoritative person, not so much in speech 
 as in action; for he "remembered well," as 
 people said. This man who was so resolute in 
 the execution of all his plans, was "baffled in a 
 quarter where he least expected it, and where 
 it gave him the most pain. 
 
 He had three daughters and one son. The 
 son, Hans, was the light of the school ; the fa- 
 ther himself prepared him for his studies and 
 took daily delight therein. Hans had a friend 
 whom he helped to win the place next to him 
 in the school, and who therefore loved him be- 
 yond all else on earth save his own mother. 
 They were comrades at school, and went to- 
 gether to the university ; together they passed 
 the first two examinations, and were to enter 
 together on the preparation for their future
 
 38 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 profession. One day when, after pursuing their 
 appointed studies, they were coming merrily 
 down the stairs, Hans, in a burst of good hu- 
 mor and glee, leaped on his comrade's back, 
 but in so doing the latter fell, and death fol- 
 lowed the fall a few days later. With his 
 dying breath he begged his mother, who was a 
 widow and with him was losing her only child, 
 to take Hans, for love of him, as a son in his 
 stead. The mother, however, died almost si- 
 multaneously with her son, but in accordance 
 with her will the very considerable fortune she 
 left fell to Hans. 
 
 It was a long time before Hans recovered 
 from this shock. An extended journey abroad 
 so far roused him as to enable him to resume 
 his theological studies and carry them through ; 
 but he could not be persuaded to make any use 
 of his degree. 
 
 His father's one hope had been to see him 
 established as his assistant in the parish, but 
 now he could not be prevailed on to enter the 
 pulpit even once. He always made the same 
 reply: he felt no call. This was so bitter a 
 disappointment to the father that it added many 
 years to his age. He had started late in life, 
 was already an old man, and had labored hard, 
 always with this goal in view. The son no\
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 89 
 
 lived at ease in his handsome rooms in the up- 
 per story of the house ; while beneath, in the 
 small study, beside the lamp that shone on the 
 night of his old age, sat the old priest, ever at 
 work. After the disappointment he had under- 
 gone, he neither could nor would take a strangei 
 to help him, neither would he follow his son's 
 advice and resign his charge ; therefore he knew 
 no rest, summer or winter, while his son each 
 year took a longer journey abroad. When at 
 home he associated with no one, except that he 
 dined at his father's table in more or less si- 
 lence ; but if any one spoke to him he responded 
 with such superior soundness of judgment and 
 zeal for the truth that the conversation was apt 
 to become embarrassing. He never went to 
 church ; but he gave more than half his income 
 to benevolent purposes, and always with the 
 most definite instructions as to its use. 
 
 This munificent generosity was so at variance 
 with the less liberal habits of the small town 
 that it overwhelmed every one. When we add 
 to this young Odegaard's reserve, his frequent 
 foreign journeys, and the shyness all felt in ad- 
 dressing him, it can readily be understood that 
 he seemed a mysterious being to whom was as- 
 cribed all possible gifts as well as his superior 
 \udgment. When this man condescended to
 
 40 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 make the fisher maiden the object of his daily 
 care, she became ennobled in the eyes of all. 
 
 Now others, too, wanted to take her under 
 their patronage, especially ladies. One day 
 Petra came to her teacher, clad in all the hues 
 of the rainbow: she had donned all her gifts 
 and thought she would now surely be to his 
 taste, as he always wished her to look neat. 
 But scarcely had he caught a glimpse of her 
 than he forbade her ever to accept any pres- 
 ents ; he called her vain and silly ; told her 
 she aimed only at worthless goals, and took 
 pleasure alone in folly. When she came to him 
 the next morning, her eyes red with weeping, 
 he took her with him for a walk out of town. 
 As they went he told her about David, as it 
 was his wont to take up now this, now that 
 historical character, and to invest familiar top- 
 ics with new interest. First he depicted David 
 in his youth, and told how he entered on life, 
 beautiful in person, rich in powers, and with 
 unquestioning faith. Thus, ere he was a man, 
 he shared the honors of a triumphal proces- 
 sion. From a shepherd he was called to be 
 a king : he had dwelt in caves, but ended in 
 building Jerusalem. Clad in fair attire, he 
 played the harp to soothe the stricken Saul, 
 but when, a king himself, he was ill and clothed
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 41 
 
 in the garments of remorse, he drew music from 
 his harp-strings and sang to soothe himself. 
 His great deeds accomplished, he sought repose 
 in sin ; then came the prophet and punishment, 
 and once more he was a child. David, who with 
 his songs of praise could lift up all the chosen 
 people of the Lord, lay crushed himself at the 
 Lord's feet. Was he most to be admired when, 
 crowned with victory, he danced before the ark 
 to his own songs, or when in his closet he im- 
 plored mercy from the chastening hand? 
 
 Petra had a dream the night after this con- 
 versation, which through her whole life she 
 never forgot. She thought she was, riding on a 
 white horse in a triumphal procession, but at 
 the same time she was also dancing before the 
 horse in rags. 
 
 One evening, some time later, as Petra sat 
 by the edge of the wood, conning her lesson, 
 Pedro Ohlsen whom, since that day in the gar- 
 den, she had seen coming nearer and nearer to 
 her, walked close by her and, with a strange 
 smile, whispered : 
 
 " Good evening ! " 
 
 Although years had now elapsed, she re- 
 tained so lively a recollection of her mother's 
 command not to speak to him, that she made 
 no reply. Day after day, however, he walked
 
 42 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 past her in the same way, and always with the 
 same greeting ; at length she came to look for 
 him when he did not come. Ere long he fell 
 to asking some trifling question as he passed, 
 soon this became two, and finally the questions 
 grew into conversations. One day, after one of 
 these, he slipped a silver dollar into her lap and 
 hastened away, overjoyed at what he had done. 
 Now it was contrary to her mother's orders to 
 speak with him, and contrary to Odegaard's to 
 accept gifts from any one. The first injunction 
 she had gradually disobeyed, and was now re- 
 minded of it because through this transgression 
 she had been led to disregard the second also. 
 In order to get rid of the money she found a 
 person who helped her spend it ; but in spite of 
 every effort it was not possible for them to eat 
 more than four marks, 1 worth. When too late 
 she was filled with remorse for having wasted 
 the dollar instead of giving it back. The mark 
 which still remained in her pocket scorched 
 like fire and seemed as if it must burn a hole 
 through her clothes; she took it and flung it 
 into the sea. Even then she did not get rid of 
 the dollar. Her thoughts were branded with it. 
 Confession might set her free, she thought ; but 
 her mother's appalling wrath at the time of her 
 
 1 Five marks make a dollar.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 48 
 
 last effort, and Odegaard's heartfelt, trusting 
 goodness, were equally calculated to frighten 
 her from it. While her mother observed noth- 
 ing, Odegaard soon discovered that she was 
 wrestling with something that made her un- 
 happy. In all tenderness, he inquired one day 
 what it was, and when in reply she burst into 
 tears, he took it for granted there must b want 
 at home, and gave her ten dollars. Now it made 
 a deep impression on her that notwithstanding 
 her fault against him, she had received money 
 from him, and having besides received money 
 which she could openly give to her mother, 
 honest money, she felt as though pardoned from 
 her guilt, and yielded to the most excessive 
 joy. She took his hand in both of hers, she 
 thanked him, she laughed, she jumped up and 
 down on the spot where she stood, ecstasy 
 beamed through her tears, while she fixed her 
 eyes on him with much the same look that a 
 dog bestows on the master whom he is about 
 to accompany on a walk. He knew her no 
 longer. She who had always sat lost in his 
 words, wielded the power herself now. For 
 the first time he felt a strong, wild nature un- 
 folding itself before him, for the first time he 
 felt the well-spring of life gushing up within 
 him and flooding him with its roseate stream,
 
 44 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 and he started back, his face flaming, but sht 
 dashed out of the house and sped up the hills 
 to take the road from the town home. There 
 she laid the money on the bread griddle before 
 her mother, and fell on her neck. 
 
 " Who gave you the money ? " asked the 
 mother, her anger already rising. 
 
 " It was Odegaard, mother ; he is the grand- 
 est man in the world." 
 
 " What am I to do with it? " 
 
 " I am sure I do not know ; but, oh, mother, 
 if you only knew " 
 
 She threw herself on her mother's neck once 
 more. Now she was not afraid ; now she would 
 confess all. But her mother shook her off im- 
 patiently. 
 
 " Would you have me accept alms ? Take 
 the money back to him at once ! If you have 
 made him believe I need help, you have lied." 
 
 " But, mother " 
 
 " Take the money back to him this instant, 
 I say, or I will go to him myself and fling it at 
 nim, at Mm who has taken my child from me!" 
 
 The mother's lips quivered after the last 
 word. Petra drew back, growing paler and 
 paler, softly opened the door and noiselessly 
 left the house. Before she was aware of it the 
 ten dollar note was torn to fragments in her
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 45 
 
 fingers. The discovery of this led to an out- 
 burst of wrath against her mother. Odegaard 
 must know nothing of this, though, but, yes, 
 he should know everything. There should be 
 no concealments from him ! 
 
 A moment later she was in his home telling 
 him that her mother had refused to accept the 
 money, and that she in her anger at being com- 
 pelled to bring it back to him had torn the 
 note to pieces. She would have said more, but 
 he received her coldly and bade her go home 
 again, admonishing her to be obedient to her 
 mother, even where it was hard to be so. This 
 seemed very strange to her ; for this much she 
 knew, that he did not do what his father wished 
 beyond all else ! On the way home she brokt 
 down entirely, and just at that moment she met 
 Pedro Ohlsen. She had shunned him all this 
 time, and was about to do the same now, for he 
 was the cause of her bad luck. 
 
 " Where have you been ? " asked he, joining 
 her. " Has anything gone wrong with you ? " 
 
 The surging billows within her breast had 
 risen so high that they might toss her whither 
 they would, and as she thought of the matter, 
 she could not understand why her mother 
 ehould forbid her to have any intercourse with 
 this man, of all others. It was doubtless a 
 mere whim, now as well as before.
 
 46 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " Do you know what I have done ? " said he, 
 almost humbly, as she paused. " I have bought 
 a sail-boat for you ; I thought you might have 
 a fancy for sailing," and he laughed. 
 
 His kindness, which savored somewhat of the 
 prayer of the needy, was especially calculated 
 to touch her just now ; she nodded, and then 
 he grew agitated, and eagerly whispered to her 
 to go round the outskirts of the town and fol- 
 low the avenue to the right straight to the 
 large, yellow boat-house ; he would meet her 
 behind it and no one could see them there. 
 She started off, and he came after her, joyful, 
 yet deferential as an aged child, and led her to 
 the boat. They sailed about for a time in the 
 gentle breeze, then laying to alongside a rocky 
 island, they made the boat fast and clambered 
 ashore. He had with him all sorts of dainties 
 for her, which he gave her with a timorous joy, 
 and he brought forth his flute and played for 
 her. The sight of his happiness made her for 
 a time forget her own trouble, and as there 
 crept over her the melancholy always excited 
 by the pleasure of weak people, she also found 
 herself growing fond of him. 
 
 From that day forth she had a new and per 
 petual secret from her mother, and this soon 
 led her into keeping her outside of everything
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 47 
 
 ! imilaug asked no questions; she wholly trusted 
 unless her confidence were once utterly shaken. 
 
 But from Odegaard also Petra had conceal- 
 ments from that day; for she received many 
 presents from Pedro Ohlsen. Yet Odegaard 
 did not question her either, but day by day his 
 instructions became more formal. Thus Petra 
 was shared by three people ; with none of them 
 could she speak of the others and she had some- 
 thing to hide from each. 
 
 In the mean while she had grown up, without 
 being herself aware of it, and one day Odegaard 
 informed her that she must be confirmed. 
 
 This announcement filled her with great dis- 
 quietude ; for she knew that with confirmation 
 her instructions would end, and what would be- 
 come of her then? Her mother was having 
 an attic built to her house ; after confirmation 
 Petra was to have a room of her own ; the in- 
 cessant hammering and pounding were painful 
 reminders to her. Odegaard saw her grow more 
 and more silent, occasionally he saw also that 
 he had been weeping. Under such circum- 
 stances the preparation for confirmation made 
 a deep impression on her, although Odegaard, 
 with tender solicitude, avoided everything cal- 
 culated to rouse her emotions. For this reason 
 he concluded his instructions about a fortnight
 
 48 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 before the time appointed for confirmation, by 
 briefly informing her that this would be the last 
 lesson. By this he meant the last with him ; 
 for he certainly intended to care further for her, 
 but through others. She remained, however, 
 motionless in her seat. The color forsook her 
 face, she could not take her eyes from him, and 
 involuntarily touched, he hastened to give a 
 reason. 
 
 " To be sure, all young girls are not grown 
 up when they are confirmed; but you surely 
 feel that such is the case with you." 
 
 Had she been standing in the glow of a great 
 fire she could not have become rosier than she 
 did at these words ; her bosom heaved, her eyes 
 grew restless and filled with tears, and driven 
 to extremity he hastened to say : 
 
 " Would you, after all, rather continue ? " 
 
 Only when it was too late did he realize 
 what he had proposed ; it was wrong ; he would 
 take it back ; but she was already raising her 
 eyes to his face, she was not saying " yes" with 
 her lips, and yet more forcibly she could not 
 have expressed it. To excuse what he had 
 done to himself by seeking a pretext, he asked : 
 
 "I presume there is something you espe- 
 cially wish to turn your attention to, something 
 you " he bowed low over her " feel a call 
 for, Petra?"
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 49 
 
 " No I " she answered, so abruptly that he 
 flushed crimson, and then, cooling off, fell back 
 into the reflections that, for years, had weighed 
 on him, and which her unexpected reply had 
 roused again. 
 
 That she possessed a strong individuality he 
 had never doubted from the time when she was 
 a child, and he used to see her marching about 
 singing at the head of the town's boy-compa- 
 nies. But the longer he taught her the less he 
 comprehended the nature of her endowments 
 Her every emotion betokened their existence ; 
 all that she thought, all that she desired, was 
 revealed by mind and body at once with ardent 
 intensity, and over all were sparkling flashes of 
 beauty. But put into words, and especially 
 into writing, it became mere childishness. Sim 
 seemed to be pure fantasy ; yet he, to be sure, 
 ascribed this chiefly to restlessness. She was 
 very industrious, but her studies aimed less at 
 learning than at advancing ; what might be on 
 the next page was most prominent in her mind. 
 She had deep religious feeling, but as the priest 
 expressed himself, " no foundation for a relig- 
 ious life," and Odegaard felt troubled about 
 her. He stood again at the starting-point, his 
 thoughts involuntarily bearing him to the flag- 
 atone where he had assumed the charge of her, 
 4
 
 60 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 and he heard her mother's sharp voice laying 
 the responsibility on him because he had named 
 the Lord. After pacing the floor several times, 
 he regained his composure. 
 
 " I am going abroad now," said he, with a 
 certain shyness ; " I have asked my sisters to 
 take an interest in you during my absence, and 
 when I come back we will try what further we 
 can do. Farewell! We shall meet again, no 
 doubt, before I start." 
 
 He then walked so hastily into the next room 
 that she had not even time to grasp his hand. 
 
 She saw him again, where she had least ex- 
 pected it, and that was in the pulpit, near the 
 choir just in front of her, as she stood among 
 the girls, on the church floor, to be confirmed. 
 She was so excited over this that her thoughts 
 were long absent from the sacred rite for which 
 she had prepared with humility and prayer. 
 Yes, even Odegaard's old father gazed long at 
 his son, as the latter came forward to open the 
 service. Soon Petra was to be once more start- 
 led in church ; for who should she see sitting 
 rather farther down the aisle, in stiff, new 
 clothes, but Pedro Ohlsen I He was just stretch- 
 ing his neck that he might look over the heads 
 of the boys at the group of girls and get a 
 glimpse of her. He drew back again at once,
 
 THE FISIIER MAIDEN. 51 
 
 but she saw him repeatedly thrust up his head, 
 with its sparse covering of hair, and each time 
 promptly withdraw it. This called off her 
 thoughts, she did not want to see, and yet she 
 saw, and there just as all the others were 
 deeply affected, many of them in tears Pe- 
 tra was terrified at seeing Pedro rise up, eyes 
 and mouth wide open and rigid, paralyzed with 
 fear, and powerless to sit down or move away ; 
 for opposite him, drawn up to her full height, 
 stood Gunlaug. Petra shuddered as she looked 
 at her, for she was as white as the altar-cloth. 
 Her curly black hair seemed to bristle, while 
 her eyes suddenly acquired a repellent power, 
 as though they would say : " Away from her ! 
 what would you with her ! " He cowered on 
 the bench beneath this look, and a moment 
 later stole away from the church. 
 
 After this Petra found peace, and the further 
 the service progressed the more thoroughly did 
 she enter into it. And when she returned from 
 the altar, after having taken her vow, and gazed 
 through her tears at Odegaard, as the one who 
 was nearest all her good purposes, she vowed 
 in her heart that she would never bring his 
 trust in her to shame. Those faithful eyes, 
 which so beamingly met hers, seemed to im- 
 plore this of her ; but after she had taken her
 
 62 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 place and would once more have sought his 
 eyes, he was gone. She soon went home with 
 her mother, who on the way let fall the 
 words, 
 
 "Now I have done my part; now let the 
 Lord do his!" 
 
 When they had dined together, they two 
 alone, the mother said furthermore, as she 
 rose : 
 
 " Well, we must go over, I suppose, to him, 
 the priest's son. I do not know, it is true, 
 how what he has undertaken is going to turn 
 out, but I am quite sure he meant well. Put 
 on your things again, child I " 
 
 The road to church, they two had so often 
 trodden together, lay above the town. In the 
 street they had never before been seen to- 
 gether ; the mother, indeed, had scarcely been 
 there since her return to the town. Now she 
 turned immediately down toward the street, 
 ahe would pass through its entire length, she 
 wanted to walk there with her grown-up 
 daughter. 
 
 On the afternoon of a confirmation Sunday. 
 in a little town like this, everybody is in mo- 
 tion, either passing from house to house with 
 congratulations, or walking up and down the 
 street to see and to be seen. There is a pause
 
 THE FISIIKi: MAIDEN. 53 
 
 At every step, greetings are interchanged, hands 
 shaken, and glad tidings delivered ; the poor 
 man's child may be met in the cast-off gar- 
 ments of the rich, and is out to show his grati- 
 tude. The sea-faring men of the town in for- 
 eign finery, with their caps lightly perched on 
 their heads, and the fops of the town, the store 
 clerks, with a bow for every one, walk about 
 in groups ; the half-grown boys of the Latin 
 school, each arm in arm with his best friend 
 in the world, lounge after them, passing their 
 boyish criticisms. But all must to-day, in the 
 innermost recesses of their hearts, give way be- 
 fore the lion of the town, the young merchant, 
 the richest man of the place, Yngve Void, who 
 had but just returned from Spain, all ready to 
 take charge, on the morrow, of his mother's 
 extensive fishing trade. With a light hat on 
 his fair hair he flashed through the streets, so 
 that the young people who had just been con- 
 firmed were almost forgotten ; one and all gave 
 him greetings of welcome ; he spoke with every 
 one, smiled at every one ; up and down the 
 street his light hat perched on his fair hair 
 could be seen, his bright laughter heard. When 
 Petra and her mother came out, he was the 
 first person they stumbled on ; and as though 
 they had really stumbled against him, he drew 
 back from Petra, whom he did not recognize.
 
 54 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 She had giown tall, not as tall as her mother, 
 but beyond the height of most women, lithe 
 in her movements, refined, and fearless ; she 
 was her mother and not her mother in contin- 
 ually changing flashes. Even the young mer- 
 chant, who persisted in following them, could 
 no longer attract wholly to himself the eyes of 
 the loungers ; these two, mother and daughter, 
 presented a more strange appearance. They 
 walked rapidly along with greetings for none, 
 because they were seldom saluted by others 
 than sailors ; but they came back still more 
 rapidly, because they had learned that Ode- 
 gaard had just started from home for the 
 steamer that was then about sailing. Petra, 
 in especial, was in great haste ; she must, she 
 must, have a chance to speak with him and 
 bear him her greetings and thanks before he 
 went away ; it was very wrong of him to leave 
 her thus. She saw none of those whose eyes 
 were fixed on her ; she saw only the smoke of 
 the steamer curling above the house-tops, and 
 .t seemed to her to be passing away. When 
 they reached the wharf, the steamer was just 
 putting off ; and choked with tears she has- 
 tened down the avenue. As it had taken the 
 steamer some time to turn in the harbor, she 
 arrived in time to run down on the beach.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 55 
 
 mount on a stone, and wave her handkerchief. 
 Her mother was left in the avenue, and would 
 not go down ; Petra stood waving her handker- 
 chief ; higher and higher she waved it, but no 
 one waved to her in return. 
 
 She could endure no more, and wept so vio- 
 lently that she was forced to take the upper 
 road home. Her mother went with her, but 
 walked by her side in silence. The loft cham 
 ber her mother had this day given her, where 
 she had slept for the first time last night, and 
 where this morning she had put on her new 
 clothes, so full of joy, received her this evening 
 dissolved in tears and without a single glance 
 for anything. She would not go down where 
 the sailors and guests had arrived ; she took off 
 her confirmation attire, and sat down on her 
 bed until night came on apace, and it seemed 
 to her that to be grown up was the most 
 wretched thing that could happen.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SHOBTLY after the confirmation she went 
 one day to see Odegaard's sisters, but soon be- 
 came conscious that Odegaard had made a 
 grave mistake ; for the priest did not deign to 
 notice her, and his daughters, both older than 
 Odegaard, were cold and formal. They con- 
 tented themselves with giving her brief instruc- 
 tions from their brother as to how she was novr 
 to occupy herself. The whole forenoon, it 
 seemed, she was to take part in the domestic 
 duties of a house in the outskirts of the town, 
 and in the afternoon attend sewing-school ; she 
 was to sleep at home and have her supper and 
 breakfast there. She did all that had been 
 planned for her to do, and took pleasure in it 
 as long as it was a novelty, but later, and es- 
 pecially when summer came, she found it irk- 
 some ; for during that season she had been in 
 the habit of sitting in the forest the whole day 
 long, and there she had read her books, which 
 she now missed from the bottom of her heart, 
 as she missed Odegaard and missed companion-
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 57 
 
 ship. The result was that she took the latter 
 wherever it was to be found. 
 
 About that time, for instance, there came a 
 young girl to the sewing-school, who went by 
 the name of Lise Let ; that is to say, her name 
 was Lise, but not Let, for Let was the name 
 of a young midshipman who had been home in 
 the Christmas vacation, and had become en- 
 gaged to Lise on the ice when she was a mere 
 school-girl. Lise would stake her life that this 
 was not true, and the tears came the moment it 
 was mentioned ; nevertheless, she was ever after 
 called Lise Let. Fragile little Lise Let wept 
 often and laughed often ; but whether she wept 
 or laughed her thoughts ran on love. New, 
 strange thoughts, swarming like bees, soon 
 filled the whole sewing-school. If a hand was 
 stretched out for the reel, it was going court- 
 ing, and the reel favored or rejected the suit ; 
 the needle became engaged to the thread, and 
 the thread sacrificed itself, stitch by stitch, for 
 the cruel one ; if a girl pricked herself she was 
 shedding her heart's blood, and the one who 
 changed needles was faithless. Did two girls 
 whisper together, it must be about something 
 remarkable that had happened to them ; soon 
 two more would fall to whispering, then two 
 more ; each one had her confidant, and there
 
 58 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 were a thousand secrets. It was more than 
 Petra could endure. 
 
 One afternoon, about dusk, in a misty rain 
 Petra was standing, with a large kerchief over 
 her head, outside of her home, peering into the 
 passage, where stood a young sailor, whistling 
 a waltz. She held the kerchief with both 
 hands tight under her chin, so that only her 
 eyes and nose were visible ; but the sailor 
 promptly discovered that she was blinking at 
 him, and he speedily sprang down to the spot 
 where she stood. 
 
 "Listen, Gunnar; do you want to take a 
 walk?" 
 
 " Why, it is raining." 
 
 "Pshaw! what if it is I" 
 
 And so they went to a small house farther 
 up the mountain. 
 
 "Go in and buy me some cakes, the kind 
 with whipped cream on ! " 
 
 " You are always wanting cakes ! " 
 
 " The kind with whipped cream on ! " 
 
 He brought her some. Thrusting out one 
 hand from under her kerchief, she took them 
 find walked on eating. When they had made 
 their way up beyond the town, she said, hand- 
 ing him a piece of cake, 
 
 "See here, Gunnar T We have always been
 
 MisHhK MAIDEN. 59 
 
 fond of each other, we two ; I have always 
 cared more for you than for any of the boys I 
 You do not believe it ? But I can assure you 
 it is true, Gunnar ! And now you are second 
 mate, and you may soon be in command of a 
 ship. Now, it seems to me, you ought to be 
 engaged, Gunnar. Dear me, are you not eat- 
 ing the cake? " 
 
 " No, I have commenced chewing tobacco." 
 " Well, then, what have you to say to this ? " 
 " Oh, yes ; but there is no hurry about it ! " 
 " There is no hurry about it ? Why, you 
 are going away day after to-morrow." 
 
 " Yes, but I will come back again, I hope." 
 "But you cannot be sure, let me tell you, 
 whether I shall be at your disposal then, for 
 you do not know where I may be by that 
 time." 
 
 "It is to be you ; is it?" 
 "Yes, Gunnar, I should think you might 
 have known that ; but you have always been 
 so stupid, that is why you had to be a sailor." 
 
 " Oh, I am not sorry for that ; it is a pretty 
 good thing to be a sailor." 
 
 " Yes, to be sure ; your mother has a ship of 
 her own. But what answer have you now ? 
 You are so dull." 
 
 " Well, what answer should I have ? "
 
 60 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " What answer should you have ? Ha, ha, 
 ha, perhaps you do not want me ! " 
 
 " Oh, Petra, you know very well I want you. 
 But I do not believe I can be sure of you I " 
 
 " Indeed, Gunnar, I will be very, very true 
 to you ! " 
 
 He stood still a moment. 
 
 " Let me look you in the face, Petra ! " 
 
 "Why so?" 
 
 " I want to see whether you really mean it." 
 
 ** Do you think I would trifle with you, Gun- 
 nar ? " 
 
 She was angry, and loosened her kerchief. 
 
 " Well, Petra, if it is real serious earnest, 
 then give me a kiss on it ; for it is plain enough 
 what that means." 
 
 " Are you mad ? " She closed the kerchief 
 and walked on. 
 
 " Wait, Petra, wait ! You do not understand 
 this. If we are sweethearts " 
 
 " Oh, how absurd you are ! " 
 
 " Why, I ought to know what is customary, 
 I should think, for so far as worldly experience 
 is concerned, I am far in advance of you. 
 Think of all I have seen" 
 
 " Yes, you have seen like a dunce, and you 
 talk just as you have seen." 
 
 " Come, then, what do you think it means to
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 61 
 
 be engaged lovers, Petra? I should really like 
 to know that. To chase each other up the hills 
 does not amount to anything." 
 
 " No, that is very true." She laughed and 
 stood still. "But now listen, Gunnar! while 
 we stand here and take breath. Ugh ! I 
 am going to tell you how engaged lovers act. 
 As long as you are in town, you must wait out- 
 side the sewing-school, and go home with me 
 all the way to the door, each evening, and if 
 I am out anywhere else you must wait in 
 the street until I come. When you go away, 
 though, you must write to me, and buy things to 
 send to me. Ah, that is true : we must have 
 a couple of rings with your name in one and 
 mine in the other, and then the year and the 
 day of the month ; but as I have no money you 
 must buy them both." 
 
 " That I will with pleasure, but " 
 " What are you after with your but again ? " 
 " Good gracious ! I only meant that I must 
 have the measure of your finger." 
 
 "Well, that you can have at once." She 
 pulled up a blade of grass and bit it off the 
 right size after she had measured her finger. 
 '* There, do not throw it away ! " 
 
 He wrapped it in a piece of paper, and put 
 the paper in his pocket-book ; she watched him 
 until the pocket-book was entirely out of sight.
 
 62 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 "Let us go; it would be tiresome to stay 
 here any longer." 
 
 " Well, upon my word, I think this is rather 
 shabby, Petra ! " 
 
 " Very well, old fellow, if you do not want it 
 so, it is all one to me I " 
 
 " Why, of course I want it so. It is not 
 that ; but am I not so much as to take hold of 
 your hand ? " 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " As a proof that we are really engaged ! " 
 
 " Such nonsense ! Pray, what proof is there 
 in shaking hands? However, you may take 
 my hand if you like ; here it is. No, I thank 
 you, not any squeezing, sir ! " 
 
 She drew her hand back again under the ker 
 chief ; but now suddenly she raised the kerchief 
 with both hands, and her whole face was dis- 
 played to view. 
 
 " If you tell any one, Gunnar, I will say it is 
 not true. So now you know that." 
 
 Here she laughed and started down the hill 
 again. After a while she stopped and said, 
 
 "To-morrow the sewing-school will not be 
 over before nine o'clock ; then you must be 
 ^raiting behind the garden, remember." 
 
 " Very good." 
 
 " Well, now you must go I "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 63 
 
 " Will you not even shake hands with me at 
 parting?" 
 
 " I cannot see why you are always wanting 
 my hand. No, you shall not have it. Good- 
 by I " she called out, and sprang from him. 
 
 The next evening Petra contrived to be the 
 last at the sewing-school. It was nearly ten 
 o'clock when she left, but when she got out- 
 side the garden Gunnar was not there. She 
 had thought of all kinds of mishaps, but not of 
 this ; it hurt her so that she waited merely to 
 give him a sound rating when he did come. 
 She did not lack good company, however, as 
 she walked up and down behind the garden 
 for the merchant's singing society had just 
 commenced practising in a house near by, be- 
 fore open windows ; a Spanish song floated al- 
 luringly to her on the mild evening air, wafting 
 her away to Spain, whore she heard her own 
 praises sung from an open balcony. Spain was 
 the goal of her yearnings ; for every summer 
 brought the dark Spanish ships into the harbor, 
 the Spanish songs into the streets, and on Ode- 
 gaard's walls hung a series of beautiful pictures 
 from Spain. He was there now, most likely, 
 and she with him ! But in a trice she was 
 brought back to reality ; for there, behind the 
 apple-tree, at last appeared Gunnar. She
 
 64 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 
 
 sprang toward not Gunnar, but the light hat 
 on the fair hair, just returned from Spain. 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha, ha ! " rang out the bright laugh- 
 ter. " Do you take me for some one else ? " 
 
 She eagerly denied this, and indignantly has- 
 tened away ; but he ran after her, talking, all 
 the while he ran, with uncommon rapidity and 
 with that indistinct accent people acquire who 
 use several languages. 
 
 "You see I can keep pace with you, for I 
 run astonishingly well ; it is no use trying. I 
 must speak with you, for this is the eighth 
 evening I have been walking here." 
 
 " The eighth evening ! '' 
 
 " The eighth evening, ha, ha, ha ! I should 
 be willing to wait here eight more, for we suit 
 each other admirably ; do we not ? It is no 
 use for you to run, I will not let you go ; for 
 now you are tired, I see." 
 
 " No, I am not." 
 
 " Yes, indeed, you are I " 
 
 " No, I am not." 
 
 " Yes, you are. Speak, then, if you are not 
 tired." 
 
 "Ha, ha, ha!" 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha, ha I Why, that is not speak- 
 Ing." 
 
 And then they stood still. They exchanged
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 65 
 
 ome teasing words, half in jest, half in ear- 
 nest ; then he began to speak in glowing terras 
 of Spain, picture followed picture in rapid suc- 
 cession ; he ended by cursing the small town at 
 their feet. His first remarks Petra followed 
 with beaming eyes ; the second made her ears 
 tingle, while her eyes wandered up and down a 
 gold chain, wound twice about his neck. 
 
 " Just look ! " said he, rapidly, as he drew 
 forth the end of the chain, to which was at- 
 tached a gold cross. I brought this with me 
 to-night to show the singing society ; it came 
 from Spain. You must hear its history." 
 
 And then he told it. 
 
 " When I was in the south of Spain I went 
 to a shooting match, and won this prize. It 
 was handed to me with these words : * Take it 
 home with you to Norway and bestow it, in 
 token of the respectful homage of Spanish cav- 
 aliers, on the fairest woman in your native 
 land.' Then came shouts and fanfares, banners 
 waved, cavaliers applauded, and I accepted the 
 gift." 
 
 " Oh, how delightful ! " burst out Petra ; for 
 before her vision there rose a beaming picture 
 of the Spanish festival, witli the Spanish col- 
 ors and songs, while the dark-hued Spaniards 
 stood at the foot of vine-clad hills in the even- 
 
 5
 
 66 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ing sunlight, sending their thoughts to the 
 fairest woman in the land of snow. He was 
 a good-natured young fellow, in spite of his 
 strange excitability and self-conceit ; and he 
 stood there now gratifying her eagerness to 
 hear his story. 
 
 His one picture after the other increased her 
 longing, and, thoroughly transported into that 
 wondrous land, she began to hum a Spanish 
 song she had recently heard, and gradually to 
 move her feet in time to it. 
 
 "What? you can dance Spanish dances?" 
 cried he. 
 
 " Yes," she hummed, in dancing rhythm, 
 snapping her fingers to imitate the castanets ; 
 for she had seen the Spanish sailors dance. 
 
 " To you belongs the gift of the Spanish cav- 
 aliers," he burst forth, as though illumined by 
 a radiant thought. " You are the most beauti- 
 ful woman I have met ! " 
 
 He had raised the gold chain from his neck, 
 and, with a light hand, flung it several times 
 around hers before she understood him. But 
 when she understood, that deep blush of shame 
 that was peculiarly her own, suffused her face, 
 and the tears filled her eyes, so that Ae, who 
 had fallen from surprise to surprise, was now 
 for the first time abashed at what he had done
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 67 
 
 and not knowing what further he wanted, 
 only feeling that he ought now to leave, went 
 away. 
 
 At midnight she still stood by her open loft 
 window with the chain in her hand. The 
 friendly autumn night lay spread over town 
 and fjord and distant mountains ; from the 
 street resounded the Spanish song ; for the 
 singing society had gone home with Yngve 
 Void. Word for word the song could be 
 heard ; it was about a beautiful wreath. Only 
 two of the voices sang the words ; the others 
 imitated a guitar accompaniment : 
 
 " Take this wreath, thou fairest maiden, 
 All with fragrant kiss PS laden ! 
 Freshest leaves and fluttering grasses, 
 To the brightest of young lasses. 
 Snowy lilies, frail and light, 
 To a flower more pure and white; 
 Crimson buds, that long to blow, 
 To a rose of richer glow. 
 Blossoms sweetest, blossoms rarest, 
 To the best beloved, the fairest ! 
 Take this wreath, thou dearest maiden, 
 All with fragrant kisses laden! " 
 
 When she opened her eyes the next morning, 
 he thought she had been wandering in a for- 
 est filled through and through with sunshine, 
 and where all the trees were of the kind we 
 call golden shower, 1 and hung in long, bright 
 
 1 The laburnum tree.
 
 68 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 clusters that almost touched her as she swept 
 through. At once she remembered the chain, 
 seized it, and hung it around her neck. Next 
 she put on a black kerchief, and placed the 
 chain over it; for it looked better on black. 
 Still sitting on her bed, she reflected her image 
 in a small hand-mirror : could it be possible 
 that she was so beautiful? She stood up to 
 arrange her hair, and take another look at her- 
 self in the glass ; but, remembering her mother, 
 who as yet knew nothing, she made haste ; she 
 must go right down and tell her about it. Just 
 as she had finished dressing, and was about 
 hanging the chain round her neck again, she 
 fell to wondering what her mother would say 
 and what all the people would say, and what 
 she should answer when they asked why she 
 wore this costly chain. As the question would 
 be a very reasonable one, the thought kept re- 
 peating itself with more and more seriousness, 
 until at last she found a little box, laid the 
 chain in it, thrust the box in her pocket, and 
 felt, for the first time in her life, poor. 
 
 She did not go to her usual duties that morn- 
 ing. Above the town, near the spot where she 
 had received the chain, she sat down with it in 
 her hand, feeling as if she had stolen it. 
 
 That evening she waited behind the garden
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 69 
 
 eyen longer for Yngve Void than she had 
 waited the evening before for Gunnar ; she 
 wanted to return the chain. Bat just as the 
 vessel Gunnar had gone with had unexpectedly 
 set sail the day before, owing to a splendid 
 cargo it had had assigned to it in the adjoining 
 town, Yngve Void, who owned the ship, had 
 gone off that day on the same errand. He took 
 with him several commissions, and so he re- 
 mained absent three weeks. 
 
 During these three weeks the chain had grad- 
 ually found its way from her pocket to the bu- 
 reau drawer, and from there again into an en 
 velope, the envelope being put away in a secret 
 compartment. Meanwhile, Petra herself had 
 passed from one humiliating discovery to an 
 other. For the first time she became fully 
 aware of the great distance between her and 
 the aristocratic ladies of the town ; any of 
 them could have worn the chain without fear 
 of being questioned about where it came from. 
 To none of them, however, would Yngve Void 
 have dared offer it without at the same time 
 offering his hand : this was only possible with 
 the fisher maiden. If he had wanted to give 
 her anything, he might have chosen something 
 the could make use of ; but he had wanted to 
 Insult her all the more deeply by giving hei
 
 70 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 what she could not possibly wear. The story 
 about the "fairest woman " must be a romance, 
 for had the chain been bestowed on her for 
 that reason, it would not have come to her 
 stealthily and by night. 
 
 Anger and shame gnawed all the more 
 deeply, as she no longer had any one in whom 
 to confide. No wonder, then, that the first 
 time she again met him, about whom revolved 
 all these indignant and humiliating thoughts, 
 she blushed so deeply that he could not but mis- 
 construe it, and, conscious of this, she blushed 
 still more. 
 
 She hurriedly turned home, seized the chain, 
 and although it was yet day-time she sat down 
 above the town to wait for him. Now he 
 should have it back. She felt sure he would 
 come, for he, too, had blushed on seeing her, 
 and he had been absent the whole time. But 
 soon these same thoughts began to speak in hia 
 behalf. He would not have grown so red had 
 she been indifferent to him ; he would have 
 come sooner had he been at home. Twilight 
 was creeping on apace ; for during these three 
 weeks the days had grown very much shorter. 
 But as darkness closes about us our thoughts 
 often undergo a change. She was sitting right 
 above the road among the trees ; she could see,
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 71 
 
 but not be seen. When time wore on and he 
 did not come, contending emotions flamed up ; 
 now in anger, now in alarm, she listened ; she 
 heard every one who came that way long ere 
 he came in sight, but it was never he. Birds 
 shifting their perches among the foliage while 
 dozing, startled her, so on the strain was she ; 
 every sound from town, every cry attracted her 
 attention. A large ship was weighing anchor 
 amid the singing of the sailors. It was to be 
 towed out to-night that it might take advan- 
 tage of the first morning breeze. How she 
 longed to sail with it out on the wide ocean. 
 The song of the sailors, as they hoisted the sails, 
 became her own. The sound of the capstan 
 gave her strength ; for what purpose ; whither 
 would it bear her ? 
 
 There was the light hat in the road, right 
 in front of her. She sprang to her feet, and, 
 without delay, darted off, and as she ran she 
 remembered that she ought not to have run 
 away ; this was error upon error, and so she 
 paused. As he approached the spot where she 
 stood among the trees, she was panting so that 
 he heard every breath, and the same power she 
 had exercised over him on their previous meet- 
 ing through her daring, she now exercised 
 through her fear. He stood looking at her, 
 shy, even bewildered, and whispered,
 
 72 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 * Do not be afraid." 
 
 But he saw that she was trembling. Then 
 he thought to give her confidence by taking 
 her hand ; but at the first contact with his 
 hand she sprang up as if on fire, and off she 
 darted again, while he was left behind. 
 
 She did not run far, her breath gave out ; 
 there was a throbbing and burning in her tem- 
 ples; her heart seemed ready to burst; she 
 pressed her hands against it and listened. She 
 heard a step in the grass, a rustling in the foli- 
 age ; he was coming, and right toward her. 
 Did he see her ? No, he did not ! Yes, he did, 
 though I No, he was passing by ! She was 
 not afraid, that was not what was the matter ; 
 but she had been wrought up to a high pitch of 
 excitement, and her strength giving way with 
 the tension, she sank down weary, exhausted. 
 
 After a long while, she got up and walked 
 slowly down the slope, paused, and then walked 
 on again as though she had no definite goal. 
 When she again reached the road, he was sit- 
 ting patiently waiting there, and now he rose. 
 She had not seen him before ; it seemed as if 
 she had been walking in a fog ; not a word es- 
 caped her, nor did she stir ; she only put her 
 hands before her eyes and wept. This affected 
 Yngve Void to such a degree that his usually
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 78 
 
 busy tongue was lamed ; but at last he said, 
 with singular firmness : 
 
 " I will speak with my mother this evening ; 
 to-morrow everything shall be settled, and in a 
 few days you shall go abroad in view of becom- 
 ing my wife." 
 
 He waited for an answer ; he expected, at 
 all events, that she would look up : but even 
 this she did not do. He interpreted this in his 
 own way : " You do not answer ? You cannot ! 
 Rely on me ; for from this moment you are 
 mine ! Good-night ! " and he walked on. 
 
 She stood there as if in a cloud of mist. A 
 feeble sense of alarm glided in and strove to 
 part this ; but the mist closed about* her again. 
 
 With a power equal to that which Yngve 
 Void had exercised on her thoughts during the 
 past three weeks, did this new wonder pave the 
 way for a new series of dream images. He 
 was the richest man of the town, belonged to 
 its oldest family, and he wanted to raise her to 
 his own level. This was such an unexpected 
 change from all she had been dwelling on dur- 
 ing the long period of suffering and indigna- 
 tion, that it was calculated to make her happy 
 at once. She grew more and more so, however, 
 niter she had thoroughly reviewed her new 
 and, in every respect, overwhelming circum-
 
 74 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 
 
 stances. She saw herself the equal of every 
 one and near the goal of all her vague longings. 
 Beyond all else she saw Yngve Void's largest 
 vessel towed out as a flag-ship on her wedding 
 day ; she saw it, after sending forth salutes and 
 fireworks, take the newly-married couple on 
 board, and bear them to Spain, where glowed 
 the bridal sun. 
 
 When she awoke the next morning, the serv- 
 ant-girl came up and announced to her that it 
 was half-past eleven o'clock. Petra was most 
 ravenously hungry, had food brought to her, 
 called for more ; her head ached, she was weary, 
 and fell asleep once more. When she awoke 
 again about three o'clock in the afternoon, she 
 felt quite well. Her mother came up and said 
 she had undoubtedly slept off an illness ; she 
 always did so herself. Now, though, it was 
 time to get up and go to sewing-school. Petra 
 was sitting upright in bed, her head supported 
 by her arm ; without looking up she replied 
 that she was not going to sewing-school any 
 more. Thinking that very likely she was still 
 somewhat confused, the mother went down- 
 stairs after a package and a letter which a ship- 
 boy had brought. 
 
 Why, here were actually presents already I 
 Petra, who had lain down again, started up in
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN 76 
 
 haste, and, as soon as she was alone, openen, 
 with a certain solemnity, first the package it 
 contained a pair of French shoes. Rather dis- 
 appointed she was about to put them away 
 from her, when she felt that the toes were 
 heavy. She thrust in her hand and drew forth 
 from one a small parcel, wrapped in fine paper ; 
 it was a gold bracelet : from the other, like- 
 wise, a parcel neatly done up ; it was a pair of 
 French gloves ; and from the right glove again 
 she drew forth a paper parcel containing two 
 plain gold rings. "Already! " thought Petra, 
 her heart throbbing wildly. She looked for 
 the inscription, and, sure enough, read in one, 
 " Petra," with the year and day of ,the month ; 
 and in the other, " Gunnar." She grew pale, 
 flung the rings and the whole parcel on the 
 floor as if she had been burned, and tore open 
 the letter. It was dated Calais, and read thus : 
 
 DEAR PETRA, We have just arrived here, 
 with a fair breeze from latitude 61 to 54, and 
 later with a strong gale, which is unusual even 
 for better vessels than ours, although it is a 
 gallant ship under sail. But now I must tell 
 you that all the way I have been thinking of 
 you and what last happened between us two, 
 %nd it was so aggravating to me not to be able
 
 76 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 to take a proper leave of you that I went on 
 board feeling quite out of sorts ; but I have not 
 forgotten you since, except for a moment, now 
 and then, for a sailor has a hard time of it. 
 But now we have reached this place, and I 
 have spent all my pay on presents for you, as 
 you told me to do, and it took all the money 
 mother gave me, too, so now I have nothing 
 left. If I can get leave I will be with you as 
 quickly as the presents ; for as long as we keep 
 this secret, I can never feel sure about others, 
 especially young men, of whom there are 
 many ; but I am bound to have it sure, so that 
 no one will have an excuse, and that all will 
 have to beware of me. You can easily choose 
 a better lover than I, for you can have whom 
 you please ; but you can never get one who is 
 more faithful, that is what I am. Now I 
 will close, for I have used up two sheets of 
 paper, and the letters are growing large ; for 
 this is the hardest thing I have to do ; but still 
 I do it, since you wish it. And now, in con 
 elusion, I must say that I take it for granted 
 that you were in earnest ; for if you were not 
 in earnest it would be a great shame, and 
 bring unhappiness to many. 
 
 GUNNAB ASK, 
 
 Second mate on the brig The Noree Consti- 
 tution.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 77 
 
 A great fear took possession of her. In the 
 twinkling of an eye she was oat of bed and 
 dressed. She felt that she must go out, as if 
 counsel might somewhere be found, for every- 
 thing hud become confused, uncertain, danger- 
 ous. The more she thought of it, the more 
 entangled became the thread: some one must 
 help her unravel it, or she could never get 
 loose ! But in whom dared she confide ? It 
 could be none other than her mother. When, 
 after a long struggle, she stood in the kitchen 
 beside her, flushed, tearful, but strong in her 
 resolve to give perfect confidence that she 
 might gain perfect help, her mother said, with- 
 out looking round and so without noticing Pe- 
 tra's countenance, 
 
 " He has just now been here ; he has come 
 home again." 
 
 " Who ? " whispered Petra, clinging to the 
 nearest object to keep from falling ; for if Gun- 
 nar had come already all hope was destroyed. 
 She knew Gunnar ; he was dull and good-nat- 
 ured ; but once aroused to passion, he lost all 
 lelf-control. 
 
 " You are to come there at once, he said." 
 
 "There?" Petra trembled, for it flashed 
 over her that he must have told his mother 
 everything ; and now what was to be done ?
 
 78 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " Yes, to the parsonage," said her mothei. 
 
 " To the parsonage ? Is it Odegaard who i 
 come home ? " 
 
 Her mother now turned toward her. 
 
 "Yes; who else?" 
 
 " Odegaard ! " exulted Petra, and the storm 
 of joy which broke over her purified the atmos- 
 phere at once. " Odegaard is come, Odegaard ! 
 O God in Heaven, he is come ! " 
 
 She sprang from the door and across the 
 fields. She stormed forward, she laughed, she 
 shouted aloud ; it was him, him, she needed ; 
 had he been at home, no evil would have oc- 
 curred. With him she was safe ; if she but 
 thought of his exalted, glowing countenance, 
 his gentle voice ; yes, even the peaceful rooms 
 he occupied, with their rich supply of pictures, 
 she grew more calm, and felt secure once more. 
 She took time to compose herself. Town and 
 landscape were flooded with light in the declin- 
 ing autumn evening, especially the fjord lay in 
 strong radiance ; in the sound beyond was curl- 
 ing away the last smoke from the steamer that 
 had brought Odegaard. Ah, only to know that 
 he was home again did her good, made her 
 feel happy, strong, capable onoe more. She 
 prayed God to come to her aid that Odegaard 
 might never leave her alone again. And, as il
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 79 
 
 transported by this hope, she at that moment 
 saw him coming toward her. He had known 
 which way she would take and had come out to 
 meet her. This touched her ; she sprang to- 
 ward him, seized both his hands, and kissed 
 them. He was embarrassed, and seeing some 
 one approach in the distance, he drew her from 
 the road, up among the trees, holding fast to 
 her hands, and all the way she kept saying, 
 
 " How delightful that you are come ! Ah, I 
 cannot believe it is you ! You must never go 
 away again ! Do not leave me ah I do not 
 leave me ! " 
 
 Here the tears streamed from her eyes ; he 
 drew her head gently to him that* he might 
 hide them. He wanted to quiet her ; for it 
 was needful for him that she should be calm, 
 She nestled up to him as a bird beneath the 
 wing that is uplifted for its shelter, and fain 
 would she never have come forth. Moved by 
 her trust, he drew his arm about her as if he 
 would assure her of the refuge she sought; but 
 scarcely did she perceive this than she raised 
 her tear-stained face to him, her eyes met his, 
 and all that can be expressed in a glance, when 
 penitence meets love, when gratitude meets the 
 giver's joy, when " yes " meets " yes," now fol- 
 k)wed in rapid succession. He clasped her
 
 80 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 hand, and pressed his lips to hers ; he had 
 early lost his mother ; he kissed for the first 
 time in his life, and she did the same. Neither 
 could bear to break away, and when their lips 
 parted it was only to close again. He trem- 
 bled, but she was radiant and all aglow with 
 blushes ; she flung her arms about his neck, 
 and clung like a child to him. And when they 
 sat down together, and she could touch his 
 hands, his hair, his pin, his neck-tie, all that 
 she had been in the habit of surveying from a 
 respectful distance; and when he begged her 
 to say " thou " instead of " you," and she could 
 not ; and when he tried to tell her how rich 
 she had made his poor life from the first mo- 
 ment, and how long he had struggled against 
 his feelings, determined that they should not 
 check her progress ; and then discovered that 
 she was unable to take in or comprehend a sin- 
 gle word he was uttering, and began to think 
 himself there was not much sense in it either , 
 but she wanted to go home with him at once, 
 and he laughingly must beg her to wait a few 
 days and then they could journey far away to- 
 gether ; then they felt, then they said, as they 
 sat among the trees, with fjord and mountain 
 before them bathed in the sunset glow, thai 
 this was happiness.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 81 
 
 Ah, sweet is Love's first meeting! 
 
 Like song, the forest waking, 
 
 Or o'er the ocean breaking, 
 Like sunset's rosy greeting ; 
 
 Like bugle-tones ascending 
 To heav'n, these momenta thrilling, 
 
 With Nature's wonders blending, 
 *>ur hearts with music filling. 
 
 II
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE next morning Petra sat in her room 
 half dressed, and could get no further the 
 whole day. Each time she made a fresh effort, 
 her arms fell powerless on her lap. Her 
 thoughts were weighed down like a full-ripe ear 
 of corn, like rich bluebells in the fields. Peace, 
 security, fluctuating visions hovered over the 
 bright castle wherein she dwelt. She lived 
 over again the interview of yesterday, every 
 word, every look, every pressure of the hand, 
 every kiss was present before her ; she wished 
 to pass it all in review from the meeting to 
 the parting, but could never get through, for 
 every single reminiscence became transformed 
 into a shadowy dream, and each dream kept 
 returning with bright promises. Sweet as this 
 was, she was forced to thrust it from her in 
 order to recall where she had left off ; but no 
 sooner did she recall it than she was again lost 
 in the marvelous. 
 
 As she did not come down-stairs, her mother 
 supposed that she had taken up her studies
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 88 
 
 ga>n, now that Odegaard had returned ; so her 
 cneals were sent up, and she was to be left in 
 peace the whole day. Not until toward evening 
 did she rise to make herself ready ; she was go- 
 ing to meet her love. She attired herself in the 
 best she possessed all her confirmation finery ; 
 it was not elegant, but she felt this now for the 
 first time. She, who had had so little taste for 
 dress, to-day suddenly acquired it. One article 
 made the others look ugly until those had been 
 selected that suited together, and even then the 
 effect was not tasteful. She would have given 
 much to-day to be the fairest one but with 
 these words there glided before her a remem- 
 brance which she thrust away with her hand ; 
 nothing, nothing must approach her that might 
 cause her disquietude. She stepped about 
 softly, quietly arranging one thing and another 
 in her room, as the time had not yet come. 
 She opened the window and looked out ; rosy, 
 glowing clouds had pitched their tents above 
 the mountains ; but a cooling breeze floated in 
 with a message from the forest near by. " Yes, 
 now I am coming I now I am coming ! " her 
 heart whispered as she once more turned to the 
 mirror to bestow a greeting upon her bridal 
 emotions. 
 
 Then she heard Odegaard's voice below with
 
 84 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ner mother, heard him directed how to find hei 
 room. He was coming to fetch her. A shy 
 joy came over her ; she glanced around to see 
 if all was in order to receive him, then she 
 went to the door. 
 
 " Come in ! " she answered softly to the low 
 knock, and then stepped back a few paces. 
 
 That same morning, when Odegaard rang for 
 his coffee, he had been informed that the mer- 
 chant, Yngve Void, had already been twice at 
 the door, asking for him. It jarred on him 
 that a stranger had to be blended with his 
 thoughts just now; and yet one who sought 
 him so early must have some very important 
 errand. He was, indeed, hardly dressed when 
 Yngve Void came again. 
 
 " You are doubtless surprised ? Well, so am 
 I. Good day ! " 
 
 Greetings were exchanged, and the merchant 
 laid aside his light hat. 
 
 " You sleep late ; I have been here twice be- 
 fore. I have something important on my mind, 
 I must speak with you." 
 
 " Pray, be seated ! " And Odegaard himself 
 sat down in an easy chair. 
 
 " Thank you, thank you, I prefer to walk, I 
 Am excited. Since day before yesterday I have
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 85 
 
 been out of my wits actually mad, neither 
 more nor less. And you are to blame ! " 
 
 "I?" 
 
 44 Yes, you. It was you who first brought 
 the girl forward ; no one had thought of her, 
 no one noticed her but you. But now, upon 
 my word, I assure you I have never seen 
 anything so peerless myself so is it not 
 true ? Indeed, in all Europe I have never seen 
 so confounded a curly-headed wonder ; have 
 you ? I could find no peace ; I was bewitched. 
 Everywhere and always she kept coming in 
 my way. I went on a voyage, I came back 
 again, impossible am I not right ? Did not 
 know at first who she was. The fisher maiden, 
 they said the Spanish maiden, they should 
 have said, the gypsy, the witch, all fire, eyes, 
 bosom, hair eh? How she sparkles, glows, 
 skips, laughs, blushes a perfect little witch. 
 I chased her, you see, up among the trees in 
 the forest one calm evening there she 
 stood, there I stood ; a few words, a song, a 
 dance and then ? Well, I gave her my 
 chain ; as sure as I live I had not thought of it 
 a minute before. Next time, the same place, 
 the same chase ; she was frightened, and I 
 yea, can you believe it ? I could not speak 
 ne mortal word, dared not even touch her ;
 
 86 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 but when she came back can you understand 
 it ? I proposed to her. I had not thought of 
 it a second beforehand ! Now yesterday I put 
 myself to the test ; I tried how it would be to 
 keep away from her, but on my soul and honor, 
 I am mad, indeed, I am I cannot, I must be 
 with her. If she does not marry me I will 
 simply shoot myself. See now you have the 
 whole story. The deuce a bit do I care for my 
 mother, or for the town it is a miserable town, 
 a mere hole of a place, a hole of a place. She 
 must go away, you see ; she must be far beyond 
 and above this town ; she must become comme il 
 faut ; 1 she must go abroad, to France tc Paris. 
 I will pay the expenses and you must make 
 the arrangements. I might leave here myself, 
 settle abroad, no longer stay in this hole ; but, 
 you see, there is the fish! I should like to 
 make something of the town ; it is asleep ; no 
 one thinks, no one speculates; yet there are 
 the fish ! There is no management of the fish- 
 eries, though ; the Spaniards, everybody abroad, 
 complain ; new methods must be found, an- 
 other way of curing introduced ; there must be 
 different management an entire change. The 
 town must have a start, trade flourish; the 
 fisheries ought to be worth millions I Where 
 
 1 Meaning in thoroughly good style.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 87 
 
 did I leave off? The fisheries, the fisher 
 maiden ; for that matter, they belong to- 
 gether. The fisheries, the fisher maiden, ha, 
 ha ! Well, then, I furnish the cash ; you make 
 the arrangements; she will be my wife, and 
 then " 
 
 Farther he did not get ; during his speech he 
 had paid no heed to Odegaard, who had risen to 
 his feet, pale as a corpse, and now attacked him 
 with a delicate Spanish cane in his hand. The 
 merchant's amazement was beyond description 
 he warded off the first blow. 
 
 u Take care, you may hit me I " said he. 
 
 "Yes, I may hit you I You see: Spanish, 
 Spanish cane ; they belong together ! " and the 
 blows fell in showers on shoulders, arms, hands, 
 face, wherever they chanced to hit. The mer- 
 chant darted round the room. 
 
 " Are you mad I Have you lost your senses ! 
 I mean to marry her, do you hear ? marry 
 her!" 
 
 " Begone ! " shrieked Odegaard, whose 
 strength was now exhausted. 
 
 And out of the door, and down the steps 
 plunged the fair-haired man, away from this 
 madman ; and soon he stood in the street be- 
 low, screaming up for his light hat. It was 
 'lung out of the window to him. Then all was 
 till.
 
 88 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " Come in I " replied Petra to the low knock 
 in the evening, and stepped back a few paces 
 that she might have a better view of her lover 
 as he entered. Like an ice-cold bath, as if the 
 ground had slipped away beneath her feet, she 
 beheld the face that met her in the door. She 
 reeled backward and grasped the bed-post, but, 
 hurled from abyss to abyss, her mind lost all 
 support. Instantly she was rudely transformed 
 from the happiest bride on earth to the most 
 guilty sinner. This face, as though with the 
 voice of thunder, proclaimed to her that through 
 time and eternity she could never be forgiven. 
 
 " I see it ; you are guilty ! " he whispered, in 
 scarcely audible tones. 
 
 He leaned back against the door, clinging to 
 the latch, as if without it he could not stand. 
 His voice quivered, tears rolled down his face, 
 although otherwise it was unmoved. 
 
 " Do you realize what you have done ? " and 
 his eyes pressed her to the ground. She did 
 not reply not even with tears ; she was par- 
 alyzed by utter, helpless despair. " Once before 
 I gave my whole soul away, and he on whom 
 I bestowed it died through my fault. It was 
 impossible for me to rise above this sorrow un- 
 less some one else should lend me a helping 
 oand and give to me her whole heart. Tbia
 
 THE FISHEH MAIDEN. 89 
 
 you have done but you did it through decep- 
 tion." He paused, vainly strove several times 
 to begin again, and finally, with a burst of 
 agony, continued : " And all that I had been 
 gathering together for years, thought after 
 thought, you were capable of overthrowing, as 
 though it were an image of clay I Child, child, 
 could you not understand that I had worked 
 my own way up through you ? Now it is all 
 over ! " He made an effort to control his pain. 
 
 " No, you are too young to comprehend it," 
 he said, presently ; " you do not know what 
 you have done. But you must understand that 
 you have deceived me. Tell me, what had I 
 done to you that you were able to do anything 
 so cruel ? Child, child, would that you had 
 told me this even yesterday ! Why, ah, why, 
 did you lie so frightfully ? " 
 
 She heard his words ; she knew that all he 
 Baid was true. He had staggered across the 
 room to a chair that stood near the window 
 that he might lean his head on a table beside 
 it. He rose again, sobbing with anguish, then 
 took his seat once more, and was quiet. 
 
 "And I who am not fit to help my old 
 father I " he whispered to himself, " I cannot, I 
 have no call for the work. That is why no 
 one can help me, all, all that is mine must be 
 dashed to pieces."
 
 90 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 He was powerless to continue. His head 
 rested in his right hand, while his left hung 
 relaxed at his side ; he looked as if he were 
 incapable of motion. Thus he sat there, and 
 spoke not a word. Presently he felt something 
 warm against the hand that hung at his side, 
 and shuddered with terror, for it was Petra's 
 breath. She was kneeling beside him with 
 bowed head, and now she clasped her hands 
 and looked up into his face with the most un- 
 utterable prayer for mercy. He returned her 
 gaze, and the eyes of neither wavered. Then 
 he raised his hand to repel her, as though her 
 gaze had stirred within him a persuasive voice 
 to which he would not hearken, and rapidly, 
 vehemently, he stooped for his hat, that had 
 fallen to the floor, and hastened to the door. 
 But still more rapidly did she throw herself in 
 his way, fling herself down before him, cling to 
 his knee, and fasten her eyes on his all with- 
 out a sound. He both saw and felt this to be 
 a struggle for life. His old love overpowered 
 him ; with deep pain in his eyes, he once more 
 looked her full in the face, he took her head in 
 his two hands. There was a wailing cry with- 
 in his breast; it was like the last quivering 
 vibrations of an organ when there is still wind 
 in *he pipes but the music has died away
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 91 
 
 Then he drew back his hands, and he did it in 
 such a manner that his thoughts were but too 
 evident. 
 
 " No no 1 You can yield ; but you cannot 
 love I " He was overwhelmed. " Unhappy 
 child, your future is beyond my control. God 
 forgive you for having ruined mine ! " 
 
 He strode past her ; she did not stir ; he 
 opened the door and closed it again ; she spoke 
 not a word ; she heard him on the stairs ; she 
 heard his last step on the flag-stones and down 
 on the road then she found relief in one 
 piercing shriek, only one; but it brought her 
 mother to her. 
 
 When Petra awoke to consciousness, she 
 found herself lying in her bed, undressed, 
 and carefully tended. In front of her sat her 
 mother, her elbows on her knees, her head in 
 her hands, and her eyes of flame fastened on 
 her daughter. 
 
 " Have you studied enough with him ? " 
 asked she. " Have you learned something 
 now ? What is now to become of you ? " 
 
 Petra replied with a burst of tears. Long, 
 very long did her mother sit listening to this, 
 and then with a solemnity peculiar to her. she 
 said: 
 
 " May the Lord curse him I "
 
 92 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 The daughter started up. 
 
 " Mother, mother ! Not him, not him, but 
 me, me not him I " 
 
 " Ah, I know the crowd ! I know who is to 
 blame ! " 
 
 "No, mother! It is he who has been de- 
 ceived and by me it is I who have deceived 
 him ! " 
 
 Hurriedly, and amid sobs, she told all; he 
 should not be suspected one moment ; she told 
 about Gunnar and what she had asked of him 
 without actually understanding it ; then about 
 Yngve Void's unlucky gold chain, which had 
 so deeply entangled her, and then about Ode- 
 gaard and how, when she saw him, she had for- 
 gotten all else. She could not understand how 
 it had come to pass, but that it was a mon- 
 strous sin against them all, and especially 
 against him who had taken her under his pro- 
 tection, and given her all that one mortal can 
 give another, she well knew. After having 
 long remained in silence, the mother replied : 
 
 " And is there no sin against me ? Where 
 have / been during all this time that you have 
 never said a word to me ? " 
 
 "Oh, mother, help me; do not be hard on 
 me now. I feel that I shall suffer for this as 
 long as I live: and so I will pray God to let
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 98 
 
 me die soon I Dear, good Lord I " she forth- 
 with began, clasping and uplifting her hands, 
 " dear, good Lord, hear me I Already I have 
 wasted my life ; it has nothing more to offer 
 me. I am not fit to live ; 1 do not understand 
 life. Dear Lord, let me then die ! " 
 
 There was such an awful intensity in the 
 prayer, that Gunlaug, who already had harsh 
 words oil her lips, swallowed them and laid her 
 hand on her daughter's arm to draw it away 
 from this prayer. 
 
 " Control your feelings, child. Do not tempt 
 the Lord. You must live, however great the 
 pain." 
 
 She rose with these words and never set foot 
 in the loft chamber again. 
 
 Odegaard had fallen into an illness which 
 threatened to be dangerous. At once his old 
 father moved up-stairs to him, took a room next 
 to his for his study, and told every one who 
 begged him to spare himself that this was im- 
 possible ; his work was to watch over his son 
 every time that son lost any one of those whom 
 he loved more than his father. 
 
 Thus matters stood ; and now Gunnar came 
 home. 
 
 He almost frightened the life out of his 
 mother by appearing long before the vessel he
 
 94 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 bad gone with ; she thought it was his 
 and not very different was it with all his ac- 
 quaintances. To all wondering queries he gave 
 but scant replies. People, however, soon be- 
 came better informed; for that same day he 
 was driven out of Gunlang's house and by Gun- 
 laug herself. On the steps she sent a shriek 
 after him that rang through Hollo way Street. 
 
 " Never come here again ; we have had 
 enough of your sort now I " 
 
 He had not gone far when a girl -ime in 
 pursuit of him with a parcel. She had another 
 one with her, but gave him the wrong one, for 
 Gunnar found in it a large gold ch- in. He 
 stood weighing this and looking at it he had 
 not understood Gunlaug's rage before ; still less 
 did he now understand why she se> t him a 
 gold chain. He called the girl back ; 'tad then 
 she thought she must have made a mistake, so 
 she gave him the other parcel, and asked if that 
 was right. The parcel proved to contain hia 
 gifts to Petra. Yes, this was surely tb* one , 
 but who, then, was to have the gold chain ? 
 " That was meant for Merchant Void," an- 
 swered the girl, and went off with it. Gunnar 
 paused again, and reflected. " Merchant Void ! 
 Does he give her presents. Then it is he who 
 has stolen her from me ! Very well, then he,
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 95 
 
 too, ahall" His excitement, his wrath, must 
 have some vent ; something must be all beaten 
 to pieces and so he determined to beat Yngve 
 Void. 
 
 The unlucky merchant was once more quite 
 unexpectedly attacked, and this time on his 
 own door-steps. He fled from this second lu- 
 natic into his counting-house ; but Gunnar was 
 after him. Here all the clerks rose up against 
 this riotous intruder, who dealt kicks and blows 
 in every direction; chairs, tables, and desks 
 were overturned ; letters, documents, and news- 
 papers floated about like smoke; help finally 
 came from Yngve's pier, and after a desperate 
 straggle Gunnar was cast out into the street. 
 But here the fight began to be serious. Two 
 ships lay by the pier, a foreign one and a 
 home vessel, and it was now just at the time of 
 noonday rest, so the sailors gladly entered into 
 the sport. They lost no time in coming to 
 blows, crew against crew, foreigners against 
 natives ; the crews of several vessels were sent 
 for, and came running up in double-quick pace ; 
 working-people flocked round, and women and 
 boys ; at last no one knew what the fight was 
 about, or against whom. In vain the skip- 
 pers swore ; in vain worthy citizens commanded 
 that the one policeman of the town should be
 
 96 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 summoned : he was at that time out fishing in 
 the fjord. They ran to the mayor, who was 
 also postmaster ; but he had locked himself up 
 with the mail that had just arrived, and an- 
 swered through the window that he could not 
 come ; the post-office clerk was at a burial, and 
 they must wait. But as they would not delay 
 murdering one another until the mail had been 
 sorted, several voices, chiefly those of terrified 
 women, shouted that word should be sent for 
 Arne, the blacksmith. This was agreed to by 
 the worthy citizens, and now Arne's own wife 
 was sent after him, " for the policeman was not 
 at home." Arne came, to the delight of all 
 school-boys, and he made a couple of dashes at 
 the crowd, brought forth a gallant Spaniard, 
 and used him as a club against all the others, 
 promiscuously. 
 
 When all was over, the mayor came walking 
 along, staff in hand. He found some old 
 women and children talking together on the 
 field of battle. These he sternly commanded 
 to go home and eat their dinner, and then he 
 himself did the same. 
 
 But the next day he instituted a trial ; this 
 lasted some time, although no one could give 
 the least information concerning who had been 
 fighting. Only on one point were they all
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 97 
 
 agreed, and that was that Arue the black- 
 smith had been in the fray, and they had seen 
 him belaboring the rest with a Spaniard. For 
 this conduct Arne the blacksmith was fined 
 one dollar, for which his wife, who had led him 
 into the scrape, received a thrashing on the 
 eleventh Sunday after Trinity, which she had 
 good cause to remember. This was the sole 
 judicial result of the battle. 
 
 But it had other results. The little town 
 was no longer a peaceful town; the fisher 
 maiden had thrown it into an uproar. The 
 strangest rumors were set afloat, at first from 
 jealous resentment that she should have at- 
 tracted the most talented man of the town and 
 its two wealthiest matches and still have " sev- 
 eral " in reserve ; for Gunnar had gradually 
 become "several young men." Soon there 
 arose a universal moral storm. The disgrace 
 of a great street fight and sorrow in three of 
 the best families of the town rested on the 
 young girl who but half a year since had been 
 confirmed. Three engagements at once, and 
 one of them with her teacher, her life benefac- 
 tor ! Ah ! indignation overflowed. Had she 
 not been a scandal to the town from her child- 
 hood up, and had not the people nevertheless 
 shown her how much they expected of her by
 
 98 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 their gifts at the time when Odegaard had in- 
 terested himself in her, and had she not now 
 scorned them all, crushed him, and, true to her 
 nature, plunged recklessly into a career that 
 would lead her to become an outcast of society, 
 with an old age in the house of correction? 
 Her mother must be her accomplice; in her 
 sailor's inn the child had learned levity. The 
 yoke Gunlaug had laid on the town should no 
 longer be borne ; the people would no longer 
 tolerate either mother or daughter among them ; 
 they would unite in driving them away. 
 
 One evening seafaring people who owed 
 Gunlaug money, drunken laborers for whom she 
 would not get work, young boys to whom she 
 had refused credit, assembled on the hill, and 
 were led by people of the better class. They 
 whistled, they hallooed, they shouted for the 
 "fisher maiden," for "fisher Gunlaug;" soon 
 a stone was flung against the door and another 
 through the loft window. They did not dis- 
 perse until past midnight. Behind the windows 
 all was dark and still. 
 
 The next day not a living soul would look in 
 on Gunlaug ; not even a child passed by on the 
 hill. In the evening, however, there was the 
 same disorderly mob, only that now every one 
 without exception, joined in ; they trampled
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 99 
 
 under foot, they smashed all the windows, they 
 tore up the garden palings, they threw down 
 young fruit-trees, and then they sang : 
 
 " ' I ' ve hooked a seaman bold, mother ! ' 
 
 ' Ah, say'st thou so? ' 
 ' I 've hooked a merchant's gold, mother ! ' 
 
 ' Ah, say'st thou BO? ' 
 ' Mother, I 've booked our parson's son! * 
 1 'T is idly done ! 
 For cling and clang, 
 For bing and bang; 
 Beneath, he'll slip thy nose's tip! 
 Thou mayest get him in thy net, 
 But not on board thy ship ! ' 
 
 " ' He 's gone, the seaman bold, mother! ' 
 
 ' What say'st thou so? ' 
 ' 'Tis lost, the merchant's gold, mother! ' 
 
 ' What say'st thou so? ' 
 ' Mother, the purson'i son has fled ! ' 
 ' Ah, so I said ! 
 For cling and clang, 
 For bing and bang; 
 I knew ho 'd slip thy nose's tip! 
 Thou mightest get him in thy net, 
 Bat not on board thy ship!' " 
 
 There was a general shouting for Gunlaug, 
 for the mob especially rejoiced at the prospect 
 of hearing the outburst of her peerless wrath. 
 
 Gunlaug, indeed, sat within and heard every 
 word ; but she kept silent. One must be able 
 to endure much for the sake of one's child.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PETRA had been in her room when the 
 shouting, the whistling, the hallooing had be- 
 gun the first evening. She had sprung to her 
 feet as if the house about her were in flames, 
 or everything tumbling to ruin over her head 
 she darted round her chamber like one lashed 
 by red-hot scourges : they smarted, they burned 
 into her soul ; her thoughts stormily sought a 
 means of escape ; but down to her mother she 
 dared not go, and the mob was swarming in 
 front of her one window. Through this a stone 
 came whizzing and fell on her bed ; she gave a 
 shriek, and rushing into a corner hid herself 
 behind a curtain, among her old clothes. There 
 she cowered, burning with shame, trembling 
 with terror ; visions of unknown horrors swept 
 past her; the air was full of faces, gaping, 
 leering faces; they came close to her, they 
 were surrounded by fire. Aha ! here was no 
 fire, these were eyes, it was raining eyes, large* 
 glowing eyes, and small, twinkling eyes eyei 
 that stood still, eyes that rolled up and down.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 161 
 
 " Lord, Lord, save me ! " 
 
 Oh, what relief when the last shout died 
 away in the night, and all was dark and still 
 again. She ventured forth from her hiding- 
 place, she flung herself on the bed and hid her 
 face in the pillows ; but from her thoughts 
 there was no escape. In them her mother rose 
 up before her, menacing, majestic, like storm- 
 clouds gathering about the mountains ; for 
 what must not her mother have suffered for 
 her sake ! No slumber visited her eyelids, nor 
 peace her soul ; and day came, but no solace. 
 She walked back and forth, back and forth, 
 thinking only of how she could flee; but she 
 dared not meet her mother, she dared not go 
 out during the day-time, and the evening would 
 bring them again ! Still she must wait ; it 
 would be even more dangerous to take flight 
 before midnight. And where, then ? She had 
 no money, she knew not where to go; but 
 surely there must be merciful people some- 
 where as there was a merciful God. Se knew 
 that however she might have erred it was from 
 no actual wickedness ; He knew her penitence ; 
 He, too, knew her helplessness. She listened 
 for her mother's steps below, but did not hear 
 them ; she trembled at thought of hearing her 
 on the stairs, bat she did not come. The serv
 
 102 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ant-girl who bad worked there must have run 
 away, for no one brought up the meals. She 
 dared not go down herself, nor venture near 
 the window, lest there might be some one out- 
 side watching for her. The chill air rushed in 
 through the broken window-pane in the morn- 
 ing, and it was even worse when evening again 
 set in. Petra had packed up a small bundle of 
 clothes, and had dressed herself thoroughly 
 that she might be all ready to start. But she 
 must wait the pleasure of the frantic mob, and 
 endure whatever might yet be in store for her. 
 There they were again! The whistling, the 
 shouting, the shower of stones worse, far 
 worse than on the previous evening. She crept 
 into her corner, clasped her hands, and prayed 
 and prayed. If only her mother would not go 
 out to them I If they would only not break 
 in I At length they began to sing it was a 
 lampoon ; and although every word cut like a 
 knife, she could not help listening to it. But 
 as soon as she understood that her mother's 
 name was mixed up in it, and that they were 
 guilty of so shameful an injustice, she rose and 
 rushed forward ; she would speak out her mind 
 to this pack of cowards, or cast herself down 
 on them I But a stone, and then another, and 
 then a whole hail-storm of stones were pelUxl
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 103 
 
 through the window, pieces of glass rattled, 
 stones whirled about the room, and she crept 
 back to her corner. The sweat rolled from her 
 as though she stood in the hottest sun ; but she 
 no longer wept, she was no longer afraid. 
 
 Gradually the tumult subsided. Petra stole 
 forth, and as soon as the last sound had died 
 away she ventured to the window to look out ; 
 but she trod on bits of broken glass and started 
 back, then she stepped on stones and stood 
 still that she might not be heard ; for now was 
 the time to steal away. After having waited 
 fully half an hour, she drew off her shoes and 
 taking up her bundle, softly opened the door. 
 Again she paused about five minutes,. and then 
 went quietly down the stairs. It caused lier 
 deep pain to go from the mother on whom she 
 had brought all this sorrow, without taking 
 leave of her ; but terror hunted her onward. 
 
 " Farewell, mother 1 Farewell, mother ! " 
 she whispered to herself with every step she 
 took on the stairs. " Farewell, mother I " 
 
 She reached the bottom, panted heavily sev- 
 eral times for breath, then moved toward the 
 front door. As she reached it a hand seized 
 her from behind ; she uttered a faint cry and 
 turned. There stood her mother. Gunlaug 
 had heard her daughter's door open, knew at
 
 104 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 once what she was about to do, and stood wait 
 ing for her. Petra felt that she could not get 
 past her without a struggle. Explanations 
 would be of no avail ; whatever words might 
 come to her aid, nothing would be believed 
 Well a struggle there must be then. Noth- 
 ing in the world could be worse than the worst, 
 and that she had been through. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " the mother asked, 
 softly. 
 
 " I must flee," Petra answered as softly and 
 with throbbing heart. 
 
 " And where can you go? " 
 
 " I do not know ; but I must get away from 
 here!" 
 
 She clasped her bundle more tightly and 
 pressed on. 
 
 " No. Come along with me ! " replied the 
 mother, holding on to her arm. " I have pro- 
 vided for everything." 
 
 At once Petra let go of herself, just as one 
 relaxes one's hold of a burden that has grown 
 too heavy ; she drew a long breath, as though 
 after a struggle, and resigned herself to her 
 mother. Gunlaug went before her into a small 
 closet back of the kitchen, where there were no 
 windows, and where burned a candle ; it was 
 nere she had hidden herself when the tumult
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 105 
 
 raged without. The closet was so narrow that 
 they could scarcely stir in it. The mother pro- 
 duced a bundle still smaller than the one Petra 
 carried, opened it, and drew forth a suit of 
 sailor's clothes. 
 
 " Put these on," she whispered. 
 
 Petra immediately understood why she must 
 do so, and it touched her that her mother did not 
 mention the reason. She undressed and put on 
 the sailor's suit. Her mother helped her, and in 
 so doing she once came near the candle, so that 
 Petra saw for the first time that Gunlaug was 
 old. Had she grown so during these last days, 
 or had Petra never noticed it before? The 
 laughter's tears rolled down on the mother, 
 but the latter did not look up, and so Petra 
 found no words. A south-wester was the last 
 article handed her, and when she had put it on, 
 her mother took her bundle from her, blew out 
 f,he candle, and whispered, 
 
 " Come, now ! " 
 
 They went out again in the passage, but did 
 not go through the front door ; Gunlaug opened 
 the door to the yard and locked it again after 
 ihey had passed out. They walked through 
 the trampled-down garden, the fallen trees, the 
 broken fence. 
 
 " You may as well look about you now," said
 
 106 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 the mother, " it is scarcely likely you will evei 
 come here again." 
 
 Petra shuddered and did Dot look about her. 
 They took the upper road along the forest, 
 where she had passed half her life, and that 
 evening with Gunnar, those with Yngve Void, 
 and the last with Odegaard. They walked on 
 among the faded foliage that was beginning 
 now to fall ; the night air was cold, and Petra 
 shivered in her unaccustomed attire. Her 
 mother finally turned down toward a garden. 
 Petra knew it at once, although she had never 
 seen it from the upper side since that day 
 when, as a child, she had stormed it. It was 
 Pedro Ohlsen's garden. The mother had the 
 key to it, and let them in. 
 
 It had cost Gunlaug much to come to this 
 man in the forenoon ; it cost her much now, too, 
 to come with this ill-fated daughter to whom 
 she could no longer give a home. But it had 
 to be done ; and whatever must be done, Gun- 
 laug could do. She rapped at the back-porch 
 door, and almost immediately she heard steps 
 and saw a light. Presently the door was 
 opened by Pedro, who stood inside in traveling 
 boots and traveling dress, pale and frightened. 
 He held a tallow candle in his hand, and sighed 
 as his eyes fell on Petra's face, which was
 
 THE FISHKR MAIDEN. 107 
 
 swollen with weeping. The girl looked up at 
 him ; but as he did not venture to recognize her, 
 nrither did she dare to give sign of recognition. 
 " This man has promised to help you get 
 away," said the mother, without looking at 
 either of them, as she walked up the few steps 
 to the passage, and passed on to Pedro's room 
 on the other side of the house, leaving the 
 others to follow her. The room was small and 
 low, and a peculiar, close odor struck them as 
 they entered, which nauseated Petra ; she had 
 now in fact been more than twenty-four hours 
 without either eating or sleeping. In the mid- 
 dle of the room, from the ceiling, hung a cage 
 with a canary-bird in it; it was necessary to 
 walk round it to avoid running against it. The 
 massive old chairs, a heavy table, a couple of 
 large presses, such as are used by the peasants, 
 that towered up to the ceiling, had an oppres- 
 tive effect, making the room look even smaller 
 than it was. On the table lay some sheets of 
 music and on them a flute. Pedro Ohlsen 
 shuffled about in his great boots, as if he had 
 something to do. A feeble voice from the back 
 room inquired : " Who is that ? Who is in 
 there ? " whereupon he moved about faster than 
 ever, mumbling : " Oh, it is hem, hem it 
 is hem, hem ! " and then he went into the 
 "com where the voice came from.
 
 108 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Gunlaug sat by the window with both elbows 
 on her knees, her head bowed in her hands, 
 and her eyes fixed on the sand that was strevred 
 over the floor ; she spoke not a word, but occa- 
 sionally she heaved a piteous sigh. Petra stood 
 by the door, with her legs crossed and her 
 hands pressejl against her bosom, for she felt 
 sick. An old clock was chopping time to pieces, 
 the tallow caudle on the table had burned low, 
 and needed snuffing ua^ly. At length the 
 mother, wishing to give a reason for their being 
 here, said, 
 
 " I once knew this man." 
 
 Not another word did she speak ; :,liere came 
 no reply. Pedro still remained absent, the 
 caudle ran down mournfully, and the clock 
 kept chopping away. Petra became more and 
 more overpowered by nausea, and through it 
 she heard incessantly her mother's words : " I 
 once knew this man." The clock took them 
 up and began to tick: "I once knew 
 this man." 
 
 In after years whenever Petra was met by a 
 close smell, it always brought back to her that 
 room, with a recollection of that faint, sick feel- 
 ing and the clock's "I once knew this 
 man." She never came on board ship, to 
 the odor of oil and the stench of foul sea-water
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 109 
 
 under the cabin floor, to the smell of cooking, 
 but she at once felt sea-sick, and through her 
 distress continually by night and by day, she 
 saw this room and heard the clock's "I once 
 
 knew this man." 
 
 When Pedro came in again, he had on a 
 woolen cap and an old-fashioned stiff cloak, 
 drawn up over his ears. 
 
 " Well, 1 am ready," said he, pulling on his 
 mittens, just as if he were going out in the 
 middle of winter. " But we must not forget " 
 
 he turned round " the cloak for for " 
 He looked at Petra and from her to Gunlaug, 
 who took up a blue overcoat hanging over the 
 back of a chair and now helped Petra put it 
 on ; but when it came under the girl's nose it 
 smelled so strongly of the odor of the room that 
 she begged for fresh air. Her mother saw that 
 she felt ill, and, opening the door, led her 
 quickly out into the garden. Here she drank 
 in long draughts of the pure, fresh autumnal 
 night air. 
 
 " Where am I to go ? " she asked, as she be- 
 gan to revive. 
 
 " To Bergen," answered her mother, and as- 
 sisted her to button the coat. " It is a large 
 town, where no one knows you." When she 
 bad finished she stationed herself by the gate.
 
 110 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " You are to have one hundred dollars with 
 you," said she, " so that if you do not get on 
 well you may have something in reserve. This 
 man loans them to you " 
 
 "Gives, gives," whispered Pedro, brushing 
 past them into the street. 
 
 " Loans them to you," repeated the mother, 
 just as though he had not spoken ; " I shall pay 
 him back again." She took a kerchief from 
 her own neck, tied it about her daughter's, and 
 said, 
 
 " You must write as soon as you are doing 
 well, but not before." 
 
 " Mother ! " 
 
 " And then he will row you to the vessel 
 that is lying out in the harbor." 
 
 " O my God ! Mother ! " 
 
 " Well, I think there is nothing more. I can 
 go no farther." 
 
 "Mother, mother!" 
 
 " The Lord be with you now ! Farewell ! " 
 
 " Mother, forgive me, mother ! " 
 
 " And do not take cold on the sea." 
 
 She had drawn her daughter gently out of 
 the garden gate and now closed it. 
 
 Petra stood motionless outside, her eyes fixed 
 on the closed gate. She felt as wretched and 
 lonely as it is possible for a mortal to be. But
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. Ill 
 
 at this moment there darted up a presentiment, 
 a faith, out of exile, injustice, and tears : it was 
 like a flickering fire, now kindled, now dying 
 away, at one moment flaming up into the air, 
 and then quite sinking away, but suddenly 
 flashing into a glorious burst of splendor. She 
 raised her oyes, and once more profound dark- 
 ness surrounded her. 
 
 Through the deserted street of the little 
 town, past the shut-in, leafless gardens, past 
 the closed houses, where no light was burning, 
 silently and slowly, she walked after him, whose 
 slouching form, in big boots and cloak that 
 made it seem headless, dragged wearily along. 
 They came out into the avenue, 'where once 
 more they trod on withered leaves and saw the 
 spectre-like, upward-stretched boughs, with ex- 
 tended fingers clutching at them. They crept 
 down the hill-side behind the yellow shed where 
 the boat was kept ; he at once began bailing out 
 the water, then rowed her out from the shore, 
 which soon shrank into a black mass, over which 
 darkly lowered the sky. Fields, houses, forest, 
 mountain, all were wiped out; nothing could 
 she now distinguish of all that had been famil- 
 iar to her from childhood up until yesterday : 
 it had shut itself in from her as had the town, 
 the people, that night when she was made an
 
 112 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 outcast from them, and there was none to bid 
 her farewell. 
 
 On the deck of the ship that was anchored 
 close to shore, waiting the morning breeze, a 
 man was pacing up and down. As soon as he 
 perceived them beneath the quarter, he lowered 
 a ladder, helped them on board, and gave notice 
 to the captain, who promptly appeared on deck. 
 She knew them, and they knew her ; but there 
 were no questions, no signs of sympathy. Sim- 
 ply as a matter of course she was told where 
 her berth was, and what she was to do if she 
 needed anything, or should be sick. The latter 
 she was indeed the moment she went down in 
 the cabin, and so as soon as she had changed 
 her clothes she went on deck again. A famil- 
 iar odor greeted her ah ! it was chocolate, 
 and she was seized with an overpowering hun- 
 ger, which tore and raged through her, and 
 then the same man who had received them 
 came forth from the cook-room bearing a whole 
 bowl full of chocolate and some cakes. They 
 came from her mother, he said. While she 
 was eating he furthermore informed her that 
 her mother had sent a chest on board, contain- 
 ing her best clothes, with her linen and woolen 
 garments, besides food and other good things. 
 At this moment there rose within her a vivid
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 113 
 
 remembrance of her mother, a sublime picture, 
 Buch as she had never had before, but which 
 she would retain through her whole future life. 
 And in the presence of this image, sorrowfully 
 and prayerfully, she made a solemn vow that 
 she would one day give her mother some joy as 
 a compensation for the sorrow she had now 
 brought on her. 
 
 Pedro Ohlsen sat beside her when she sat 
 down, and walked beside her when she walked, 
 always endeavoring to keep out of her way, and 
 in so doing getting continually in her way on 
 the deck that was crowded with bales of goods. 
 She saw nothing of his face except his large 
 nose and his eyes, and these not very distinctly ; 
 but he gave her the impression of being weighed 
 down with something he wanted to say, but 
 dared not. He sighed, he sat down, he got up, 
 he walked round her, sat down again, but not 
 a word could he command ; nor did she speak. 
 Finally he was compelled to give it up, and de- 
 jectedly producing a huge leather pocket-book 
 he whispered that in it she would find the one 
 hundred dollars and a little more. She held 
 out her hand and thanked him, coming so close 
 to his face in so doing that she saw his eyes, 
 fixed on hers, glistening with tears. With her 
 the last remaining spark of life was pushing 
 
 8
 
 114 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 away from his languishing existence. Gladly 
 would he have told her something which might 
 perchance call up some loving thought when he 
 was no more ; but he was forbidden to do so, 
 and although he would have spoken notwith- 
 standing this, he could not muster the courage, 
 nor did she give him any assistance. Petra 
 was indeed too weary, and the thought that it 
 was he who had caused her to commit that first 
 sin against her mother would not just now leave 
 her. His presence wore on her, and this grew 
 worse instead of better the longer he sat there ; 
 for when we are tired we are apt to be irrita- 
 ble. The poor man felt this ; he said he sup- 
 posed he must go, and then finally he brought 
 himself to whisper, " Farewell ! " drawing one 
 of his withered hands out of the mitten as he 
 did so. She placed in it her warm hand ; they 
 both rose. 
 
 41 Thank you and bear greetings from me ! " 
 said she. 
 
 He heaved a sigh, or rather made a gur- 
 gling sound, which was repeated several times, 
 dropped her hand, turned, and quietly backed 
 down the ship's ladder. She walked to the 
 gunwale ; he looked up as she reached it, 
 greeted her, took his place in the boat and 
 rowed away. She stood watching him until he
 
 THK FISHER MAIDEN. 115 
 
 became lost in the dark. When she went 
 down to the cabin again she was so weary she 
 could scarcely stand, and although she felt sick 
 the moment she got down there, she had no 
 sooner laid her head on the pillow and said the 
 first two or three petitions of the Lord's Prayer 
 than she fell asleep. 
 
 Meanwhile the mother was sitting up by the 
 yellow boat-house ; she had followed them 
 slowly the whole distance, and had sat down 
 there just as they had pushed from the shore. 
 From the same spot Pedro Ohlsen, in days of 
 yore, had gone out in the boat with her ; it was 
 a long, long time ago, but she remembered it 
 well as he rowed away with her daughter. 
 
 As soon as she saw him coming back alone 
 she rose and moved away ; for now she knew 
 that her daughter was safely on board the ship. 
 She did not take the way home, but went far- 
 ther onward ; in the dark she found the path 
 leading over the mountains, and this she took. 
 Her house in town stood empty and shattered 
 for more than a month ; she felt that she could 
 :iot return to it before she had received a cheer- 
 ing letter from her daughter. 
 
 But in the mean time there was an opportu- 
 nity of testing the popular feeling toward her.
 
 116 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 All low natures take passionate delight in unit- 
 ing to persecute the stronger, but only as long 
 as these offer resistance; when they see their 
 victims calmly submitting to ill-treatment a 
 sense of shame overcomes them, and they hiss 
 at whoever would cast another stone. People 
 had rejoiced at tfre thought of hearing Gunlaug's 
 powerful voice raging through Holloway Street ; 
 they had fancied her calling the sailors to her 
 aid and challenging a street fight. When she 
 still failed to appear on the third evening, the 
 people were scarcely to be controlled ; they 
 wanted to go in after her ; they wanted to cast 
 the two women out in the street ; pursue them 
 out of the town ; drive them away. The win- 
 dows had not been repaired since the preceding 
 night ; accompanied by the hurrahs of the mob 
 two men crept through them in order to open 
 the door and in stormed the riotous multi- 
 tude ! They searched through every room, up- 
 stairs and down ; they burst the doors ; they 
 dashed to pieces everything that stood in their 
 way ; they hunted in every corner, even in the 
 cellar at last, after mother and daughter ; but 
 not a living soul was to be found. For a mo- 
 ment all was still ; those who were inside came 
 out, one by one, and stole away behind the rest. 
 In a very little while the yard in front of th 
 house was deserted.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 117 
 
 Soon there were those in the town who pro- 
 nounced this conduct toward two defenseless 
 women most unseemly. 
 
 The matter was talked over until all agreed 
 that whatever the fisher maiden might have 
 been guilty of, Gunlaug was not to blame for 
 it, and therefore great injustice had been done 
 her. She was sadly missed in the town ; 
 drunken brawls and riots began to be the order 
 of the day ; for the town had actually lost its 
 police. Her commanding form in the doorway 
 was missed by passers-by ; the seamen in espe- 
 cial missed her. No house was like hers, they 
 said, for there every one was dealt with accord- 
 ing to his deserts ; each had his proper place 
 in her confidence, and her help, whatever might 
 happen. Neither sailors nor skippers, neither 
 employers nor housewives had realized Iier 
 worth until now that she was gone. 
 
 And so a message of joy spread through the 
 whole town when it became known that she 
 had been seen in her house baking and cook- 
 ing as before. Every one was compelled to go 
 there for himself in order to be assured that the 
 panes had been replaced, the door repaired, and 
 that smoke was curling up from the chimney. 
 Yes, the report was really true. Gunlaug had 
 actually returue4 !
 
 118 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 People crept up on the opposite side of Hoi- 
 loway Street that they might see better. There 
 Bhe sat in front of the bread griddle; she 
 neither looked up nor out, her eye followed her 
 hand and her hand was working ; for she had 
 come back to redeem her losses and first of all 
 to pay from her earnings the one hundred dol- 
 lars she owed Pedro Ohlsen. In the beginning 
 people contented themselves with merely look- 
 ing in on her ; but for a long time evil con- 
 sciences deterred them all from entering. Grad- 
 ually, however, they came, first the mothers 
 of households, good, friendly souls ; but they 
 found no opportunity to talk with her of any- 
 thing but business, for Gunlaug would listen to 
 nothing else. Next came the fishermen, then 
 the merchants and the skippers to hire people 
 to work for them and to make inquiries in re- 
 gard to the character of those seeking employ- 
 ment, and finally, on the first Sunday after her 
 return, the sailors appeared. There must have 
 been some agreement among them, because, as 
 the evening wore on, the house became sud- 
 denly so crowded that not only were both the 
 principal rooms overflowing, but the chairs and 
 tables, which in the summer time stood in the 
 garden, had to be brought out and set up in the 
 passage, in the kitchen, and in the back cham
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. US 
 
 her. No one, in casting an eye over this assem- 
 blage, could form the least idea of the feelings 
 of these people who wore sitting together ; for 
 Gunlaug had resumed her silent sway the mo- 
 ment they had crossed her threshold, and the 
 stern dignity with which she waited on each 
 checked every effort at welcome, every ques- 
 tion. She was the same as of old, except that 
 her hair was no longer black and that her man- 
 ner had become somewhat subdued. But when 
 the sailors began to grow merry, they could no 
 longer restrain themselves, and every time she 
 and the servant girl went out Knud, the boat- 
 swain, who had always been her favorite, was 
 called on to drink her health when she came in 
 again. But courage failed even him until his 
 head wns pretty well heated, and when finally 
 she came to collect the empty flasks and glasses, 
 he rose and said, " that it was a good thing she 
 was back again. For it was most certainly 
 true that that it was a good thing she was 
 back again." 
 
 This seemed to the others well spoken ; they, 
 too, rose to their feet, and shouted, " Yes, it 
 was a good thing ! " and those in the passage 
 nnd those in the kitchen and those in the next 
 room sprang up also, and pressing forward 
 echoed what had been said, while the boat-
 
 120 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 swain, handing her a glass, cried, " Hurrah ! " 
 and then several cried, " Hurrah ! " until it 
 seemed as if the roof might be lifted and sent 
 sailing upward to the skiea. 
 
 By and by some one declared that shameful 
 injustice had been done her ; then another 
 swore the same, and soon the whole house 
 swore and protested that they had done her 
 the most shameful injustice. When finally 
 there came a lull, because a word from her was 
 eagerly desired, Gunlaug said that they must 
 all accept many thanks. 
 
 " But," added she, continuing to gather up 
 the empty glasses and flasks, "as long as 1 
 have said nothing about the matter, it is unnec- 
 essary for you to bring it up." 
 
 She here left the room, as she had collected 
 all she could carry, and presently returned for 
 the rest. From this time forth her power was 
 supreme.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN the darkness of night the vessel cast an- 
 chor in the harbor of Bergen. Half bewildered 
 from sea-sickness, Petra was taken in the cap- 
 tain's boat through a multiplicity of vessels, 
 large and small, up to the throng of ferrymen 
 on the wharves and of peasants and street-boys 
 in the narrow by-ways through which their way 
 led. They halted in front of a neat little cot- 
 tage, where an old woman, at the 'captain's re- 
 quest, cordially received her. She craved food 
 and sleep, and had both wants satisfied. She 
 awoke at noon the next day, refreshed and 
 bright, to new sounds and an unfamiliar accent, 
 and when the curtains were up, to a new sur- 
 rounding nature, to strange faces and a strange 
 town. She herself had become a new person, 
 she thought, as she paused before the glass 
 this face was not the old familiar one. She 
 could not well define the difference, not under- 
 standing that at her age any great sorrow and 
 shock refines and spiritualizes ; yet at sight of 
 herself in the glass she was forced to recall the
 
 122 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 past nights, and as she did she shuddered. So 
 she hastened to get ready to go down-stairs to all 
 the new surroundings that awaited her. She 
 met her hostess and several ladies who first sur- 
 veyed her from head to foot and then promised 
 to interest themselves in her behalf ; as a begin- 
 ning they offered to show her round the city. 
 She desired to make a number of purchases, 
 and so she ran up-stairs again after her pocket- 
 book ; but it seemed so thick and clumsy that, 
 feeling ashamed to carry it down-stairs with 
 her, she opened it in her room to take out the 
 money. Instead of one hundred dollars, she 
 found three hundred. Thus Pedro Ohlsen had 
 again given her money contrary to her mother's 
 knowledge and consent. So little comprehen- 
 sion had she of its value, though, that the 
 amount of the sum did not astonish her ; and 
 so it did not occur to her to reflect on the cause 
 of his great liberality. Instead of a communi- 
 cation overflowing with joy and inquiries indi- 
 sating a suspicion of the truth, Pedro Ohlsen 
 received from Gunlaug a letter written to her 
 self, in which her daughter with ill-concealed 
 vexation betrayed her benefactor and asked 
 what she was to do with this smuggled gift. 
 
 What first strongly impressed Petra was the 
 natural scenery of the town. She could not
 
 'HE FISHER MAIDEN. 123 
 
 get clear o.' the tceling that the mountain was 
 BO near her that aiie must beware of it. A 
 sense of oppression came over her whenever she 
 raised her eyes, and at the same time she felt 
 an impulse to stretch forth her hand and knock 
 to gain admission. There were moments, on 
 the contrary, when it seemed to her that she 
 could find no possible outlet. Sun-forsaken 
 and gloomy stood the mountain ; dense clouds 
 hung above it or were driven over it ; there was 
 an incessant alternation of wind and rain com- 
 ing from the mountain and sent by the mount- 
 ain upon the town. There was no gloom, how- 
 ever, over the people around her. Soon she 
 felt happy among them, for in their bustling 
 activity there was a freedom, an ease, a cheer- 
 fulness, she had never known, and which, after 
 what she had experienced, affected her like a 
 smile of welcome. When at dinner the next 
 day she remarked that she liked best to be 
 where there were many people, she was told 
 that if that were the case she should go to the 
 theatre, where, in a single building, she would 
 find hundreds of people. She thought she 
 would like that, so i ticket was bought, and at 
 the appointed hour she was taken to the thea- 
 tre, which was close by, and was shown to a 
 seat in the front row in the balcony. She sat
 
 124 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 in a dazzling blaze of light, among many hun- 
 dred bright-faced people, and surrounded by 
 gay colors and a buzz of voices that smote on 
 her ear from every direction, rushing toward 
 her like the roaring of the mighty ocean. 
 
 Petra had not the faintest conception of what 
 she was to see here. She knew, indeed, noth- 
 ing but what Odegaard had taught her, and 
 what she had learned from chance acquaint- 
 ances. About the theatre, however, Odegaard 
 had never told her a word; the sailors had 
 spoken of a theatre where there were wild 
 beasts and equestrian performers, and it would 
 never have occurred to the boys to speak of 
 a play even if they had learned about it at 
 school; the little town had no theatre, not 
 even a house called by that name; traveling 
 beast-tamers, rope-dancers, and clowns were in 
 the habit of exhibiting either in some seaman's 
 warehouse or in the open commons. She was 
 BO ignorant that she did not even know what to 
 ask; she sat there in high spirits waiting for 
 the appearance of curiosities, such as camels or 
 monkeys. Filled with this idea she came grad- 
 ually to see animals in every face about her, 
 horses, dogs, foxes, cats, mice, and it amused 
 her. Thus the orchestra assembled without 
 hei noticing it. She started up in alarm, for
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 126 
 
 with abrupt bewildering crash of kettle-drums, 
 drums, bassoons, and horns, the overture be- 
 gan. In her whole life she had never heard 
 more than a couple of violins, and perchance a 
 flute, played at one tune. The stormy grand- 
 eur of tone that now smote on her ear made 
 her turn pale, so like it was to the cold, black 
 billow that breaks on the sea. She sat lost in 
 terror lest the next burst should be even more 
 exciting ; and yet she would have been loath to 
 have the music cease. Soon gentler harmonies 
 brought light, revealing vistas never dreamed 
 of before, and toward these she was softly 
 rocked by sweet melodies. Sportive life filled 
 the air about her ; a radiant throng was soaring 
 upward with vigorous pinion strokes, and now 
 it softly descended, majestically congregated 
 together only to break apart in frolicsome gay- 
 ety, until the pall of darkness descended, and 
 all seemed to be whirled away hi the boom of 
 a great cataract. Then, above the din and roar 
 rose a single strain, as from a bird on a bough 
 wet by the spray from the depths below. 
 Sadly, timidly, the song began, but the atmos- 
 phere above was purified thereby, the sun 
 peeped forth, and once more the long blue vis- 
 tas were filled with those marvelous fluttering, 
 floating visions she had seen before. This had
 
 126 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 lasted but a brief period when, lo! it sob- 
 sided into gentle peace, the exultant hosts 
 passed farther and farther away, naught was 
 visible save the sunbeams which were diffused 
 through the air ; above this infinite waste the 
 sun alone held sway, calmly weaving its meshes 
 of light over the scene, and amidst all this 
 glory Petra sat dreaming. She involuntarily 
 rose when the music ceased ; for now the spell 
 was broken. Ah, how wonderful! At that 
 moment the beautiful painted curtain, right in 
 front of her, went all the way up to the ceiling I 
 She was in a church, a church with arches and 
 pillars, a church filled with the swelling tones 
 of an organ, and solemn grandeur, and people 
 advanced toward her in costumes unknown to 
 her, and they spoke, yes, they were talking in 
 church, and in a language she did not under- 
 stand. But how was this ? They were talk- 
 ing behind her, too. 
 
 " Sit down I " said they ; but there were no 
 seats in the church, so of course the two people 
 she saw there remained standing as well as she, 
 and the longer she looked at them the clearer 
 it became to her that these costumes were the 
 same she had seen in a picture of Olaf the 
 Saint and there, they were actually mention* 
 ing St. Olaf s name.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 127 
 
 " Sit down ! " she again heard behind her ; 
 * sit down I " exclaimed several Toices. 
 
 " There is, perhaps, something to be seen 
 back there, too," thought Petra, and turned 
 quickly. 
 
 A multitude of angry faces, some actually 
 threatening, met hers. 
 
 "There must be something amiss here," 
 thought Petra, and she was about to leave, but 
 an old lady who at beside her gently pulled 
 her dress. 
 
 " Why do you not sit down, then, child ? " 
 whispered she. " The people behind us cannot 
 see." 
 
 In an instant Petra was in her seat. " Why, 
 of course, it is the theatre in there, and we are 
 looking on yes, to be sure, it is the theatre I " 
 and she kept repeating the word to impress it 
 fully on her mind. 
 
 Once more she gazed into the church, but in 
 spite of every effort she failed to understand 
 him who was speaking there. Not until she 
 had fully comprehended that he was a hand- 
 some young man did she here and there gather 
 the import of his words and when she found 
 that he was speaking of love and was himself 
 in love, she understood almost everything he 
 said. Her attention was suddenly drawn from
 
 128 TflE FISHER 
 
 him by the entrance of a third, whom she 
 knew, from pictures she had seen, must be a 
 monk, and she had longed very much to see a 
 monk. How softly he stepped about, and how 
 quiet he was I He seemed, indeed, to be a 
 pious man, and he spoke so distinctly and 
 slowly that Petra could follow every word. 
 But suddenly he turns and says just the oppo- 
 site of what he has been saying. Good heav- 
 ens I this is a villain ! Listen, he is a villain ! 
 Even his face shows plainly that he is one ! 
 Why cannot that handsome young man dis- 
 cover it ? He surely must have heard what he 
 said ! 
 
 " He is deceiving you I " she whispered, half 
 aloud. 
 
 " Hush I " said the old lady. 
 
 Ah ! the young man did not hear ; in his 
 perilous trust he leaves the church. They all 
 withdraw, and presently an old man enters. 
 Why, how is this ? When the old man speaks, 
 it seems as if the young man was speaking, 
 and yet this surely is an old man. But look ! 
 look ! A shining procession of white-clad 
 maidens, walking two and two, are passing 
 noiselessly and slowly through the church. Pe- 
 tra saw them long after they had gone, and 
 before her mind's eye floated a similar memory
 
 THE FISHKR MAIDEN. 129 
 
 from her childhood. She had gone with her 
 mother across the mountains one winter : as 
 they waded along through the new-falleii snow, 
 they inadvertently startled a brood of ptarmi- 
 gans, who suddenly filled the air before them ; 
 they were white ; white was the snow ; the for- 
 est was white for a long time afterward all 
 her visions were white. So, too, it was now for 
 a while. 
 
 But now one of these white-robed women 
 advances, rosary in hand, and kneels ; the old 
 man, too, has knelt down, and she speaks to 
 him. He bears her a message and a letter 
 from foreign lands. He hands her the letter, 
 and it is quite evident that it is from- some one 
 very dear to her. Ah, how delightful this is I 
 They all love one another here ! She opens it ; 
 why, it is no letter it is full of music ! But 
 see, ah, see I he is himself the letter. The old 
 man is the young one, and it is he whom she 
 loves. They embrace. Good heavens I they 
 kiss ! Petra felt herself growing fiery red, and 
 buried her face in her hands, while she listened 
 further. Hark I he is telling her that they 
 must marry immediately, and she pulls his 
 beard, laughing, and saying he has become a 
 barbarian, and he tells her how beautiful she 
 kas become. He gives her a ring, and he prom- 
 9
 
 180 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ises her robes of scarlet and velvet, golden 
 shoes, and a girdle of gold ; then merrily tak- 
 ing leave, he goes to the king to speak of the 
 wedding. His bride gazes after him, with 
 beaming face ; but when she turns, the place 
 seems empty without him. 
 
 Then swiftly the wall glides down again. 
 Can it be over now ? Why, it seemed to be 
 only just beginning I Blushing deeply, Petra 
 turned to the old lady and inquired, 
 
 "Is it over?" 
 
 "No, no, child; this is only the first act 
 There are five such, yes, there are, indeed," she 
 repeated, with a sigh ; " there are five of them." 
 
 " About the same ? " asked Petra. 
 
 " What you mean by that ? " 
 
 " Do the same people come back again, and 
 does it all go on ? " 
 
 " Have you never seen a play before ? " 
 
 "No." " 
 
 " Ah, to be sure, I suppose there are many 
 places where there is no theatre ; it is so ex- 
 pensive." 
 
 " But what is it all ? " asked Petra, staring 
 with anxious eagerness, as if she could not wait 
 for an answer. " Who are these people ? " 
 
 " This is a company belonging to Manager 
 Naso, a first-class company ; he is so clever."
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 131 
 
 " Is it he who makes it all up ? Or, what is 
 it ? For pity's sake, answer me ! " 
 
 " Dear child, do you not know what a play 
 is ? Where do you come from ? " 
 
 But when Petra thought of her birthplace, 
 she recalled also her shame and her flight, and 
 she relapsed into silence, not daring to ask any 
 more questions. 
 
 The second act came, and with it the king. 
 Yes, truly this was the king ; her eyes really 
 beheld a monarch I She heard not what he 
 said, she saw not with whom he spoke ; she 
 only looked at his kingly attire, his kingly de- 
 meanor, his kingly gestures. She was first 
 roused from her absorption when the young 
 man entered ; and then they all started off 
 after the bride. Now she was forced to wait 
 again. 
 
 During the interlude the old lady leaned 
 over to her. "Do you not think the acting 
 very fine ? " said she. 
 
 " Acting what do you mean by that ? " 
 and Petra looked at her in surprise. 
 
 She did not notice that every one round 
 about was staring at her, and that the old lady 
 was urged on by the others to question her; 
 she did not hear that they were all laughing at 
 her.
 
 132 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " They do not speak as we do I " said she, 
 receiving no answer. 
 
 "Why, they are Danes," replied the old 
 lady, also beginning to laugh. 
 
 Then it dawned on Petra that the good lady 
 was laughing at her many queries ; and she 
 said no more, but sat with her eyes fixed in- 
 tently on the curtain. 
 
 When it rose again, she had the great de- 
 light of seeing an archbishop. It was as be- 
 fore; she became so lost in the sight of him 
 that she heard not a word that he uttered. 
 Then the sound of music reached her, ah, so 
 hushed, so far distant ! but it came nearer and 
 nearer ; it was a chorus of women's voices, ac- 
 companied by flutes and violins and an instru- 
 ment that was not a guitar, and yet like many 
 guitars, only softer, richer, more vibrating in 
 tone. The harmony of the whole streamed 
 toward her in long waves of sound, and when 
 it all had become transformed into undulating 
 colors, the procession swept in ; soldiers with 
 halberds, choristers with censers, monks bear- 
 ing tapers, a crowned king, and at his side the 
 bridegroom, clad in white. Then came once 
 more the white-robed women, strewing roses 
 ind music before the bride, who was attired iu 
 white silk and wore a red wreath in her hair
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 188 
 
 At her side walked a tall, stately woman, in a 
 purple robe with a long train, dotted with 
 crowns of gold, and with a small glittering 
 crown on her head. This must be the queen ! 
 The whole church was flooded with music and 
 rich coloring, and everything which now took 
 place from the moment the bridegroom led the 
 bride to the altar where they knelt, while 
 their followers knelt about them, until the 
 archbishop came up with his train of crusaders, 
 was but as new links in the many-hued chain 
 of tones. 
 
 But now, just as the ceremony was about to 
 begin, the archbishop held aloft his crosier and 
 forbade it : their marriage was contrary to the 
 laws of God ; never in this life could they be 
 united ! O Heavenly Father, have mercy ! The 
 bride swooned away, and Petra, too, who had 
 risen to her feet, fell with a piercing shriek. 
 
 " Water ! Bring water here I " voices about 
 her cried. 
 
 " No," said the old lady, in reply. " She 
 has not fainted ; it iB not necessary." 
 
 "It is not necessary," was echoed around 
 * Silence." 
 
 u Silence I " was shouted from the parquet 
 u Silence in the oalcony ! " 
 
 44 Hush ! " was answered from the balcony.
 
 134 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " You must not take it so to heart ; it is aL 
 romance and nonsense," whispered the old 
 lady; "but Madam Naso plays astonishingly 
 well." 
 
 " Be still ! " now Petra, too, called out ; she 
 was already absorbed in the play, for now the 
 fiendish monk appeared with a sword. The 
 two lovers were made to take a piece of cloth 
 and he cut it asunder between them with his 
 sword, as the church severs, as pain severs, and 
 as the sword above the gates of Paradise sev- 
 ered from bliss on that day when Adam and 
 Eve were driven from the garden of Eden. 
 Weeping women took from the bride her red 
 wreath, and gave her in its place a white one ; 
 with it she was pledged to the cloister for life. 
 He, to whom she belonged beyond time and 
 eternity, should know that she lived, but might 
 not claim her ; know her to be buried within 
 those convent walls, yet never see her. How 
 heart-rending the farewell they bade each 
 other ! There could be no greater grief on 
 earth than theirs ! 
 
 " Good gracious ! " whispered the old lady, 
 as the curtain fell ; " do not be so foolish, I 
 beg of you. It is only Madam Naso, the man- 
 ager's wife." 
 
 Petra opened wide her eyes and stared at
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 135 
 
 the good lady. She thought she must be inad, 
 and as the lady had long held the same opinion 
 of Petra, they kept on glancing shyly at each 
 other from time to time, but interchanged no 
 further remarks. 
 
 When the curtain rose once more, Petra 
 could no longer follow what was taking place 
 on the stage ; she had eyes for nothing save 
 the bride behind the cloister walls and the 
 bridegroom watching by day and by night 
 without, both in dire despair. She endured 
 their agony ; she prayed their prayers ; all that 
 was actually on the stage passed colorless be- 
 fore her. An ominous silence recalled her ; 
 the empty church kept growing ever larger ; 
 no sound was heard within save the twelve 
 strokes of the midnight hour. Beneath the 
 vaulted roof is heard a rumbling peal, the walls 
 tremble, St. Olaf has arisen from his tomb, his 
 winding-sheet about him. Tall and terrible, 
 he strides onward ; guards flee before him ; 
 thunder rolls ; and the monk falls, pierced by 
 the mighty spear, whereupon darkness closes 
 around, and the apparition sinks away. The 
 monk is left lying there like a heap of ashes 
 struck by lightning. 
 
 Petra had unconsciously clung to the old 
 lady, who had been rather alarmed by her con-
 
 136 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 vulsive grasp, but now seeing her growing paler 
 hastened to say, 
 
 " Bless you, child ! this is merely Knutsen. 
 This is the only part he can act because hii 
 voice is so thick." 
 
 "No, no, no, no! I saw the flames about 
 him," said Petra, " and the church trembled 
 beneath his tread I " 
 
 " Do be quiet there ! " is cried from several 
 quarters. " Out with whoever it is that can- 
 not keep quiet ! " 
 
 " Silence in the balcony ! " comes from the 
 parquet. 
 
 " Be still ! " answers the balcony. 
 
 Petra had cowered down as if to shield her- 
 self from observation, but immediately forgot 
 what had been going on, for lo ! there are the 
 lovers again; the lightning has burst open a 
 way for them ; they are seeking escape. They 
 have found each other, they fall into each 
 other's arms. God in heaven, protect them 
 now I 
 
 Then there arises a clamor of shouts, min- 
 gled with the sound of trumpets. The bride- 
 groom is torn from his bride's side and is made 
 to join the hosts battling for the fatherland. 
 He is wounded, and with his dying breath 
 sends his last greetings to his bride. Petra
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 187 
 
 dooa not comprehend what has happened until 
 the bride quietly enters and sees his corpse ! 
 Then it seems as if every cloud of sorrow had 
 gathered over this one spot ; but a glance dis- 
 perses them. From the bosom of the dead the 
 bride looks up and prays that she, too, may die. 
 The heavens are opened to that gaze ; a won- 
 drous light streams down ; the bridal chamber 
 is above ; let the bride enter. Ah I she can 
 already look in, for in her eyes there sparkles 
 a peace like that on yonder lofty mountains. 
 Then the eyelids droop, the struggle has ended 
 in victory, the fidelity of the lovers has won an 
 exalted crown. She has joined her lover now. 
 Petra long sat silent ; her heart was up- 
 lifted in faith, her whole being filled with the 
 strength and greatness she had witnessed. Sho 
 rose superior to all that was groveling ; she rose 
 above fear and pain ; she rose with a smile for 
 every one, and in them all she saw her brothers 
 and sisters. The evil which divides man ex- 
 isted no longer it lay crushed beneath the 
 thunder. People returned her smile ; she was 
 the person who had been half beside herself 
 during the play ; but she saw in their smiles 
 only the reflection of the victory she bore 
 within herself. In the belief that their smiles 
 veere in harmony with her own, ahe smiled
 
 138 THE FISHER MAID2N. 
 
 back BO radiantly that they smiled in response 
 to her smile. She passed down the broad stair- 
 way, between the two receding columns, from 
 which was reflected joy in response to her joy, 
 and beauty in response to the beauty which 
 radiated from her. There are times when the 
 beams of light in our own souls become so 
 brilliant that they make everything about us 
 bright though we ourselves be unconscious of it. 
 This is earth's grandest triumphal procession 
 to be announced, borne onward, and followed 
 by one's own glowing thoughts. 
 
 When Petra, not knowing how she came 
 there, reached home, she inquired what it was 
 she had seen. There were several persons 
 present who were able to understand her and 
 give her a helpful answer. And after it had 
 oeen fully explained to her what a drama was, 
 and what great actors had in their power to do, 
 she started up and said, 
 
 " This is the noblest calling on earth ; this 
 is what I mean to be." 
 
 To the astonishment of every one she put on 
 her things and went out again. She felt that 
 she must be alone in the open air. She walked 
 out of town, and, though the wind blew high, 
 passed on to a point near by that jutted out into 
 the sea. The turbulent waves were dashing
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 139 
 
 against the rocks below ; but on both sides of 
 the bay the town lay overspread with a lumi- 
 nous haze, through which countless numbers of 
 scattered beams of light were working their 
 way, and could but shed radiance over the veil 
 they could not raise. She made this an em- 
 blem of her soul. The hollow sound in the 
 mighty darkness beneath her feet was a warn- 
 ing from unfathomable depths. Either she 
 must sink into the dread abyss, or she must 
 enter the ranks of those who are striving to 
 give light. She asked herself why she had 
 never had such thoughts before, and replied 
 that it was because she had been ruled by the 
 power of the moment, but then she also felt 
 that at such times she had power indeed. She 
 saw it now : just as many moments would be 
 granted her as there were twinkling lights yon- 
 der, and she prayed God to be able to make 
 them all full that He might not have kindled 
 them in vain. An icy wind blew about her, 
 and she rose. She had not been gone long, 
 but when she bent her steps homeward once 
 more she knew whither her path must hence- 
 forth lead. 
 
 The next day she stood before the manager's 
 door. Loud, angry voices reached her from 
 within ; one of them, she thought, was like that
 
 140 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 of the bride of yesterday. It was pitched in a 
 different key, it was true, but it made Petra 
 quiver. She waited for some time, but as it 
 seemed as though there would be no end to the 
 bickering, she knocked. 
 
 " Come in ! " cried a man's voice, in a very 
 angry tone. 
 
 u Oh ! " screamed a female voice, and as Pe- 
 tra opened the door, she saw a picture of flying 
 terror, with streaming Iwir and night-dress, 
 vanish through a side door. 
 
 The manager, a tall man, with savage eyes 
 which he hastened to cover with a pair of gold 
 spectacles, was pacing the floor in a state of 
 wild tumult. His long nose so completely 
 dominated his face that all the other features 
 seemed to be there for its sake alone. His 
 eyes peered out like a brace of gun barrels be- 
 hind this bulwark ; the mouth was a ditch in 
 front of it, and the forehead a light bridge 
 thrown across from it to the forest or the " bar- 
 ricades." 
 
 " What do you want ? " he snarled, suddenly 
 coming to a halt in front of Petra. " Are you 
 the person who wants to become a chorus- 
 singer ? " 
 
 " Chorus-singer ? What is that? " 
 
 " Well, then you do not know, aha I What 
 do you want, then ? "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 141 
 
 44 I want to be an actress." 
 
 44 So that is what you want indeed, ana 
 you do not so much as know what a chorus- 
 singer is. But do you not speak a dialect ? " 
 
 44 Dialect ? What is that ? " 
 
 44 Well, upon my word I You do not know 
 what that is either, and yet you want to be an 
 actress. Ah, indeed I yes, that is just like 
 those Norwegians. Dialect means that you do 
 not talk as we do." 
 
 44 Yes, but I have been practicing the whole 
 morning." 
 
 44 Have you, indeed ? Well well I Let 
 me hear ! " 
 
 And Petra struck an attitude and said, with 
 the same accent as the bride of yesterday, 
 
 44 1 greet you, my love, good morning ! " 
 
 44 I think ! the deuce take you ! that you 
 must have come here to ridicule my wife I " 
 
 A peal of laughter was heard from the ad- 
 joining room, and the manager, without in the 
 least appearing to remember the mortal quarrel 
 of a moment since, opened the door and called 
 in : 
 
 " Here is a Norwegian hussy who wants to 
 caricature you. Do come out and see." 
 
 A lady, with disheveled, obstinate black hair, 
 dark eyes, and large mouth, actually thrust hi*
 
 142 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 head into the room and laughed. But Petra 
 hastened toward her, for this must be the bride 
 no, her mother, she thought, as she came 
 nearer. With her eyes fixed on the lady, she 
 
 S < 1 1 ( 1 ^ '"" 
 
 " I am not sure whether it is you or is it 
 your mother ? " 
 
 Now the manager laughed; the lady had 
 drawn back her head, and she continued to 
 laugh in the side room. Petra's embarrass- 
 ment was so vividly depicted in her face, her 
 attitude, the play of her features, that the 
 manager became attentive. After watching 
 her for a while, he picked up a book, and, as if 
 nothing in the world had occurred, said, 
 
 " Take this and read, my girl ; but read as 
 you yourself speak." 
 
 She did so at once. 
 
 " No, no, that is not right. Listen to me ! " 
 He read to her, and she repeated what he had 
 read, imitating to perfection. 
 
 " No, no, that is wrong ; read Norwegian 
 the deuce ! Norwegian." 
 
 And Petra again read as before. 
 
 " No, I tell you, that is entirely wrong. DC 
 not you understand what I mean ? Are you 
 Btupid ? " 
 
 He tried again and again, and gave her an 
 vthor book.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 143 
 
 " See, this is in the opposite style ; it is 
 comic. Read this." 
 
 Petra read, but the same confusion followed 
 until he grew disgusted, and shouted, 
 
 " No, no, no ! Why the devil do vou not 
 atop ? What do you want on the stage ? What 
 the deuce is it you want to play ? " 
 
 " I want to play what I -aw yesterday." 
 
 " Aha ! Of course yc u do 1 Well, and 
 then?" 
 
 "Why," said she, guwing rather embar- 
 rassed, "it seemed to me splendid yesterday, 
 but to-day I have been thinking it over, and I 
 feel sure it would be better still if it had a 
 good ending. That is the way I would like to 
 play it." 
 
 " Would you, indeed ? Ah, well I There is 
 really nothing to prevent. The author is dead, 
 he can make no further corrections, and you 
 who can neither speak nor read want to re- 
 model his play for him. Well, that is truly 
 Norwegian ! " 
 
 Petra did not comprehend a word ; she only 
 understood that it was against her, and she be- 
 gan to feel uneasy. 
 
 " May I not? " asked she, softly 
 
 "Why, good gracious, there is nothing to 
 prevent. Pray begin ! Listen," said he, in
 
 144 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 an entirely different tone, and walking straight 
 up to her : " You have no more idea of acting 
 than a cat. And you have no talent either for 
 comedy or tragedy ; I have now tried you in 
 both. Because you have a pretty face and a 
 pretty figure, people have persuaded you that 
 you can play better than my wife, to be sure, 
 and so you want to come out in the finest rdle 
 in our repertoire and alter it in the bargain. 
 Well, that is the way with the Norwegians ! 
 they are people who are ready for everything I " 
 
 Petra's breath grew shorter and more la- 
 bored, and there was evidently a struggle going 
 on within. At length she ventured to whis- 
 per, 
 
 " Do you really say that I may not ? " 
 
 He had been standing looking out of the 
 window, feeling quite sure that she had gone. 
 Much astonished, he now turns, but observing 
 her strongly-depicted emotion, and the vigor 
 indicated by her whole demeanor, he pauses a 
 moment, suddenly seizes a book, and, handing 
 it to her, says, in a voice and with an expres- 
 sion of countenance from which every trace of 
 his former manner had been effaced, 
 
 " Here, read this piece, and read it slowly 
 just that I may hear your voice. Well, go 
 on!"
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 145 
 
 But she could not read; she could not so 
 much as see the letters. 
 
 " Come, do not be embarrassed I " 
 
 She began at last, but her reading was cold, 
 colorless. He begged her to read the passage 
 again, and " with more feeling." That made 
 it still worse. At this he took the book from 
 her, saying calmly, 
 
 " I have now tried you in every possible 
 way, so I cannot be blamed. I do assure you, 
 my dear young lady, if I should send my boot 
 on the stage or send you, it would make pre- 
 cisely the same impression, and a most singular 
 one it would be. And now this is enough I " 
 
 But as a final effort Petra ventured to say, 
 in tones of entreaty, 
 
 "I really think I would understand if I 
 might only " 
 
 " Yes, no doubt, every fishing hamlet un- 
 derstands the matter far better than we. The 
 Norwegian public is the most enlightened in 
 the world. Come, now, if you will not go, I 
 will!" 
 
 She turned to the door, and burst into tears. 
 
 " See here 1 " said he for this violent emo- 
 tion had kindled a light within him. " Is it 
 possible that it was you who made so much ex- 
 titement in the theatre yesterday ? " 
 10
 
 146 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 She grew fiery red, and stood looking help- 
 lessly at him. 
 
 " Yes, of course it was you. I know you 
 now 'the fisher maiden.' After the play I 
 was in company with a gentleman from your 
 native place ; he * knew you well.' And so 
 this is why you want to go on the stage : you 
 want to practice your arts there. That is it I 
 Hark, my theatre is a respectable place, and I 
 decline every attempt to make it otherwise. 
 Go ! Will you go, I say ? " 
 
 And Petra passed out the door, went sobbing 
 down the stairs, and out of the house. She ran 
 weeping through the crowded streets ; and a 
 young woman running weeping thus in broad 
 daylight through the streets of a city could not 
 but create a sensation. People stood still 
 while small boys started in pursuit, and their 
 numbers kept increasing. In the clatter be- 
 hind her Petra heard the rumbling sounds of 
 that night in her loft chamber, she recalled 
 the faces in the air and sped swiftly onward. 
 But recollection grew with every step, and so 
 did the noise behind her, and when she had 
 reached the house and torn open the street 
 door, gained her own room, and locked herself 
 in, she had to fling herself in a corner and 
 ward off the faces that assailed her ; she drove
 
 THE FISHEK MAIDEN. 147 
 
 them away with her hands, with menacing 
 gestures, then sank exhausted and wept more 
 softly and was saved. 
 
 That same afternoon, toward evening, she 
 left Bergen, and started inland. Whither she 
 was bound she knew not herself; she only 
 wanted to go where she was not known. She 
 rode in a cariole, with her trunk strapped on 
 behind and a post-boy sitting on it. The rain 
 was pouring down in torrents, and she sat 
 crouching beneath a huge umbrella, gazing tim- 
 idly up at the mountain and then down at the 
 precipice at her side. A brooding mass of fog 
 hung over the forest in front of her, filled with 
 spectres; in the next moment she would be 
 there ; but the nearer she drew the more the 
 fog receded. A mighty roaring, growing ever 
 stronger, increased the feeling that she was 
 journeying onward through a mysterious re- 
 gion, where everything had its own signifi- 
 cance, its own obscure connection, and where 
 mortal was but a timid wayfarer who had to 
 be ever on his guard if he wished to make 
 progress. The roar came from many forces 
 swollen by the rain until they had become gi- 
 anta, and now plunged madly from precipice 
 to precipice with a thundering crash. The
 
 148 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 road led over narrow bridges, and Petra could 
 see the seething and foaming of the waters in 
 the depths below. Anon it wound and curved 
 down the mountains, here and there bringing 
 to view some solitary cultivated spot, dotted 
 with turf -thatched cottages, then leading up- 
 ward again toward the forest and the boom 
 of the falling waters. Her clothes were wet 
 through and she was cold ; but she was re- 
 solved to pursue her way onward as long as 
 daylight lasted, onward the next day, too, ever 
 farther inland until she reached a spot where 
 she dared feel secure. Thither would the Al- 
 mighty help her, He who was guiding her now 
 through darkness and tempest.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 IN those sheltered, fertile valleys, scattered 
 through the mountains in the diocese of Ber- 
 gen, a mild autumn sometimes has summer-like 
 days even late in the season. Then the cattle 
 are driven out to pasture a while at noon, even 
 after they have already been taken in to win- 
 ter fodder ; thus they become fat and frolic- 
 some, and present a lively scene when they are 
 brought home again in the afternoon., 
 
 And so it chanced that the cattle were com- 
 ing down the mountain-path, cows, sheep, and 
 goats, lowing, bleating, skipping to the tinkling 
 of bells and turning into a large gard, just as 
 Petra drove by. The weather was fine ; every 
 pane of the long white wooden building glit- 
 tered in the sunshine, and above the house 
 loomed the mountain, so densely covered with 
 fir, birch, bird-cherry, and ash, and on the crags 
 with dog-rose, that the houses could not help 
 gaining warmth therefrom. In front of the 
 main building, on the side nearest the road, 
 there was a garden full of app*e and red anI
 
 150 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 black cherry trees, with long paths and hedges of 
 currant, gooseberry, and black currant bushes ; 
 but high above them all some venerable ash 
 trees reared their broad crowns. The house 
 looked like a nest hidden away among the foli- 
 age, and accessible to the sun alone. But it 
 was just this appearance of concealment that 
 aroused a longing within Petra, and the sun 
 glittering on the window-panes and the allur- 
 ing tinkle of the merry bells strengthened it, 
 and when she heard that this was a parsonage, 
 she hastily seized the reins. "Ah, I must enter 
 here ! " cried she, and turning, drove in past 
 the garden. 
 
 A couple of Lapland dogs rushed savagely at 
 her as she drove into the farm-yard, which was 
 a large square surrounded by buildings, with 
 the stable directly opposite the main building ; 
 another wing of the latter to the right, and the 
 brew-house and servants' hall to the left. The 
 farm -yard was now filled with cattle, and in 
 their midst stood a lady, rather tall and of 
 graceful, refined form. She wore a close-fitting 
 dress and had a kerchief tied about her head ; 
 round about her, and close up to her, were the 
 goats, white, black, brown, and speckled ones, 
 all wearing little bells that were tuned in 
 thirds. She had a name for each goat and
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 1- r >1 
 
 something good in a dish which the dairy-maid 
 constantly replenished. 
 
 On the low steps leading from the main 
 building to the court stood the priest, with a 
 dish of salt in his hand, and in front of him 
 stood the cows, licking salt from his hand and 
 from the flag-stone on which he strewed it. The 
 priest was not a tall man, but was solid-looking, 
 with a short neck and a narrow forehead ; his 
 bushy brows overhung a pair of eyes which 
 seemed averse to looking straight before them, 
 but from which now and then shot radiant 
 sidelong glances. His closely-cropped, thick 
 hair was gray and bristled out in every direc- 
 tion ; there was almost as heavy a growth on 
 his neck as on his head ; he wore no neck-tie, 
 only a shirt-stud ; the shirt was open in front, 
 exposing the hairy breast ; nor was it buttoned 
 at the wrists, and the wristbands fell over the 
 small, strong, begrimed hands that were deal- 
 ing salt. Both hands and arms were over- 
 grown with hair. He cast a sharp side-glance 
 at the young stranger, who had alighted and 
 threaded her way in among the goats, until she 
 stood beside his daughter. What the two were 
 talking about he could not possibly hear for the 
 cattle, the dogs, and the bells ; but now both 
 ladies turned their eyes toward him and sur-
 
 152 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 rounded by goats approached the steps. At a 
 sign from the priest a herd-boy drove back the 
 cows. Signe, the priest's daughter, called, 
 and Petra was forced to notice her melodious 
 voice 
 
 "Father, here is a lady on a journey who 
 would like to rest with us for a day." 
 
 " She is welcome ! " was the priest's reply, 
 and handing the dish to one of the boys, he en- 
 tered his study to the right, most likely to at- 
 tend to his toilet. Petra followed the young 
 lady of the house into the passage, which, 
 properly speaking, should be termed a hall, it 
 was so light and broad; she settled with the 
 post-boy, her luggage was carried into the 
 house, and she herself went into a side-room, 
 opposite the study to make some changes in 
 her dress, and then returned to the hall to be 
 ushered into the family sitting-room. 
 
 What a large, bright room ! The wall to- 
 ward the garden was nearly all windows, and 
 the middle one of these served also as a door 
 to the garden. The windows were broad and 
 high, and extended almost to the floor, and 
 they were filled with flowers. The floor in 
 front of the windows was covered with flower- 
 pots ; there were flowers, too, on the window- 
 sills, and, in the place of curtains, ivies, grow-
 
 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 158 
 
 ing out of two small flower baskets on either 
 aide of the window, were gracefully festooned. 
 And there were shrubs and flowers out of 
 doors, in the garden below, near the house, 
 creeping over the walls, and finally on the 
 ground round about ; it seemed like entering 
 a hot-house built in the centre of a garden. 
 And yet it was scarcely possible to remain a 
 moment in this room before the flowers ceased 
 to attract the attention ; it was the solitary 
 church, standing on an eminence to the right, 
 that was now seen, and the blue waters that 
 reflected its image and then flowed glittering 
 onward far away among the mountains, so far 
 that it was impossible to decide whether it was 
 a lake or an arm of the sea. And then these 
 mountains themselves ! Not solitary peaks, 
 but chains of mountains, one mighty ridge per- 
 petually rising behind the other as though here 
 were the limits of human habitations. 
 
 When Petra withdrew her eyes the whole 
 room seemed consecrated by the view without ; 
 everything was pure and light, and served as a 
 flower frame-work to that grand picture. She 
 felt as if encompassed by some unseen power 
 that heeded her actions, aye, even her thoughts ; 
 she walked about involuntary examining her 
 surroundings and touching the various objects
 
 164 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 in the room. Above the sofa, on the long 
 wall facing the light, she then saw a life-sized 
 portrait of a lady who was smiling down at 
 her. She sat with her head slightly inclined 
 to one side and with her hands clasped ; her 
 right arm was resting on a book that bore the 
 inscription "Sabbath Book." Her light hair, 
 her transparent complexion, seemed to invest 
 with Sabbath-like repose all that she beamed 
 upon. Her smile was earnest ; but the earnest- 
 ness was that of resignation. She seemed to 
 have the power of making every one love her ; 
 and she seemed to have comprehension for all, 
 because she saw in everything the good alone. 
 Her face bore traces of feeble health, but this 
 weakness might have been her strength ; for 
 surely there could have existed no one who 
 would have been willing to take advantage of 
 it. A wreath of immortelles hung over the 
 frame, she was dead. 
 
 " That is my mother's picture," Petra heard 
 in gentle tones behind her, and turning, she 
 saw the daughter, who had left the room and 
 had now returned. 
 
 Henceforth the portrait filled the whole 
 room : everything led up to it ; everything was 
 invested with its light ; everything else was ar- 
 ranged with reference to it ; and the daughter
 
 THK FISHER MAIDEN. 155 
 
 was its peaceful reflection. Rather more si- 
 lent, rather more reserved seemed the daughter. 
 The mother's eyes met every gaze with a full, 
 clear light ; the daughter's drooped, yet they 
 had the same brightness and gentleness. She 
 had her mother's build, yet no indication of 
 delicate health ; on the contrary, the bright 
 colors of her close-fitting dress, her apron, and 
 her little neckerchief, that was fastened with a 
 Roinnn pin, invested her face with a glow of 
 freshness, and evinced a grace and a love of 
 beauty that made her worthy to be the daugh- 
 ter of her in the portrait and the guardian 
 spirit of this home. As she moved about 
 among her mother's flowers, Petra's heart 
 yearned toward her. In the society of this 
 young girl and in this home all the good within 
 her must find growth. Ah, if she could only 
 abide within these blessed precincts I Doubly 
 desolate did she feel as her eyes now intently 
 followed Signe, who glided softly through the 
 room, pausing here and there. Signe felt this, 
 and tried to avoid her gaze ; but in vain, and 
 HO she became embarrassed, and bowed over 
 the flowers. At length Petra realized hei 
 rudeness, and, much ashamed, wished to apolo- 
 gize, but there was something in this carefully- 
 trrauged hair, this delicate brow, this neatly
 
 156 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 fitting dress that bade her beware. She looked 
 up at the portrait. She could have thrown her- 
 self into that mother's arms without hesitation. 
 Did it not seem as though she had a welcome 
 for her ? Dared she believe it ? Yes, indeed, 
 for thus no one had ever looked at her before. 
 That look showed that she knew everythiug 
 that had befallen the wayfarer and would yet 
 forgive her. Petra was sadly in need of for- 
 bearance, and she found it impossible to turn 
 away from these benevolent eyes ; she held her 
 head on one side, as the figure in the portrait 
 did ; she clasped her hands as those hands were 
 clasped, and looked around almost uncon- 
 sciously. 
 
 " Please let me stay here I " exclaimed she. 
 
 Signe rose and turned toward her, too much 
 amazed to reply. 
 
 " Please let me stay here I " begged Petra, 
 once more taking a step towards Signe. " It 
 is so delightful here ! " she added, and her eyes 
 filled with tears. 
 
 "I will ask father to come in," said the young 
 lady. 
 
 Petra followed her with her eyes until she 
 had entered the study ; but no sooner was she 
 alone than she became frightened at what 
 she had done, and trembled when she saw the
 
 THE P1SHEB MAIDEN. 157 
 
 priest's astonished face in the door. He came 
 rather better dressed than when she had last 
 seen him, and he had his pipe in his mouth. He 
 held it with a firm grip, letting the mouth-piece 
 slip from his lips with every whiff he drew and 
 puffing the smoke out again in three columns, 
 each time with a little smack ; this he did sev- 
 eral times, standing right in front of Petra, in 
 the middle of the floor, without really looking 
 at her, but as though waiting for her to speak. 
 She dared not repeat her entreaty before this 
 man, he looked so stern. 
 
 " You want to remain here ? " he asked, be- 
 stowing on her a short, bright side-glance. 
 
 Alarm made her voice quiver. 
 
 " I have no place where I can go." 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " 
 
 In a low tone Petra mentioned her native 
 town and her own name. 
 
 " What brought you here ? " 
 
 " I do not know I am seeking I wish to 
 pay I Ah, I do not know," and she turned 
 away, unable for a moment to utter another 
 word, but summoning courage, she said : 
 
 " I will do all you ask of me, if I may only 
 stay here and not have to travel farther and 
 not have to entreat you any more." 
 
 The daughter had come into the room with
 
 158 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 her father, but had stopped by the stove, where 
 she stood, with downcast eyes, toying with the 
 rose-leaves lying there to dry. The priest did 
 not reply, the puffing from his pipe was the 
 only sound to be heard, while he gazed alter- 
 nately at Petra, his daughter, and the portrait. 
 Now, the same object may produce totally dif- 
 ferent impressions : for while Petra prayed that 
 the portrait might inspire him with forbear- 
 ance, it seemed to him that it whispered, 
 " Guard our child ! Do not give her the com- 
 panionship of one who is unknown to you I " 
 
 "No you cannot stay," said he, turning 
 with a sharp side-look to Petra. 
 
 Petra grew pale, heaved a deep, passionate 
 sigh, gazed wildly about her, and rushed into 
 a side-room, whose door stood half open, flung 
 herself down by a table, and, burying her face, 
 wholly gave way to her grief and disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Father and daughter exchanged glances. 
 This total lack of good breeding shown in 
 bursting without a word into another room and 
 there seating herself alone, had only its coun- 
 terpart in the strange conduct of coming in 
 from the highway, begging to be allowed to 
 remain, and wailing aloud when not permitted 
 to do so. The priest crossed the floor after
 
 THE FISHKR MAIDEN. 16S 
 
 hei, not to apeak to her, but, on the contrary, 
 to close the door behind her. He came back, 
 his face flushed, and said, in a low tone, to his 
 daughter, who still stood by the stove : 
 
 " Did you ever see the like of that woman ? 
 Who is she ? What does she want? " 
 
 The daughter did not reply immediately ; 
 but when she did, she spoke in a still softer 
 tone than her father. 
 
 " She acts strangely, but there is some- 
 thing remarkable about her." 
 
 The priest was pacing the floor, and kept 
 watching the door; finally he paused, and 
 whispered, 
 
 " Do you think her mind is sound ? " and as 
 Signe did not answer, he came nearer, repeat* 
 ing more decidedly, " She is mad, Signe, half- 
 witted : that is what is remarkable about her." 
 
 He resumed his walk ; other thoughts began 
 to work in his mind, he had almost forgotten 
 what he had last said, when his daughter at 
 length whispered, 
 
 " I cannot think so ; but she is certainly 
 very unhappy." 
 
 With this she bowed over the dried rose- 
 leaves she was still fingering. There was noth- 
 ing in the ring of her voice nor in her move- 
 ments that would have attracted the attention
 
 160 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 of another, but her father's manner changed at 
 once ; he walked up and down several times, 
 his eyes fixed on the portrait, and finally said, 
 but very softly, 
 
 " Do you think that, because she looks un- 
 happy mother would have asked her tc 
 stay ? " 
 
 " Mother would have given no answer for 
 several days," whispered the daughter, bowing 
 still lower over the rose-leave's. 
 
 The slightest remembrance of her in the por- 
 trait, when brought forward thus by the daugh- 
 ter, could make that hairy lion's head as meek 
 as a lamb's. He felt at once the truth of what 
 Signe said ; he stood like a school-boy who has 
 been caught in deception ; he forgot to smoke 
 or to walk, and after a long while he whis- 
 pered, 
 
 " Ought I to ask her to remain a few days ? " 
 " Why, you have given her your answer." 
 " Yes, but it is one thing to give her a home, 
 another to let her stay a few days." 
 
 Signe seemed to reflect a while, and said 
 finally, 
 
 " You must do as seems best to you." 
 The priest felt inclined to consider the pro- 
 posal somewhat more closely, so he walked to 
 and fro, smoking vigorously. Pausing, finally 
 he said,
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 161 
 
 " Will you go in, or shall I ? " 
 
 " It would certainly do more good if you 
 were to speak to her," said the daughter, look- 
 ing up, lovingly. 
 
 He was just about taking hold of the door- 
 knob, when a burst of laughter rang out from 
 the next room, then all was still, and then 
 came another loud peal. The priest, who had 
 started back, hurried forward again, his daugh- 
 ter following him, for they were both sure that 
 the stranger must have suddenly become ill. 
 
 On opening the door they beheld Petra sit- 
 ting where she had first dropped down, and in 
 front of her lay an open book, over which she 
 had cast herself without being aware of it. 
 Her tears had rolled down on its leaves, and 
 seeing this she had made an effort to remove 
 their traces, when she was attracted by one of 
 those coarse expressions, which she well re- 
 membered from her street life, but which she 
 could never have believed any book would ven- 
 ture to reproduce. Thoroughly aghast she for- 
 got to weep, and sat staring at the book. 
 What madness in the world could this be ! 
 She read with mouth wide open ; it grew worse 
 and worse, so coarse, but so irresistibly ludi- 
 crous that she could not possibly help reading 
 on. She read until she had lost consciousness 
 u
 
 162 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 of everything about her ; she read herself away 
 from care and sorrow, from time and place, 
 with old Father Holberg, for it was he ! She 
 laughed, she roared with laughter, even now 
 that the priest and his daughter were stand- 
 ing over her, she did not see their earnestness, 
 did not remember her errand, but laughing, 
 asked, 
 
 "What is this? What in all the world is 
 this ? " and she herself turned to the title-page. 
 
 Then the color forsook her face ; she looked 
 up at them, then down again into the book at 
 those familiar strokes. There are some things 
 that strike the heart with the force of a bullet, 
 things we think we have fled a hundred miles 
 away from, but which unexpectedly rise up 
 and confront us. Here on the first page was 
 written, " Hans Odegaard." Her face became 
 suffused with hot blushes. Petra sprang up, 
 crying, 
 
 " Is this book his ? Is he coming here ? " 
 
 " He has promised to do so," replied Signe. 
 
 And now Petra remembered that there was 
 a priest's family in the diocese of Bergen, 
 whom Odegaard had met when traveling 
 abroad. She had only been moving round in a 
 circle ; she had fled straight towards him. 
 
 " Is he likely to come soon ? Is he perhaps
 
 THE FISHER MAIDE!!. 163 
 
 hero already?" She seemed ready to renew 
 her flight immediately. 
 
 " No, indeed, he is ill," said Signe. 
 
 " Ah, that is true, he is ill," repeated Potra, 
 in a tone of anguish. 
 
 " But tell me," burst out Signe, " you surely 
 cannot be " 
 
 " The fisher maiden ? " completed the priest. 
 
 " Yes, I am the fisher maiden," said Petra, 
 bestowing on him a look of entreaty. 
 
 They knew her well here, for Odegaard had 
 talked of nothing else. 
 
 " This alters the case," said the priest, who 
 perceived that here there was something bro- 
 ken, something that needed the aid of friends. 
 " You may remain for the present," he added. 
 
 Petra raised her eyes, and as she did so, she 
 saw the look of thanks his daughter bestowed 
 on him. This did her so much good that she 
 walked right up to Signe, took both her hands, 
 more she dare not do, and said, very 
 bashfully, though, 
 
 u I will tell you all as soon as we two are 
 alone." 
 
 An hour later Signe knew Petra's whole his- 
 tory and immediately imparted it to her father. 
 According to his advice Signe wrote the samo 
 day tD Odegaard, and continued to do BO a* 
 'ong as Petra remained in the house.
 
 164 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 But when Petra lay down to rest that even- 
 ing on the large feather bed in the cosy cham- 
 ber, with c 'adding birch-wood in the stove, 
 and the New Testament between the two can- 
 dles on the snowy -white dressing-table, she 
 gave thanks to her God, as she grasped the 
 Book, for all He had given her, the evil as well 
 as the good. 
 
 The priest, as a young man with ardent nat- 
 ure and native powers of eloquence, had wished 
 to study theology. His wealthy parents had 
 opposed him in this ; they preferred to see 
 him choose what they called an independent 
 calling; but their opposition only increased 
 his zeal, and when he had taken his degree 
 he went abroad to continue his studies. Dur- 
 ing a preliminary sojourn in Denmark he fre- 
 quently met a lady who belonged to a sect 
 which did not seem to him rigorous enough in 
 its views, and to which he was consequently 
 averse. He was continually desiring to influ- 
 ence her ; but the manner in which she looked 
 at him and thereby silenced him, whenever 
 he attempted to do so, he could never forget 
 during the whole time he remained abroad. 
 When he returned to Denmark he sought hei 
 %t once. They passed much time together
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 166 
 
 and grew in each other's favor, until they be- 
 came engaged and were shortly after married. 
 Now, however, it proved that each had cher- 
 ished a secret thought: he had proposed to 
 draw her womanly grace over to his gloomy 
 doctrines; while she had felt a child-like confi- 
 dence that she could enlist all his power and 
 eloquence hi the service of her religion. His 
 first faint effort was met by her equally feeble 
 one ; he drew back disappointed, suspicious. 
 She was not slow to perceive this, and thence- 
 forth he was perpetually on his guard against 
 her efforts, she on her guard against his. Nei- 
 ther of them, however, ever made another at- 
 tempt; for they had both become alarmed. 
 He was afraid of his own passionate nature, 
 and she feared that an unsuccessful attempt 
 might ruin her chances of winning him, for she 
 never relinquished her hope ; this had become 
 her life task. But there never was any con- 
 test ; for where she was no strife was possible. 
 His active will, his suppressed passion, must 
 have an outlet, and this they found each time 
 he ascended the pulpit and saw her sitting be- 
 low. Irresistibly he drew the congregation into 
 the vortex with him ; he created a general agi- 
 tation, and was excited thereby in return. See- 
 ing this her troubled heart found solace in be-
 
 166 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 nevolence, and by and by, when she became a 
 mother, she took her daughter in bodily and 
 spiritual embrace and made the child share her 
 own hours of solitude. There she gave, there 
 she received, there she cradled, her own cher- 
 ished views in her child's innocent heart ; there 
 she held a love feast, and from it she came 
 back to him, that stern man, with the combined 
 gentleness of the woman and the Christian. 
 At such times it was impossible for him to say 
 anything that was not kind. He could not 
 help loving her beyond all else on earth ; but 
 all the more sorrowful did this make him, all 
 the more did his heart bleed that he could not 
 help her to work out her salvation. With a 
 mother's quietly asserted right she removed 
 her child, too, from his religious instructions. 
 Soon the child's songs, the child's questions, 
 were a new source of pain to him ; and when in 
 the pulpit he became wrought up to harshness 
 through his violent emotions, his wife only met 
 him with increased mildness when they set out 
 together for home ; her eyes spoke, but her lips 
 uttered not a word. And the little daughter 
 clung to his hand and looked up at him with 
 eyes that were her mother's. 
 
 Every subject was discussed in their home 
 except the one which was the root of all theb
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 167 
 
 thoughts. Bat such an exhausting strain could 
 not last any great length of time. She contin- 
 ued to smile, but only because she dared not 
 weep. When the time approached for the 
 daughter to prepare for confirmation, and he 
 by virtue of his office could draw her as quietly 
 over to his instruction as the mother had hith- 
 erto held her under hers, the tension reached 
 its climax, and after the sermon, when the 
 names of the candidates for confirmation were 
 announced, the mother fell ill, in about the 
 same way that people usually become weary. 
 She said, smilingly, that now she could not walk 
 any more, and a few days later, quite as smil- 
 ingly, that now she could not sit up any longer 
 either. She wanted her daughter with her all 
 the time, for, although she could not talk with 
 her, she could look at her. And the daughter, 
 knowing what her mother liked best, read to 
 her from the Book of Life and sang to her the 
 hymns she had taught her in childhood, those 
 new, cheerful hymns of the religious society to 
 which the mother belonged. The priest for a 
 long time failed to comprehend what was in 
 store for him ; but when he understood it all 
 else vanished, he could think of but one thincj, 
 and that was to have her say something to 
 him, just a few words. This, however, she
 
 168 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 was unable to do ; she could no longer speak. 
 He stood at the foot of the bed, gazing at her 
 and entreating her ; she smiled at him until he 
 fell on his knees, and grasping the daughter's 
 hand, placed it in the mother's, as though he 
 would say, " Here, keep her she shall be 
 yours forever I " Then the mother smiled, as 
 she had never smiled before, and with the 
 smile still on her lips she passed away from 
 him. 
 
 For a long time after this no one could gain 
 access to the priest ; another was appointed to 
 assume the charge of his parish; he himself 
 went wandering about from room to room, from 
 spot to spot, as though seeking something. He 
 stepped softly ; when he spoke it was in a sub- 
 dued tone, and only by falling wholly into his 
 hushed ways could his daughter gradually suc- 
 ceed in entering into fellowship with him. 
 Now she aided him in his search ; the mother's 
 words were all called up ; her wishes became 
 the law according to which they proceeded. 
 The daughter's intercourse with her, from which 
 he had been shut out, he now for the first time 
 entered into. From the first moment the child 
 could recollect, everything was lived through 
 anew; the mother's hymns were sung, her
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 169 
 
 prayera were prayed, the sermons she bad been 
 fondest of were read one by one, and her inter- 
 pretations, her remarks, faithfully recalled. 
 Thus roused to activity, the priest soon felt a 
 desire to visit the spot whero ho had found her, 
 in order that he might in the same way follow 
 in her footsteps. They went, and he regained 
 his health by thoroughly making her life his 
 own. A beginner himself, he keenly appre- 
 ciated all beginnings about him, the great 
 national ones, the lesser political ones; and 
 this restored to him his youth. His powers 
 streamed back upon him, his yearnings at the 
 same time now he wanted to proclaim the 
 Word so that it might be a preparation for life 
 as well as for death I 
 
 Before again shutting himself up in his 
 mountain parish with his beloved work, he felt 
 an impulse to take a wider view of the outside 
 world. So he and his daughter extended their 
 travels, and now their lives were filled with the 
 grandest remembrances. 
 
 Among these people Petra lived.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN the third year of her sojourn here, one 
 Friday, a few days before Christmas, the two 
 girls were sitting together in the dusk of the 
 evening ; the priest had just come in with his 
 pipe. The day had been passed as most others 
 during these two years ; it had begun with a 
 walk, and after breakfast an hour had been 
 spent in playing and singing, next came lan- 
 guage lessons or other studies, and then a little 
 time devoted to household matters. In the 
 afternoon they retired to their own rooms, and 
 to-day Signe had been writing to Odegaard, 
 after whom Petra never inquired ; indeed, she 
 never could bear any reference to the past. 
 Toward evening they had gone coasting, and 
 had now met to talk and sing, or later, to read 
 aloud. It was at such times the priest always 
 joined them. He was a remarkably fine reader 
 and so was his daughter. Petra learned the 
 style of both, but especially their language. 
 Signe's pronunciation and the inflections of her 
 voice had a great charm for Petra, and the mu
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 171 
 
 aical tones kept ringing in her ear when she 
 was alone. Altogether, Petra held Signe in 
 such high esteem that a man would have taken 
 a fourth of such devotion for strong love ; she 
 often positively made Sigue blush. As the 
 priest and his daughter read aloud every even- 
 ing, Petra could not be induced to take act- 
 ive part in the readings, they had become 
 quite familiar with the prominent authors of 
 northern literature, and had also made consid- 
 erable progress in the acquaintance of the 
 works of well-known foreign authors. The 
 dramatists wore chiefly read. 
 
 Just as they were about lighting the lamps 
 to begin this evening, the kitchen-maid came in 
 to say that there was some one outside who 
 had a message for Petra. It proved to be a 
 sailor from Petra's native town, whom her 
 mother had charged to seek her, as he was 
 coming in that direction. He had walked 
 nearly seven miles, and must hurry off again, 
 as his ship was about to sail. Petra accompa- 
 nied him part of the way, desiring to talk fur- 
 ther with him, for she knew him to be a trusty 
 man. It was a very cloudy night ; there was 
 no light in any of the parsonage windows, ex- 
 cept those of the laundry, where a large wash- 
 ing was being done ; profound darkness reigned
 
 172 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 along the road ; it was scarcely possible to dis- 
 tinguish the path until the moon rose triumph 
 antly above the mountains. Still Petra -walked 
 bravely onward, and fearlessly entered the for- 
 est, although mysterious, unearthly shadows 
 crept about among the fir-trees. One piece of 
 news which had especially tempted her to follow 
 the sailor was that Pedro Ohlsen's mother was 
 dead, and that he himself had sold his house 
 and moved to Gunlaug's, where he now occu- 
 pied Petra's loft chamber. This had happened 
 nearly two years since, but Petra's mother had 
 not said a word about it in her letters. Petra 
 could now readily conjecture who it was wrote 
 these for her mother. She had often inquired, 
 but had received no reply, and yet every letter 
 ended with the words : " and a greeting from 
 the person who writes the letter." The sailor's 
 errand was to ask how long Petra intended to 
 remain at the parsonage and what plans she 
 had for the future. To the first question she 
 replied that she did not know, and to the second 
 that he might tell her mother there was but one 
 thing in the world she wished to do, and if she 
 failed in that she would be unhappy her whole 
 life ; but for the present she could not tell what 
 't was. 
 
 While Petra was walking and talking with
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 178 
 
 the sailor, the priest and Signe remained be- 
 hind in the sitting-room, speaking of her who 
 was such a source of joy to them both. They 
 were interrupted by the entrance of the over- 
 seer, and after he had rendered his account for 
 the day, he asked if either of them knew that 
 the young lady who was staying with them was 
 in the habit of leaving her room at night by 
 means of a rope-ladder and returning in the 
 same way. He was obliged to repeat this three 
 times before either of them understood what he 
 meant ; he might just as well have announced 
 to them that it was her wont to walk back and 
 forth on the moonbeams. It was dark in the 
 room, and now it became perfectly still; not 
 even the puffing from the priest's pipe was 
 heard. 
 
 " Who has seen this ? " said the priest at 
 last, in a forced, husky tone of voice. 
 
 "I saw it myself. I was up foddering the 
 horses ; it must have been about one o'clock." 
 
 " You saw her going down a rope-ladder ? " 
 
 " And up again." 
 
 Another long pause. Petra's room was in 
 the upper story, in the corner facing the avenue 
 leading to the house. She was alone up there, 
 no one else had a room on that side of the 
 house. There could, therefore, be no mistake.
 
 174 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " It is quite possible she may have done it in 
 her sleep," said the servant, and was about to 
 withdraw. 
 
 " Yes, but she could not have made a rope- 
 ladder in her sleep," said the priest. 
 
 "Well, that was what I thought myself- 
 and so it seemed to me best to tell you about 
 it, sir. I have not spoken of it to any one 
 else." 
 
 " Has any one beside yourself seen this ? " 
 
 " No ; but if you doubt it, sir, the ladder it- 
 self will, I suppose, be proof enough. If it is not 
 up in her chamber I must have seen wrong." 
 
 The priest rose at once. 
 
 " Father ! " entreated Signe. 
 
 " Bring a light ! " replied the priest, in a 
 tone that admitted of no opposition. 
 
 Signe lighted a candle. 
 
 " Father 1 " she once more implored, as she 
 handed it to him. 
 
 " Yes ; I am her father as well as yours, as 
 long as she remains in my house, and it is my 
 duty to look into this." 
 
 The priest went on in advance with the 
 light, Signe and the overseer following. Ev- 
 erything was in perfect order in the little 
 room, only the table in front of the bed was 
 covered with open books, piled one upon an- 
 other.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 176 
 
 " Does she read at night ? " 
 
 " I do not know ; but she never puts oat her 
 light before one o'clock." 
 
 The priest and Signe exchanged glances. It 
 was customary at the parsonage to retire for 
 the night from ten to half-past ten, and to as- 
 semble again in the morning between six and 
 seven. 
 
 " Do you know anything of this ? " asked the 
 father. 
 
 Signe made no reply. But the overseer, who 
 was on his knees in the corner making a search, 
 answered, 
 
 " She is not alone." 
 
 " What is that you say ? " 
 
 " Why, there is always some one talking 
 with her, and they often speak very loud. I 
 have heard her both begging for mercy and 
 herself uttering threats. No doubt she is in 
 some one's power, poor thing ! " 
 
 Signe turned away; the priest had grown 
 deathly pale. 
 
 " And here is the ladder," continued the 
 man, producing the article as he spoke, and 
 rising to his feet. The ladder was formed by 
 two clothes-lines, fastened together by a third, 
 which was tied in a knot, then drawn across 
 and tied in another knot, at a distance of about
 
 176 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 half a yard, and thus running back and for- 
 ward formed steps. 
 
 " Was she gone long ? " asked the priest. 
 
 The overseer looked at him. 
 
 "Gone where?" 
 
 " Did she stay away long after she came 
 down the ladder ? " 
 
 Signe was shivering with cold and terror. 
 
 " She did not go anywhere ; she went up 
 again." 
 
 " Up again ? Then who did go away ? " 
 
 Signe turned and burst into tears. 
 
 " There could not have been any one with 
 her then ; that was last evening." 
 
 " So, no one was on the ladder but herself ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " And she went down and directly up 
 again ? " 
 
 Yes." 
 
 " She has only wanted to try it, I suppose," 
 said the priest, drawing a long breath, as though 
 somewhat relieved. 
 
 " Yes, before she allowed any one else to get 
 on it," added the overseer. 
 
 The priest looked at him. 
 
 " You think, then, this is not the first one 
 she has made ? " 
 
 " Of course it is not. How else could peo- 
 ple have come to her room ? "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 177 
 
 "Has it been long since you knew of any 
 one coming to her ? " 
 
 " Not until this winter, when she began to 
 use a light ; it did not occur to me to come 
 down here before." 
 
 " Then you have known this the whole win- 
 ter. Why have you not told of it before ? " the 
 priest asked, sternly. 
 
 " I supposed that it was one of the household 
 that was with her; but when I saw her last 
 night on the ladder I first thought it might be 
 some one else. Had it struck me sooner, I 
 should have spoken of it." 
 
 " Well, it is plain enough, she has deceived 
 us all!" 
 
 Signe raised her eyes in silent entreaty. 
 
 " She ought not, perhaps, to have her room 
 so far away from the rest," suggested the over- 
 seer, as he rolled up the ladder. 
 
 " After this she ought not to have a room 
 anywhere in this house," said the priest, and 
 left the room, the rest following him. But 
 when he got down-stairs and had put the light 
 on the table, Signe came and flung herself into 
 his arms. 
 
 " Yes, my child, this is a bitter disappoint' 
 
 ment," said he. 
 
 It
 
 178 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 A few moments later, Signe sat in the corner 
 of the sofa, with her handkerchief to her eyes : 
 the priest had lighted his pipe and was rapidly 
 pacing the floor. All at once they were aroused 
 by screams from the kitchen and hurried steps 
 were heard on the stairs and rushing along the 
 passage above. Both hastened out. Petra's 
 chamber was on fire ! A spark from the can- 
 dle had fallen in the corner, for it was from 
 there the fire came, had swept along the wall 
 paper, and was approaching the wood-work 
 about the window, when it was seen from the 
 road by a passer-by, who had at once run into 
 the laundry and given the alarm to the people 
 who were at work washing there. The fire 
 was soon extinguished ; but in the country, 
 where everything has its own monotonous 
 course, year out and year in, any disturbance 
 serves to throw the people into a state of com- 
 motion. Fire is their greatest and most dan- 
 gerous enemy ; it is never out of their thoughts, 
 and when it actually does appear some night, 
 thrusting forth its head from the abyss, and 
 greedily darting out its tongue after its prey, 
 the people shudder, and it is weeks before thej 
 wholly regain their composure ; some, indeed, 
 never do so throughout their lives. 
 When the priest and his daughter were once
 
 THE FISHER MAIi EN. 179 
 
 more alone in the sitting-room and had lighted 
 the lamps, they both felt uncomfortable at the 
 thought that Petra's room had thus swiftly 
 been swept out by fire and everything that 
 could remind them of her destroyed. Suddenly 
 they heard Petra's clear voice asking questions 
 and exclaiming aloud. She sprang up-stairs 
 and down again, sped from chamber to passage 
 and from passage to kitchen, and finally burst 
 into the room with her out-door wraps still on. 
 
 "Good heavens! my room has been burned!" 
 cried she. 
 
 There was no reply, but in the same breath, 
 she asked, 
 
 "Who has been there? When. did it hap- 
 pen ? How did the fire begin ? " 
 
 The priest now said that it was he and Signe 
 who had been up there ; they had been looking 
 for something, and he fixed his eyes sharply on 
 Petra as he spoke. But not by the least sign 
 did she show that she thought this strange, nor 
 did she betray any uneasiness whatever as to 
 what they might have seen in her room. She 
 did not even suspect anything amiss when 
 Signe did not look up from her sofa corner, but 
 Attributed this to Signe's fright and began to 
 pour out a volley of questions about how the 
 fire had been discovered, how put oat, and who
 
 180 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 had first reached the spot ; and when she failed 
 to get replies fast enough she darted out of the 
 room as abruptly as she had come in. Pres- 
 ently she broke in again, having now partly 
 removed her out-door wraps, and fell to telling 
 the priest and Signe how the whole thing had 
 happened, how she herself had seen the flames 
 and hastened home with the most alarming 
 speed, and how thankful she felt to find mat- 
 ters no worse. While speaking she took off 
 the rest of her out-door things, carried them 
 away, then returned, and took her accustomed 
 place at the table, keeping up an incessant chat- 
 ter about what this one had said, that one had 
 done. The whole gard had been turned up- 
 side down, she reported, and this afforded her 
 infinite amusement. As her listeners persisted 
 in their silence, she began to express regret that 
 all this excitement had spoiled the evening 
 for them ; she had been looking forward with 
 so much pleasure to " Romeo and Juliet," the 
 play they were then reading aloud, and she had 
 intended that same evening to ask Signe to 
 read aloud once more the scene that seemed to 
 her the most beautiful of all : Romeo's parting 
 from Juliet on the balcony. In the midst of 
 her stream of words one of the maids came in 
 from the laundry to say that they needed
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 181 
 
 clothes-lines ; a whole bunch was missing. Pe- 
 tra's face was speedily covered with blushes. 
 
 " I know where they are ; I will get them 
 for you," she said, taking a few steps forward, 
 and then, remembering the fire, she paused and 
 colored still more deeply. 
 
 " But, oh, dear ! they must be burned I 
 They were in my chamber ! " 
 
 Signe had turned eagerly toward her. The 
 priest gave Petra a sharp side glance. 
 
 " What use had you for clothes-lines ? " 
 And his breath came and went so rapidly, he 
 could scarcely speak. 
 
 Petra looked at him ; his terrible solemnity 
 almost alarmed her, but in the next moment 
 it tempted her to laughter. This she strove 
 against for a while, but a second glance at him 
 made her burst into such hearty laughter that 
 it was no longer of any use to resist. There 
 was no more evil conscience in her laugh than 
 in a rippling brook. Signe knew this from its 
 ring, and she sprang up from the sofa, with 
 
 "What is it? What is it?" 
 
 Petra turned, laughed, bounded off, tried to 
 escape, and made for the door. But Signe 
 itood in her way. 
 
 " What is it ? Tell me, Petra." 
 
 Petra buried her face on Signe's shoulder,
 
 182 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 as though she would thus hide herself, but she 
 continued to laugh immoderately. Nay, guilt 
 does not act thus ! The priest, too, compre- 
 hended this now. He who was about leaping 
 np into a towering rage, now instead came 
 tumbling down into the most overpowering 
 laughter, and Signe followed his example. 
 Nothing is more infectious than laughter, and 
 especially laughter, the cause of which is not 
 quite clear. The vain efforts that now the 
 priest, now Signe made to find out what they 
 were laughing at only increased the merriment 
 to the highest pitch. The maid, who stood 
 waiting, was finally compelled to laugh aloud 
 with them. She burst out into one loud horse- 
 laugh after the other, and she felt herself that 
 it was not in keeping with such fine furniture 
 and gentle-folks, and so she hastened to the 
 door to give full vent to her hilarity in the 
 kitchen. Thither, of course, she bore the in- 
 fection, and soon a perfect deluge of laughter 
 came rolling in from the kitchen, where there 
 was even less knowledge of its cause than in 
 the parlor, and this kindled the laughter in 
 there anew. 
 
 When finally they were almost exhausted. 
 Signe made a last attempt to learn the meaning 
 of all this laughter.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 188 
 
 " Now you shall tell me," she cried, clinging 
 to Petra's hand. 
 
 " No ; not for all the world ! " 
 
 " Yes ; but I know already what it is I " she 
 cried again. 
 
 Petra looked at her and uttered a scream ; 
 but Signe exclaimed, 
 
 " Father knows all about it, too." 
 
 Petra did not scream now, she fairly yelled, 
 and, tearing herself away, fled to the passage- 
 door ; but there Signe caught her again. Then 
 Petra turned to struggle with her ; she was de- 
 termined to get away at any cost ; she laughed 
 as she kept struggling, but tears were in her 
 eyes. This made Signe let go. Out rushed 
 Petra, Signe after her, and both darted into 
 Signe's chamber. There Signe seized Petra 
 about the neck, and Petra flung her arms 
 around Signe. 
 
 " Good heavens ! Do you know it ? " whis- 
 pered Petra, and Signe whispered in reply : 
 
 " Yes, we were up in your room with the 
 overseer ; he had seen you and we found the 
 ladder." 
 
 Another shriek and a fresh flight, but this 
 time only as far as the sofa corner, where Petra 
 took refuge. Signe soon followed her, and, 
 bending over her, poured into her ear the
 
 184 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 whole story of the voyage of discovery and its 
 fiery results. That which but a brief period 
 earlier had caused her both tears and alarm 
 now struck her as amusing, and she related it 
 with considerable humor. Petra alternately 
 listened and stopped her ears, looked up, and 
 buried her face. When Signe had finished and 
 they were both sitting side by side in the dark, 
 Petra whispered : 
 
 " Do you know what it all means ? I can- 
 not possibly sleep at ten o'clock when we go 
 each to our rooms, what we have been reading 
 has too much power over me. So I commit to 
 memory all the finest passages, and in this way 
 I know whole scenes by heart and repeat them 
 aloud to myself. When we came to Romeo 
 and Juliet, it seemed to me that nothing in the 
 world could be more lovely ; I grew perfectly 
 wild about it, and I could not help making that 
 attempt with the rope-ladder. It had nevei 
 occurred to me before that any one could go up 
 and down on a rope-ladder. I got hold of some 
 clothes-lines, and that rogue, it seems, was 
 standing below watching me. Indeed, it is no 
 laughing matter, Signe ; it is so torn-boyish ; I 
 never shall be anything but a torn-boy ; and 
 now, of course, to-morrow I shall be the talk of 
 the whole parish ! "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 185 
 
 But Signe, who had been seized by a fresh 
 fit of laughter, fell over Petra with kisses and 
 caresses, and exclaimed : 
 
 " Ah, father must know this ! " 
 
 " Are you mad, Signe ? " 
 
 Down they ran to the sitting-room, one after 
 the other, with the same speed they had left it. 
 At the door they almost upset the priest, who 
 was just about leaving the room to see what had 
 become of them. Signe began her story. Pe- 
 tra, with a scream, ran off once more, but 
 paused outside of the door, recollecting that she 
 should remain to prevent Signe from telling it ; 
 so she thought she would go in again, but the 
 priest held the door ; it was impossible to get 
 it open. She pounded on it with both hands, 
 sang, stamped her feet on the ground, in order 
 to drown Signe's voice ; but Signe only spoke 
 the louder, and when the priest had heard the 
 whole and had laughed as heartily as Sigue 
 over this new method of studying the classics, 
 he opened the door ; but then Petra ran away. 
 
 After supper, at which Petra had been pres- 
 ent and had been duly teased by the priest, she 
 was condemned, by way of punishment, to re- 
 peat what she knew. It proved that she knew 
 the most famous scenes, and not merely one 
 rdle in each but all the parts. She recited just
 
 186 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 as they had been in the habit of reading ; at 
 times there was a flash of fire in her manner, 
 but she quickly smothered it. No sooner did 
 the priest observe this than he called for more 
 expression, but she only grew the more shy. 
 They went on and on, they continued for hours 
 she knew the comic scenes as well as the tragic 
 ones, the playful as well as the serious ; her 
 memory aroused both their surprise and their 
 laughter ; she laughed herself and begged them 
 only to try, too. 
 
 "I really wish the poor actresses had an 
 eighth part as good faculties as you have," said 
 Signe. 
 
 " God forbid that she should ever become 
 a play-actor ! " exclaimed .the priest, suddenly 
 turning grave. 
 
 " Why, father, I hope you do not think Pe- 
 tra has any such idea ? " cried Signe, laughing. 
 " I only spoke of actors because I have always 
 found, without exception, that those who from 
 their youth up have been trained to a knowl- 
 edge of the poetry of their own land have not 
 the least desire to go on the stage, while those 
 who have very little acquaintance with poetry 
 until they are grown up, rave about the stage 
 it is the suddenly aroused yearning that carries 
 them away."
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 187 
 
 44 That is doubtless very true," said the 
 priest. " We certainly rarely find a person of 
 any education on the stage." 
 
 44 And still more rarely one who has had po- 
 etic culture." 
 
 " Yes, and when this does happen, it is 
 doubtless due to some lack in the character 
 which permits variety and frivolity to gain the 
 upper hand. I have met with many actors, 
 both in my student days and during my travels, 
 but I have never known, nor have I heard of 
 any one else knowing, one who led a truly 
 Christian life. They may have felt a desire 
 for it that I have seen ; but there is so much 
 restlessness, so many disturbing influences, in 
 their career, that they find it impossible to 
 gain control over themselves, even long after 
 they have left the stage. Whenever I have 
 spoken with them about this, they have admit- 
 ted it themselves and deplored it; but soon, 
 however, they have added : 4 We must console 
 ourselves with the fact that, after all, we are 
 no worse than so many others.' But this is 
 what I call a poor consolation. A life that in 
 nowise tends to build up the Christian charac- 
 ter within us is a sinful one. The Lord have 
 mercy on all who must lead a life like this, 
 tnd may He keep from it all who are pure in 
 heart!"
 
 188 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 The next day, Saturday, the priest was up 
 as usual before seven, went on his morning 
 rounds among his work-people, then took a 
 longer walk and came home at day-break. 
 Just as he was passing the house into the court- 
 yard, he espied an open exercise-book, or some- 
 thing of that sort, which doubtless had been 
 thrown out of Petra's window and not found 
 because it was the color of the snow. He 
 picked up the book and carried it into the 
 study. As he spread it out to dry, he observed 
 that it was a discarded French exercise-book 
 in which verses were now written. It did not 
 occur to him to look at these verses, but his 
 eye accidentally fell on the word " actress," 
 written up and down, up a"nd down, every- 
 where it was even to be seen in the verses. 
 He sat down to examine it more fully. 
 
 After many attempts and erasures, he found 
 the following rhymes, which, although still full 
 of corrections, could readily be deciphered : 
 
 " Dear, come hither, and listen to me, 
 While I whisper you trustfully what I would be ! 
 I would fain be an actress, and show to mankind 
 The heart of a woman, her passions, her mind ; 
 How she smiles and delights, how she mourns and deplores ; 
 How wholly she trusts, how fondly adores : 
 How she smiles down on life, when tender and winning ! 
 How she blights like a curse, when scornful and sinning ! 
 O God ! on my knees, Thine assistance I claim ! 
 Devote Thou my life to this one cherished aim ! "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 189 
 
 A little below was written the following 
 lines: 
 
 " God, among Thy glorious band 
 Of workers let me take my stand ! " 
 
 Then below this, again, probably by way of 
 a commentary to a poem they had read some 
 months before : 
 
 "Roaming, rambling over the lea, 
 
 Airily, 
 
 I '11 away, away, 
 A naiad a fay 
 With a ladder of moonbeams under my arm 
 
 Wanly ! 
 
 A ladder of moonbeams, wrought by a charm, 
 Of moonbeams and mist, 
 By the long grasses kissed, 
 As I hide there, or wander wherever I list. 
 If any dare peep, as I 'm flashing along, 
 If any dare list, while I warble my song, 
 
 He shall die! 
 Shall he die? Nay, surely t 'were wrong." 
 
 Then, after many erasures and crossings 
 over, designs, and notes, came : 
 
 "Hop, sa, sa hop, sa, sa, 
 Dancing with all, but with no one remaining, 
 
 Tra, la, la tra, la, la, 
 Winning all heart*, but my own heart retaining." 
 
 Then distinctly and clearly the following let- 
 ter: 
 
 MY HEABT'S HENRY : Do you not think 
 that you and I are the cleverest ones in the
 
 190 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 whole comedy ? It will cause us great annoy- 
 ance ; but that does not signify : I empower 
 you to accompany me to the masquerade to- 
 morrow evening, for I have never been to one, 
 and I long for some genuine mad pranks, be- 
 cause it is so very quiet and dull in this house. 
 
 You are a great rogue, Henry I Whither 
 are you wandering, pray, while here sits your 
 
 PEBNILLB? 
 
 Last of all was written in large letters, dis- 
 tinctly and over and over again, the following 
 verse, she must have found somewhere, and 
 had taken this means of committing it to mem- 
 ory : 
 
 " Thoughts beyond my thought's control 
 Wake a tumult in my soul ; 
 They are strong and I am weak, 
 Power to give them birth I seek. 
 Thou, who gavest them to me, 
 Loke bind, set Balder free, 
 Satisfy the thirst for Thee ; 
 Water from the hidden spring 
 Give me grace for men to bring." 
 
 Many other things besides were written 
 there, but the priest read no more. 
 
 So, then, it was in order to become an act- 
 ress that she had come into his house and re- 
 ceived instructions from his daughter. It was 
 for this secret purpose she had listened so ea-
 
 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 191 
 
 gerly while they read aloud every evening and 
 committed it all to memory when she was 
 alone. She had been deceiving them the whole 
 time ; even yesterday, when she had pretended 
 to open her heart to them, she had been con- 
 cealing something ; when she was laughing the 
 most heartily she was cheating them. 
 
 And this secret purpose of hers I That 
 which the priest had so often condemned in her 
 presence, she glorified as a divine calling and 
 dared to invoke God's blessing on it ! A life 
 replete with exterior show and frivolity, idle- 
 ness and sensuality, deceit and ever-increasing 
 instability of character, a life over which vul- 
 tures hover as over carrion ; it was to this she 
 yearned to devote herself, this she prayed God 
 to sanctify ! And to such a goal the priest 
 and his daughter were expected to help her on- 
 ward in the quiet parsonage, beneath the severe 
 eyes of a regenerated congregation I 
 
 When Signe came in, bright and fresh as the 
 winter morning, to greet her father, she found 
 the study filled with tobacco-smoke. This was 
 always an indication that something was amiss, 
 and donbly so thus early in the morning. 
 Without a word he handed her the book. She 
 saw at once that it was Petra's ; a recollection 
 of the suspicion and pain of the preceding even-
 
 192 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ing flashed over her ; she dared not look in the 
 book ; her heart beat so violently that she was 
 forced to sit down. But the same word that 
 had first attracted her father's attention now 
 caught her eye ; she had to look again and thus 
 read all. Her first feeling was one of shame 
 not on Petra's account, but because her father 
 had seen this. 
 
 But soon she experienced the deep humilia- 
 tion that arises from being disappointed in one 
 who has been dearly beloved. In such in- 
 stances a person who has been capable of dis- 
 guises is apt for a moment to seem greater, 
 more ingenious, more clever than ourselves, to 
 glide away from us into the regions of the mys- 
 terious. But soon all the faculties of the soul 
 unite in indignation ; honesty gains power over 
 all those forces which, although hidden, do not 
 savor of the mysterious ; we feel strong enough 
 to crush with one blow the manifold cunning 
 devices ; we despise what but now humiliated 
 as. 
 
 In the sitting-room Petra had seated herseli 
 at the piano, and now they heard her singing : 
 
 " Joy now is kindled, risen the day, 
 Stormed are the Night's cloud prisons away . 
 Tents o'er the mountain-tops glowing, 
 Hoste of the Light-king are throwing.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 198 
 
 ' Up ! ' now cries the woodland bird, 
 1 Up ! ' from childhood's lips is heard, 
 Up, too, my hope with sunrise." 
 
 Then a storm swept over the keys of the 
 instrument, and out of it burst the following 
 song : 
 
 " Warning voices, I thank ye well, 
 
 But I and my boat are away, 
 To the sound of the luring billows' swell, 
 
 In the whirl of winds and of spray ! 
 I must range the new path, I must hunt o'er the main, 
 Though I gaze on the Fatherland never again. 
 
 " Oh, not for pleasure and not for gain, 
 
 Drawn drawn from the fading shore 
 I would seek the bounds of the trackless plain, 
 
 The vast Unknown I 'd explore. 
 So long as my bark cleaves the breakers in twain, 
 So long range I the path so far hunt o'er the main." 
 
 Ah ! this was more than the priest could 
 bear ! Striding past Signe, he snatched the 
 book from her hand and stormed toward the 
 door, and this time his daughter made no ef- 
 fort to hold him back. He rushed straight to 
 Petra, flung the book on the piano in front of 
 her, turned, and made the complete circuit of 
 the room. When he came back to her she had 
 risen, the book -was clasped to her bosom, and 
 she was looking about her on every side with a 
 bewildered gaze. He paused in front of her, 
 intending to tell her just what he thought of 
 her, but so violent was his wrath at having
 
 194 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 served as a tool for more than two years for 
 this wily young person, and still more that his 
 warm-hearted, devoted daughter had been made 
 a dupe of, that he could not at once find words, 
 and when he did succeed in doing so, he felt 
 himself that they might be too harsh. Once 
 more he took a turn about the room, walked 
 right up in front of Petra again, his face fiery 
 red, and then, without a single word, turned 
 his back on her and strode away to his study. 
 When he reached it, Signe was gone. 
 
 The whole of that day was passed by each in 
 retirement. The priest dined alone ; neither of 
 the girls made her appearance. Petra was in 
 the housekeeper's room, which had been as- 
 signed to her after the fire. She had searched 
 everywhere in vain for Signe to pour out her 
 heart to her ; but Signe could not be at home. 
 
 Petra felt that she was standing on the verge 
 of a crisis. The most secret thoughts of her 
 soul had been rudely torn from her, and there 
 was an effort about to be made to exert over 
 her an influence she could not brook. She 
 well knew that if she were to give up her cher- 
 ished purposes, she would drift idly onward 
 henceforth before the wind of chance. She 
 could be happy with those that did rejoice, 
 trustful with those whose hearts were filled
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 195 
 
 with trust, secure in everything ; but it waa 
 through the strength inspired by that secret 
 hope of hers that she might one day attain the 
 goal of her aspirations toward which all the 
 faculties of her soul were growing. Confide in 
 any one after that first pitiful failure in Bergen 
 no, she would have found this impossible, 
 even had it been Odegaard himself ! She must 
 be alone with her secret until it was sufficiently 
 developed to brave the breath of doubt. 
 
 But now a change had been wrought. The 
 priest's flaming countenance looked incessantly 
 down into her frightened conscience she 
 must seek deliverance. More excitedly, more 
 hastily, than ever, she pursued her search for 
 Signe ; the afternoon wore on and still Signe 
 was not to be found. The longer a person we 
 are seeking remains absent from us, the greater 
 seems the cause of the separation, and thus it 
 came to pass that Petra finally arrived at the 
 conclusion that she had been guilty of treach- 
 ery in secretly availing herself of Signe's friend- 
 ship for the furtherance of what Signe herself 
 deemed sinful. The omniscient God must be 
 her witness that never before had this view of 
 the matter presented itself to her mind; she 
 felt herself a great sinner. 
 
 As once before, in her own home, she waa
 
 196 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 overwhelmed by a knowledge of which but .1 
 moment previous she had not the faintest mis- 
 giving ! That anything so appalling actually 
 could repeat itself, that she had not yet pro- 
 gressed one step, increased her anxiety to ter- 
 ror. She saw before her a future full of mis- 
 ery. But in the same proportion as her own 
 sense of guilt increased, Signe's image rose in 
 purity and magnanimous devotion. Truly, coals 
 of fire were heaped upon her head. She longed 
 to fling herself at Signe's feet ; she wanted to 
 entreat and implore her, and neither relax her 
 hold nor cease her importunities until Signe 
 had given her just one look of the old friend- 
 liness. 
 
 It had grown dark. Signe must be at home 
 now, wherever she might have been. Petra 
 sped along the passage to the wing of the house 
 where Signe's room was, and found the door 
 locked, a sure sign that Signe was there. 
 With throbbing heart Petra once more grasped 
 the door-knob, and cried beseechingly : 
 
 " Signe, please let me talk with you ! Signe, 
 I cannot bear this any longer ! " 
 
 Not a sound from the room ; Petra bent over, 
 listened, and knocked again. 
 
 " Signe, oh, Signe ! you do not know ho\ 
 unhappy I am ! "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 No answer. Again Petra waited and list- 
 ened, but still there came none. When we 
 thus fail to obtain a response, we are apt to 
 donbt at last whether there is any one at hand 
 to give it, even when we have reason to feel 
 sure that there is, and when darkness surround? 
 us we become alarmed. 
 
 " Signe, Signe ! If you are there, be merci- 
 ful answer me ! Signe ! " 
 
 But the silence remained unbroken. Petra 
 shuddered and shivered. At this moment the 
 kitchen-door was opened, letting out a broad, 
 full stream of light, and brisk, buoyant footstep* 
 were heard in the court-yard. This suggested 
 a plan to Petra's mind. She would go out into 
 the yard herself, and climbing on the ledge on 
 the stone foundation of the wing, she would 
 walk round the entire building in order to 
 reach the other side, where the elevation from 
 the ground was very great. She wanted to 
 look into Signe's room. 
 
 It was a bright, starlit evening. The mount- 
 ain, as well as the surrounding houses, stood 
 out in sharp outlines, but the outlines alone 
 were visible. The snow lay glittering around ; 
 the dark paths served only to increase its daz- 
 zling distinctness. From the road came the 
 jingling of sleigh-bells; the merry sound and
 
 198 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 the sparkling brightness of the night had an 
 inspiriting effect on Petra, and she sprang 
 lithely on the ledge. She strove to cling to the 
 projecting wood- work of the windows, but lost 
 her balance and fell to the ground again. Then 
 she seized an empty barrel, and rolling it up 
 against the wall stepped on it and from it to 
 the ledge. She now worked her way along by 
 means of hands and feet together, advancing 
 about a quarter of a yard with each effort ; the 
 strong fingers of a strong hand were needed to 
 hold on vigorously ; she could not get a firm 
 grasp, for the wood-work scarcely projected an 
 inch. She was fearful lest some one should 
 see her, for it would naturally be thought this 
 had some connection with her rope-ladder ex- 
 ploits. If she could only clear the side facing 
 the court-yard, and reach the gable-wall. But 
 when finally she succeeded in doing so, fresh 
 danger awaited her ; for there were no blinds 
 to the windows, and she was compelled to 
 stoop as she passed each window, in constant 
 terror of falling. On the main wall of the 
 wing the foundation was very high and beneath 
 ran a gooseberry hedge, which would certainly 
 receive her should she fall. But she had no 
 fear. Her fingers smarted, her muscles quh 
 ered, a tremor ran through her whole frame
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 199 
 
 but she went on. Only a few steps more and 
 the window was reached. There was no light 
 in Signe's room, and the curtain had not yet 
 been drawn down ; the moon shone full in the 
 room, so that the innermost corner was plainly 
 visible. This gave Petra fresh courage. She 
 reached the window-sill ; she could at last take 
 hold with her whole hand and rest, for now 
 that the goal was reached, her heart began to 
 throb so violently that she could scarcely 
 breathe. As this only grew worse the longer 
 she waited, she felt that she must make haste, 
 and suddenly she leaned her whole person 
 against the window. A wild cry broke from 
 the room. Signe had been sitting on one cor- 
 ner of the sofa, and now with a bound she 
 stood in the middle of the room, warding off 
 the dreadful apparition, wildly and with gest- 
 ures of horror, then turned and fled. This 
 figure on the window-panes in the bright moon- 
 light, this reckless, offensive daring, this face 
 outlined by the moon, all aglow with excite- 
 ment ! In the twinkling of an eye Petra real- 
 ized that her unlucky fancy in itself was 
 enough to fill any one with terror, and that 
 her image would no doubt henceforth be a con- 
 tinual source of terror to Signe ; consciousness 
 forsook her, and with a piercing shriek she fell 
 f o the ground.
 
 200 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Every person in the house had rushed out 
 at Signe's cry, but had failed to find any one. 
 This' second cry set the whole gard astir, but 
 all searching and shouting was in vain, until 
 the priest chanced to look through the window 
 in Signe's chamber and espied Petra lying 
 among the bushes. A great fear fell upon 
 every one around, and it cost some exertion to 
 get her free from the brambles. She was carried 
 into Signe's chamber, as there was no fire in 
 the housekeeper's room, was undressed and put 
 to bed, where her hands and neck, which were 
 pretty badly torn, were bathed by some, while 
 others made the room comfortable, bright, and 
 warm. 
 
 The calm coziness of the room, the snowy 
 white drapery of the windows, toilet-table, bed, 
 and chairs, all made her think of Signe. She 
 called to mind her pure, -loving nature, her gen- 
 tle voice, whose accents betokened the utmost 
 guilelessness, her delicate comprehension of the 
 thoughts of others, her tender benevolence. 
 From all this she had now shut herself out ; 
 soon she would be banished from this room, in 
 all probability obliged to leave the gard. And 
 whither should she then go? People are not 
 likely to be taken in a third time from th 
 Highway, and even if this were possible she no
 
 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 201 
 
 longer desired it, for it would only end in the 
 same way. Not a living soul could have confi- 
 dence in her again ; whatever might be the 
 cauae of this, she felt that it was so. She had 
 not gained one step, she felt that she would 
 never advance any, for without the confidence 
 of our fellow-creatures progress is an impossi- 
 bility. How she prayed, how she wept I She 
 tossed and writhed in her anguish of spirit un- 
 til she became exhausted and fell asleep. 
 
 Soon in her sleep everything became snowy 
 white, gradually, moreover, lofty as well ; in 
 her whole life she had never seen such lofty 
 heights and such a dazzling glitter of millioua 
 of stars.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHEN she awoke she was still in those 
 higher regions ; daylight's thoughts, which soon 
 filled her mind, made an effort to soar up there, 
 too, but they were taken captive and borne by 
 something that filled the whole atmosphere, 
 it was the ringing of the bells on Sunday morn- 
 ing. She sprang out of bed and dressed her- 
 self ; then she found a little to eat in the pan- 
 try, put on some warm wraps, and hastened 
 away, she had never before so thirsted for 
 the word of God! When she came to the 
 church, the service had just begun, and the 
 door was closed ; it was a cold day, and her 
 fingers smarted when she took hold of the door 
 knob to turn it. The priest was just standing 
 before the altar, and so she waited near the door 
 until he was through saying mass. While the 
 deacon was removing the chasuble she went to 
 the so-called bishop's pew, which stood in the 
 chancel with curtains around it. The priest's 
 family had a pew in the gallery ; but when a 
 person, for some reason or other, desired to sit
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 203 
 
 itlone and hide from the sight of the others, it 
 was customary to resort to the bishop's pew. 
 When she reached it and stole in, she discovered 
 Signe sitting there already in the inmost corner. 
 She took one step to go out again, but just then 
 the priest turned to leave the altar and pass her 
 as he went to the vestry ; she hastened into the 
 pew again and sat down as far as possible from 
 Signe, who had dropped her veil. This hurt 
 Petra s feelings. She let her eyes wander over 
 the congregation that filled the high wooden 
 pews, the men on the right and the women on 
 the left side. Their breaths tilled the air above 
 their heads like a floating mist; on the win- 
 dows the frost was an inch thick, the clumsy 
 wooden images, the dragging, heavy singing, 
 the people wrapped in their winter clothes 
 all corresponded ; everything seemed hard and 
 fur away she was reminded of the impression 
 she got on that memorable afternoon when she 
 left Bergen ; here, too, she was merely a timid 
 traveler. 
 
 The priest appeared in the pulpit. He, also 
 had a severe look. His prayer was : " Lead us 
 not into temptation ! " We are conscious, he 
 said, that the faculties which God has given all 
 Dave in them an element which tempts us to do 
 wrong; but he besought God to be merciful
 
 204 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 and not to try us beyond our strength. For 
 this we must ever remember to pray ; for only 
 when brought in subordination to Him would 
 our talents and faculties work out our salva- 
 tion. 
 
 In the sermon the priest further developed 
 the same theme, discussing our double duty, 
 that of performing our life-work, each in the 
 position where his talents and circumstances 
 have placed him, and that of bringing forth 
 a truly Christian character in ourselves and in 
 those intrusted to our care. We must be care- 
 ful in the choice of our vocation, for there are 
 vocations that are sinful in themselves, while 
 there are other callings which may prove a 
 source of sin to us, either because they are not 
 suited to our capabilities, or because they suit 
 too well our evil desires. Again : Certain as it 
 is, that we must try to choose our work in ac- 
 cordance with our faculties, it is equally certain 
 that a choice which seems both correct and 
 good, may prove a source of temptation to us, 
 if we, from love of it, permit it to consume all 
 our time and occupy all our thoughts. Our 
 duties as Christians must not be neglected any 
 more than our obligations to our children. 
 We must be able to concentrate our thoughts 
 upon ourselves in order that the spirit of God
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 205 
 
 may be permitted to do its work in our hearts ; 
 we must be able to plant and cherish the good 
 seed of Christianity in the hearts of our chil- 
 dren. There is no duty, no pretext, that can 
 excuse us here, though the performance may be 
 modified by circumstances. 
 
 Thereupon the priest went further, and en- 
 tered into the vocation of those who sat before 
 him ; he entered into their homes, their circum- 
 stances, and their opinions. Finally he pro- 
 duced a number of examples, by way of illus- 
 tration, from other and higher walks in life, 
 thus throwing side-lights on the topic discussed. 
 The moment the priest became animated in 
 his sermon, he seemed a new man -to him who 
 knew him only in every-day life. Even his ex- 
 ternal appearance was changed : his compact, 
 strong face had become transparent, as it were, 
 revealing the thoughts that throbbed within. 
 His eyes grew larger, and in their firm and 
 steadfast gaze was a message to every person 
 in the congregation. His head, with its hairy 
 mane, was magnified and made him look like a 
 lion whose voice rolled out in long thunder tones, 
 or came forth in short, violent phrases, sinking 
 at times into a whisper, but only to rise again 
 to greater heights. He could not in fact speak 
 except before a large audience and under the in-
 
 206 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 spiration of thoughts of eternity ; for there waa 
 no eloquence in his voice, before it reached a 
 Bcreaming pitch ; there was no expression in 
 his countenance and no striking perspicuity in 
 his thought, before it was all ablaze with zeal. 
 Not that he had failed till now to find the 
 theme to kindle it; no, if affliction had gath- 
 ered rich treasures into his soul, reflection had 
 done no less. He was a hard worker, and de- 
 voted himself largely to retirement and reflec- 
 tion. But he was not always in the mood for 
 the ordinary affairs of life ; his thoughts lacked 
 the power of expression in conversation ; he 
 must be allowed to do all the talking, or, at 
 least, he must be vigorously pacing the floor, 
 while the conversation was in progress. To 
 begin a debate with him was almost like at- 
 tacking a defenseless man, but still it was dan- 
 gerous ; for his conviction soon made resistance 
 with so much violence that there was no time 
 for arguments. Were he, however, compelled 
 to give reasons, he would do one of two things : 
 he would either pour such a stream of words 
 upon his opponent that the discussion was apt 
 to end unpleasantly, or he would stop short, as 
 if in fear of himself. No one could more easily 
 be silenced than this strong, eloquent man. 
 When the priest began the prayer, Petra
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 207 
 
 trembled, for she understood whence the text 
 was taken. The farther he progressed the 
 nearer she felt he came to herself. She shrank 
 back, and observed that Signe did the same. 
 But the vigorous man cut his way without 
 mercy ; the lion was out seeking for prey, 
 Petra felt herself pursued on every side, 
 hemmed in, and captured ; but what was seized 
 so harshly, was held gently in the hand of 
 mercy. Without a word of condemnation she 
 seemed to be laid captive in the arms of Him 
 who is infinite love. And there she prayed, 
 and wept, and she heard Signe do the same, 
 and she loved her for it ! 
 
 When the priest descended from the pulpit 
 and passed Petra and Signe on his way to the 
 vestry, his countenance still beamed from his 
 communion with the Lord. His searching 
 glance fell on Petra, but as she turned her open 
 face toward him, a ray of gentleness met her. 
 He looked hastily in the corner at his daughter, 
 as he proceeded. 
 
 Shortly after Signe rose : her face was veiled, 
 and so Petra did not dare go with her. She 
 therefore lingered behind until later. Noon 
 tound all three together at the same table ; the 
 priest talked a little, but Signe was shy. As 
 Boon as the priest, who evidently desired to
 
 208 THE FISHEB MAIDEN. 
 
 talk about what bad happened, made the faint- 
 est allusion to it, Signe turned the conversation 
 in so modest and delicate a manner, that the 
 priest was reminded of her mother ; he grew 
 silent and gradually became sad. It took but 
 little to make him so. 
 
 Nothing is more painful than an unsuccessful 
 attempt at reconciliation. The family rose 
 without being able to look at one another, much 
 less to exchange the usual thanks for the re- 
 past. In the sitting-room the silence at length 
 grew so oppressive that all three would fain 
 have gone away, but no one wanted to be first 
 to go. As for Petra, she felt that if she went, 
 it would be never to return. She could not 
 meet Signe again, if she could not be permitted 
 to love her ; she could not endure to see the 
 priest sad for her sake. But if she must leave, 
 she must go without saying farewell, for how 
 could she take leave of these people I Only 
 the thought of it produced an emotion which 
 she could scarcely control. 
 
 Every minute which prolongs a situation so 
 oppressive, when each waits for the other to 
 speak, makes it more insufferable. No one 
 dares to stir from fear of attracting attention ; 
 every sigh is heard, the stillness itself is audi- 
 ble, for it seems like harshness. Suspense is
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 209 
 
 felt, because no word is spoken, and there is a 
 dread lest somebody may say something. 
 
 Each one realized that this moment \vould 
 never return. The walls that are built be- 
 tween heart and heart grow ; our own guilt in- 
 creases, as does that of the others, with every 
 breath we draw. We are by turns despondent 
 and indignant ; for the person treating us thus 
 is without compassion, is hard; we will not 
 bear it, we cannot forgive him. Petra could 
 endure it no longer, she must either cry aloud 
 or take flight ! 
 
 Then sleigh-bells were heard in the road. 
 Soon a man clad in a wolf-skin coat and seated 
 in a sledge, with a driver behind 'on the box, 
 was seen dashing past the garden and turning 
 into the court-yard. All three now breathed 
 more freely and waited for the relief which was 
 coming I They heard the stranger in the hall ; 
 he was removing his traveling boots and coat 
 and talking with the servant-girl who assisted 
 him. The priest rose to meet the stranger, 
 but turned again so as not to leave the two 
 girls alone. Again the stranger's voice was 
 heard in the hall, and now nearer, so that it 
 made all three look up. But Petra rose and 
 fixed her eyes on the door. 
 
 A knock was heard. 
 14
 
 210 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " Come in ! " said the priest, much agitated. 
 A man with a light complexion and spectacles 
 stood in the door. Petra uttered a shriek and 
 fell back in her chair. It was Odegaard. 
 
 To the priest and Signe he did not come un- 
 expected. He was to spend Christmas at the 
 parsonage ; but no one had said a word to Pe- 
 tra of this. That he came just at this moment, 
 however, was a direct interposition of Provi- 
 dence, and this they all felt. 
 
 When Petra recovered her consciousness Ode- 
 gaard was standing before her and holding her 
 hand. He continued to hold it, but said noth- 
 ing ; nor did she speak, she could not even rise. 
 But a couple of tears rolled down her cheek, 
 while she continued to fix her eyes on him. 
 He was very pale, but his manner was perfectly 
 calm and kind. He withdrew his hand, crossed 
 the floor, and then went to Signe, who had 
 itolen into the farthest window, behind her 
 mother's flowers. 
 
 Petra longed to be alone, and so she left the 
 room. Signe found plenty of household duties 
 to keep her busy. The priest and Odegaard, 
 therefore, seated themselves in the study to 
 drink a glass of wine, of which the traveler 
 stood in need. Odegaard was here briefly told 
 of what the last days had brought forth. It
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 211 
 
 made him thoughtful, but he said nothing. 
 Their conversation was interrupted in a singu- 
 lar manner. 
 
 Past the windows went two women and 
 three men, one after the other, and the priest 
 no sooner caught sight of them than he sprang 
 to his feet and exclaimed, 
 
 " There we have them again I Now we must 
 arm ourselves with patience I " 
 
 Slowly and silently the women entered, fol- 
 lowed by the men. They placed themselves in 
 a line along the wall beneath the book-shelves 
 and opposite the sofa where Odegaard was sit- 
 ting. The priest placed chairs before them, 
 brought out others from the next room, and 
 they all sat down, with the exception of a 
 young city-dressed man, who refused and re- 
 mained standing near the door. He had a de- 
 fiant air, and kept both hands in his pockets. 
 
 After a long pause, during which the priest 
 tilled his pipe, and Odegaard, who never 
 smoked, carefully observed the visitors, a fair- 
 complexioned, pale woman of about forty win- 
 ters began the conversation. Her forehead 
 was rather narrow, her eyes large, but restless ; 
 they did not seem to know which way to look. 
 Finally she said.
 
 212 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " That was a fine sermon you preached to- 
 day, father. It suited well what has been in 
 our minds of late ; for we at the Oygards have 
 of late often had occasion to speak of tempta- 
 tion." 
 
 And she sighed. 
 
 A man with a short, thick, double chin and 
 a large broad face, also sighed, saying, 
 
 " Lord, teach us Thy ways ! Turn away 
 mine eyes from beholding vanity ! " 
 
 And Else, the woman who had first spoken, 
 again sighed, as she said, 
 
 " Lord, wherewithal shall the young cleanse 
 their ways so that they may heed Thy word ? " 
 
 The words sounded strange in her mouth, for 
 she was no longer young. But a middle-aged 
 man, who sat swaying back and forth with his 
 head on one side, while his eyes were never 
 really open, drawled out as if half asleep, the 
 following lines : 
 
 " None are safe from Satan's guile, 
 Sore temptation, many a wile, 
 Must the Christian's valor try, 
 Minded with his Lord to die." 
 
 The priest knew these people too well not to 
 understand that this was merely the introduc- 
 tion, so he waited as if nothing had been said, 
 although there was again a long pause, broken 
 nly by repeated sighs.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 218 
 
 A little woman, who seemed Btill smaller be- 
 cause she stooped, and who was wrapped up in 
 such a lot of shawls that she looked like a 
 bundle of merchandise, her face was, indeed, 
 quite invisible, now began to move about 
 uneasily in her chair, and at length gave two 
 faint coughs. 
 
 This at once aroused Else, who said, 
 
 " There is no more playing or dancing at the 
 Oygards now ; but " she paused again, while 
 Lars, the man with the broad face and short 
 double chin, interposed, 
 
 "But there is one man, and that is Hans, 
 the fiddler, who will not give it up." 
 
 As Lars, too, seemed to hesitate as to whether 
 he should say the rest or not, the young man 
 spoke : 
 
 " For he knows that the priest, too, has an 
 instrument, to which they both dance and sing 
 here at the parsonage." 
 
 " It can't be a greater sin for him than it is 
 for the priest," said Lars. 
 
 " The fact is the priest's instrument serves as 
 a temptation," said Else, cautiously, by way of 
 helping on the conversation to the point ia 
 view. 
 
 But the young man added, with more em- 
 phasis,
 
 214 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " It is a stumbling-block to the young. As 
 it is written, ' Whosoever shall offend one of 
 these little ones that believe in me, it is better 
 for him that a millstone were hanged about his 
 neck, and he were cast into the sea.' " 
 
 Here Lars came to his relief. 
 
 " And so we come to request you to send 
 away that instrument of yours, or burn it, so 
 that it may no longer be a stumbling-block " 
 
 "To the young of your parish," added the 
 young man. 
 
 The priest kept smoking his pipe most vig- 
 orously, and finally, making a visible effort to 
 compose himself, he said : 
 
 " To me there is no temptation in this instru- 
 ment ; on the contrary, it affords me recreation 
 and relief. Now you know that whatever is 
 able to divert our minds makes it easier for us 
 to receive and understand good things ; conse- 
 quently I firmly believe that such things as this 
 instrument are a help to me." 
 
 " And I know there are priests who, in ac- 
 cordance with the words of Paul, would rather 
 make a sacrifice of such pleasures than offend 
 the children of the parish," said the young man. 
 
 " It may be that I, too, formerly interpreted 
 his words in that way," answered the priest 
 4 but I do not do so now. A person may give
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 215 
 
 np a habit or a comfort ; but he should avoid 
 being narrow-minded and stupid for the sake of 
 gratifying narrow-minded and stupid people. 
 I would be wronging not only myself, but also 
 those to whom I am to be an example, and I 
 would be setting a bad example, an example 
 contrary to my conviction." 
 
 It was not often that the priest could make 
 so full an explanation when he was out of the 
 pulpit. He added, 
 
 "I will not give up my piano, I will not 
 burn it, I will listen to it frequently, for I 
 often feel the need of it, and I cannot but wish 
 that you, too, might occasionally, in an innocent 
 manner, divert your minds with singing, play- 
 ing, and dancing, for I regard these things as 
 good and proper." 
 
 " Fy ! " said the young man, tossing his head 
 and spitting on the floor. 
 
 The priest's face turned red as blood, and 
 perfect silence ensued. The man who sat sway- 
 ing back and forth, struck up at the top of his 
 voice the following hymn : 
 
 " My God, on ev'ry aide I see 
 Anguish, and pain, and care : 
 For men, whate'er their state maj be, 
 Bend 'neath the cross they bear; 
 And feeble flesh and blood rebel, 
 As every mortal knoweth well."
 
 216 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 And then Lars remarked, in a low tone, 
 
 " You say, then, that playing and singing 
 and dancing are proper, do you? It is right 
 to stir up Satan for sensual gratification, is 
 it ? That is what our priest says. Well, it is 
 a good thing we have found it out ! Ah, he 
 really says, that everything connected with idle- 
 ness and sensuality tends to relieve and aid the 
 mind ; that what leads us into temptation is 
 right and proper ! " 
 
 But now Odegaard made haste to interpose, 
 for he saw by the priest's countenance that 
 matters were coming to a bad pass. 
 
 " But tell me, my good friend, what is there 
 which does not lead us into temptation ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 All looked at him from whom these well- 
 considered words came. The question was in 
 itself so unexpected that neither Lars nor the 
 others could make an immediate answer. Then 
 a voice came as from a deep well or out of the 
 cellar, 
 
 " Work does not." 
 
 The words came from the bundle of shawls 
 it was Randi, who, for the first time, opened 
 'aer lips. A triumphant smile lighted up Lars 
 broad face; the light -complexioned woman 
 looked with a believer's eyes at the speaker
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 217 
 
 and even the young man, who stood near the 
 door, lost for a moment the sneering expression 
 of his lips. Odegaard understood that Randi 
 was the chief person, though her head was not 
 visible. He therefore addressed himself to 
 her. 
 
 " Of what kind must work be, if it is not to 
 lead us into temptation ? " 
 
 She was unwilling to make a reply to this 
 question, but the young man answered for her. 
 
 " The curse reads : ' In the sweat of thy 
 brow shalt thou eat bread ! ' It is, then, such 
 work as gives us toil and trouble." 
 
 " And nothing but toil and trouble ? May 
 not work bring profit ? " 
 
 Now he, too, was at a loss what to answer ; 
 but the man with the broad face and double 
 chin felt moved to come to his relief. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " we may make all we can." 
 
 " Well, then work, too, may lead us into 
 temptation ; we may be tempted to make too 
 much." 
 
 In this dilemma relief came from the sepul- 
 chre of shawls. 
 
 "Then it is the profit and not the work 
 that leads us into temptation." 
 
 u Certainly ; but what do you say if the work 
 is carried to excess for the sake of the profit ? "
 
 218 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 The bundle of shawls lapsed into silence 
 again, but Lars took the floor. 
 
 " What do you mean by carrying work to 
 excess ? " 
 
 " I mean when it makes you a brute, when it 
 makes a slave of you." 
 
 " There should be slavery," said the young 
 man, who had been quoting the curse. 
 
 " But can work when looked upon as slavery 
 lead us to heaven ? " 
 
 " To work is to serve God," cried Lars. 
 
 " Are you able to say that of all your work ? ' 
 
 Lars was silent. 
 
 " No ; be reasonable, and admit that work 
 can be carried to excess for the sake of profit, 
 as if it were the one object of our life. Conse- 
 quently, labor, too, has its temptations." 
 
 " Yes, my children, there is temptation in 
 everything ; nothing is free from it ; " the 
 priest now decided, as he rose and emptied his 
 pipe as if to close the interview. A sigh was 
 heard from the bundle of shawls, but no reply 
 was made. 
 
 "Listen!" Odegaard began again, and the 
 priest filled his pipe once more, " if our la- 
 bor becomes profitable, that is to say, if it 
 bears fruit, I suppose we are permitted to enjoy 
 this fruit, are we not ? If it gives us wealth, is 
 it not proper for us to enjoy this wealth ? "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 219 
 
 His questions awakened grave ioubts, and 
 the visitors looked at one another. 
 
 " While you are reflecting I will answer," 
 said Odegaard. " God must have given us per- 
 mission to try to turn his curse into a bless 
 ing, for He himself guided his patriarchs ; He 
 led all his chosen people to the enjoyment of 
 wealth." 
 
 "The Apostles were forbidden to possess 
 wealth," the young man interposed, in a tone 
 of certain victory. 
 
 " Yes, that is true ; for God wanted to place 
 them above and beyond all human circumstances, 
 that He might be to them all in all, they 
 were called by the Lord." 
 
 44 We are all called." 
 
 " But not in the same sense ; are you called 
 to be an apostle ? " 
 
 The young man's face turned pale as a 
 corpse ; his eyes grew dark under his heavy 
 forehead ; he must have had some special rea- 
 son for taking the remark so much to heart. 
 
 " But the rich man must work, too," remarked 
 Lars ; "for work is commanded." 
 
 " Certainly, he must, although in other ways 
 and for different purposes. Each one of us has 
 his own peculiar task to perform. But tell me, 
 must we work all the time ? "
 
 220 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " We must also pray ! " chimed in the fair- 
 complexioned woman, folding her hands, as if 
 recollecting that she long had neglected to 
 pray. 
 
 " Ah, I see ; we must pray whenever we do 
 not work ; is that it ? Can any man do that ? 
 Must we not also rest." 
 
 " We ought not to rest before we are tired ; 
 then no wicked thoughts would tempt us ; ah, 
 no, then we would not be led into temptation," 
 sighed Else again, and the psalm-singer once 
 more fell in with a verse from the hymn-book : 
 
 " Go, then, tired heart and frame, 
 Seek rest in Jesus' name I 
 For ye, too, shall trouble cease, 
 For ye, too, shall come a peace, 
 A little bed within the soil, 
 Free from any care or toil." 
 
 " Please be still, Erik I " said the priest, 
 ' and pay attention to what this man is say- 
 ing." 
 
 And now Odegaard began to sum up the 
 conclusions : 
 
 " You see : Work brings forth its fruit and 
 requires rest. But my opinion about social 
 intercourse, singing, playing, and the like is, 
 that they, on the one hand, are the sweet fruits 
 of labor, and that they, on the other hand, fur 
 niph the mind refreshing rest."
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 221 
 
 There was now great commotion in the 
 camp ; all eyes were fixed on Rundi, for now 
 the main body of the army must take the field ; 
 she swayed to and fro in her seat for a while, 
 and then she began slowly and quietly, 
 
 " There is no rest to be found in worldly 
 singing and in playing and dancing ; for such 
 things excite the flesh to sinful lusts. Nor can 
 that be a fruit of labor which destroys our work 
 and makes us weak." 
 
 "Ah, these things are full of temptation," 
 said the fair-complexioned woman, with a sigh. 
 
 This sentiment was reechoed by Erik in a 
 verse from the hymn-book : 
 
 " Each day, we see, worse than before, 
 How sin is growing more and more. 
 Lies the garb of truth are wearing, 
 Vice the form of good is bearing; 
 Entering on our spirits, slyly, 
 There to rear their foreheads highly." 
 
 " Be silent, Erik ! " said the priest ; " you 
 only confuse us." 
 
 " Oh, yes ; that is very likely," answered 
 Erik, beginning anew : 
 
 " If specious flatterers seek to win 
 
 Do not thou be led astray; 
 Dread the open path of sin, 
 Keep thou in the narrow way." 
 
 ** Will you not hold your tongue, Erik I the
 
 222 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 hymn is good enough ; but there is time and 
 place for everything." 
 
 " Yes, yes, pastor, that is so, time and place 
 for everything, and so 
 
 " In every place, at every time, 
 
 May thy soul be praises singing ; 
 Therein every heart shall chime 
 Like the bells for worship ringing." 
 
 " No, no, Erik ; then the prayer would also be- 
 come a source of temptation ; you would have to 
 turn Roman Catholic and enter a monastery." 
 
 " The Lord forbid I " exclaimed Erik, open- 
 ing his eyes wide, then shutting them again 
 and beginning, 
 
 " As foulest mire to purest gold 
 Is faith, to Popish error sold ! " 
 
 " Hear me now, Erik ; if you cannot be si- 
 lent, I beg you to leave the room. Where did 
 we leave the discussion ? " 
 
 But Odegaard had been listening to Erik 
 with great amusement, and did not remember 
 where the conversation had been interrupted. 
 Then a peaceful voice was heard from beneath 
 the bundle of shawls. 
 
 " I remarked that there can be no reat or 
 fruit of labor in that, which ' 
 
 "Now I remember: in that which leads ua 
 into temptation, and then Erik came and
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 228 
 
 demonstrated to us that prayer can also be a 
 source of temptation. Now let us look and see 
 what these things may lead to. Have you 
 observed that happy people work better than 
 those who are sad ? Why ? " 
 
 Lars perceived whither this was aiming, and 
 so he said, 
 
 " It is faith that makes us happy." 
 
 " Yes, if our religion is a cheerful one ; but 
 have you not observed that one's religion may 
 be so gloomy that it turns the whole world into 
 a penitentiary ? " 
 
 The fair-cpmplexioned woman kept sighing 
 so incessantly that the bundle of shawls could 
 not refrain from stirring again ; but Lars gave 
 her such a sharp look that she was silenced. 
 Odegaard continued, 
 
 " The same occupation constantly, whether 
 it be work, prayer, or amusement, would make 
 us stupid and gloomy. You can dig in the dirt 
 until you become a brute ; pray until the habit 
 makes you a monk ; and play until you become 
 a mere puppet. But combine the three ! The 
 change will strengthen the heart and soul ; 
 thus your work will be made more fruitful and 
 your religion more cheerful." 
 
 " You would then have us cultivate cheerful- 
 ness," said the young man, with a sneer.
 
 224 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " To be sure ! and as for yourself, you would 
 in that way get friends in the world ; for it is 
 only when we are happy that we are able to 
 see and love what is good in others. And you 
 cannot love God unless you love your fellow- 
 men." 
 
 No one venturing to contradict this state- 
 ment, Odegaard tried a second time to sum up 
 the conclusions and put an end to the inter- 
 view, saying, 
 
 " The things which disenthrall our minds, so 
 that the Spirit of God can do its work in our 
 hearts (for it does not work in the hearts of 
 slaves) ; the things that do this must be a 
 blessing, and amusements must therefore be 
 right and proper." 
 
 The priest rose ; he again had a pipe to 
 clear. 
 
 In the stillness which now followed, and 
 which was not broken by sighs, the bundle of 
 shawls was again seen stirring, and finally 
 Randi said, gently, 
 
 " It is written, ' Whatsoever ye do, do all to 
 the glory of God ; ' but can worldly singing and 
 playing and dancing be to the glory of God? " 
 
 " No, not directly ; but may we not ask the 
 same question in regard to our eating, sleeping 
 and clothing ourselves ? And yet we must do
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 225 
 
 these things. The inference, therefore, is inev 
 itable that you must refrain from that which is 
 sinful." 
 
 " Yes, but are not these things sinful ? " 
 
 For the first time Odegaard became some- 
 what impatient ; he therefore merely answered : 
 
 "We read in the Bible that both singing 
 and playing and dancing were common in an- 
 cient times." 
 
 Yes, to the glory of God." 
 
 " Very well to the glory of God. But 
 why did the Jews always name God in connec- 
 tion with everything? Because they were 
 children and had not yet learned to make dis- 
 tinctions. To children all strangers are * the 
 man.' To the child's question, ' Where does 
 this or that come from,' we always give the 
 same answer, ' from God.' But as grown 
 men, when we speak to grown men we also 
 name the intermediate cause ; we name not 
 only the giver, God, but also the person to 
 whom we are indebted. Thus it is possible 
 that a beautiful song may treat of God or lead 
 us to God, although the name of God is not 
 mentioned in it ; for many things lead to Him, 
 though indirectly. Our dancing, when we do 
 it for our health and for innocent amusement, 
 is a way, though it be an indirect one, of prain- 
 if
 
 226 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 ing Him, who gave us health, and loves to pre- 
 serve in us the hearts of children." 
 
 " Bear that in mind ! think of that ! " said 
 the priest. He was conscious that he for a long 
 time had misunderstood these things, and that 
 he had misinterpreted them to others. 
 
 But Lars had long been occupied in silent 
 reflection. Now he was ready. The grain had 
 gradually been sinking from the broad brow 
 down into the short, crabbed, lower part of the 
 face ; it had been crushed and ground, and the 
 grist was now brought forth. 
 
 " Are, then, all kinds of fables, stories, and 
 tales, all kinds of poetry and fiction, with 
 which books are filled nowadays, I say, are 
 they, too, allowable ? Is it not written, * Keep 
 thy lips from speaking guile.' ' 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you for speak- 
 ing of this. Your mind, you see, is like the 
 house you live in. If it were so small that you 
 scarcely could walk erect or stretch your limbs 
 in it, you would have to go to the trouble of 
 enlarging it. And just so poetry elevates and 
 expands the mind ! Should all our thoughts 
 and ideas that are beyond our actual necessities 
 be false, then the most necessary ones would 
 also soon become so. They would so contract 
 you in your earthly tenement that you would
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 227 
 
 never reach eternal life, the very goal for which 
 you are striving, and it is these very thoughts, 
 which by faith should bear you heavenward." 
 
 " But poetry, is not that something which 
 has no foundation in fact ; is it not falsehood ? " 
 inquired Randi, thoughtfully. 
 
 " No, there is often more truth in it than 
 there is in what we actually see before our 
 eyes," answered Odegaard. 
 
 They all looked at him with skeptic eyes, 
 and the young man remarked, 
 
 " I never knew before that the stories about 
 Cinderella had more of truth in them than 
 there is in what I see with my own eyes." 
 
 They all tittered a little. 
 
 " Then tell me whether you always compre- 
 hend the things that you see around you." 
 
 " I suppose I am not sufficiently learned." 
 
 " Ah, the learned are even more at a loss to 
 understand them than you are ! I refer to 
 such things in our every -day life as bring sor- 
 row and pain and which make us worry our- 
 Belves gray, as the saying is. Do not such 
 things happen to us ? " 
 
 He did not answer, but from the depths of 
 the bundle of shawls was heard, 
 
 " Yea, very often." 
 
 "But supposing you read a fictitious story
 
 228 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 which resembled your own experience in such a 
 manner that it made you understand yourself ; 
 would you not say of that story which gave 
 you the key to your own life, and which gave 
 you the comfort and courage gained by knowl- 
 edge, that you found more truth in it than in 
 your own life ? " 
 
 The light>complexioned woman said, 
 
 " I once read a story which so aided me in 
 my sorrow, that it almost turned my affliction 
 into joy." 
 
 The bundle of shawls coughed faintly, add- 
 ing, in a timid voice, 
 
 " Yes, that is true." 
 
 But the young man would not give his con- 
 sent to this concession, and so he asked, 
 
 "Can anybody find comfort in the stories 
 about Cinderella ? " 
 
 " To be sure, everything has its use. That 
 which is ludicrous has great influence over us, 
 and the story of Cinderella shows in a humor- 
 ous manner how one whom the world regards 
 as most insignificant, may still be of great im- 
 portance. It shows how everything is made to 
 serve one who has a stout heart, and how there 
 b a way where there is a will. Do you not 
 think it might be well for both children and 
 grown people to remember that story ? "
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 229 
 
 " But to believe in witchcraft and trolls ia 
 superstition, is it not ? " 
 
 " Who has said that you shall believe in 
 them ? They are mere figures of tpeech! " 
 
 " But we are forbidden to use images and 
 figures ; they are all devices of the devil." 
 
 " Is that so ? Where do you find that ? " 
 
 " In the Bible." 
 
 " No," the priest now interposed, " that is a 
 mistake ; for the Bible itself makes use of fig- 
 urative language." 
 
 They all looked at him. 
 
 "It makes use of figures on every page," 
 continued the priest, " for the oriental peoples 
 have a marked tendency to express themselves 
 figuratively. We have imagery in our churches 
 and in our language ; we employ it in wood, in 
 stone, and on canvas ; and we are unable to 
 conceive the Godhead otherwise than through 
 an image. Nor is this all. Christ makes use 
 of figures of speech ; and did not the Almighty 
 Himself assume various forms and disguises 
 when He revealed Himself to the prophets? 
 Was it not in the form of a traveler He came 
 to Abraham IL Mamre and ate at his table? 
 And if God can assume various forms and 
 make use of figures, then man certainly can do 
 w"
 
 230 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 They all had to agree ; but Odegaard rose 
 and tapped the priest gently on the shoulder, 
 saying, 
 
 " Thank you, sir ! There you presented the 
 most conclusive evidence from the Bible that 
 the drama is allowable I " 
 
 The priest started in alarm ; the smoke which 
 filled his mouth came forth voluntarily, as it 
 were. 
 
 At this point Odegaard crossed the floor and 
 approached the bundle of shawls, and bent 
 down to catch a glimpse of the face, if it had 
 any ; but in vain. 
 
 " Are there any other questions you would 
 like to ask?" he inquired; "for you seem to 
 me like a person who has reflected on many 
 things." 
 
 " Oh, the Lord be merciful to me ; my 
 thoughts are not always what they should be." 
 
 " It usually is the case that one is, during 
 the first period after the grace of conversion, so 
 filled with joy at the wonders that have been 
 wrought, that everything seems useless and 
 improper. He is like the lover who desires 
 nothing but his beloved." 
 
 " Yes, but look at the first Christians. I 
 should think we might take them for our ex 
 amples."
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 281 
 
 " No, their peculiar circumstances, placed aa 
 they were in the midst of heathens, were differ 
 ent from ours, and demanded of them a rigor- 
 ous life. It is our duty to imbue the life, which 
 we find about us, with a Christian spirit." 
 
 " But," said the young man, for the first 
 time without bitterness, " there are so many 
 passages in the Old Testament, which are in 
 direct opposition to the spirit in which you 
 speak." 
 
 " Yes, that is true ; but those passages are 
 now void. They are 'done away.' As Paul says, 
 
 * We are ministers of the New Testament ; not 
 of the letter, but of the spirit.' And again, 
 
 * Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is lib- 
 erty.' And still further, ' All things are lawful 
 unto me, but,' adds he, ' all things are not ex- 
 pedient.' But we are fortunate in having be- 
 fore us the example of the life of a man who 
 demonstrates to us what Paul meant. I refer 
 to that of Luther. You certainly believe that 
 Luther was a good and intelligent Christian, do 
 you not ? " 
 
 They had no doubt of that. 
 
 " Luther's faith was cheerful. His was the 
 faith of the New Testament I His opinion wae 
 that the devil was very apt to be lurking be- 
 lind a gloomy faith. Luther's idea in regard to
 
 232 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 fear of temptation was, that he who fears least 
 is least apt to be tempted. He made use of all 
 the faculties God had given him, including the 
 capacity for enjoyment ; of this his whole life 
 is a proof. W.ould you like to have me cite a 
 few instances ? The pious Melancthon was at 
 one time so busy at work upon an essay in de- 
 fense of the pure doctrine that he did not allow 
 himself time to eat. Then Luther snatched the 
 pen from his hand, saying, * We do not serve 
 God by work alone, but also by rest and quiet ; 
 and this is why God has given us the fourth 
 commandment and instituted the Sabbath.' 
 Again, Luther employed figures of speech in 
 his conversation and sermons, the amusing al- 
 ternating with the serious, and he was full of 
 splendid and witty conceits. He also trans- 
 lated good old folk-lore tales into his mother- 
 tongue, and stated in the preface to them that 
 he scarcely knew of anything better for moral 
 instruction except the Bible. He played the 
 lute, as you perhaps know, and sang with his 
 children and friends, not only hymns, but merry 
 old ballads, too. He was fond of social games, 
 played chess, and he used to invite the young 
 people to dance at his house. All he asked 
 was that it should be done with modesty and 
 propriety All this an old, simple-hearted dis-
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 238 
 
 ciple of Luther, namely, the priest Johan Ma- 
 thesius has recorded, and he even preached it 
 to his flock from his pulpit. He urged his 
 hearers to follow Luther's example. Let us do 
 likewise ! " 
 
 The priest rose, saying, 
 
 " My dear friends, let this suffice for to-day." 
 
 And they all rose. 
 
 " Much has been said for our enlightenment," 
 continued the priest; "now may the Lord bless 
 the seed that has been sown ! " 
 
 "You live, my dear friends, in remote and 
 isolated places. Your homes are far up in the 
 mountains, where the grain is cut by the frost 
 oftener than by the scythe. Such barren and 
 deserted mountain regions should never have 
 been built upon. It would be better to turn 
 them over to trolls and to the grazing cattle. 
 Spiritual life does not thrive well up there and 
 it becomes gloomy like the surrounding vegeta- 
 tion. Prejudices hang over life like the rocks 
 beneath which they are developed ; they cast a 
 dark shadow upon your hearts and tend to di- 
 vide you. May the Lord unite and enlighten 
 you ! I thank you for your visit, my friends ! 
 It has opened my eyes, also, to many new 
 truths." 
 
 He took each one of them by the hand as he
 
 234 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 bid them good-by, and even the young man 
 extended his with cordiality, although he did 
 not look up. 
 
 " You are going over the mountain ; when 
 do you get home?" asked the priest, as they 
 were about to leave. 
 
 " Oh, some time to-night," answered Lars ; 
 "there has been a heavy fall of snow, and 
 where it has blown off there is a thick layer of 
 ice." 
 
 "Yes, my friends, you deserve great credit 
 for seeking the church under such circum- 
 stances. May no harm befall you on your way 
 home." 
 
 Erik replied in a low tone : 
 
 " If God but keep me in His care, 
 
 Assault me all who may, 
 I can rejoice my heart in prayer 
 And tread the narrow way." 
 
 "That is true, Erik. You were right this 
 time," said the priest." 
 
 " Wait a moment I " said Odegaard, just as 
 they were ready to start. " It is not strange 
 that you do not recognize me ; but I think I 
 must have some relatives in your neighbor- 
 hood." 
 
 They all turned to look at him, even the 
 priest, who, of course, had known this fact, but 
 had doubtless entirely forgotten it.
 
 THE FISHKR MAIDEN. 225 
 
 " My name is Hans Odegaard, and I am * 
 son of Knud Hansen Odegaard, the priest, who, 
 many years ago, with his scrip on his back, wan- 
 dered forth from among you." 
 
 Then was heard from oat of the handle of 
 shawls, 
 
 " Good Heavens I Knud Odegaard was my 
 brother." 
 
 There was a universal pause, and no one 
 seemed able to say a word. Finally Odegaard 
 asked, 
 
 " So it was you I visited once when I as a 
 little boy went up there with my father ? " 
 
 " Yes, it was." 
 
 " And you stayed with me a while," said 
 Lars. " Your father is my cousin." 
 
 Bat Randi remarked in a sorrowful tone, 
 
 " So you are that little Hans I How fast 
 time flies ! " 
 
 " How is Else getting on ? " asked Odegaard. 
 
 " This is Else," said Randi, pointing at the 
 woman with the fair complexion. 
 
 " Are you Else," he exclaimed. " You were 
 in trouble about a love affair at that time. 
 You wanted to marry the fiddler of the parish. 
 Did you get him ? " 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
 In spite of the twilight, which was now rap-
 
 286 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 idly coming on, Odegaard could see that Else 
 was blushing, and that the men either turned 
 away or looked down, with the exception of the 
 young man, who kept his eyes fixed upon her. 
 Odegaard discovered that he had touched upon 
 an unpleasant subject, and so the priest came 
 to his aid. 
 
 " No, Hans the fiddler is not married. Else 
 married the son of Lars, but she now is free 
 once more ; she is a widow." 
 
 She again blushed crimson. The young man 
 observed it, and smiled contemptuously. 
 
 But Randi interposed, 
 
 " Yes, you must have traveled a great deal. 
 I can see you have gathered a vast store of 
 knowledge." 
 
 " Yes, up to this time I have done nothing 
 but travel and study ; but now I am going to 
 stay at home and set to work." 
 
 " Yes, that is the way of the world ! Some 
 people go abroad and get light and wisdom, 
 while others stay at home." 
 
 And Lars added, 
 
 " It is often hard to turn the soil of the home- 
 stead, and when we help a man on with a hope 
 of making him useful to us, he deserts us." 
 
 " There are so many vocations in life," said 
 the priest. " Each one must follow his bent."
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 237 
 
 " The Lord knows how to direct our work," 
 Baid Odegaard. " If God so wills, you may yet 
 reap the fruits of my father's labors." 
 
 " Ah, yes, I have no doubt of that," said 
 Randi, in a meek voice ; " but it is often hard 
 to wait. Time passes so slowly." 
 
 The visitors now took leave. The priest 
 stood by one window and Odegaard by an- 
 other, watching them as they proceeded up the 
 mountains. The young man brought up the 
 rear. Odegaard learned in regard to him that 
 he was from the city, where he had tried vari- 
 ous enterprises, but had always become involved 
 in some dispute or other. He believed himself 
 intended for something great, thought that he 
 was destined to be an apostle, but for some un- 
 accountable reason he had stopped up in the 
 Odegaard neighborhood, as some thought from 
 attachment to Else. He was a very passionate 
 man, who had met with many disappointments 
 and was destined to encounter many more. 
 
 The visitors had again become visible on the 
 mountain, as the roof of the stable no longer 
 hid them from view. They would disappear 
 among the trees and then come into sight again 
 as they kept wearily climbing higher and 
 higher. There was no path in the deep snow. 
 The trees served as waymarks, and in the far
 
 238 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 distance the snow-capped mountains were bea- 
 cons pointing out to the wanderers their way 
 home. 
 
 But from the sitting-room in the parsonage 
 came a couple of charming preludes, and then, 
 
 " I give my lays to the Spring, to the Spring ! 
 
 To the Spring that is yet on born ! 
 I give my lays to the Spring, to the Spring, 
 
 And I marry Hope to the Morn, 
 And longings to longings, and my heart to the hoar 
 That kindles the air with a mystic power ! 
 And our yonth and warmth we, too, will ally, 
 And join together the Spring and I 
 And woo, and win over, the Sun to oar side, 
 Grim Winter to balk of his gloom and his pride, 
 Bursting his fetters, and freeing the rilta, 
 To dance and sparkle over the hills; 
 And to din their laughter into his ear, 
 Till he needs mast know that his fall is near ; 
 Then, banting him off from valley and brake, 
 By the fragrance of myriad blossoms that wake. 
 I give my lays to the Spring, to the Spring ! 
 
 To the Spring that is yet unborn ! 
 I give my lays to the Spring, to the Spring, 
 
 And I marry Hope to the Morn 1 "
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 AFTER that day the priest spent but little 
 time with the family; partly because he was 
 busy getting ready for Christmas, and partly 
 because he was engaged in studying whether 
 the drama was allowable or not. The mere 
 sight of Petra produced dismay and confusion 
 in his mind. 
 
 While the priest, therefore, sat in his study, 
 either writing his sermons or poring over a vol- 
 ume of Christian ethics, Odegaard devoted his 
 time to the ladies, between whom he was con- 
 stantly making comparisons. Petra had a most 
 changeable nature, and was never the same 
 person. Whoever would learn to know her 
 would have to study her as diligently as he 
 would study a book. Signe, on the other hand, 
 was most refreshing in her unvarying cordial- 
 ity; her movements were never unexpected, 
 for her very nature was reflected therein. Pe- 
 tra's voice had every color of tone ; it was both 
 shrill and gentle, and possessed every degree of 
 intensity. Signe's was peculiarly pleasing, but
 
 240 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 it lacked flexibility, excepting to her father, 
 who, in a masterly manner, was able to dis- 
 criminate its slightest variations. Petra's mind 
 was occupied by but one thing at a time : if it 
 chanced to be attracted by different things at 
 the same moment, it was merely to observe, 
 never to offer any help or interference. Signe, 
 on the other hand, had an eye for everything 
 and everybody, and divided her attention in 
 such a way that she scarcely seemed to be be- 
 stowing it on anything. Whenever Odegaard 
 spoke of Signe to Petra, the latter talked like 
 a hopeless lover ; but when he mentioned Petra 
 to Signe, Signe became very reticent. The 
 two girls often talked together, without re- 
 straint, but they conversed only about indiffer- 
 ent matters. 
 
 To Signe, Odegaard owed a great debt of 
 gratitude ; for to her he was indebted for what 
 he called his " new self." The first letter he 
 received from Signe in his great sorrow seemed 
 like a soft hand laid on his brow. She related 
 so cautiously how Petra had come to them, 
 misunderstood and persecuted, and explained 
 with so much delicacy how her coming must 
 have been the result of a Divine interference, 
 " that no life might be blighted," that it sounded 
 like a distant call in the forest when one haa 
 gone astray and knows not which way to take.
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 241 
 
 Signe's letters followed him wherever he 
 irent, and were the threads which bound him 
 to life. She expected that every line would 
 lead Petra directly to his arms, but the result 
 was just the reverse ; for the letters revealed 
 the fact that nature had intended Petra to be 
 an artist. This central point in her genius, 
 which Odegaard himself had vainly sought, 
 Signe was unconsciously, but none the less con- 
 stantly, keeping in view, and as soon as he 
 realized this fact he saw both her mistake and 
 his own, and it made him a new man. 
 
 He took good care not to tell Signe what her 
 letters had taught him. The first word should 
 not come from Petra's friends, but from her 
 own lips, in order that there might be no un- 
 due haste. But from the moment when he 
 made this discovery, Petra had , appeared to 
 him in a new light. Why, of course, these 
 ever-changing impulses, each felt in full power, 
 but all a series of mutual contradictions, what 
 were they but the beginning of an artist's 
 life? The task must be to gather all these 
 impulses into one grand whole, else all would 
 be mere patchwork and her life a failure. She 
 must not, therefore, be permitted to enter too 
 early an artist's career I Her wishes must be 
 
 16
 
 242 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 met with silence as long as possible, nay, il 
 necessary, with opposition. 
 
 Occupied in this manner with Petra's future, 
 she became, before he was aware of it, the sole 
 object of his thoughts ; but he was working for 
 her advancement and not to secure her for 
 himself. He now began to study carefully 
 everything connected with art ; he looked into 
 the life of artists and particularly into that of 
 actors. He found much that must shock a 
 Christian, and saw that there were many and 
 great abuses. But did he not find them every- 
 where about him? Were they not in the 
 church, too ? Though hypocrites might be 
 found among the priests, still their calling was 
 a high and noble one. When the work for 
 truth, which is going on everywhere, shall be 
 felt in life and in poetry, will it not reach the 
 stage also ? 
 
 He gradually gained confidence in the case 
 he had in hand. It afforded him great pleasure 
 to learn from Signe's letters that Petra was rap- 
 idly progressing, and that Signe was just the 
 one to help her. He had now come home to 
 visit and thank this guardian angel, who was 
 not at all conscious of what she had been to 
 him. 
 
 But he had also returned to see Petra once
 
 THE FI8UKR MAIDEN. Z46 
 
 more. How far had she advanced toward the 
 goal ? The word had been spoken. He could 
 therefore freely talk with her about her future. 
 It was a pleasant thought to both of them, foi 
 it enabled them to avoid speaking of the past. 
 
 Meanwhile, they were soon interrupted by 
 guests from the city, both invited and unin- 
 vited ! Still matters had so far developed that 
 a single well-improved opportunity would be 
 sufficient to clear away every obstacle and 
 this opportunity was afforded by the arrival of 
 the guests. A large party was invited to meet 
 them, and immediately after dinner, while the 
 gentlemen were together in the study, the con- 
 versation turned upon the drama ; for the chap- 
 lain of the diocese had seen a work on Chris- 
 tian ethics lying open on the priest's table, and 
 had there discovered the terrible word " thea- 
 tre." An animated discussion followed, and in 
 the midst of it the priest came in. He had not 
 been present at the dinner-table, having been 
 called away to see a sick person. He was in a 
 grave mood, he refused to eat, nor did he join 
 in the conversation. But he filled his pipe and 
 listened. As soon as Odegaard noticed that 
 the priest was sitting quiet and paying atten- 
 tion, he also took part, but his efforts to pre- 
 sent his views were for a long time fruitier**,
 
 244 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 for the chaplain had a way of exclaiming, 
 whenever a conclusion was to be drawn from 
 the proofs already presented : " I object I " and 
 BO the proofs themselves had first to be proved. 
 The consequence was that the discussion went 
 backwards instead of forwards. The debate 
 had already passed from the theatre to naviga- 
 tion, and now in order to settle a point in re- 
 gard to navigation, it had gone into agriculture. 
 
 But at this juncture Odegaard appointed the 
 priest as chairman. Several other priests were 
 present and a sea-captain. The latter was a 
 small black-haired man with a very corpulent 
 form. He walked on a pair of legs which beat 
 the floor like as many drumsticks. Odegaard 
 gave the chaplain the floor in order that he 
 might have an opportunity of presenting in a 
 connected statement his objections to the thea- 
 tre. Accordingly the chaplain began : 
 
 "Even upright men among the heathens 
 were opposed to the drama. Plato and Aris- 
 totle objected to it on the ground that it cor- 
 rupted the morals. I admit that Socrates occa- 
 sionally went to the theatre, but if anybody, 
 from that fact, draws the conclusion that he 
 approved the drama, then I deny it; for we 
 have to see many things that we do not ap- 
 prove. The first Christians were zealously
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 245 
 
 warned against the stage. Read Tertullian 1 
 Since the drama has been revived in modern 
 times earnest Christians have both spoken and 
 written against it. I may refer you in this 
 connection to Spener and Francke, and to such 
 /riters on Christian ethics as Schwartz and 
 Schleiermacher. " 
 
 " Listen ! " exclaimed the captain, who rec- 
 ognized the last name. 
 
 "The two latter," continued the chaplain, 
 "admit that dramatic literature is allowable, 
 and Schleiermacher goes so far as to think that 
 a good play may be performed by amateurs 
 before a private company, but he totally con- 
 demns acting as a profession. The, life of an 
 actor is so full of temptations that it is our duty 
 to shun it. But is not the stage a temptation 
 to the spectators? To be moved by feigned 
 suffering, to be stimulated by fictitious exam- 
 ples of virtue (a danger we can better guard 
 ourselves against when we read), leads us to 
 believe that it is ourselves we see represented. 
 It weakens the will and destroys all energy. 
 It awakens a morbid appetite for hearing and 
 seeing strange things and makes us the slaves 
 of a sickly fancy. Is not this true ? Who are 
 ihe people that mostly attend the theatre ? 
 they not idlers, who want to be amused,
 
 246 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 sensualists, who must have their baser appetites 
 gratified, vain men and women, who desire to 
 parade themselves before the gaping multitude, 
 visionary people, who fly hither and thither 
 from the realities of life, which they have nei- 
 ther the strength nor perseverance to battle 
 with ? There is sin before the curtain as well 
 as behind it ! I never knew earnest Christians 
 to have any other opinion on the subject." 
 
 " You really frighten me," said the captain. 
 " If I have been in such a pitfall, every time I 
 have been at the theatre, then the deuce take 
 me, if " 
 
 " Fy ! captain," said a little girl, who had 
 entered the room, " you must not swear, for 
 if you do, you will go to hell." 
 
 " You are right, my child, you are right." 
 
 But Odegaard took the floor : 
 
 " Plato made the same objections to poetry as 
 to the drama, and what Aristotle's opinion was 
 is doubtful. I therefore pay no attention to 
 them. But the first Christians did well to keep 
 away from heathen theatres, so I may safely 
 pass them by, too. That earnest Christians in 
 modern times have had scruples in regard to 
 the drama, even when it was produced in a 
 Christian community, I can understand, for I 
 have myself been in doubt on the subject. But
 
 THE WISHER MAIDEN. 247 
 
 if it be granted that it is proper for the poet to 
 write a drama, then it rauat be proper for the 
 actoi to act it ; for what else does the poet do 
 but act it mentally when he writes it with en- 
 thusiasm and passion? and we know that, ac- 
 cording to Christ's own words, he who sins in 
 his thoughts is guilty. When Schleiermacher 
 says that the drama must only be acted pri- 
 vately by amateurs, then he asserts that the 
 talents which God has given us are to be neg- 
 lected, while the Creator designed that they 
 should be developed to the greatest possible 
 perfection ; for to that end they were given. 
 We are all actors every day of our lives, when 
 we in jest or in earnest mimic others' or make 
 their opinions our own. This talent of imitat- 
 ing predominates in some persons, and then I 
 would like to know whether he would not be 
 the sinner who neglects to develop it. He who 
 does not follow his calling becomes unfit for 
 other work, leads an unsettled and disordered 
 life, in short he falls a far easier prey to his 
 passions than if he followed the calling pointed 
 out to him by his faculties. Where work and 
 pleasure are one, temptations are excluded. 
 But, it is claimed, the calling of an actor is in 
 : te very nature full of temptation. Well, there 
 are many kinds of temptation. To my mind
 
 248 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 that calling is roost apt to lead us into tempta- 
 tion which induces us to think ourselves right- 
 eous, because we bring a message from the 
 Righteous One, which deludes us to believe we 
 have faith, because we preach faith to others, or, 
 to speak more plainly, to my mind the priest's 
 calling presents the greatest temptations of all." 
 
 Then followed a noisy interruption. 
 
 " I object," cried the chaplain. 
 
 " He is right," said some one else. 
 
 " Order I " demanded the priest, who pre- 
 sided. 
 
 " 1 object," repeated the chaplain. 
 
 " He is quite right ! " was shouted by an 
 olher. 
 
 " Order I " insisted the president. 
 
 " I never heard before that priests were worse 
 than actors," interposed the captain. 
 
 This caused great laughter, and a shout came 
 from all sides : 
 
 " That is not what he said." 
 
 The captain : u I say he did, the deuce take 
 me, if" 
 
 " There I There ! captain, the devil will SOOE 
 be after you," said the little girl. 
 
 "You are right, my child, you are quite 
 right," he answered. 
 
 Odegaard resumed the broken thread of his 
 remarks :
 
 THE FISHER MAIDKrf 249 
 
 " The danger of having our emotions excited, 
 of acquiring a morbid appetite for hearing pas- 
 sionate and fanciful declamations, and of appro- 
 priating to ourselves the character of models in 
 virtue is certainly present in the church no 
 less than at the theatre." 
 
 The statement again caused great clamor 
 and confusion, which awakened a curiosity 
 among the ladies to learn what was the matter. 
 They opened the door, and when Odegaard 
 saw Petra among them, he said with more em- 
 phasis : 
 
 " I admit that there are actors whose emo- 
 tions are excited on the stage, and who when 
 in church are no less deeply moved, and yet 
 continue to be as wicked as ever. I am free 
 to admit that there are on the stage many 
 idle babblers, who would have been absolutely 
 worthless in any other profession, while on the 
 stage they fill a place for which they are 
 adapted. But, as a rule, actors are like sailors, 
 frequently placed in the most trying positions ; 
 for the moments preceding the dSbut are apt to 
 be terrible ! Actors frequently become the in- 
 strument of some grand work in the hand of 
 Providence ; they are often brought face to face 
 with unexpected, grand, and sublime scenes. 
 All this fills their hearts with fears and aspira-
 
 250 THE FISHES MAIDEN. 
 
 fcions and with a sense of unworthiness, and we 
 know that Christ chose his companions among 
 publicans and penitent women. I accord no 
 license to actors. The greater I deem their 
 mission in the land and the fact that a coun- 
 try produces so few really great actors is suffi- 
 cient proof of the greatness of the task the 
 greater is their guilt if they permit themselves 
 to be governed by rancorous feelings or to de- 
 generate into loose frivolity. But there is no 
 actor who has not been taught by a series of 
 disappointments how insignificant is applause 
 and flattery, although the majority pretend to 
 have faith in both. Thus we see their mistakes 
 and faults, but we do not sufficiently under- 
 stand their own relation to them, and every- 
 thing depends on that." 
 
 As Odegaard resumed his seat, several gentle- 
 men took the floor, and every one of them be- 
 gan to speak at the same time, when a voice 
 was heard at the piano in the adjoining room, 
 singing, 
 
 " Of the days of my youth now I dream," 
 
 and all the gentlemen hastened into the parlor. 
 It was Signe who was singing, and the guests 
 knew of nothing more beautiful than her Swed- 
 ish ballads. One song followed another, .nd 
 ftow when these finest popular melodies to be
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 261 
 
 found in the whole world, the most faithful 
 expression of the soul of a great people, had 
 produced an elevating effect upon the auditors, 
 who listened with expectant rapture, Odegaard 
 rose and requested Petra to recite a poem. She 
 must have anticipated it, for a scarlet blush 
 overspread her face. But she immediately came 
 forward, though she trembled and had to lean 
 on the back of a chair for support, and then 
 with a countenance pale as death, she began : 
 
 " He longed for the life of a Viking bold, 
 
 He pined for the stormy sea; 
 
 Hia mother was feeble, his father old 
 
 There was none, save he, the house to hold. 
 ' Now here,' said the father, ' is a marvel u> me, 
 
 That thou shouldst so pine for the stormy sea, 
 
 Who hast not a lack to be told.' 
 
 " He sat and watched the clonds at night 
 Drift dark through the gloomsome sky: 
 He looked and longed, with main and with might 
 Warriors seemed they, bound to the fight ! 
 He tat and watched the morning break. 
 And the glorious sun bound forth, awake 
 A monarch, whose robes were light 
 
 " H wandered down to the rocky shore, 
 Small share of work did he, 
 He beard the blustering breakers roar, 
 Shouting the deeds of the days of yore ; 
 He saw, in the fight, the seething spray 
 Torn from the billows and tossed away : 
 And the heat of his heart grew more.
 
 262 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 " The world was just free of old Winter's chain : 
 It was in the sweet springtide ; 
 And out on the stormy, steel-gray main, 
 A war-ship fought to be free again, 
 Tugged at her anchor, and flapped her sails, 
 Tattered and torn by a hundred gales, 
 And writhed like a creature in pain. 
 
 " The sailors slept mid the ocean's roar, 
 Or caroused on the brine-washed deck ; 
 When a voice fell down from the beetling shore 
 Reckless and mad were the words it bore 
 
 ' Do ye fear to ride, now the waves run high ? 
 There is joy in the venture that death is nigh : 
 Give me the rudder I 'm longing sore! ' 
 
 " Long and loud laughed the scornful crew; 
 4 Hark, how the bantling crows ! ' they said, 
 
 And they fell to their cups and their ease anew. 
 
 But a crag he tore from the rock, and threw 
 
 Two men fell crushed, with a shriek of pain ! 
 
 The sailors sprang to their feet again, 
 
 And all their weapons drew. 
 
 " Up flew the darts, like birds of prey 
 Athirst for his young heart's blood ; 
 Head bare, he stood to the open day; 
 He tossed, with his hand, the arrows away. 
 1 Wilt thou yield the rule of thy brig to me, 
 Or fight, which lord of us twain shall be? 
 Whether, chieftain, say.' 
 
 ' For answer, sped through the air a spear, 
 
 It grazed the gallant's cheek. 
 
 Loud fell his laugh on the Viking's ear: 
 The arm is not forged that my life should fear! 
 
 In Valhal, as yet, they wait not for me 
 
 But long, O chief ! hast thou plowed the sea : 
 
 For ttiee, the port looms near.
 
 THK FISHER MAIDEN. 263 
 
 ' ' So thy bark and her fortunes yield to my hold, 
 For the pulse of my heart beats high ! ' 
 The skipper smiled : ' Thou art daring and bold, 
 If thou longest so sorely, as thou bast told, 
 Come, be my warrior! ' He answered, ' Nay 
 I was born to command, and not to obey I 
 The young must supplant the old.' 
 
 " Then down he sprang on the loose crags, nigher, 
 
 And flung these words o'er the wave : 
 1 Champions, bound not by love of hire, 
 But who follow the lead of the soul of flre, 
 Let the stoutest arm in the battle prove 
 Which of us twain has the War-god's love 
 Which of us twain is the higher ! ' 
 
 " To the corsair's brow leapt an angry glow, 
 He dashed him into the wave ; 
 He cleft the breakers with many a blow, 
 Fighting to shoreward, fiercely and slow, 
 Till he clutched the shingles, free from all harms, 
 And was taken up by the strong young arms 
 Then all on board breathed low. 
 
 " But the chieftain looked in the stripling's eye 
 
 And read there the soul of fire ; 
 
 And it pleased bun well, though his hour was nigh, 
 
 That the mien of his foeman was gallant and high. 
 ' Fling him arms,' shouted he to the watchers on board . 
 4 If I perish to-night, it shall be by my sword 
 
 In a hero's hand that I die ! ' 
 
 " All under the cliff, by the rock-strewn shore 
 Ah, fierce was the strife, and strong ! 
 Rang many a shout mid the tempest's roar: 
 Crashed many a blow, that the wild winds bore 
 The crags moaned back : in the heart of the mere 
 The foul sea-dragon snorted for fear. 
 Then grew still for the fight was o'er.
 
 254 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 u All under the cliff, on the lonesome strand, 
 
 Lay the chief of the corsair crew. 
 
 Then rone a shriek from the lawless band : 
 ' Perished our lord, by this wolf-whelp's hand ! 
 
 And over the vessel, and into the ware, 
 
 Breaker and hurricane daring to brave, 
 
 Reckless, they battled to land. 
 
 " Bnt up be raised him, the skipper bold, 
 And, feebly, thus spake he : 
 
 ' The Saga ends when the triumph is told, 
 And the life must close when the heart grows cold 
 Warriors ! here li a chieftain, fain 
 To storm with ye o'er the restive main : 
 The young must supplant the old ! ' 
 
 " Dark, dark, they stood there, the pirate-horde, 
 Wild, wild, sobbed the swelling sea; 
 He showed, with his finger, the youthful lord, 
 His place was waiting at Odin's board : 
 And his spirit fled. And the waves wailed load, 
 The youth stood fearlessly there, and proud, 
 And leaned on the chieftain's sword. 
 
 " Slow, slow, all eyes were on him turned 
 There leapt to his cheek a fire ; 
 His bosom throbbed, and his temple burned : 
 He sprang to a rock that the rough sea spaned - 
 Warriors ! rear me a hillock of stones, 
 That a trophy be raised o'er the hero's bone* , 
 As his dauntless deeds have earned ! 
 
 ' A ' But, ere eve, our bark must be on the wave, 
 And all our sails unfurled ; 
 For many a hazard have we to brave, 
 And many a venture and exploit to crart- 
 Life, my masters, is eager and fleet ; 
 And idle and vain are the loitering feet, 
 That stay to mourn o'er a gravel '
 
 THE FISHEfe HAIDER. 266 
 
 ' All over the Ma, at the C!OM of day, 
 Swept a dirge, like a bird of night; 
 It died mid the rock* when the chieftain lay . 
 It died and the glow of the nun's last ray 
 Crimsoned the white of the flattering Mils 
 Unfarled once more to defy the galea, 
 And fly o'er the trackless way. 
 
 " Proud stood the youth at the rodder's hMd, 
 
 His hair in the gnsty wind. 
 
 Close by the coast the vessel sped, 
 ' Who steers the corsair's craft V ' they said; 
 ' He will run the bark on the surging reef ! ' 
 
 But the father looked on the youthful chief, 
 
 And could not speak, for dread. 
 
 " Ah ! he smiled on his sire with mirthful gioe, 
 
 From amid the surf and the spray : 
 ' I am here to claim permission,' said he, 
 A lord of the winds and billows to be ! 
 A lack have I, that must needs be told 
 I long for the life of a Viking bold, 
 I pine for the stormy sea ! ' " 
 
 The poem was recited with a trembling voice, 
 but with dignity and without the slightest 
 trace of affectation. Her audience stood elec- 
 trified, for a ray of sublimity, beautified by all 
 the gorgeous colors of the rainbow, was beam- 
 ing upon them. Not a word was spoken and 
 no one dared stir ; but the captain was no 
 longer able to restrain himself. He sprang to 
 his feet, and, puffing and gesticulating, he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 '* I do not know how the rest of you feel, but
 
 256 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 for my part, when I am surprised in this man- 
 ner, then the deuce may take me, if " 
 
 " Captain I there you swore again," said the 
 little girl, pointing at him with a menacing 
 finger ; " the devil will come and take you 
 right away." 
 
 " Well it makes no difference, my child ; let 
 him come, if he wants to, for now, the deuce 
 take me, I must have a national song." 
 
 Without any other special urging, Signe took 
 her seat at the piano, and the whole company 
 joined, with merry voices, in the following 
 song: 
 
 " My land will I defend, 
 
 My land will I befriend, 
 And my son, to help its fortunes and be faithful, will I train ; 
 
 Its weal shall be my prayer, 
 
 And its want shall be my care, 
 From the rugged eld snow mountains to the cabins by the main. 
 
 " We have sun enough, and rain, 
 
 We have fields of golden grain ; 
 But love is more than fortune, or the best of sunny weather ; 
 
 We have many a Child of Song, 
 
 And Sons of Labor, strong, 
 We have hearts to raise the North Land, if they only beat together 
 
 " In many a gallant fight 
 
 We have shown the world our might, 
 t^A reared the Norseman's banner on a vanquished stranger's 
 
 shore; 
 
 But fresh combats we will brave, 
 And a nobler flag shall wave, 
 With more of health and beauty than it ever had before!
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 267 
 
 " New valor shall burst forth; 
 
 For the ancient three-cleft North 
 8ha!l unite its wealth and power, yielding thanks to God the Giver 1 
 
 Once mure shall kinsmen near 
 
 To their brethren's voice give ear, 
 And the torrents of the mountains wed their forces in the river 
 
 11 For this North Land is our own, 
 
 And we love each rock and stone, 
 From the ragged old snow mountain to the cabins by the main ; 
 
 And our love shall be the seed 
 
 To bear the fruit we need, 
 And the country of the Norsemen shall be great and one again ! " 
 
 Here Signe rose from the piano, approached 
 Petra, put her arm about her waist, and drew 
 her into her father's study, which was empty. 
 
 " Petra, shall we be friends again ? 
 
 " Oh, Signe, then you do at last forgive me ! " 
 
 "I could do anything now! Petra, do you 
 love Odegaard ? " 
 
 " Good heavens, Signe I " 
 
 " Petra ! I have thought so ever since the 
 first day, and I supposed that he was now at 
 length come to all that I for two years and 
 a half have thought or done for you, has been 
 done with this object in view, and father has 
 been of the same opinion. I am sure he has 
 talked with Odegaard about it before this." 
 
 " But, Signe! " - 
 
 "Hush!" 
 
 Signe laid her hand on Petra's lips, and has- 
 
 17
 
 258 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 tened out of the room. Somebody had called 
 her. The guests were asked to sit down to tea. 
 
 There was wine on the table, because the 
 priest had been absent from dinner. During 
 the supper the host sat very quiet and very 
 earnest, as if there had been no guests at the 
 table. But when the others were about to rise 
 he tapped his wine-glass and said : 
 
 " I have a betrothal to announce ! " 
 
 All fixed their eyes on the young ladies, 
 who sat side by side scarcely knowing whether 
 they should sink under the table or retain their 
 seats. 
 
 " I have a betrothal to announce ! " the priest 
 repeated, as if finding it difficult to make a be- 
 ginning. 
 
 " I am free to confess that at first I was not 
 in favor of it." 
 
 All the guests looked at Odegaard, in great 
 amazement, but their astonishment knew no 
 bounds when they saw him quietly looking at 
 the host. 
 
 " To tell the truth, I did not think the bride- 
 groom worthy of the bride." 
 
 Here the guests became so embarrassed that 
 no one dared look up, and the courage of the 
 young ladies having failed them long ago, the 
 Driest had only one countenance to speak to,
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 269 
 
 and that was Odegaard's, who meanwhile was 
 enjoying the most blissful composure. 
 
 " But now," continued the priest, " now that 
 I have become better acquainted with him, the 
 result is that I am not sure that she is worthy 
 of him, so much has he grown in my estimation. 
 The groom's name is Art, the great Histrionic 
 Art, and his betrothed is Petra, rny foster- 
 daughter, my beloved child. May your union 
 be a happy one ! I tremble at the thought, but 
 what God has joined together let not man put 
 asunder. The Lord be with you, my daugh- 
 ter!" 
 
 In a trice Petra had crossed the floor and 
 thrown herself into the priest's arms. 
 
 As none of the guests resumed their seats, 
 they all, of course, left the table. But Petra 
 approached Odegaard, who led her away to the 
 farthest window-corner. He had something he 
 would say to her, but she would not let him 
 speak before she had said, 
 
 " To you I owe it all ! " 
 
 " No, Petra ! " he answered ; " I have only 
 acted the part of a good brother. It was wrong 
 of me to wish to become more; for had that 
 happened your whole career would have been a 
 failure." 
 
 T"
 
 *260 THE FISHER MAIDEN 
 
 They were holding each other's hands, but 
 their eyes did not meet. After a little while 
 he let go of her hands and turned away. But 
 she threw herself upon a chair and wept. 
 
 The next day Odegaard left the parsonage. 
 
 Toward spring Petra received a large letter, 
 bearing a huge official seal. It frightened her, 
 and she took it to the priest, who opened and 
 read it. It was from the mayor of her native 
 town, and its contents were as follows : 
 
 " Pedro Ohlsen, who died yesterday, left the 
 following will : 
 
 "'The property which I leave, of which 
 there is a complete inventory in my account 
 book, which will be found in the blue chest 
 which stands in my room in the house of Gun- 
 laug Aamundsdatter near the mountain, to 
 which room the aforesaid Gunlaug has the key, 
 and she alone is acquainted with the whole mat- 
 ter, I hereby bequeath (provided the said 
 Gunlaug Aamundsdatter gives her consent, 
 which she cannot do unless she permits that 
 the condition herewith inclosed and which she 
 alone, as the only one who knows the facts, 
 can perform, be fulfilled) to Jornfru Petra, the 
 daughter of the aforesaid Gunlaug Aamunds*
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 261 
 
 datter, provided said Jomfru Petra thinks it 
 worth while to remember an old, sick man, to 
 whom she has been kind, though she was not 
 aware of it, for it was not possible for her to 
 know it, and to whom she has been a joy in 
 his closing years, wherefore he has deemed it 
 proper to do her a small favor in return, which 
 he trusts she will not despise. May God be 
 merciful to me a poor sinner ! 
 
 PEDRO OHLSEN.' 
 
 "I therefore take the liberty of inquiring 
 whether you will apply directly to your mother 
 in regard to this matter or whether you wish 
 to have me attend to the business for you." 
 
 The next day brought a letter from Petra's 
 mother, written by the priest Odegaard, the 
 only person to whom she could confide these 
 matters. The letter stated that she gave her 
 consent and fulfilled the required condition, 
 which was that she should inform Petra of 
 Pedro's relation to her. 
 
 These tidings and the bequest awakened pe- 
 culiar emotions in Petra's breast. It seemed as 
 if all her hopes and aspirations were now to be 
 realized. It was another indication that her 
 time for leaving the parsonage was near at 
 Hand.
 
 262 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 Thus old Per Olsen had fiddled at weddingi 
 and dances, Per Olsen and his son and grand- 
 son had in various ways toiled and labored, for 
 the purpose of aiding Petra in her career as an 
 artist. The sum was not large, but it was suffi- 
 cient to give her a start in the world and hasten 
 her progress. 
 
 Like a ray of sunshine into her mind came 
 the thought that now her mother could come 
 and live with her. She would now be able to 
 be a joy to her mother every day and thus 
 atone for all the sorrow she had caused her! 
 She sent her a long letter by every mail, and 
 could hardly wait for the answer. When it 
 came it proved a great disappointment, for 
 Gunlaug thanked her, but thought it would be 
 better for " each to remain in her respective 
 place." The priest now promised to write, and 
 when Gunlaug received his letter she could no 
 longer resist their entreaties. She had to tell 
 her guests and acquaintances that her daughter 
 was to be something great somewhere, and that 
 she had sent for her to come and live with her. 
 This turned the matter into a very important 
 subject of gossip in the town. It was discussed 
 on the piers, in the ships, and in every kitchen. 
 Gunlaug, who up to this time had never men* 
 tioned her daughter, henceforth talked of noth
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 263 
 
 ing else than " my daughter Petra," and no one 
 henceforth talked on any other topic to Gun- 
 laug. 
 
 The time for Petra's departure was drawing 
 near, but Gunlaug had not yet given a decisive 
 answer, and this was a source of great trouble 
 to the daughter. On the other hand, she re- 
 ceived a solemn promise from the priest and 
 Signe, that they would both come to the city 
 and be present at her first appearance on the 
 
 The snow was beginning to disappear from 
 the mountains, and the meadows were gradu- 
 ally growing green. The life which is awak- 
 ened by the coming of spring in the fields 
 among the mountains is as full of energy as the 
 longing was deep. The people become more 
 elastic in their walk ; they do their work with 
 more alacrity, and their hearts are filled with a 
 longing to travel and find out what there is 
 beyond the lofty mountains that shut them in 
 on every side. Although Petra, too, was filled 
 with yearning, she still loved the place and 
 everything in it more than ever now that she 
 was to leave. It seemed as though she had neg- 
 lected her surroundings heretofore, as though 
 she now for the first time appreciated their
 
 264 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 beauties. Having only a few days left to re- 
 main, she and Signe walked about, bidding 
 adieu to everybody and everything, and taking 
 a parting look at the places which had become 
 so endeared to them. Then it was announced 
 to them by a peasant that Odegaard was up at 
 the Oygards and that he was about to come 
 down and pay them a visit. The announce- 
 ment greatly excited both the girls, and they 
 ceased their rambling walks in the neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 But when Odegaard came he was more cheer- 
 ful and happy than he had ever been seen be- 
 fore. His errand in the parish was to open a 
 popular high school and to manage it himself 
 in the early stages until he secured a suitable 
 teacher. Later he designed to set other proj- 
 ects afoot. In this way he would pay, he said, 
 a part of his father's debt to the parish, and his 
 father had promised to come and live with 
 him as soon as the school building was finished. 
 Both the priest and Signe were more than 
 pleased with this accession to the neighbor- 
 hood. Petra, too, felt happy, but still it seemed 
 strange to her that he should take up his abode 
 in the place just as she was leaving it forever. 
 
 It was the priest's desire that they togethei 
 nhould celebrate the Holy Communion the daj
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 265 
 
 before Petra's departure. Thus a quiet solem- 
 nity pervaded the last days of her stay, and 
 when they talked it was in a subdued tone. 
 All seemed imbued with this sentiment, and 
 Petra spoke with emotions of profound serious- 
 ness, as her eyes rested for the last time upon 
 the scenes around her. Thoughts of her past 
 experiences crowded into her mind. She was 
 making up her account with her former self. 
 Hitherto she had never looked into the past, 
 but only into the future. Now her whole life 
 stood before her from her childhood up to the 
 present moment ; the first enchanting Spanish 
 ballads again sounded in her ears ; the many 
 mistakes she had made and all the confused 
 aspirations of her childhood and youth were 
 one by one taken up and reviewed, just as one 
 would examine old patterns. If there was any- 
 thing she happened to forget there would be 
 something at hand to serve as a reminder ; for 
 each object was in her mind closely associated 
 with some thought or other. Especially did 
 the piano recall a number of associations that 
 almost overwhelmed her. She would sit down 
 by it without being able to play a note, and if 
 Signe played she could scarcely remain in the 
 room. She was happiest when alone. This 
 Odegaard and Sigue understood, and respected
 
 266 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 her feelings. Everybody regarded her with a 
 sad kindliness, and the priest never passed her 
 during these days without stroking her hair. 
 
 At length the day came. The atmosphere 
 was hazy and the sky was half covered with 
 clouds. The snow was melting on the mount- 
 ains and the fields were growing more and more 
 green. The four persons remained each in his 
 own room until the hour came for them to go 
 together to the church. Besides them there 
 was no one present except the deacon and a 
 priest who had been invited to officiate, as 
 Signe's father was to partake of the Holy Com- 
 munion. But the latter had determined to 
 preach the communion sermon himself, for he 
 had some words of encouragement to say to his 
 foster-child, whom he was soon to lose. He 
 spoke as he was wont when they on some birth- 
 day or church festival were sitting at his own 
 table. Time would soon show, he said, whether 
 the period which she now was closing in prayer 
 to God for mercy had laid a good foundation 
 for her future. No person becomes perfectly 
 true in all his relations before he has found his 
 right calling. Hers was a teacher's calling, 
 and he who labored earnestly and honestly and 
 picaerved his character free from stain, would 
 reap the greatest and most lasting harvest. It
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 267 
 
 true, lie said, that God also often employed 
 unworthy instruments ; and in a higher sense 
 we were all unworthy ; but He accomplished 
 his ends by making use of our aspirations and 
 desires. There was, however, one kind of 
 teaching which no man could find in his desires 
 alone, and he hoped she would try to attain to 
 it; we must all aim at the highest and greatest 
 perfection. He gave her a most cordial invita- 
 tion to come and visit them often, for the very 
 object of Christian fellowship is that it shall 
 help and strengthen our faith. If she should 
 stray from the right path she would be most 
 apt to find compassion in her old home, and 
 should she be unable to understand her mistake, 
 they would be able to warn her with more af- 
 fection than anybody else. 
 
 After partaking of. the sacrament they re- 
 turned as they had come, and the remainder of 
 the day each one spent in solitude ; but Petra 
 and Signe sat much of the night together in 
 Petra's room. 
 
 The next day Petra was ready for her jour- 
 ney. At the parting meal the priest bade her 
 the most tender farewell. He agreed, he said, 
 with her friend in this, that she ought to begin 
 her career with the preparation she now had, 
 and begin alone. In the struggle which was
 
 268 TfiE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 before her she would find how good it is tx 
 know that in one spot on earth there was a 
 small band on whom she could with certainty 
 cely. Only to feel sure that she was constantly 
 remembered in their prayers, she would find 
 how much help there is in that. 
 
 After thus taking leave of Petra he addressed 
 a word of welcome to Odegaard. To be united 
 in love in a common work was, he remarked, 
 the most beautiful beginning of mutual affec- 
 tion. By this toast the priest surely did not 
 have in his mind that which in his words 
 brought the blush first to Signe's cheeks and 
 then to Petra's. Whether Odegaard turned 
 red in the face, they did not know, for neither 
 dared look at him. 
 
 But when the horses stood before the door, 
 and the three friends had formed a circle about 
 the young girl, while all the servants were 
 gathered around the carriage, Petra whispered, 
 as she for the last time embraced Signe, 
 
 " I know that I soon shall hear important 
 news from you. May God bless you ! " 
 
 An hour later she saw only the snow-capped 
 mountain-tops, whic;i pointed out to her where 
 the parsonage stood.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 ONE evening just before Christmas all the 
 tickets were sold for the performance at the 
 theatre of the capital. A new actress, whose 
 name was in everybody's mouth, was to make 
 her dSbut. She was a product of the people, 
 her mother being a poor fisher-woman. By 
 the help of strangers, who had discovered her 
 talents, she had attained her present position, 
 and she was said to be a genius of great prom- 
 ise. Many strange things were whispered 
 among the audience before the curtain rose. 
 Rumor had it that she had been a terribly wild 
 girl, and that after she was grown up she had 
 betrothed herself to six young men at the same 
 time and had kept up the engagements with all 
 of them for six months. Indeed, the town had 
 been mad with excitement on her account, and 
 she had been escorted out of it by the police. 
 It was very strange that the managers of the 
 theatre would permit such a person to appear. 
 Others insisted that there was not a particle of 
 truth in these reports. Since she was ten yean
 
 270 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 old she had lived in the quiet family of a priest 
 in the Bergen diocese. She was a charming 
 young woman of culture and refinement ; they 
 were well acquainted with her and knew that 
 she must have remarkable talent, for she waa 
 BO beautiful. 
 
 Others sat there who were better informed. 
 First among these was Yngve Void, a whole- 
 sale dealer in fish, whose name was well known 
 throughout the country. He had happened to 
 come to the capital to look after his business, 
 but some people said that his hot-tempered 
 Spanish wife made his house so warm for him 
 that he had to travel to get cool. Now he had 
 taken the largest box in the theatre alone and 
 had invited some of his chance acquaintances 
 at the hotel table to go with him and witness 
 " some strange deviltry." He was in the very 
 best of humor until he discovered could it 
 possibly be he ? in a box in the second tier 
 and surrounded by a whole crew of sailors 
 no ! yes ! yes, indeed, it was Gunnar Ask ! 
 Gunnar Ask, who, with the help of his 
 mother's money, had become the owner and 
 captain of The Norse Constitution. While sail- 
 ing out of the fjord he had happened to come 
 alongside of a ship called The Danish Consti- 
 tution ; and when Gunnar thought he observed
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 271 
 
 that it tried to pass him, he made up his mind 
 that such a thing could not be tolerated. Ho 
 stretched every stitch of canvas he had ; it made 
 the timbers creak in the old Constitution, and 
 the result was that in his efforts to scud before 
 the wind as long as possible, he very unexpect- 
 edly ran his vessel aground. Now he was invol- 
 untarily detained in the city while his vessel 
 was being calked. One day he had met Petra 
 in town. She had overtaken him on the street 
 and had been so very kind to him both then 
 and afterwards, that he not only forgot the 
 grudge he bore her, but declared himself the 
 most stupid codfish his native town had ever ex- 
 ported, that he had ever been so foolish as to 
 think that he was worthy of such a girl as Petra. 
 To-day he had purchased at a premium tickets 
 for himself and for his whole crew, and lie was 
 sitting there, resolving to treat the latter be- 
 tween every act. The sailors, who were all 
 from Petra's native town, and ranked among 
 her mother's most welcome guests, an earthly 
 paradise her tavern was to them, felt Petra's 
 honor to be their own, and as they sat there 
 ';hey promised each other that they would ap- 
 plaud in a style that would astonish the audi- 
 ence. 
 
 But down in the parquet was seen the thick
 
 272 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 bristly hair of the priest. He was calm ; for 
 he had intrusted Petra's cause into the hands 
 of a Greater One. By his side sat Signe, now 
 Mrs. Odegaard. Her husband, Petra, and her- 
 self had just returned from a three months' 
 trip abroad. She looked happy as she sat 
 turned toward Odegaard with a smiling face ; 
 for between them sat an old lady with snow- 
 white hair, which encircled her sun-burnt coun- 
 tenance like a silver crown. She was taller 
 than all those about her, and could be seen by 
 every one in the audience, and it was not long 
 before all the opera-glasses were directed to- 
 ward her, for it was said that she was the 
 mother of the young actress. She, whose name 
 was a man's, 1 made so great an impression on 
 the audience, that it reflected honor and credit 
 on the daughter and thus aided the latter in 
 gaining the good-will of the spectators in ad- 
 vance. A young people is full of anticipation. 
 It has faith in its native powers, and thus the 
 sight of the mother awakened the confidence of 
 the audience in the daughter. 
 
 Gunlaug was oblivious to everything about 
 her. She cared but little for the performance 
 What she wanted was to see whether the pub. 
 lie were kind to her daughter. 
 
 1 Gunlaug is frequently a man's name in Norway
 
 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 278 
 
 Time passed. The conversation died away 
 in the expectation that gradually deepened and 
 increased as the hour for beginning drew 
 nearer. 
 
 A lively flourish of drums, trumpets, and 
 brass instruments at once introduced the over- 
 ture. " Axel and Valborg," * by Adam Oehlen- 
 schlaeger, was to be played, and Petra had her- 
 self requested this overture. She sat behind 
 the scenes and listened. But before the cur- 
 tain sat as many of her countrymen as the 
 house could hold, trembling for her, as we al- 
 ways do when the first step is to be taken 
 where we look for a grand revelation from 
 some one we hold dear. 
 
 Each one felt as if he were the one that was 
 to make his own d6but. In such moments many 
 prayers rise to heaven, even from hearts that 
 seldom pray. 
 
 The overture was drawing to a close. Peace 
 
 ' "Axel and Valborg" was the tragedy Petra heard the first 
 titr.e she went to the theatre. (See chapter vii., where the over- 
 ture is described.) One version of this popular Scandinavian leg- 
 end will be found in the ballad of "Axel and Walborg," which 
 appears in Alexander Prior's Ancient Danish Balladt (vol. ii. 
 j>. 247); another in Robert Buchanan'a^Scan<fj7km'an Ballad Storiet 
 .pp. 117-159); a third in Oehlenschlseger's tragedy, "Axel og Val- 
 borg;" and a fourth in George Houghton's charming narrative 
 poem entitled The Legend of St. Olaft Kirk, recently published 
 in a revised edition by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. TB. 
 13
 
 274 THE FISHER MAIDEN. 
 
 pervaded the harmonies, and they gradually 
 dissolved as into sunlight. 
 
 The overture closed. Anxious silence en- 
 sued. 
 
 Then the curtain rose !
 
 
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