Clear As Glass, And The Meadows Were Hoary With Frost.
The Chaplain Was On His Way To Sandsgaard, With His Newly Acquired Smile
On His Features. The Lovely Weather Enlivened Him, And Made His Thoughts
Cheerful And Full Of Hope; For The Chaplain Was Going A-Wooing.
It Was Fully Two Years Since Martens Had Lost His First Wife; He Had
Really Regretted His Loss, But Now It Was A Long Time Ago. It Would Have
Been Quite Improper, And Not At All In accordance With The Views Of The
Congregation, For So Young A Widower To Remain Single Longer Than Was
Absolutely Required By The Ordinary Rules Of Society. Now, The Chaplain
Knew Just As Well As Any One That A Particular Charm Attaches To An
Unmarried Clergyman--That Is, For A Time; And He Also Fully Agreed With
Dean Sparre, When He Said A Short Time Previously, "If A Congregation Is
To Have The Peaceful, Comforting Feeling That Their Souls Are Well Cared
For, They Should Have The Example Of A Peaceful, Homely Life Before
Their Eyes, In The Form Of A Motherly Wife At The Rectory, And Even
Better Still, A Family Of Happy Children."
And Besides, Pastor Martens Was Really In Love. Madeleine Garman Had
Long Ago, In Fact As Soon As Ever She Left Bratvold, Taken Possession Of
His Heart By Her Modest And Natural Demeanour; And No Worldly
Expectations Mingled In The Chaplain'S Affections. He Knew That Richard
Garman Had Not A Shilling, And He Was Sufficiently Free From Prejudice
To Disbelieve The General Report That Madeleine'S Father Had Never Been
Properly Married To Her Mother. In Madeleine He Hoped To Find The
Retiring And Simple-Minded Woman For Whom He Was Seeking, And Latterly,
Since Her Manners Had Become Even More Quiet, He Had Paid Her Greater
Attention, And It Appeared To Him That She Met Him In a Modest And
Womanly Manner.
Chapter 15 Pg 101
On His Arrival At Sandsgaard, He Met Mrs. Garman In Her Room, And To Her
He Entrusted His Secret. At First She Did Not Seem To Take To The Idea,
But On Second Thoughts She Appeared More Favourably Disposed. She
Considered That Sooner Or Later Something Of The Kind Must Happen, And
It Was Perhaps Just As Well That The Chaplain, Who Was Already So Dear
To Her Should Become A Member Of The Family. She Therefore Said, When
She Had Made Up Her Mind--
"Well, Mr. Martens, If You Really Think That Madeleine Will Make You A
Good Wife In The Eyes Of God And Man, I Have Nothing To Do But Give You
My Very Best Wishes On The Choice You Have Made. You Will Find Madeleine
In The Green-Room."
Pastor Martens Went Off To The Green-Room, And Returned After A Quarter
Of An Hour Had Elapsed; But Mrs. Garman'S Astonishment Defies
Description, When She Learnt That He Had Met With A Refusal.
"Tell Me," She Groaned--"Tell Me Every Word. Oh, The Poor Misguided
Child!"
"I Am Afraid I Cannot Tell You Every Word That Passed, Mrs. Garman,"
Answered Martens, Pale With Emotion; "I Am Too Much Shocked And--"
"And Surprised Too, I Am Sure," Said Mrs. Garman, Concluding His
Sentence; "Yes, That I Can Readily Believe. What Is The Matter With The
Child? What Reason Did She Give?"
"She Did Not Say Much," Answered The Pastor; "She Seemed To Be Almost
Afraid Of Me. She Went Off To The Door And Began To Cry, And Said--"
"What--What Did She Say?"
"She Simply Kept Repeating 'No,'" Answered The Chaplain, Quite
Crestfallen.
Mrs. Garman Could Not Disguise Her Astonishment.
The Bright Sunshine Had Not The Same Enlivening Effect Upon The Pastor
As He Returned To His Lodgings. He, However, Managed To Control Both His
Feelings And His Countenance. This Was A Trial That He Would Have To
Receive With Humility. The Only Thing That Annoyed Him Was, That He Had
Said Anything About It To Mrs. Garman.
Mr. Martens'S Proposal Was The Only Thing That Was Wanted To Complete
The Life Of Wretchedness, Which Madeleine Had Passed Ever Since That
Moonlight Autumn Evening; And Yet The Chaplain Was To A Certain Extent
Right, When He Thought That Madeleine Had Met Him With Some Degree Of
Warmth. There Was, In Fact, Something In The Almost Fatherly Manner With
Which He Treated Her, Something Which Seemed To Soothe Her Affrighted
Heart. She Had A Longing To Be Able To Feel Confidence In Somebody, And
The Calm, Earnest Clergyman Seemed To Her So Different From All Those
For Whom She Had Such An Abhorrence, Since She Had Made Her Fatal
Discovery. And Now He, Too, Was To Come To Her With The Same Story;
Told, Certainly, In a Different Way--That She Was Quite Willing To
Allow; But Still The Gist Of It Was The Same--The Very Same Whichever
Chapter 15 Pg 102
Way She Turned.
Mrs. Garman Took Her Most Severely To Task For Having So Unreasonably
And Foolishly Rejected Such A Man As Pastor Martens; And At Length, What
With One Thing And Another, The Poor Girl Quite Lost Her Health, And The
Doctor Had As Much As He Could Do To Pull Her Through An Obstinate
Attack Of Low Fever.
George Delphin Had Soon Got To Know From Fanny That It Was Old Miss
Cordsen Who Had Seen Them In The Garden, And Given Them The Timely
Warning. This Was For Him A Greater Relief Than Fanny Expected; For,
After The First Feeling Of Pride And Delight At Having Gained His Lovely
Prize, Delphin Had Felt More And More Compunction In His Inmost Heart
Every Time He Thought Of Madeleine. He Was Not Willing To Break Off With
Fanny--This Was More Than He Dared To Do; But, Careless And Clever As He
Was, He Thought That He Would Be Able For The Present To Keep Up The
Double Game With Both.
He Could Make Up His Mind When The Time Came, And He Would Make Up His
Mind, Too, If He Could Win Madeleine, And If He Thought She Was Worth
The Price Of Breaking Off With The Lovely Fanny. But Within A Few Days
After That Evening On Which They Had Been So Careless, His Eyes Began To
Be Opened. Fanny Was Not At Sandsgaard That Day, For Little Christian
Frederick Had Got The Measles, And Delphin, Therefore, Attempted To Talk
With Madeleine In The Good-Natured And Patronizing Way Which He Had
Hitherto Done. But A Single
