Filled The Air With Their Joyous Warble, Which Went Straight To Her
Heart, And The Breeze Began To Waft To Her The Fresh Salt Flavour Of The
Sea. There Was Something In It Of Seaweed, Something Of Fish, But All
Was So Wonderfully Rich In Recollection. Madeleine Leant Towards The
Breeze And Drew In a Deep Breath; It Seemed Like A Greeting From The Sea
She Knew So Well, And Which Recognized Her In Return; It Was A
Reminiscence Of Her Short Day Of Love And Happiness. She Longed To Fill
Her Lungs With The Pure Fresh Sea Air, So That It Might Purify All The
Dark And Dusty Corners In Her Fettered Soul. All The Time She Had Been
Away From Bratvold A Taint Of Impurity Seemed To Have Rested On Her; And
Now That She Found Herself Once Again Face To Face With The Ocean, She
Seemed Almost Ashamed Thus To Return. Oh That She Were Lying Out There
In Its Cool Depths, With The Fresh Salt Billows Dashing Over Her!
The Carriage Now Approached The Top Of The Last Hill, And The Village Of
Bratvold, With Its Lighthouse, Burst Upon Her View. She Hid Her Face In
Her Hands And Groaned Aloud.
It Was Probable That Her Husband Had Not Noticed This Sudden Outburst.
He Had Kept His Eyes Turned To The Landward Side, For He Did Not Yet
Feel Sufficiently Strong To Bear The Sight Of The Waves As They Came
Rolling In.
"Where Shall We Put Up?" Asked The Driver. "Per Bratvold'S Is The Best
House, But There Are Several Others That Will Do Well Enough."
"Let Us Go To Per'S," Said The Clergyman.
For A Long Time Madeleine Had Not Been Certain Whether Martens Knew Of
Her Adventure With Per; But After A Short Time Of Married Life, She
Found That A Story Does Not Travel Very Far, Without Reaching The
Clergyman, And Without Looking Up She Felt That His Eye Was Resting Upon
Her, With The Smile With Which He Used To Bend Her To His Will.
Per Was In The Peat-Shed When They Drove Up, And Saw Her As He Peeped
Through A Chink In The Boards. The Moment He Did So, He Involuntarily
Took The Quid Of Tobacco Out Of His Mouth And Threw It From Him. After
Waiting A Long Time, He Had Begun Again To Chew Tobacco, And After A
Still Longer Time He Had Married. It Was Thus Per'S Wife Who, With
Numberless Excuses, Conducted The Clergyman And His Lady Into The Best
Room. She Repeated That It Was Not What Such People Were Accustomed To.
While She Went Out To Find Per, And Introduce Him To The Strangers, The
Pastor Went Round The Room Examining The Curiosities It Contained.
Madeleine Sat Gazing Out Of The Window. The Sight Of Per'S Wife, Looking
So Fresh And Happy, Had Pained Her--She Knew Not Why.
"Look Here, Lena!" He Cried, Every Time He Found Something Of Interest.
Chapter 26 Pg 166
Lena Was A Name Of His Own Invention, And Which He Had Given Her In
Spite Of All Her Entreaties. Lena Sounded So Homely, And Was Well Suited
To A Clergyman'S Wife; While Madeleine Had A Foreign, French Ring, Which
Was Quite Out Of Place In a Rectory.
In The Room Were Several Things Worthy Of His Attention. In The First
Place There Were Two Pictures, Representing Vesuvius By Day, And
Vesuvius By Night; Then Came A Drawing Of A Coasting Vessel Called _The
Three Sisters Of Farsund_; Then Frederick Vii. With His Red Uniform And
Hook Nose; And Over The Bed, Which Was Heaped Up With Eider-Downs As
High As One'S Head, Hung A Huge Horn Of Plenty, Made Of White Cardboard,
And On Which Was The Motto, In Gilt Paper Letters, "Be Fruitful And
Multiply," Which Had Been Given Them As A Wedding-Present. On One End Of
The Chest Of Drawers Stood A Yellow Canary On A Red Pear, And On The
Other End A Red Bullfinch On A Yellow Pear. The Floor Was Dazzlingly
Clean And Neatly Sanded. The Window-Panes Were Small, And The Glass Of
Different Tints; While Over One Of The Windows Was Nailed A Board, On
Which Was Painted In Gold Letters The Words "_L'Esperance_," Which Was
The Name Of The Vessel To Which It Had Belonged. At Length Per Came In.
He Held Out His Hand First To The Pastor And Then To Madeleine, And
Said, "How Do You Do?" To Both. As Madeleine Touched The Hard And
Powerful Hand, She Involuntarily Drew Back Her Own, And Turned Away
Without Pronouncing The Usual Greeting. The Words Seemed To Stick In Her
Throat.
At That Moment Per'S Wife Entered And Asked Him In a Whisper To Cut Her
A Few Chips To Make The Peat Fire Burn More Quickly, As She Wished To
Prepare Some Coffee. Per Went Out Of The Room, And The Pastor Followed
The Prosperous Little Peasant Woman To Inspect The House.
Madeleine Took A Few Steps To And Fro In The Room, And Then Went To The
Door. As She Stood On The Stone Steps Under The Porch, She Could See
Down Into The Little Harbour, And Her Eye Could Follow The Path Which
Led Across The Flat Meadow, And Up Across The Steep Slope As Far As The
Lighthouse. There Lay Her Old Home, With Its Solid Stone Walls, And The
Lantern With Its Red-Painted Cover. She Turned Away: The Sight Was More
Than She Could Bear. Her Ear Now Caught The Sound Of Per Chopping The
Wood In The Peat-Shed, And Almost Without Knowing What She Did, She
Found Herself In The Shed, Standing By His Side. He Ceased For A Moment
From His Work, Raised Himself Up, And Looked Beyond Her Over The Sea.
Per Wore A Stiff Sailor'S Beard, And His Face Had Grown Older And
Coarser With The Lapse Of Time, But Still Every Feature Was Familiar To
Her. Madeleine Made A Step Towards Him And Endeavoured To Take His Hand.
In This She Was Unsuccessful, For He Drew It Away From Her. She Could No
Longer Command Her Feelings, And, Throwing Her Arms Round His Neck, She
Laid Her Head On His Breast.
Delphin'S Remark Was Perfectly True About The Mixture Of Fish, Tobacco,
And Damp Woollen Clothing; But She Felt That This Was Her Place, And
Here She Ought To Rest. At That Moment, Too, She
