The Song of Songs

Lilly had scarcely set foot in the dusky room smelling of dust and leather, where soiled vo

her circulating library, and amid kisses and tears declared that even before seeing Lilly she had conceived a love for he

ld," thought Lilly, whom this sor

ever and ever and ever so much more. Daughters are venomous serpents, on

panied Lilly in a cab, was shoving her trunk over t

mush.' Look at me, my dear. Am I not goodness itself? Do I look as if I could beat anybody, much less my own daughters? And do you suppose this is the first time they did it, the first time they overwhelmed me with shame and disgrace in the eyes of the whole world? What would you say if I were to tell you it's the third time-twice before I pardoned them and took them to my bosom. I found

t an invisible something through the hall, and let it

fered!" And she registered a silent vow to do her utmost to r

hange a book. He asked for one of Zola's works, and looked at Li

deprecation. The customer took it hastily without paying the leas

"that's the way youth goes to its ruin, a

ho had been listening w

t's inside an ap

in an apothecary's shop, but c

tress c

eep the wicked books, and though my heart bleeds I must hand them over to any and everybody who asks for them. Oh, I need but to think of my undutiful daughters. No use my telling them not to-they read at any rate. They read and read the whole night long, and when they were crammed full of impudence and corruption, they didn't

ut took some courage in the thought that she had f

ly persuaded that nobody in the world knew how to prepare such dainty mush, and that the emperor himself was seldom served with more delicious sandwiches. Had a littl

into four compartments by two bookcases running from the windowed wall deep into the room and by a counter opposite the door leading into

ike pieces of furniture and mount a spring-mattress on them. This completely blocked the space crosswise,

at her head, a chair holding her impedimenta at her feet,

ng her apprent

she knew her A B C's, she would have been able to fetch any book from its place at the end of five minutes if o

allotted to them more rapidly than others, and when there was no more room Mrs. Asmussen had simply turned to the next blank page regardless of alph

great task of getting order out of c

l Mrs. Asmussen provided her

ht. When Lilly went in for supper she found her mistress dreamily inclined ove

ined Mrs. Asmussen, blinking at Lilly with somewhat watery grey eyes. "So I must take

smussen sipped tea, every now and t

you about m

," said Lilly,

scarcely anything but those miserable creatures

, never in the wide world have I ever seen, even from afar, two young ladies endowed with such striking qualities of mind and character. Such tender filial devotion, such self-sacrificing industry, such touching modesty, so much genuine feeling in all the sma

hame Lilly dropped her sp

eir father. Have I ever told you about my splendid husband? An untoward destiny has separated us, but his love, I know, clings to me, and I will love him all the

nite contrition r

oncerning the virtues of her two daughters, her husba

cine prescribed by one of the most eminent physici

a rage because Lilly had used the broom, which was to rem

when they come to my door. And if you, wretched creature, take hol

world was not so roseate as her eagerness

se was

vation of Lilly's soul and the purity of her virgin fancy, im

ght me where such misconduct leads. And I will

ustom, unoccupied hours grew more frequent, and the lamp hanging over the counter shone invitingly, when Mrs. Asmussen from day to day succumbed earlier to the effects of the medicine

first volume of a novel for the second. But the second had been loaned already, and the girl actually cried in di

hich were said to be larger and more aristocratic. She even returned the three marks

d volume on all sides and took a

at even the girls of the first year high school had gone into raptures over

oor and listened for a while to Mrs. Asmussen's peaceful breathing-n

lightly put the sequel into the hands of some stranger, who might not bring it back. She mapped out ways and means of une

the name. In vain! The entries were made by numbers, not by t

oxication in a new drink, she

ch an existence-blurred eyes, aching limbs, huge bills for midnight oil,

g the dreadful cr

ill directly back of her head. She indulged in the luxury even though reduced to the bitter necessity of getting out of bed later to replace both the lamp and the book, for nowadays Mrs. Asmussen was frequently at her post ear

bottom of the bed all dressed. A black strap lay across her white shirt, and the la

smussen, despite her corpulence, suddenly jumped over the bottom of the bed and squatted on

imes

ople experienced and loved, suffered and enjoyed, where there were no pert servant girls who came to exchange books, no wet umbrellas, no second volumes loaned out, no l

in monotonous prison-like loneliness, seemed to her a dream, an oppressive death stupour, painless, but also pl

urage to justify what was holiest to her even in her own eyes.

as a scourge. Hitherto she had not shown the least solicitude concerning Lilly's piety, but now she began each meal with a long prayer of repentance, and

lly if caught

ng her. Storms of abuse showered down on her unprotected head. She did not dare breathe

s and broken marriage vows, amid death by poisoning and the mad acts of love, she would su