Absalom's Hair

of his lost Paradise. HE could not sleep. As he lay there he seemed to look out over a meadow, which had no springtime, and theref

e was a stern realist, a sneering scep

dey, my boy, we shall be merry for a thousand years! Better sleep now

age was the marvel of th

to have been now in one of the best positions in the country-when, lo and behold! she went and made th

nd when a reaction comes, to decry him in an equal degree. Few people see with their own eyes, and on s

ng on their capital for some time; and the beds of cement stone-who the deuce would join with him in any large undertaking? They talk about his gifts, his genius even; but IS he very highly gifted? Is it any

t must be admitted that he had more of that than most people; but as for ingenuity! Well,

icity in baking and tanning-could you call those discoveries? Let us see what he will in

ed to have been suddenly blown away, with a few exceptions, who

howed himself a true Ravn. He was so in temperament and disposition,

enough, and had sufficient obstinacy as well, to let himself be urged on by

day of his marriage (from early in the morning until the time when the ceremony took place) he employed himself in writin

come all that was now possible. Angelika-their business, manager, housekeeper,

nd the answer to it, and he wrote in that spirit. Never had

e last few days, the mellowing influence of his struggles d

it would destroy all her dreams, as it had already destroyed. But he relied on her optimistic nature, which he had never known surpassed, and on

, which could hardly be controlled. She even began to sneer; but th

ed, merely these words: "Mother, send me an answer." The wire

side the town until the evening, by which time

eadly pale, and went slowly into his own room. There Angelika let him remain for a while in peace, then came in an

ht to your mother. It is too bad, both on account of our

is mother or for his position in regard to her? But how vulgar Angelika seemed to him, as she bent over a troublesome lamp and let her impatience break out! Her

hen all is said and

not worth maki

have her say. She will not rest until she has picked

een said and all that

t up and paced the room. "Is that what mother felt? Yet they were such good friends. I suspect

s behalf, and there was such sunshine in her cheerfulness and flow of spirits during the evening, that he actually brightened up under it, and thought-If mothe

been unhappy in the great pension, with a mother who seldom came near them or took any n

lights in children's confidence, and he felt a desire t

ess, her devotion, were boundless. By the aid of her personal charm, her resourceful ingenuity, she obtained every advantage for him within her range, and even beyond it. It was felt in her devotion by night and day, when anything was to

and let herself be guided by her never-failing love, he would, in this stimulating atmo

sy which she had aroused in him and which h

d with the strongest personality and the widest sympathy, when she wins a young husband who is the fashion-wins him as Ang

n, old or young, beside those whom he met elsewhere, it would be an exaggeration, but t

upted. Her face grew hard, her right foot began to move; and if this did not s

is interest, she would pooh-pooh it, literally with a "pooh!" a shrug

th admiration at her acquaintance with half Norway. He believed in her veracity as he believed in few things. He believed, too, th

she said precisely what it pleased her to s

had come in late and was hungry-he was d

the year," he cried. "Th

ow. She persuaded me to take them for

you have been o

U; you were walkin

that this was not permitted, but all the same he

d a child before

Emma

I do not k

a, I do not believe t

she was at the pension at the time, so y

e can count the pebbles at the bottom, rose to his mind, in all their innocence. He could not believe that such eyes co

mma or her white-haired mother, he turned asi

less so. This one story destroyed his confidence, impaired his self-reliance, shattered his belief, and thus

word of truth in

rasp, like a child in the talons of an

powerfully against her. Her gifts were more aptness and quickness than anything else, they were without training, without cohesion, and permeated with passion at all points. Therefore he could, at any moment, crush her defence; but whenever this happened, it was so evident that she had been actuated

al dread lest any one should enlighten him. If any one got on the scent, she felt sure that this woul

use he did so, but there were plenty of di

hat he made ingenious excuses for not being seen out with her. This, too, she misconstrued. She did not at all understand that he, in his way, was quite as frightened as she was of what people might say. She believed that he sought th

ldness worthy of a better cause. The house was kept on an extravagant scale, with an excellent t

followed, of course, that she got everything for "nothing" or "the greatest bargain in the world." There was always some one "who almo

broad; but with a wife who knew no f

it a little before he came to any definite determination. In the meantime, he did whatever came to hand, and that was often work of a subor

ld yet! He had youth's lavish estimate of time and strength, and therefore did not see, for a long time, that the large family, the large house were weighing him

an anxiety over-ruled everything. She seized the smallest opportunities. Again-and this was a most important factor-there was her overpowering anxiety to keep possession of him; this drew her away from what she should have paid most heed to, in order to let him hav

heights above Hellebergene, and had continued the whole summer. Curiously enough, one morning, as he sat at some most wearisome work, Hellebergene and Hele

st and will have quiet. In a month's time I shall have got on so far that perhaps I shall be a

he could understand, and n

ften happened that something would occur to him at one moment or another. She bestowed every care o

she rummaged among his papers, and there, among drawings, calculations, and letters, she

it in one day with you, but, mother-like, would distribute it throughout your life. Instead of the whirl of the rapids, a placid stream. Her

. Were these his own thoughts, or had he merely copied them? There were no correct

ercoat. As he stood he wrote down a few formulae, then seized a book, sat down astride of a chair, and m

at you have in hand. Look there: your

paper, and now the abuse from her coarse lips of the most delicate creature he had ever

ou? What do

guess that that is meant for the girl who lo

it the mark, so she

when she was a mere girl, she di

g relaxed. She was breathless, she saw his face over her; deadly rage was in it. A strength, a wildn

werless, her will with them; only her eyes

" Her eyes grew dim, he

," was heard in a childish voice fro

peaceful innocence in

m and dominated him as a rider does a horse, he was still not horrified at himsel

? Might it happen in the future? No! no! no! How strange that Angelika should have wounded him! How frightful her state of mind must be when she could think so odiously of abs

faults, and the faults of others. He cool

ind her on her bed, dissolved in tears, prepa

red times, with words,

fore him, tempting him to pursue it once more; but he turned away from the whole subject and began

became an irritation to him: he chafed as the

k, a remark of his unanswered, was enough to arouse the most violent scenes. Hitherto they had been restrained by the presence of others, but now it was the sam

give. Sometimes his daily regrets and sufferings, sometimes his passionate nature, were in the ascendant, but the cause of his despair was always the same-that this could have happened to him. Should

d prove to be untrue. Besides, he knew Angelika too well now not to know that he would never obtain a

. Here he had a serious grievance against her; but yet, in the midst of the tragedy, he could not but be amused at the skill with which sh

did not separate-to himself, too, at times, during sleepless nights. But it is sometimes the case that he, who makes a thousand sm

he hard work, resulted in his not being equal to more than just the neces

tions, visions; he saw himself in them-his father! his

imes their quarrels, their reconciliations, brought revelations with them: he could perceive her sorrows as well. She did not complain, she did not say a word, she could not do so; but at times she wept and gave way as only the most despairi

Secretary, met him. They usually avoi

per little man nervously,

fellow, w

guess; it is a lette

my m

ce her telegram they ha

ter, but she mak

m! a con

y that you are to go away from the town, wherever you like

w the co

tents, I will g

it in his pocket at that moment. He had promised Angelika that he would go there with her, and he would keep his promise, for it had been given after a great reconciliation scene. A white silk dress had been the olive branch of these last peaceful days. She therefore looked very handsome that

d lately it had precisely been in public places that she had chosen to make scene

e of mind, as is so often the case with nervous people, made him excited and boisterous, nay, even made him more than usually jovial. And as though a little of the old happiness we

and he drew him on one side. "Now I am at the top of the tree, now I am marri

ty as well,"

mpered; in fact, you see before

avn put his hands on to

not happy

so happy as

k to some one else,

that I have ofte

u want some, Rafael? My

e me two thou

they

in here, co

rate our meeting. No, not our wives," he added,

ion, and now he wished to enjoy his freedom thoroughly. T

ural gaiety, and especially her admiration of her husband's relations, took

d left her alone, every one had seen it. She would have her revenge. She could not endure Hans Ravn's merriment, still less that of his wife, so she contradicted rudely once, twice, three times, while Hans Ravn's face grew more and more puzzled. The storm might have blown over, for Rafael parried each thrust, even turning them into jokes, so that the party grew merrier, and no feelings were hurt; but on this she tried fresh tactics.

s?" asked the bri

hed, and all hoped that the cloud had been finally dispersed. No!-as t

ey were completely puzzled. Rafael gave her a furious look, and then she jeered at him, "You boy!" she said. After this Ra

gth, "how you are altered, Rafael!" His genial kindly

ith Angelika. Those near them looked towards them and whispered together. Angry and ashamed, he looked across at Angelika, who laughed. Everything seemed to turn red before

Kaas?" he heard som

of again seeing her face turn black, her arms fall powerless, her eyes open wide with terror; for that was what would happen some day. He should end

were visible. He felt that he was perspiring, that his clothes clung to him, yet he was ice

n, unused power, which underlay all e

her, that is all past now, boy;

her's? It was a man's voice. It made him clear and calm. He turned round, he went straight to

d by dreams; it was the first night

at Eidsvold with his mother's packet of letters laid open before

of hammers from the workshops to the right mingled with the rumble of wheels on the bridge; the whistle of an engi

really enceinte she had busied herself in collecting all

f: imprudent letters which this impulsive creature could perpetrate in the midst of her schemes; or deeply calculated letters, which directly contradicted others which had been written at a different period, based on different calculations. These documents were only the accompaniment of a clear sum

nt with Helene, had been written by Angelika. This revelation and that which preceded it, give an idea of the overwhelming humiliation under which Rafael now suffered. What was he that he could be duped and mastered like a captured anim

lt a deadly chill. He therefore went up to his room with the papers, which he locked up in his tru

o himself, "Who are you

the same question, and

which was now rolling

r me

mocked him-the cleared potato patches

never attain to! As you, so your mother before you. She turned aside-and your father too-into absolute folly; perha

highway and into the wood. See! am I not there myself now? Away from the highway and into the wood, as though I were led by an inward law. Into the wood." He looked round among the mountain-ashes, the birches, and other leafy trees in autumn t

ABSALOM'S HISTORY WAS HIS OWN. He began with rebellion. Naturally rebellion is the first step in a

the innate strength in David was too great, his energy was always too powerful: it conquered the powers of rebellion. They could not drag him far away into passionate wanderings; they remained only holiday flights in his life and added poetry to it. They did not move

s below. Did he see anything? Yes; it seemed to him that he saw himself, not absolutely in the opening, but to one side, in the shadow, under a tree; he hung there by his hair. He hung there and swung, a man, but in the velvet jacket of his childhood and the tight-fitting trousers: he swung suspended by his tangled red hair. And farther away he distinctly saw another figure: it was his mother, stiff and stately, who was turning round as if to the sound of music. And, God preserve him! still farther away, broad and heavy, hung his father, by the few thi

ght, there was melody in the woods. Now he was up on the hill with her, among the sapling

e his father he had become. In the last year he had grown very like his father-people had said so. He well remembered his mother's manner when she noticed it. But, good God! were those grey hairs? Yes, in quan

nce this hunted feeling. It was only natural that he had ceased to observe. If the brook had been a little deeper, he would have let himself

e strips of woodland which run up the hills side by side, like organ-pipes, Henrik Vergeland had also roamed: within an ace, with him too, within an ace! Wonderful how the ravens gather together here, where so many people are hanging. Ha! ha! He must write this to his mother! It was something to write about to her, who had left him, who deserted him when he was the most unhappy, because all that she cared for was to keep her sacred person inviolate, to maintain her obst

over hedges and ditches, and make his way straight up

with thirst. On leaving the table he said that he wished to stay there a few days to sleep. They thought that he was joking, but he slept uninterruptedly until the afternoon of the next

ollowing morning he

usly hungry and thirsty, and when he raised himself he felt giddy. But that passed off by degrees, when he had eaten some of the food which had been left there. He drank out of the water-jug-th

lass, but forgot the grey hair at the sight of himself. He was thin, lank, and dirty.-The letter! t

ain were in! He must go by it, and from the train straight to the steamer, and home, home to Hellebergene! But he must send a tel

ave something to eat, take his ticket, send the telegram; but first-no, it must all be done together, for the train WAS ther

before him, it again drove him into the state of mind in which he had been among the hills and woods of Eidsvold. Beyond the tunnel the character of the scenery was the same.-Good God! that dreadful lette

lect the information which would free him! His ingratitude must appear too monstrous to her. The extreme reserve which she was unable to break through might well lead to catastrophes. What migh

p. When she appears to have acted on impulse, it is because she has had previous k

ent gaze reviewing her life and his own, until both appeared to her to have been hopeless

happened had drawn a veil over

e; it had been raining, but towards evening it began to clear. He would get to Hellebergene in fine w

ghtened her the more-that to see HIM now appeared the worst that could happen. To read such a crushing doom for her whole life, and that from him! She was n

error took possession of him: he was forced to contemplate the most awfu

well that he must not let such words escape him.-He HAD to picture her as she handled the guns, until she relinquished t

nt sheer down there, and the water was deep!-He clung to the rigging to prevent himself from falling. He prayed to be released from these terrors. But he sa

art of the coast with which he was familiar. They passed the opening into Hellebergene, for one has to go first to the town, and thence in a boat. It now became the question

re was

ear. But then he seemed to emerge from a dark passage. He must get to

twilight. They might depend on him, and row on without looking round. Soon they had passed the high land and were in among the islands. This time they did not come out to meet him; they all seemed gathered there to repel him. No boat had been sent; there was, therefore, nothing more for him

oy? I am growing weary. C

de himself-a man's voi

s voice, here before his father's

he point and the islands and was turning into the bay, he raised himself to his full height, and the boatmen looked at him in astonishment

he inlet a boat was approaching them. She loomed large o

ellebergene?" shouted

darkness, and he recognised the

id you not

m has only j

eak. He became suddenly in

assage which led into the inner bay, and rounded the last headland, and there!-there lay Hellebergene before them in a blaze of light! From cella

him, and at the same time noticed that it had grown suddenly light. They t

get on," was all that

im that he did not meet his mother at the landing-place, or near the house, n

. She did not stretch out her arms; she remained huddled together. But he bent over her, knelt down, laid his face on hers, wept with her. She had grown fragile, thin, haggard, ah! as though she could be blown away. She let him take her in his arms like a child and clasp her to his breast; let him caress and kiss her. Ah, how ethereal she had become! And those eyes, which at last he saw, now looked tearfully out from thei

red welcome. But soon she raised her head and resumed a sitt

spered with beseeching eyes

t be spoken aloud. "And there was nothing to forgive," she added. She had la

rible days and nights here, he t

her! what a

t lay in his like an egg in a deserted nes

lendid?" she said. And now h

r. He thought, when he saw the look of happiness in her face, if life

ou made when you were told the story of David, Rafael; if you h

you, mother, when I did

hat I, too, understand. It ought to l

MEMORY FRO

onage that, on that same day, two men, rowing past the Buggestrand in Eidsfjord, had discovered a wom

ried to find out from her

e procured. She had lain twenty-four hours before help reached her, and shortly afterwards she died. Before she

who was in service at Hagbo's, and the son of the house, and the sh

s, as I have said, on a Sunday afternoon, her dea

knocked off work, leaving everything just as it was, and sat down with idle hands. The women especially were paralysed: it was evident they felt themselves threatened, they even said as much. When strangers came to the parsonage their bearing and expression showed that the murder lay heavy on their minds, and they read the same story in us. We took each

considered, picked at and pulled about, till it became simply "the last new thing." Soon we knew every detail of the relation between the murdered and t

myself capable-an overpowering compassion. A young good-looking lad, well grown, slightly built, rather small than otherwise, with dark not very thick hair, with appealing eyes which were now downcast, with a clear voice, and about his whole personality a certain charm, almost refinement; a creature to a

and at us children as though he longed to be one of us. The girl's words, "But don't do him any harm," rang in my ears unceasingly-whether he walked about or stood still or sat down. I knew that he would certainly be beheaded, and, believing that it must be soon, I was filled with horror at the thought of his saying to h

gain and alone than I fell to thinking of it with might and main, and it seemed to me very hard that her words, "But you mustn't do him any harm," should be so utterly disregarded. I felt I must go in and say as much to

gh the open window by every one in the place. The unfortunate youth was called upon to account for the entire day on which the murder had been committed-for every hour of that Sunday. He denied that he had kill

in the evening Peer's sister came to the parsonage and remained with him all through the night. They were heard whisper

e. He spoke of the shame it would bring on him, and how annoyed his mother already was. Yes, yes, she knew that too well. His mother was very angry with her; and she thought it strange of Peer that he didn't stand up for her; he knew best whose fault it was that all this had happened. But Peer hinted that she had been compliant to others as well as to himself, and therefore he would not submit to being given out as the child's father. He tried to make her angry, but did

and with eyes red with weeping. Once more they went aside and whispered. I rem

in the house had to bestir himself-father was to deliver an exhortation at the place of execution, and the Dean

ster Jakobsen, were to sleep down in the schoolhouse, which was part of the farm property belon

me in the morning in tw

the military escort, an

schoolhouse, and not e

go down to wh

The great fire-ladder was brought from under the storehouse. It was unusually heavy and clumsy, so it was difficult to get it raised, till father broke into the midst of the crowd, ordered them all to stand back, and set it up by himself. This is still remembered in the parish; and also that the bailiff, an active little fellow, took a bucket in each

leave of him. I heard how dauntless he was in his confidence that the next day he would be with God, and how beautifully he talked to his people, and especially how he begged them to take an affectionate greeting to his mother, and

in order to walk the latter part of the way to the place of execution, a kilometer or so distant. The execution had to take place at a cross-roads, and there was only one in the neighbourhood-namely, at Ejdsvaag, nearly seven miles away from where the murder was committed. The bailiff headed the procession, then came the soldiers, then the condemned man, with the Dean on one side and my father on the other, then Jacobsen and my tutor, with me between them, then some more people, followed by more soldiers. We walked cautiously

fully nodded. Once or twice he lifted his cap, the same flat one I had seen him in the first time. It was evident that his comrades had a regard for him;

ff, the clergyman, the condemned man, and a few besides, among whom was myself. A great silent crowd stood round, and over their heads one saw the mounted figure of the sheriff in his cocked hat. When the soldiers who c

like), stuck up on each side of the bare cropped head with the two double chins underneath, and the whole was framed between his shoulders, which, by long practice, he could raise much higher than other men. Those who did not know him-for to know him was to love him-could hardly keep from laughing. His speech was neither heard nor understood, but it was short. His emotion forced him to break it off suddenly. One thing alone we all understood: that he loved the pale young man whom he had prepared for death, and that he wished that all of us might go to our God as happy and confident as he who was to die to-day. When he stepped down they embraced each other for the last time. Peer gave his hand to my father and to a number besides, and then placed himself by his friend Jakobsen. The latter knew what this meant. He took off a kerchief and bound Peer's eyes, while we saw him whisper something to him and receive a whispe

bandaged the eyes, and threw it into the coffin beside the body, where it fell with a dull sound. The

in the district. Following up the thunderous admonition of the execution itself, he warned the young against the vices which prevailed in the parish-against drun

ed next. Afterwards I compared notes with many others, who owned to exactly the same feeling. Father and the