Year: 1874

q which he wishes to solve.


But the enigma of Aasta's liF
v -coIld never be solved. now. She ha,


lived in America ever since she ha,
n been grown up, and she was comm.
5 from there when the ships ran int
each other. In what part of Americ.


should his quest begin? From wha


part of Norway she had at first com,


he did not positively know: and he


was uncertain even whether hel


family name had not been changed
since then. And that foreign skipper
r who could he be? Did he know


Aasta. or was it only she who knew
: something of him? To question


thus was like questioning the very
sea; and to journey forth toinyesti-
gate was like plunging into its
depths.


4 Surely he had made a terrible mis-


take. A woman penitent on account


of some guilty thing would have


found relief in confessing it to her


husband; and one still impenitent


would have sought refuge in some


evasion or other. But Aasta had


neither confessed anything nor had


recourse to any evasion. bnt had


sought refuge in death when he had


so tormented her. Such conduct


showed no sign of guilt. But why


not: Some folks had great dread


of confessing anything. Aasta, how


ever, had no such dread; for she had


already confessed there was some
thing about her life which she could


never tell him. Perhaps, then. the


greatness of her guilt made confes-


sion impossible? But she could not


have had the burden of any great
guilt upon her: for she was often
ioYOus-nay, even full of fun. She


was hasty and impetnous, it is true;


hut She was also very full of tender
feeling and kindness. Perhaps the
guilt WAS some other persons and


not hers at all. Why, then, had she
never told him so? If she had done
this, all would have come right. But
she herself had said there was some
thing else she could never tell And
how about that foreign skipper she
was so afraid of? How was it? In
the name of goodness. how was it?
All, had she been still alive, he would
still have tormented her! This
thought moved him deeply, and made |
him reproach and despise himself be-
yOnd measure.


Still he began again-perhapS she
was not so guilty as she herself be /
lieyed; or perhaps not SO guilty as
others might have thought? How Of !.
ten did we do wrong quite innocent /
ly, and only through ignorance.
though so few could understand that
Thus Aasta had thought that he, whof
was always full of suspicion, would /
not understand it. Out of one clear, |
simple answer, he would have found /
matter for hundred suspicious ques-
tions, and so she had chosen to CON
tide herself to death rather than him.
Why could he never leave her in
peace? She had fed from the beings
of her past life, and sought refuge
with him; and then he forsOoth, must
constantly drag them forward and
fling them in her face? She was
truly attached to him, and showed
him all love and tenderness; what
right had he, then, TO concern him
self about her past: And if he had
any such right. why did he not say
so in the beginning? Whereas, the
more her affection had grown, the
more his disquiet had grown likewise
she. not merely through al
and gratitude. but also
love, had become wholly his
own, then forsooth, he must begin to
wish to know all about what she had
done and been in days gone by. The
more, too she had pleaded for herself, {
the worse he had thought of her, and
the more he insisted that there was ;
he ought to be told.


Then. for the first time, arose the
question, had he told her everything?
Would it really he right for husband /
and wife to tell each other everything? !
Would all be understood if it were
told: Most certainly not.


He heard two children playing. and I
he looked around. He was sitting in
the green lnclosure Aasta had spoken .
Of little while ago, but he had not
been aware of it till now. Five hours )
had passed: he thought it was few :
minutes. The children had most
likely been playing there for a long
time; but he heard them now for the :
first time. '


What. Was not one of them Ag {
mes, the clergyman's little daughter '
of eight years, whom Aasta had '
loved even to idolatry, and who was 5
50 like her? Good heavens, How t
ike she was! {


Agnes had just set her little brother t
upon great stone, where he had to
be in school, while she was school I
master.


"Say now just what | say" she t
''Our Father" s


"Ou' Faryer" S


''Who art in heaven" f


s'Eb'm." t


'.Hallowed be thy name" 4


"Alvid be name I


'Thy kingdom come"


eNor' 3


"Thy will be DONE"


''No; SAINT


BOtolf crept away; not, however. (
because the prayer had touched him; |
indeed he had not marked that it was f
1 prayer; but while he looked at and +
listened to the children, he became, h
N his own eyes, a horrible wild beast, t
unfit to come near either God or man. Il
He dragged himself behind some d
bushes, so that the children might r
not discover him; he was more r
lfraid of them than he had ever been II