Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel by Alexander Lange Kielland (year 2 reading books .txt) 📖
- Author: Alexander Lange Kielland
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"No, Not Exactly; It Would Not Do. I Can'T Very Well Go Up There Dressed
For Riding, And If I Were To Ride In These Clothes I Should Look Absurd.
But I Thought Of Riding Out There This Evening, Somewhere About Seven
O'Clock. Just Fancy Me Coming In Over The Garden Wall With A Flying
Salute, And Lighted By The Last Rays Of The Evening Sun! Why, It Would
Be Irresistible."
"Well, I Am Afraid, Or Perhaps I Ought Rather To Say I Hope, That Miss
Madeleine Will Not Fully Appreciate Your Novel Way Of Paying Her Your
Addresses," Said Worse, Half-Seriously.
"Ah, My Most Respected Friend, You Know Very Little Of Woman'S Heart;
And How Should You, When Your Ideal Is A Woman Who Goes In For Her
Rights? A Tall Bony Creature With A Moustache Under Her Nose, And
'Woman'S Wrongs' Under Her Arm."
"Leave Off, Will You?" Cried Worse. "You Are Just In Your Most
Disagreeable Vein. You Had Better Go Off To Young Mrs. Garman. She Will
Find You Most Amusing To-Day."
"A Good Idea, Which I Was Already Thinking Of," Answered Delphin, As He
Took His Hat; "And At The Same Time I Will Take A Place For Myself In
Her Carriage For To-Morrow."
"Won'T You Drive With Me?" Cried Worse After Him.
"No, Thanks; I Would Rather Go With Mrs. Garman, If For Nothing Else
Than To Have The Pleasure Of Seeing Her Worthy Husband On The Box," Said
He, As He Went Out Of The Door.
Jacob Worse Stood Watching Him. At First He Had Been Very Glad To Make
Delphin'S Acquaintance. There Were Not Many Young Men In The Town With
Whom He Could Associate. Delphin Was Intelligent, Well Read On Different
Subjects, And When Alone Was Good Company Enough. But By-And-By He
Showed More Of The Frivolous Side Of His Character, And Worse Began To
Get A Little Tired Of His Friend.
Fanny Was Sitting All This Time In a State Of Absolute Boredom. Little
Christian Frederick Had Gone Out With His Nurse, And The Street Was
Uninteresting, Dusty, Hot, And Thronged By Country People Making Their
Saturday Purchases. She Did Not Care To Look Out Of The Window, But Sat
Leaning Back In Her Most Comfortable Armchair, Yawning In Front Of The
Glass. Would It Be Better To Send For Madeleine? It Was Several Days
Since She Had Paid Her A Visit. But Then She Would Have To Play The Part
Of Go-Between Again. Or Should She Begin On Her Own Account? Yes; Why
Not? But Then He Never Came Except When Madeleine Was There. It Really
Was Too Tiresome.
When He Now Came Unexpectedly Into The Room It Gave Her Quite A Start,
But She Still Remained Leaning Back In Her Armchair, And Gave Him Her
Left Hand, Which Was The Nearest, As She Said, "I Am Glad To See You. I
Was Just Thinking Of You As I Was Sitting Here All Alone."
Chapter 10 Pg 74"It Was Very Kind Of You, I Am Sure," Answered He, As He Sat Down In a
Chair In Front Of Her.
"Yes; All Sorts Of Foolish Things Come Into One'S Head When One Is
Sitting Alone."
"I Hope I Was Not The Most Foolish Thing That Could Come Into Your
Thoughts," Answered Delphin, Jestingly. "But It Is Quite True; You Have
Been Left A Great Deal Alone Lately."
"Yes; But Perhaps I Have My Own Reasons For It."
"May I Venture To Ask What These Reasons Are?"
"Perhaps It Would Be Better If I Were To Tell You," Said She, Regarding
Attentively The Point Of Her Shoe, Which Projected From Her Dress As She
Lay Back In Her Chair. She Had Tiny Pointed French Shoes With Straps
Across The Instep, Through Which Appeared A Blue Silk Stocking.
"I Assure You I Shall Be Very Thankful, And At The Same Time Most
Discreet."
"Well, Then, Madeleine Is So Young," Said Fanny, As If Following The
Train Of Her Own Thoughts, "That I Feel It To A Certain Extent My Duty
To Look After Her, And--"
"I Scarcely See That It Is Absolutely Necessary," Answered He.
"Yes; But When A Girl So Inexperienced As Madeleine Is Brought Into
Contact With Gentlemen Who Are--Well, Who Are So Clever As, For
Instance, Yourself, Mr. Delphin, You See--" She Looked At Him As She
Paused In Her Sentence.
"You Are Paying Me Too Great A Compliment," Said He, Laughing; "And
Besides, You Can Never Imagine That I Would Take Advantage--"
"Nonsense!" Rejoined Fanny; "I Know All About That. You Are Just Like
All The Rest. You Would Never Hesitate To Take Advantage Of Even The
Slightest Opportunity; Would You, Now? Tell Me Frankly."
"Well," Answered He, Rising, "If You Really Wish For An Honest Answer, I
Must Confess That When I See A Strawberry That Nobody Else Seems To
Notice, I Generally Pick It."
"Yes; It Is Just That Greediness That All Men Have, And Which I Find, At
The Same Time, So Dangerous And Incomprehensible."
"Yes; But, Mrs. Garman, Strawberries Are Really So Delicious."
"Yes, When They Are Ripe," Answered Fanny.
The Words Fell From Her Lips As Smoothly As Butter. Delphin Had Taken A
Few Paces Across The Room, And Just Turned In Time To See The Last
Glimpse Of A Look Which Must Have Been Resting On Him While She Spoke.
It Was Not Very Often That He Lost His Self-Possession In a Conversation
Of This Kind, But The Discovery He Had Made, Or Thought That He Had
Chapter 10 Pg 75Made, With All Its Uncertainty, And The Feeling Of Pleased Vanity It
Brought With It, Confused Him, And He Stood Stammering And Blushing
Before Her. She Still Lay Stretched In The Armchair, A Position Which
Displayed To The Best Advantage The Lines Of Her Lovely Form. Her Beauty
Was Fully Matured, And Showed Freedom And Elegance In every Movement.
She Could See That She Had Said Enough For The Present, And She Got Up
Without Apparently Taking Any Notice Of His Confusion.
"You Must Think," Said She Quickly, With A Smile, "That It Is Absurd For
Me To Preach You A Sermon. We All Have To Attend To Our Own Affairs; And
If You Will Excuse Me, I Have To Go And Try On A Dress. Good-Bye, Mr.
Delphin; I Hope You Will Find Your Strawberries To Your Taste."
Delphin Was Quite Confounded; But Before He Had Had Time To Get His Hat
She Put Her Head In at The Door, Still Smiling, And Cried, "You Will
Drive Over With Me To-Morrow?" And, Without Waiting For An Answer, She
Nodded Her Head And Disappeared.
Delphin Had Hardly Recovered Himself When He Went For His Ride To
Sandsgaard, And He Quite Forgot About The Flying Salute Over The Garden
Wall, For There Was No One To Be Seen Either At The Window Or In Front
Of The House. The Fact Was, His Adventure Had Made Such An Impression On
Him That He Did Not Take Very Much Notice.
Fanny At First Repelled His Advances Haughtily; But He Accepted His Fate
With Resignation. George Delphin Was Not The Man To Lose His Time Or His
Temper, In a Hopeless Pursuit. There Are Many Respectable Prizes In a
Lottery Without Aiming At The First. But Now Here Was The Chance Of
Winning The Great Prize, The Charming Fanny, The Admiration Of All. His
Heart Swelled With Pride, And If Jacob Worse Could Have Seen The Look
With Which He Regarded The Passers-By, It Would Certainly Have Reminded
Him Of General Prim.
The Next Day At Sandsgaard, Fanny And Madeleine Were Together During The
Whole Afternoon. Delphin Could Not Manage To Get An Opportunity Of
Talking To Either Separately. Just Once He Came Upon Fanny In The
Morning-Room At The Piano, But She Got Up And Went Out Hurriedly As He
Entered. As They Drove Home That Evening Scarcely A Word Passed Between
Them. Fanny Kept Gazing The Whole Time Over The Fjord, Of Which They
Caught Glimpses From Time To Time Through The Trees Of The Avenue. It
Was A Still, Peaceful Autumn Evening, And Delphin Was In an Excited
Mood. Each Time He Moved He Felt The Rustle Of Her Silk Dress, The Folds
Of Which Nearly Filled The Carriage. Both Sat Quite Silent To The End Of
The Drive.
During The Next Few Days Madeleine Was Again Staying With Her Cousin,
Whom She Found More Gracious Than Ever. Delphin Came Even More
Frequently Than Before; But She Did Not Meet Him During Her Walks, A
Fact Which She Related To Fanny. Fanny Said With A Smile That Delphin
Was Perfectly Right, And His Conduct Was Only Proper, Now That People
Had Begun To Talk About Their Frequent Walks Together.
Madeleine Thought With Regret Upon How Much There Is To Be Careful Of In
This World; But A Short Time Afterwards She Met Mr. Delphin, And During
The Pleasant Walk They Had Together He Was Most Attentive, And In The
Best Of Spirits.
Chapter 10 Pg 76Fanny Was Now More Beaming Than Ever. Whenever She Saw Her Own And
Madeleine'S Reflection In The Glass, Which, To Tell The Truth, Was Very
Often The Case, A Smile Of Satisfaction Would Pass Over Her Features.
Without Madeleine Having A Suspicion, The _Roles_ Had Been Changed, And
The Play Was Ready To Begin, Now That Fanny Had Made Up Her Mind That
The Parts Were In The Right Hands.
Chapter 11 Pg 77
All The Miss Sparres, Of Whom There Were Five, Rushed To The Window.
"It Is Mr. Johnsen, The New School-Inspector! No, It Isn'T! Yes, It Is!
It _Is_ Mr. Johnsen! Do You Think I Don'T Know Him, Although He Has Got
A New Coat? I Declare, He Is Coming In!"
"Clementine, You Have
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