Hulda could not imagine, and she was very anxious to know. Was this anxiety due solely to an idle curiosity on her part? By no means, for the secret certainly affected her deeply. Not that s

me it with joy. If it did not c

after Ole's last letter reached Dal. They agreed perfectly upon t

sister. You certainly must b

something

at Ole went away without givin

anything to

I are not one and

e are,

s betrothed, a

m, and he should not return from this voyage, you would be as inconsol

l. "Ole not return from his last voyage to the great fishing banks! What can hav

w. I can not drive away certain presentim

are only

but where do t

in your slumber. Besides, it is almost always so when one has earnestly desir

w it,

t received a letter from Joel saying that the 'Viking' will return before the end of the month, and it is

ally think

have a wedding that will not only create a sensation in Dal, but in all the neighboring villages. I int

conversation with his mother on the subject. It was only a few moments after Dame Hansen's meeting with the stranger, whose message had so deeply agita

s she invariably replied that there was nothing the matter with her when she wa

that Ole announced in his last letter that he

," replied Dame Hansen, "and that nothing

fixing upon the twenty-fifth of

ver, if Huld

I had better ask you, mother, if you do not int

ng?" retorted Dame Hansen, without ra

on we hold in the neighborhood. We ought to invite all our friends to it, and if our own house is

hese guests

of Help Bros., the shipowners, would be an honor to the family, and with your consent, I repeat, I will invite them to spend a day w

his marriage such an important ev

f our inn, which I am sure has maintained i

Joel

the standard at which he left it; consequently, I think it would b

e it,

it is quite time for Hulda to begin her prepa

ust do whatever you think nec

before appointing the wedding-day, and beginning to prepare for it, but as he said, what was once done would not have to be done over again; besides, the co

very comfortable fortune. For a long time he had fully appreciated Joel's sterling worth, and his daughter Siegfrid's appreciation, though of a rather different nature, was certainly no less profound; so it was quite probable that at no very distant day after Siegfrid had served as H

de-maid as well as to the bride, is the t

age on the occasion. Warned by a short note from her friend Hulda-Joel had kindly made himself responsib

fasten the neck of the chemisette, the belt of red silk or woolen stuff from which depend four rows of small chains, the finger-rings studded with tiny bangles that tinkle musically, the bracelets of fretted silver-in short, all the wealth of country finery in which gold appears only in the shape of the thinnest plating, silver in the guise of tin and pearls, and diamonds in the shape of wax and crystal beads. But what does that matter so long as the tout ensemble is

ious, for fashions are pitiless, and give, besides, not

oad belt with fancy buckles that kept her apron in place upon her scarlet skirt, the girdle to which were appended several small embroidered le

d only be obliged to resort to her mother's big chest. In fact, these articles of clothing are transmitted from marriage to marriage through all the different generations of the same family. So one sees reappearing again and again upon the scene the bodice embroidered in gold, the velvet sash, the skirt of striped silk, the g

dding suit: a short jacket trimmed with silver buttons, silk-embroidered waistcoat, tight breeches fastened at the knee with a bunch of bright r

ks would barely suffice if they wished to have everything in readiness before Ole's return; but even if Ole should

ide gave him considerable leisure at this season of the year. One would have supposed that he had a large number of friends in Bamble, for he went there very often. He had al

ht expect Ole to alight from his kariol, throw open

I! Here

everything was in readiness, and Siegfrid needed on

ll no Ole, nor did the postman br

to delays. It is a long way from St. Pierre-Miquelon to Bergen. How I wish the 'Viking' were a steamer and I t

ery plainly that Hulda's uneasine

Telemark. Violent gales swept the high table-lands, and

arrival of the 'Viking,'" the you

at they may have hindered its progress, and compelled it to fa

e not unea

e delays are very common. No; I am not uneasy, for

lda, he could not refuse his services. He would only be absent forty-eight hours at the longest, and he felt confident that he should find Ole at Dal on his return, tho

sely one o'clock, a loud rap r

le!" cri

n to t

veloped in a traveling-cloak, a