Ticket No. 9672 (4 page)

"Of what?"

"Never mind, now. I will tell you on my return. But I warn you that I
am firmly resolved to make my Hulda the happiest woman in the country.
Yes, I am."

"If you but knew how easy that will be!" replied Hulda, offering him
her hand. "Am I not that already, and is there a home in all Dal as
pleasant as ours?"

Dame Hansen hastily averted her head.

"So the matter is settled?" asked Ole, cheerfully.

"Yes," replied Joel.

"And settled beyond recall?"

"Certainly."

"And you feel no regret, Hulda?"

"None whatever, my dear Ole."

"I think, however, that it would be better not to appoint the day for
your marriage until after your return," remarked Joel.

"Very well, but it will go hard with me if I do not return in less
than a year to lead Hulda to the church at Moel, where our friend,
Pastor Andersen, will not refuse to make his best prayer for us!"

And it was in this way that the marriage of Hulda Hansen and Ole Kamp
had been decided upon.

The young sailor was to go aboard his vessel a week later; but before
they parted the lovers were formally betrothed in accordance with the
touching custom of Scandinavian countries.

In simple and honest Norway lovers are almost invariably publicly
betrothed before marriage. Sometimes the marriage is not solemnized
until two or three years afterward, but one must not suppose that the
betrothal is simply an interchange of vows which depend only upon the
honesty of the parties interested. No, the obligation is much more
sacred, and even if this act of betrothal is not binding in the eyes
of the law, it is, at least, so regarded by that universal law called
custom.

So, in this case, it was necessary to make arrangements for a ceremony
over which Pastor Andersen should preside. There was no minister in
Dal, nor in any of the neighboring hamlets. In Norway they have what
they call Sunday towns, in which the minister resides, and where the
leading families of the parish assemble for worship. They even lease
apartments there, in which they take up their abode for twenty-four
hours or more—time to perform their religious duties—and people
return from the town as from a pilgrimage.

Dal, it is true, boasted of a chapel, but the pastor came only when he
was summoned.

After all, Moel was not far off, only about eight miles distant, at
the end of Lake Tinn, and Pastor Andersen was a very obliging man,
and a good walker; so the worthy minister was invited to attend the
betrothal in the twofold capacity of minister and family friend. The
acquaintance was one of long standing. He had seen Joel and Hulda grow
up, and loved them as well as he loved that young sea-dog, Ole Kamp,
so the news of the intended marriage was very pleasing to him.

So Pastor Andersen gathered together his robe, his collar, and his
prayer-book, and started off for Dal one misty, moisty morning. He
arrived there in the company of Joel, who had gone half-way to meet
him, and it is needless to say that his coming was hailed with delight
at Dame Hansen's inn, that he had the very best room in the house, and
that the floor was freshly strewn with twigs of juniper that perfumed
it like a chapel.

At one o'clock on the following day the little church was thrown
open, and there, in the presence of the pastor and a few friends and
neighbors, Ole and Hulda solemnly promised to wed each other when the
young sailor should return from the last voyage he intended to make.
A year is a long time to wait, but it passes all the same, nor is it
intolerable when two persons can trust each other.

And now Ole could not, without good cause, forsake her to whom he had
plighted his troth, nor could Hulda retract the promise she had given
to Ole; and if Ole had not left Norway a few days after the betrothal,
he might have profited by the incontestable right it gave him to visit
the young girl whenever he pleased, to write to her whenever he chose,
walk out with her arm in arm, unaccompanied by any member of the
family, and enjoy a preference over all others in the dances that form
a part of all fêtes and ceremonies.

But Ole Kamp had been obliged to return to Bergen, and one week
afterward the "Viking" set sail for the fishing banks of Newfoundland,
and Hulda could only look forward to the letters which her betrothed
had promised to send her by every mail.

And these impatiently expected letters never failed her, and always
brought a ray of happiness to the house which seemed so gloomy
after the departure of one of its inmates. The voyage was safely
accomplished; the fishing proved excellent, and the profits promised
to be large. Besides, at the end of each letter, Ole always referred
to a certain secret, and of the fortune it was sure to bring him. It
was a secret that Hulda would have been glad to know, and Dame Hansen,
too, for reasons one would not have been likely to suspect.

Dame Hansen seemed to have become even more gloomy and anxious and
reticent than ever, and a circumstance which she did not see fit to
mention to her children increased her anxiety very considerably.

Three days after the arrival of Ole's last letter, as Dame Hansen
was returning alone from the saw-mill, to which place she had gone to
order a bag of shavings from the foreman, Lengling, she was accosted
near her own door by a man who was a stranger in that part of the
country.

"This is Dame Hansen, is it not?" he inquired.

"Yes; but I do not know you," was the reply.

"That doesn't matter," rejoined the man. "I arrived here only this
morning from Drammen, and am now on my way back."

"From Drammen?" repeated Dame Hansen, quickly.

"You are acquainted, I think, with a certain Monsieur Sandgoist, who
lives there?"

"Monsieur Sandgoist!" repeated Dame Hansen, whose face paled at the
name. "Yes, I know him."

"Ah, well! When Monsieur Sandgoist heard that I was coming to Dal, he
asked me to give his respects to you."

"Was that all?"

"And to say to you that it was more than probable that he would pay
you a visit next month. Good health to you, and good-evening, Dame
Hansen."

Hulda was considerably surprised at the persistency with which Ole
alluded in his letters to the fortune that was to be his on his
return. Upon what did the young man base his expectations? 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 she was ambitious, this modest
and honest young girl; nor did she in looking forward to the future
ever aspire to what we call wealth. Ole's affection satisfied, and
would always satisfy her. If wealth came, she would welcome it with
joy. If it did not come, she would still be content.

This is precisely what Hulda and Joel said to each other the day
after Ole's last letter reached Dal. They agreed perfectly upon this
subject, as upon all others, by the way. And then Joel added:

"No; it is impossible, little sister. You certainly must be keeping
something from me."

"Keeping something from you!"

"Yes; for I can not believe that Ole went away without giving you some
clew to his secret."

"Did he say anything to you about it?"

"No; but you and I are not one and the same person."

"Yes, we are, brother."

"I am not Ole's betrothed, at all events."

"Almost," said the young girl; "and if any misfortune should befall
him, and he should not return from this voyage, you would be as
inconsolable as I would be, and your tears would flow quite as freely
as mine."

"Really, little sister. I forbid you to even speak of such a thing,"
replied Joel. "Ole not return from his last voyage to the great
fishing banks! What can have put such an idea into your head? You
surely can not mean what you say, Hulda!"

"No, certainly not. And yet, I do not know. I can not drive away
certain presentiments—the result, perhaps, of bad dreams."

"Dreams are only dreams."

"True, brother, but where do they come from?"

"From ourselves, not from heaven. You are anxious, and so your fears
haunt you in your slumber. Besides, it is almost always so when one
has earnestly desired a thing and the time when one's desires are to
be realized is approaching."

"I know it, Joel."

"Really, I thought you were much more sensible, little sister. Yes,
and more energetic. Here you have just received a letter from Joel
saying that the 'Viking' will return before the end of the month, and
it is now the 19th of April, and consequently none too soon for you to
begin your preparations for the wedding."

"Do you really think so, Joel?"

"Certainly I think so, Hulda. I even think that we have delayed too
long already. Think of it. We must have a wedding that will not only
create a sensation in Dal, but in all the neighboring villages. I
intend it shall be the grandest one ever known in the district, so I
am going to set to work immediately."

An affair of this kind is always a momentous occasion in all the
country districts of Norway, particularly in the Telemark, so that
every day Joel had a 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 agitated her, and though she had seated
herself at her spinning-wheel as usual, it would have been plain to a
close observer that her thoughts were far away.

Even Joel noticed that his mother seemed even more despondent than
usual, but as she invariably replied that there was nothing the matter
with her when she was questioned on the subject, her son decided to
speak only of Hulda's marriage.

"Mother," he began, "you, of course, recollect that Ole announced in
his last letter that he should probably return to Dal in a few weeks."

"It is certainly to be hoped that he will," replied Dame Hansen, "and
that nothing will occur to occasion any further delay."

"Do you see any objection to our fixing upon the twenty-fifth of May
as the day of the marriage?"

"None, whatever, if Hulda is willing."

"Her consent is already given. And now I think I had better ask
you, mother, if you do not intend to do the handsome thing on that
occasion?"

"What do you mean by the handsome thing?" retorted Dame Hansen,
without raising her eyes from her spinning-wheel.

"Why, I am anxious, if you approve, of course, that the wedding should
correspond with the position we hold in the neighborhood. We ought to
invite all our friends to it, and if our own house is not large enough
to accommodate them, our neighbors, I am sure, will be glad to lodge
our guests."

"Who will these guests be, Joel?"

"Why, I think we ought to invite all our friends from Moel, Tiness and
Bamble. I will attend to that. I think, too, that the presence 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 with us at Dal.
They are very fine men, and they think a great deal of Ole, so I am
almost sure that they will accept the invitation."

"Is it really necessary to make this marriage such an important
event?" inquired Dame Hansen, coldly.

"I think so, mother, if only for the sake of our inn, which I am sure
has maintained its old reputation since my father's death."

"Yes, Joel, yes."

"And it seems to me that it is our duty to at least keep it up to
the standard at which he left it; consequently, I think it would be
advisable to give considerable publicity to my sister's marriage."

"So be it, Joel."

"And do you not agree with me in thinking that it is quite time
for Hulda to begin her preparations, and what do you say to my
suggestion?"

"I think that you and Hulda must do whatever you think necessary,"
replied Dame Hansen.

Perhaps the reader will think that Joel was in too much of a hurry,
and that it would have been much more sensible in him to have waited
until Ole's return 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 countless details connected with a
ceremonial of this kind would serve to divert Hulda's mind from these
forebodings for which there seemed to be no foundation.

The first thing to be done was to select the bride's maid of honor.
That proved an easy matter, however, for Hulda's choice was already
made. The bride-maid, of course, must be Hulda's intimate friend,
Farmer Helmboe's daughter. Her father was a prominent man, and the
possessor of a 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 Hulda's maid of honor, Hulda, in turn,
would act in the same capacity for her friend. This is the custom in
Norway, where these pleasant duties are generally reserved for married
women, so it was rather on Joel's account that Siegfrid Helmboe was to
serve Hulda Hansen in this capacity.

A question of vital importance to the bride-maid as well as to the
bride, is the toilet to be worn on the day of the wedding.

Siegfrid, a pretty blonde of eighteen summers, was firmly resolved
to appear to the best possible advantage on the occasion. Warned by
a short note from her friend Hulda—Joel had kindly made himself
responsible for its safe delivery—she immediately proceeded to devote
her closest attention to this important work.

In the first place, an elaborately embroidered bodice must be made to
incase Siegfrid's charming figure as if in a coat of enamel. There
was also much talk about a skirt composed of a series of jupons which
should correspond in number with the wearer's fortune, but in no way
detract from her charms of person. As for jewelry, it was no easy
matter to select the design of the collar of silver filigree, set with
pearls, the heart-shaped ear-rings, the double buttons to 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 pleasing
to the eye? Besides, if necessary, Siegfrid would not hesitate to
go to the elegant stores of M. Benett, in Christiania, to make her
purchases. Her father would not object—far from it! The kind-hearted
man allowed his daughter full liberty in such matters; besides,
Siegfrid was sensible enough not to draw too heavily upon her father's
purse, though everything else was of secondary importance provided
Joel would see her at her very best on that particular day.