Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - Chapter XI. Review of Ivar's fate.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
TIIE SKJUTS-BOYo 95
"Old Loefoe plainly saw that I did hot like Matflda’s want of
]ove for home; and as she, as X mentioncd before, was kind and
submissive, she gave way, as well as she was able, fo the well-
meaning exhortations of ber father, although the contemptible
interference of her mother always prevented the caxrying out of
this happy dest,. Whether M:atilda’s sentiments were
serious towards me then, as I afterwards dîscovered, ai a future
rime, they were, I cannot tell, for she always avoided my pre-
sence, like a bashful child, who knows that if is pursued by stern
eyes. ]3u# tlfis is certainly true, that if Madame Loefoe had
hot died, which occurrence changed Matilda’s position altogether,
and imposed l#pon ber the whole weight of domestic duties, we
would bave never approached each other.
"#s soon as the girl was withdrawn from the influence of a
weak-minded mother, who could bave destroyed ber better
judgment, she became more natural. During the mourning
season she was still more sofç-hearted; and often wher# I saw
ber weep, and observed, by ber bashful appearance, that she
wished fo conceal ber tears from me, I approached ber in a
manner which would inspire ber with confidence in me. As
soon as she discovered #bat I cared for her, one could easily see
how much more she desired fo render herself agrceable fo me
than formerly. The excessive singing and p]aying on the piano
soon ceased, and the :French romances gave way fo more fitting
reading whlch I had selected for her. In this way the year of
mourning passed over. Although 1V#atilda was always somewha#
ill-looking, and rather dull of comprehension, nevertheless she
always seemed good and devout fo me, and was zealous in the
performance of hcr domestic duties. Aside from that, a spark
of warmer fcclings glowed within ber, and this finally moved
me fo ask ber father for ber hand in marriage.
"Matilda soon afterward became my wife, and with ber I
became the proprietor of the estate of l#oestorp, for nly aged
father-in-law was anxious fo retire from business."
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
