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Chap. XLIII.
STORY OF PETER TANG.
197
“ Well then, give me that little meadow of yours, and
I will sign the freedom of your boy.”
Old Tang’s heart waxed heavy, for he had himself
reclaimed this meadow from the waters; but though
the loss was great to him, he loved his child better:
a paper is drawn out, signed and sealed; young Peter
is free, and sent to a professor to complete his
education, for his father determined to apprentice him
to a merchant at Ringkjøbing.
At the age of twenty-five appears the name of Peter
Tang as one of the richest merchants of the city of his
adoption. High in character, he married the fair
daughter of the burgomaster, Marien Kier. His fortune
still continues augmenting until the year 1778, when
Christian Leth, the son of his old lord, dies childless,
and the manor of Vosborg is for sale; but no one will
buy it, the times are hard, and the season bad. Peter
one day, after his store is closed, walks down, stick in
hand, to the chateau.
“ If,” says he to himself, “ the three old limes at the
entrance of the second court are still standing, I will
then purchase the chateau; if they are no longer there,
I give up the idea.” The limes stood erect, fragrant
in full blossom, as they now are; and on the following
Monday Peter Tang, the boy who twenty years before
drove his cows over the bridge to the salt meadow,
became Lord of Vosborg. But the aged mother of the
last proprietor, widow of his old oppressor, still dwelt
therein ; so Peter, who bore no malice, visits her, and
consults her what to do.
“ Let me,” she replies, “ die where I have always
lived ; but first make the roof water-tight, for I cannot
sleep for the rain. You shall give me a home, for I am
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