MÅRBACKA BOOKS BY SELMA LAGERLÖF JERUSALEM, A Novel (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) CHRIST LEGENDS (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF NILS (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) FURTHER ADVENTURES OF NILS (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) LEGEND OF THE SACRED IMAGE (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) MIRACLES OF ANTICHRIST (_Trans. from Swedish by Pauline Bancroft Flach_) STORY OF GÖSTA BERLING (_Trans. from Swedish by Pauline Bancroft Flach_) THE EMPEROR OF PORTUGALLIA (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) THE HOLY CITY, Jerusalem II (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) INVISIBLE LINKS (_Trans. from Swedish by Pauline Bancroft Flach_) LILLIECRONA’S HOME (_Trans. from Swedish by Anna Barwell_) THE OUTCAST (_Trans. from Swedish by W. Worster, M. A._) MÅRBACKA (_Trans. from Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard_) MÅRBACKA BY SELMA LAGERLÖF TRANSLATED FROM THE SWEDISH BY VELMA SWANSTON HOWARD GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1925 COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y. CONTENTS THE STRÖMSTAD JOURNEY PAGE I. The Nursemaid 1 II. Grand Company 10 III. The Drive to Karlstad 18 IV. In the Cabin on the _Uddeholm_ 21 V. At the Goldsmith’s Shop 26 VI. Gray Island 32 VII. The Bird of Paradise 39 VIII. The Keepsake 47 THE OLD HOUSEKEEPER’S TALES I. Grandmother 53 II. The Ghost of Vilarstensbacken 55 III. Pastor Wennervik 63 IV. The Gander 67 V. The Lemmings 71 VI. The Neckan 80 VII. The Paymaster of the Regiment 84 VIII. The Militia-Men 96 OLD HOUSES AND OLD PEOPLE I. The Stone Huts 105 II. The Money-Chest 112 III. The Larder on Stilts 120 IV. The Manservants’ Cottage 127 V. The _Jungfru_ 133 VI. The Bridal-Crown 142 VII. _Vackerfeldt_ 155 VIII. The Orchestra 169 THE NEW MÅRBACKA I. The Seventeen Cats 179 II. The New Barn 188 III. The Garden 197 IV. The Roof Trusses 207