on in calm beauty with the modest aims, small virtues, and small vices
which were the happiness of modest, idyllic souls. He even saw himself
in spirit recounting to his astonished countrymen the wonderful things
he had heard and seen during his foreign pilgrimage, and smiled to
himself as he imagined their wonder when he should tell them about the
beautiful little girl who had been the first and only one to offer him a
friendly greeting in the strange land. During these reflections he fell
asleep, and slept soundly for two or three hours. Once, he seemed to
hear footsteps and whispers among the trees, and made an effort to rouse
himself, but weariness again overmastered him and he slept on. At last,
he felt himself seized violently by the shoulders, and a gruff voice
shouted in his ear:
“Get up, you sleepy dog.”
He rubbed his eyes, and, by the dim light of the moon, saw a Herculean
policeman lifting a stout stick over his head. His former terror came
upon him with increased violence, and his heart stood for a moment
still, then, again, hammered away as if it would burst his sides.
“Come along!” roared the policeman, shaking him vehemently by the collar
of his coat.
In his bewilderment he quite forgot where he was, and, in hurried
Norse sentences, assured his persecutor that he was a harmless, honest
traveler, and implored him to release him. But the official Hercules was
inexorable.
“My valise, my valise;” cried Halfdan. “Pray let me get my valise.”
They returned to the place where he had slept, but the valise was
nowhere to be found. Then, with dumb despair he resigned himself to his
fate, and after a brief ride on a street-car, found himself standing in
a large, low-ceiled room; he covered his face with his hands and burst
into tears.
“The grand-the happy republic,” he murmured, “spontaneous blossoming of
the soul. Alas! I have rooted up my life; I fear it will never blossom.”
All the high-flown adjectives he had employed in his parting speech in
the Students’ Union, when he paid his enthusiastic tribute to the Grand
Republic, now kept recurring to him, and in this moment the paradox
seemed cruel. The Grand Republic, what did it care for such as he? A
pair of brawny arms fit to wield the pick-axe and to steer the plow it
received with an eager welcome; for a child-like, loving heart and a
generously fantastic brain, it had but the stern greeting of the law.
III.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account