Thus occupied, before he was aware of it, Petra had once more become the constant occupation of his mind, but with a DIFFERENT object. He studied art from every point of view, and especially artists, most of all, the artists of the stage. He saw much to appall a Christian, he saw the enormous abuses, but did he not see the same around him, even in the church itself? Though there were hypocritical ministers, the calling was still the same, great, eternal. If the search after truth wherever begun, gains power in life and poetry, should it not also reach the stage? Having assured himself on this point, he was glad to see from Signers letters, that Petra was developing her mind, and that Signe was the right one to help her. And now he had returned to see and thank the gentle guide, who knew not herself what she was to him. But he had also come to see Petra again. How far had she got now? The word had been spoken, he could therefore talk freely with her about it; this was a relief to both, for thus they spoke not of the past. In the meantime they were interrupted by guests from town, invited and uninvited! The affair was already so far advanced, that a single well employed opportunity must make all clear,--and this the guests brought with them. A large party was invited to meet them, and when after dinner, the gentlemen were together in the study, the conversation turned upon the stage; for a chaplain had seen a work on Christian ethics open upon the dean's table, and his eye had caught the appalling word: Theatre. This led to a hasty discussion, in the midst of which the dean entered; he had not been present at dinner, having been called away to a dying bed; he was very serious, and neither ate, nor took any part in the conversation; but he filled his pipe and listened. As soon as Odegaard observed this, he joined in the conversation himself, but for a long time he tried in vain to explain his views, for the chaplain had a habit of exclaiming every time a link in the chain of evidence was about to be adduced: "I deny it!" and then that which was about to be a proof, must itself be proved; consequently the matter was always going backwards; from the theatre, they had already passed to navigation, and now to get something proved in that, they were just going over to agriculture. This was too much, so Odegaard elected himself chairman. There were several ministers present besides the chaplain, there was also a captain, a little swarthy man, with an immense abdomen, and a pair of small legs that went stumping one after the other. Odegaard called upon the chaplain to state his objections to the theatre. He began: