The Story of Gösta Berling The Story of Gösta Berling _Translated from the Swedish of_ Selma Lagerlöf by Pauline Bancroft Flach [Illustration] Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1898 _Copyright, 1898_, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. _All rights reserved._ University Press: JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE “The Story of Gösta Berling” was published in Sweden in 1894 and immediately brought its author into prominence. The tales are founded on actual occurrences and depict the life in the province of Värmland at the beginning of this century. Värmland is a lonely tract in the southern part of Sweden, and has retained many of its old customs, while mining is the principal industry of its sparse population. It consists of great stretches of forest, sloping down to long, narrow lakes, connected by rivers. Miss Lagerlöf has grown up in the midst of the wild legends of her country, and, deeply imbued with their spirit, interprets them with a living force all her own. Her efforts have been materially encouraged by the Crown Prince of Sweden, and there is every reason to expect that her genius has not reached its fullest development. STOCKHOLM, May, 1898. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION: I THE PRIEST 1 II THE BEGGAR 12 PART I I THE LANDSCAPE 29 II CHRISTMAS EVE 34 III CHRISTMAS DAY 49 IV GÖSTA BERLING, POET 63 V LA CACHUCHA 79 VI THE BALL AT EKEBY 84 VII THE OLD VEHICLES 106 VIII THE GREAT BEAR IN GURLITTA CLIFF 122 IX THE AUCTION AT BJÖRNE 138 X THE YOUNG COUNTESS 170 XI GHOST-STORIES 199 XII EBBA DOHNA’S STORY 214 XIII MAMSELLE MARIE 236 PART II I COUSIN CHRISTOPHER 247 II THE PATHS OF LIFE 253 III PENITENCE 268 IV THE IRON FROM EKEBY 280 V LILLIECRONA’S HOME 291 VI THE WITCH OF DOVRE 298 VII MIDSUMMER 304 VIII MADAME MUSICA 309