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The Fisher Maiden.
39

lived at ease in his handsome rooms in the upper story of the house; while beneath, in the small study, beside the lamp that shone on the night of his old age, sat the old priest, ever at work. After the disappointment he had undergone, he neither could nor would take a stranger to help him, neither would he follow his son’s advice and resign his charge; therefore he knew no rest, summer or winter, while his son each year took a longer journey abroad. When at home he associated with no one, except that he dined at his father’s table in more or less silence; but if any one spoke to him he responded with such superior soundness of judgment and zeal for the truth that the conversation was apt to become embarrassing. He never went to church; but he gave more than half his income to benevolent purposes, and always with the most definite instructions as to its use.

This munificent generosity was so at variance with the less liberal habits of the small town that it overwhelmed every one. When we add to this young Ödegaard’s reserve, his frequent foreign journeys, and the shyness all felt in addressing him, it can readily be understood that he seemed a mysterious being to whom was ascribed all possible gifts as well as his superior judgment. When this man condescended to