north. The Accountant, indeed, had given her the picture of her childhood's home; but that was only an evidence of the sentimental turn which forms, more or less, a part of a true Swedish character, and which caused him to be rather pleased than otherwise to see that the girl still preserved some sentiment regarding her childish days —still possessed some love for that wild northern nature which she saw no more, but the whisper of whose silent forests she still heard in her secret heart, where the picture impressed in childhood's early hours was yet distinct, and perpetually appeared, even amid the allurements of artificial life, bringing up thoughts of pain, because bringing thoughts of a home she now wished to abjure.

this was the doubt he felt when he gazed on | never dreamed of reminding the adopted girl pretty Annette, and felt his love for her grow- that any love or duty was owing to the ing stronger and stronger the longer he knew peasant parents who dwelt away in the far her, and the more frequently he was in her society. People chose generally to say, that the adopted daughter of Accountant Miller was the child of noble parents; there was some mystery about her birth, and they solved it thus. Annette, at times, was changeable. On some occasions, warm sensibilities, simplicity, and generous feeling, would raise his love almost to its climax; at others, an air of haughtiness, a contempt for lowly life, an extreme tenacity in the observance of all the usages of what is termed good society, would cause it to sink to a lower point than it had been at before. Then he went to see her, thinking it should be his last visit; that it should determine him in his belief that Mademoiselle Annette was quite unsuitable to his peasant parents, and, consequently, not suited to himself; but he came away rather more in love than ever. He had long wished to speak to her of his own life, his circumstances, his parents, and resolved to do so without declaring his love. He had been thrown off his guard in his first address, when such an unlooked-for opportunity presented itself; but he should soon have recovered his self-possession, and Annette might have been saved from falling into a great error, had not that ill-timed interruption broken up their conference, and prevented the very sensible

discourse he had meditated. Still he went on his way in hope and love, for he felt he was loved; and with such a conviction, was it possible not to hope to hope all things?

V. THE OLD HOME IN NORRLAND.

How goes everything up there in the old red wooden house, on the edge of the firforest in Norrland? The new-settler had gone on well; the cleared land had become productive; old Jacris possessed three cows and a horse, besides his reindeer; there was no want, no poverty, in the red wooden house; there was a good deal of industry, and industry had its reward. Some Stockholm traveller had at first brought tidings there of the child that had left it; the parents had heard how well, how happy, how charming, their little Anna was; and the mother had weptwhether tears of joy or of sorrow, no one said which and Anders had laughed, and said the wooden spoon would be well silvered; and the father had looked grave, but remained silent.

The girl, however, did not write to them, and it was now long since they had ceased to hear anything of her. Mrs. Accountant Miller was jealous of every shadow of doubt existing as to the reality of her own mothership; she wished to forget that another possessed a truer claim, and therefore she

But the old house-father, the hardy, laborious Jacris, died. Anders was now its head A short time after the funeral, the old mother said to him: "But I know not how it is; I never can cease thinking of my little girl. Certainly she is happy; but surely she also thinks of her home-she must long after her parents."

"God knows, mother," said Anders, "it seems she has forgotten us altogether."

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Nay, Anders, that is impossible. God has not bound up family hearts so loosely. Do you know, Anders, I wish to see little

Anna once more before I die? Dear heart! I cannot die before that; so much do I know."

"Well! but it is a long way off, and mother cannot go alone.

"Nay, that is understood; but you may find some goods to carry down there, and then I can accompany you.'

"But, mother, if I were now to find you a good and kind daughter, who would take care of you in old age, and be altogether in Anna's place? You need not, in that case, undertake this journey."

"A daughter, Anders? How can that well be?"

"Yes-I think mother guesses."
"What then?"

"That I will marry."

"Marry! a child like you marry?"

"A child of twenty-one years, mother, can well give you a good daughter."

"Well-yes. Anna I may certainly never have again; still, she is always my child; and how that was-though God bless thy father where he lies! it never was quite the same between us after he left the girl down there."

"But it was for her own good."

"Yes; but I am the girl's mother, and God has not forbidden a mother to miss her child. There is no use in setting a strange

branch in an old tree; that I said many times to Jacris; and though he cast it to the winds, it came at the last to his heart."

"That I never could remark," said Anders. "But see now, Anders; I know that better. Yes, see now; the night before he died, when I thought he slept, he called me to him, and said: I can get no peace if you think I did wrong in leaving the girl down there. Perhaps now, in pride and over abundance, she may lose her eternal salvation. But, mother, tell me now, you believe also that I did that for the best?' What could I do but say the comfort-word? If he did wrong, he shall have no hard doom for that; for he meant well, and God looks at the intention, and not at the result."

"We shall think of this, mother -we shall think of it," said Anders, and clapped bis mother on the shoulder; "for thou shalt not lie there and say so, when thou shalt come one time to die."

"God bless thee for that word, Anders; and so can I say to sainted Jacris when we meet there up; thou wert always a good boy. And so it is Hilda, Henrik's daughter, thou

wilt have?"

"Yes, mother."

"And she has two cows, and a good fifty rix-dollars beside?"

"Yes; but the best of it is, that she is a good and industrious girl."

"Yes, yes, my son. to see Anna, good Anders?"

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Yes, mother, if you wish that." Thanks, Anders, thanks. Thou wilt not marry for a year to come, I think?"

"Not unless you want a daughter sooner, good mother."

"said

"Mother will not

the good woman's hand.
think so; that were sinful, miserable in me.
Despise my mother! No, no!"

The mother held the small fine hand in her dry fingers, and smiled and nodded her head. " Yes, I knew that. Anders said otherwise, but I did not believe him. Anders saidknow you what he said, Anna? — he said you were the wooden spoon that wished to be a silver spoon, and so must have got a lump of lead in the heart. Do you feel any lead in the heart, child?" Annette trembled. " Nay, nay; there is no lead there. Anders was altogether wrong."

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"Anders was right," thought Annette: the lead is here. She would not say so, but she felt that, like the silvered spoon, she had only an imaginary value. She trembled lest the reality should appear; and, as she trembled, the lead was felt within. The girl cast herself on her mother's breast, and wept. Ah, if she had lain there longer! lain there till the good and wholesome feelings then awakened had ripened into steady and fixed principle-or, rather, until they had turned back into the principle implanted in her heart by God himself, when she lay first upon that mother's breast.

"Grieve not, my child-grieve not, my little Anna," said the mother soothingly.

Those words," Little Anna," it was so long since she had heard them! In a moment the And we shall travel whole circumstances returned the house of the Norrland new-settler, the rude employments, the coarse dresses; she looked at her mother's-the decent silk handkerchief plainly tied over her head; the homespun woollen gown; the thick wooden-soled shoes. She thought of Hjalmar — the handsome, elegant young officerif he were to see that good woman, and know she was Annette's mother -if he should return before her departure! Annette raised herself from her mother's neck; she resolved to be reasonable, to act sensibly. The sudden change chilled the old woman's "You have not, then, forgotten me? You kindly affections; her "Little Anna" was have not quite forgotten the old mother in now "Mademoiselle Annette" again - the Norrland?" said a little, elderly peasant wo-reasonable, advising, sensible Annette. She man, gazing with tearful eyes into the pretty face before her.

"Wait, wait a bit, good Anders," Gumman Jacris.

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VI. THE OLD MOTHER FROM NORRLAND.

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Nay, mother, nay; certainly not, mother dear, was Annette's reply. Certainly not; but yes, mother knows, mother can well understand, that the Accountant does not like"

spoke reasonably, sensibly, very sensibly indeed, to her poor mother; every word fell cold and chill, and convincing upon the good woman's heart. She was persuaded, or said she was persuaded, that all Annette said was right: it was much better she should not come to visit her daughter - much better that she Nay, Heaven keep us, child! No need should leave her quite to herself. They might to say that; he need not fear; I came not write to each other, they might think of each here to prevent your happiness, or to take you other. Annette might-yes, it was just posfrom your fine friends. No, even if you de-sible that she might soon marry, and then spised me, Anna—so that you were happy; but that you could not do-no, no; you could not despise your poor mother."

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Annette was moved. "Despise you! No, dear mother, that can never be." She pressed VOL. I. 20

CCCCLXVII. LIVING AGE.

but they must wait; and, meantime, the sooner mother travelled home the better- the better for both. And so Annette loaded the old woman with a quantity of fine little things, which certainly had no value in the estima

a wonderful thing for a Swede—and cer- Annette took on herself the office of hinting, tainly not too early, Hjalmar arrived. He that Mrs. Accountant wished to know why looked perhaps a shade graver - more ear-she had the honor of a visit from Kaptenska nest than usual; there was nothing of elation, Weinberg. eagerness, scarcely any perceptible tenderness Yes, that was soon told; Kaptenska had in his manner. Mr. and Mrs. Accountant called with compliments from mamzell's were surprised, and not altogether pleased; mother. Annette turned pale as death. Yes. Annette, however, was satisfied, and deeply Kaptenska was now sorry that she had not happy. When the lieutenant took her hand, made the dear mamzell's acquaintance sooner; and looked into her eyes, she felt that she held but the dear mamzell would certainly know, his happiness in her keeping-that his gravi- that she never could have guessed that Karin ty, his earnestness, arose from the fact that Jacris was the dear mamzell's mother. Yet he had come there more than ever determined so it was that Jacris, Mamzell Annette's to seek it only from her. She was not wrong; sainted father, had lived as farm-servant with consideration had deepened both Hjalmar's her sainted* husband, when the sainted love and fears. That he loved Annette, with Weinberg was Kapten of a land-regiment in all her defects of character, more than he Norrland; and Karin- a good, kind, sweet should probably ever love another woman, he little human being- had nursed her daughwas more thoroughly convinced; that he ter, who thus proved to be Mamzell Annette's would not marry her, even if she would marry own foster-sister ;— and — she would not just him, unless he found in her a mind accordant say it of her own girl - but the sainted Weinwith his own views of life, and his own posi- berg used to say, that Karin Jacris tion in society, he was still more resolved. With such a state of mind his manner accorded; but that manner was rather perplexing to the worthy Accountant and his wifehis better-half in most senses. His most hearty, father-like reception had been ready; her part, as the gracious, yet dignified mamma, had been prepared; but somehow there was something so unlike the son-in-law expectant in the manner and address of young Lieutenant Hjalmar, that the parts of the kind consenting parents were involuntarily suspended, and the actors only felt confused and awkward, not knowing exactly how to fall in with the unexpected changes that had been made in the piece. They were each silently ruminating on the propriety of retiring for a few minutes from the scene, until the hero and heroine had decided on the plot, when, somewhat to their relief, and to Hjalmar's annoyance, an almost unknown visitor entered the room. It was a little, fat elderly lady, made almost as broad as she was long with wadded petticoats; who, having deposited a variety of outer clothing in the Tambour, or entrance- of mamzell's parents; her sainted Weinberg hall, came courtesying, apologizing, speaking very humbly, and looking very important, into the salong, where the party sat. It is rather disagreeable to enter a room where people are comfortably seated on sofas and chairs, and casting a surprised and inquiring glance at the intruder. Lieutenant Hjalmar was the only one of the party who spoke to the visitor, for he was slightly acquainted with her, and greeted her by name.

"I have not the honor”—said Mr. Ac

countant.

"We have not the honor"-repeated Mrs. Accountant.

"I have not the honor of being acquainted here," said the little woman, taking up the speech herself.

The Kaptenska's disclosures were interrupted by a deep sigh or sob. The dear mamzell fainted! Poor Kaptenska! She had long desired to get acquainted with her neighbors, the rich Accountants, who had such pleasant parties, to which her daughter might be invited; and when "the old Karin from Norrland," never imagining that Annette kept her birth and origin a profound secret, had called to see her old mistress on her way home, and had drunk coffee with her, and related to her the cause of her long journey, and told her the wonderful history of her beautiful child, the admired Mamzell Miller, her astonishment was only equalled by her delight; she beheld the door of Accountant Miller's house at once opened to her and to the foster-sister of their adopted daughter. It is customary among the Swedes, when they have met with a friend of the person they visit, to present that friend's compliments, although they have not been sent; so Kaptenska Weinberg felt no embarrassment in making her first speech. She was the friend

had been a good master-she and her daughter must naturally be mamzell's good friends: and all that Kaptenska Weinberg had to do, was to lament that she had not known long before that the sweet mamzell's mamma was not Fru Kamrerska Miller, but good Gummant Jacris.

Alas, the vanity of human expectations! Annette was laid on a sofa, and Kaptenska was almost turned out of doors by the enraged Accountant. Mrs. Accountant was nearly distracted; Lieutenant Hjalmar - calm, but very pale with apprehension, emotion, and am

*Swedes usually use the term sainted when speaking of a dead husband or wife.

† Old woman-a term used to peasants