"
A murmur arose in the assembly, which now became restless. Lars
continued:
"Finally, to-day, a proposition is made which, if carried, would
recompense the parish for all it has laid out; perhaps, for this
reason, it meets such opposition. It is the affair of the parish,
for the benefit of all its inhabitants, and ought to be rescued
from being a family matter." The audience exchanged glances, and
spoke half audibly, when one threw out a remark as he rose to go
to his dinner-pail, that these were "the truest words he had heard
in the meetings for many years." Now all arose, and the
conversation became general. Canute Aakre felt as he sat there
that the case was lost, fearfully lost; and tried no more to save
it. He had somewhat of the character attributed to Frenchmen, in
that he was good for first, second, and third attacks, but poor
for self-defence--his sensibilities overpowering his thoughts.
He could not comprehend it, nor could he sit quietly any longer;
so, yielding his place to the vice-chairman, he left,--and the
audience smiled.
He had come to the meeting accompanied by Lars, but returned home
alone, though the road was long. It was a cold autumn day; the way
looked jagged and bare, the meadow gray and yellow; while frost
had begun to appear here and there on the roadside. Disappointment
is a dreadful companion. He felt himself so small and desolate,
walking there; but Lars was everywhere before him, like a giant,
his head towering, in the dusk of evening, to the sky.
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