But after he had gone to bed, he said:
"Now, after this, I shall be at home."
The mother lay there, trembling with joy, not daring to speak,
lest she should reveal it; and she thanked God for all that had
happened, for, whatever it was, it had resulted in good.
II.
In the course of a year, Lars was chosen head Justice of the
Peace, chairman of the board of commissioners, president of the
savings-bank, and, in short, was placed in every office of parish
trust to which his election was possible. In the county
legislature, during the first year, he remained silent, but
afterward made himself as conspicuous as in the parish council;
for here, too, stepping up to the contest with him who had always
borne sway, he was victorious over the whole line, and afterward
himself manager. From this he was elected to the Congress, where
his fame had preceded him, and he found no lack of challenge. But
here, although steady and independent, he was always retiring,
never venturing beyond his depth, lest his post as leader at home
should be endangered by a possible defeat abroad.
It was pleasant to him now in his own town. When he stood by the
church-wall on Sundays, and the community glided past, saluting
and glancing sideways at him,--now and then one stepping up for
the honor of exchanging a couple of words with him,--it could
almost be said that, standing there, he controlled the whole
parish with a straw, which, of course, hung in the corner of his
mouth.
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