FullReads

This time the corvette was to be away for six months. The captain did not feel easy about it, for the children were growing up and the responsibility of the big establishment was too much for Mama. The captain himself was not quite so young and vigorous as he had been, but–it could not be helped and so he left.

Directly he arrived at Kronborg he posted a letter to her.

“My darling Topmast,” it began.

“Wind moderate, S.S.E. by E. + 10 C. 6 bells, watch below. I cannot express in words what I feel on this voyage during which I shall not see you. When we kedged out (at 6 p.m. while a strong gale blew from N.E. by N.) I felt as if a belaying pin were suddenly being driven into my chest and I actually had a sensation as if a chain had been drawn through the hawsepipes of my ears. They say that sailors can feel the approach of misfortune. I don’t know whether this is true, but I shall not feel easy until I have had a letter from you. Nothing has happened on board, simply because nothing must happen. How are you all at home? Has Bob had his new boots, and do they fit? I am a wretched correspondent as you know, so 111 stop now. With a big kiss right on this x.

“Your old Pal.

“P.S. You ought to find a friend (female, of course) and don’t forget to ask the proprietress at Dalaro to take care of the long boat until my return. The wind is getting up; it will blow from the North to-night.”
Off Portsmouth the captain received the following letter from his wife:

“Dear old Pal,

“It’s horrible here without you, believe me. I have had a lot of worry, too, for little Alice has got a new tooth. The doctor said it was unusually early, which was a sign of (but I’m not going to tell you that). Bob’s boots fit him very well and he is very proud of them.

“You say in your letter that I ought to find a friend of my own sex. Well, I have found one, or, rather, she has found me. Her name is Ottilia Sandegren, and she was educated at the seminary. She is rather grave and takes life very seriously, therefore you need not be afraid, Pal, that your Topmast will be led astray. Moreover, she is religious. We really ought to take religion a little more seriously, both of us. She is a splendid woman. She has just arrived and sends you her kind regards.

“Your Gurli.”
The captain was not overpleased with this letter. It was too short and not half as bright as her letters generally were. Seminary, religion, grave, Ottilia: Ottilia twice! And then Gurli! Why not Gulla as before? H’m!

A week later he received a second letter from Bordeaux, a letter which was accompanied by a book, sent under separate cover.

“Dear William!”–“H’m! William! No longer Pal!”–“Life is a struggle” –“What the deuce does she mean? What has that to do with us?”–“from beginning to end. Gently as a river in Kedron”–“Kedron! she’s quoting the Bible!”–“our life has glided along. Like sleepwalkers we have been walking on the edge of precipices without being aware of them”–“The seminary, oh! the seminary!”–“Suddenly we find ourselves face to face with the ethical”–“The ethical? Ablative!”–“asserting itself in its higher potencies!”–“Potencies?”–“Now that I am awake from my long sleep and ask myself: has our marriage been a marriage in the true sense of the word? I must admit with shame and remorse that this has not been the case. For love is of divine origin. (St. Matthew xi. 22, 24.)”

The captain had to mix himself a glass of rum and water before he felt able to continue his reading.–“How earthly, how material our love has been! Have our souls lived in that harmony of which Plato speaks? (Phaidon, Book vi. Chap. ii. Par. 9). Our answer is bound to be in the negative. What have I been to you? A housekeeper and, oh! The disgrace! your mistress! Have our souls understood one another? Again we are bound to answer ‘No.'”–“To Hell with all Ottilias and seminaries! Has she been my housekeeper? She has been my wife and the mother of my children!”–“Read the book I have sent you! It will answer all your questions. It voices that which for centuries has lain hidden in the hearts of all women! Read it, and then tell me if you think that our union has been a true marriage. Your Gurli.”