I shall now build up a new cloister on
Vadstena, and that will become the most celebrated in the North. Thither
both the high and the lowly shall make pilgrimages, and all shall sing
the praises of the province because it has such a holy place within its
confines.'
"The peasant replied that he was right glad to know this. But he also
knew, of course, that everything was perishable; and he wondered much
what would give distinction to the province, if Vadstena Cloister should
once fall into disrepute.
"'You are not easy to satisfy,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but surely I can see
so far ahead that I can tell you, before Vadstena Cloister shall have
lost its splendour, there will be a castle erected close by, which will
be the most magnificent of its period. Kings and dukes will be guests
there, and it shall be accounted an honour to the whole province, that
it owns such an ornament.'
"'This I am also glad to hear,' said the peasant. 'But I'm an old man,
and I know how it generally turns out with this world's glories. And if
the castle goes to ruin, I wonder much what there will be that can
attract the people's attention to this province.'
"'It's not a little that you want to know,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but,
certainly, I can look far enough into the future to see that there will
be life and movement in the forests around Finspang.
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