Engaerd--was
not that a little cabin where a poor widow with five children had lived?
The widow had owed his father a few hundred kroner and in order to get
back his money he had sold her cabin. After that the widow, with her
three eldest children, went to Norrland to seek employment, and the two
youngest became a charge on the parish.
As he called this to mind he grew bitter. He knew that his father had
been severely censured for squeezing out that money, which by right
belonged to him.
"What are you doing nowadays?" he asked in a cross tone. "Didn't the
board of charities take charge of you? Why do you roam around and beg?"
"It's not our fault," replied the larger girl. "The people with whom we
are living have sent us out to beg."
"Well, your packs are filled," the farmer observed, "so you can't
complain. Now you'd better take out some of the food you have with you
and eat your fill, for here you'll get no food, as all the women folk
are in bed. Later you may lie down in the corner by the hearth, so you
won't have to freeze."
He waved his hand, as if to ward them off, and his eyes took on a hard
look. He was thankful that he had had a father who had been careful of
his property. Otherwise, he might perhaps have been forced in childhood
to run about and beg, as these children now did.
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