, she drove to church by his side--all his brightness
and cleverness lived again for her!

But in Mildrid's soul a new feeling began to stir. Whilst she sat and
sang for grandmother, she asked herself: "Will it ever be played for
me?" The thought grew upon her, the March spoke to her of such radiant
happiness. She saw a bride's crown glittering in its sunshine, and a
long, bright future beyond that. Sixteen--and she asked herself:
"Shall I, shall I ever have some one sitting beside me, with the
Bridal March shining in his eyes? Only think, if father and mother
were one day to drive with me in such a procession, with the people
greeting us on every side, on to the house where mother was jeered at
that day, past Ole Haugen's flower-covered grave, up to the altar, in
a glory of happiness! Think what it would be if I could give father
and mother that consolation!" And the child's heart swelled, imagining
all this to herself, swelled with pride and with devotion to those
dear parents who had suffered so much.

These were the first thoughts that she did not confide to Beret. Soon
there were more. Beret, who was now eleven, noticed that she was left
more to herself, but did not understand that she was being gradually
shut out from Mildrid's confidence, till she saw another taken into
her place. This was Inga, from the neighbouring farm, a girl of
eighteen, their own cousin, newly betrothed. When Mildrid and Inga
walked about in the fields, whispering and laughing, with their arms
round each other, as girls love to go, poor Beret would throw herself
down and cry with jealousy.

The time came on for Mildrid to be confirmed; she made acquaintance
with other young people of her own age, and some of them began to come
up to Tingvold on Sundays. Mildrid saw them either out of doors or in
her grandmother's room. Tingvold had always been a forbidden, and
consequently mysteriously attractive place to the young people. But
even now, only those with a certain quietness and seriousness of
disposition went there, for it could not be denied that there was
something subdued about Mildrid, that did not attract every one.

At this particular time there was a great deal of music and singing
among the youth of the district. For some reason or other there are
such periods, and these periods have their leaders. One of the leaders
now was, curiously enough, again of the race of Haugen.

Amongst a people where once on a time, even though it wer