Ⅵ
Early in the morning the first studyhours began atHerr Gabriel's．They studied French．At lunch the onlyonespresent were the boarders，the children，and Madam．She drank her second cup of coffeehere；her first she al-ways took in bed．"It is so healthy when one is liable tospasms．She asked Peer what he had studied that day．
"French，"he answered．
"It is an expensive language！"She said．"It is thelanguage of diplomats and one used by distinguishedpeo－ple．I did not study it inmy childhood，but when one ismarried to a learned manone gains from his knowledge，asone gains from hismother's milk．Thus，I have allthenecessary words．I am quite sure I would know how toex－press myself in whatever company I happened to be．"
Madam had acquireed a foreign name by her marriagewith a learned man．She had been baptized Mette after arich aunt，whose heir she was to have been．She hadgotthe name，but not the inheritance．Herr Gabriel rebaptizedMette as Meta，theLatin word for measure．At the time ofher wedding，all her clothes，woolen and linen，weremarked with the letters M．G．，Meta Gabriel；but youngMadsen，who was a witty boy，interpreted the lettersM．G．to be a markmeaning"most good，"and he added abig guestionmark in ink，on the tablecloths，thetowels，and the sheets．
"Don't you like Madam？asked Peer，when youngMadsen made him privately acquainted with this joke．"She is so kind，and Herr Gabriel is solearned．"
"She is a bag of lies！"said young Madsen；"andHerr Gabriel is a scoundrel．If Iwere only a corporal，and he a recruit，oh，how I would discipline him！"And abloodthirsty expression came to young Madsen's face；hislips grew narrower than usual，and hiswhole face seemedone great freckle．
There were terrible words to hear，and they gavePeer ashock；yet young Madsen had the clearest right tothinkthat way．It was a cruel thing on the part of parentsandteachers that a fellow had to waste his best time，de－lightful youth，on learning grammar，names，and dates，whichnobody cares anything about，instead of enjoyinghisliberty relaxing，and wandering about with a gun overhisshoulder like a good hunter．"No，one has to be shutin and sit on a bench and look sleepily at a book；HerrGabriel wants that．And then one iscalled lazy and getsthe mark'passable'；yes，one's parents get letters aboutit；that's whyHerr Gabriel is a scoundrel．"
"He gives lickings，too，"addedlittle Primus，whoagreed with young Madsen．This was not very pleasant forPeer to hear．ButPeer got no lickings；he was too grown－up，as Madam had said．He was not called lazy，either，for that he was not．He had his lessons alone．He wassoon well ahead of Madsen and Primus．
"He has ability！"said Herr Gabriel．
"And one can see that he has been to dancingschool！"said Madam．
"We must have him in our dramatic club，"saidthepharmacist，who lived more for the town's privatetheaterthan for his pharmacy．Malicious people appliedto himthe old stale joke that he must have been bittenby a mad actor，for he was completely insane about thetheater．
"The young student was born for a lover，"saidthepharmacist．"In a couple of years he could beRomeo；andI believe that if he were well made up，and we put a littlemustache on him，he couldvery well appear this winter．"
The pharmacist's daughter-"great dramatic talent，"saidthe father；"true beauty，"saidthe mother－was to beJuliet；MadamGabriel had to be the nurse，and the phar-macist，who was both director and stage manager，wouldtakethe role of the apothecary，which was small but ofgreatimportance．Everything depended on HerrGabriel'spermission for Peer to play Romeo．This had tobe workedthrough Madam Gabriel；one had to know how towin herover-and this the pharmacist knew．
"You were born to be the nurse，"he said，andthought that he was flattering her exceedingly．"That is ac－tually the most importantpart in the play，"he continued．"It is the comedy role；without it，the play would be toosad to sit through．Noone but you，Madam Gabriel，hasthequickness and life that should sparkle here．"
All very trne，she agreed，buther husband wouldsurely never permit the young student to contribute whatev-ertime would be required to play the part of Romeo．Shepromised，however，to"pump"him，as she called it．Thepharmacist immediatelybegan to study his part，and espe－cially to think about his make-up．He wantedto look al－most like a skeleton，a poor，miserable fellow，and yet aclever man-a rather difficult problem．But Madam Gabrielhad a much harder one in"pumping "herhusband to givehis permission．He could not，he said，answer for it toPeer's guardians，who paid for his schooling and board，ifhepermitted the young man to play in tragedy．Wecannotconceal the fact，however，thatPeer had the greatest desireto do it．"But it won'twork，"he said．
"It's working，"said Madam；"only let me keep onpumping．"Shewould have given him punch，but HerrGabriel did not liketo drink it．Married people are oftendifferent；this is said without any offense to Madam．
"One glass and no more，"she thought．"It elevatesthe mind and makes one happy，and that's what we oughtto be-it is our Lord's with us．"
Peer was to be Romeo；that was pumped through byMadam．The rehearsals were held at the pharmacist's．They had chocolate and"genii"-that is to say，smallbiscuits．These were sold at the bakery，twelve for a pen－ny，andthey were so exceedingly small，and there wereso many，that it was considered witty to call them genii．
"It is an easy matter to make fun，"saidHerrGabriel，although he himself often gave nicknames toonething and another．He called the pharmacist's house"Noah'sark，with its clean and unclean beasts"，andthat was only because of the affection which was shown bythatfamily toward their pet animals．The young lady hadherown cat，Graciosa，which waspretty and soft－skinned；itwould lie in the window，in her lap，on hersewing work，or run over the tablespread for dinner．Thewife had a poultry yard，a duck yard，a parrot，and ca－nary birds-and Polly could outcrythem all together．Twodogs，Flickand Flock，walked about in the living room；they were by no means perfume bottles，andthey lay onthe sofa and on the family bed．
The rehearsal began，and it was only interrupted amomentby the dogs slobbering over Madam Gabriel's newgown，butthat was out of pure friendship and it did notspot it．Thecat also caused a slight disturbance；it in－sisted on giving its paw to Juliet and sitting on her headandwagging its tail．Juliet's tender speeches were divid－ed equally between cat and Romeo．Every wordthat Peerhad to say was exactly what he wished to say to the phar－macist's daughter．How lovely and charmingshe was，achild of nature，who，as Madam Gabriel expressed it，was perfectfor the role．Peer began to fall in love withher．
There surely was instinct or something even higherin the cat．It perched on Peer's shoulders as if to sym-bolize the sympathybetween Romeo and Juliet．With eachsuccessive rehearsalPeer's fervor became stronger，moreapparent；the cat became more confidential，theparrotand the canary birds noisier；Flick and Flock ranin andout．
The evening of the performance came，and Peer wasaperfect Romeo；he kissed Juliet right on her mouth．
"Perfectly natural！"said Madam Gabriel．
"Disgraceful！"said the Councilor，Herr Svendsen，the richest citizen andfattest man in the town．The perspi－ration poured from him；it was warm in thehouse，andwarm within him as well．Peer found no favor in his eyes．"Such apuppy！"he said；"apuppy so long that one couldbreak him in half and make two puppies of him．"
Great applause-and one enemy！That was havinggood luck．Yes，Peer was a Lucky Peer．Tired and over－come by the exertions of theevening and the flatteryshown him，he went home to hislittle room．It was pastmidnight；Madam Gabriel knocked on the wall．
"Romeo！I have some punch for you！"
And the funnel was put through the hole in thedoor，andPeer Romeo held his glass under．
"Good night，Madam Gabriel．"
But Peer could not sleep．Everything he had said，and particularly what Juliet had said，buzzedthrough hishead，and when he finally fell asleep hedreamed of awedding-a wedding with Miss Frandsen！Whatstrangethings one can dream！
Ⅵ
Early in the morning the first studyhours began atHerr Gabriel's．They studied French．At lunch the onlyonespresent were the boarders，the children，and Madam．She drank her second cup of coffeehere；her first she al-ways took in bed．"It is so healthy when one is liable tospasms．She asked Peer what he had studied that day．
"French，"he answered．
"It is an expensive language！"She said．"It is thelanguage of diplomats and one used by distinguishedpeo－ple．I did not study it inmy childhood，but when one ismarried to a learned manone gains from his knowledge，asone gains from hismother's milk．Thus，I have allthenecessary words．I am quite sure I would know how toex－press myself in whatever company I happened to be．"
Madam had acquireed a foreign name by her marriagewith a learned man．She had been baptized Mette after arich aunt，whose heir she was to have been．She hadgotthe name，but not the inheritance．Herr Gabriel rebaptizedMette as Meta，theLatin word for measure．At the time ofher wedding，all her clothes，woolen and linen，weremarked with the letters M．G．，Meta Gabriel；but youngMadsen，who was a witty boy，interpreted the lettersM．G．to be a markmeaning"most good，"and he added abig guestionmark in ink，on the tablecloths，thetowels，and the sheets．
"Don't you like Madam？asked Peer，when youngMadsen made him privately acquainted with this joke．"She is so kind，and Herr Gabriel is solearned．"
"She is a bag of lies！"said young Madsen；"andHerr Gabriel is a scoundrel．If Iwere only a corporal，and he a recruit，oh，how I would discipline him！"And abloodthirsty expression came to young Madsen's face；hislips grew narrower than usual，and hiswhole face seemedone great freckle．
There were terrible words to hear，and they gavePeer ashock；yet young Madsen had the clearest right tothinkthat way．It was a cruel thing on the part of parentsandteachers that a fellow had to waste his best time，de－lightful youth，on learning grammar，names，and dates，whichnobody cares anything about，instead of enjoyinghisliberty relaxing，and wandering about with a gun overhisshoulder like a good hunter．"No，one has to be shutin and sit on a bench and look sleepily at a book；HerrGabriel wants that．And then one iscalled lazy and getsthe mark'passable'；yes，one's parents get letters aboutit；that's whyHerr Gabriel is a scoundrel．"
"He gives lickings，too，"addedlittle Primus，whoagreed with young Madsen．This was not very pleasant forPeer to hear．ButPeer got no lickings；he was too grown－up，as Madam had said．He was not called lazy，either，for that he was not．He had his lessons alone．He wassoon well ahead of Madsen and Primus．
"He has ability！"said Herr Gabriel．
"And one can see that he has been to dancingschool！"said Madam．
"We must have him in our dramatic club，"saidthepharmacist，who lived more for the town's privatetheaterthan for his pharmacy．Malicious people appliedto himthe old stale joke that he must have been bittenby a mad actor，for he was completely insane about thetheater．
"The young student was born for a lover，"saidthepharmacist．"In a couple of years he could beRomeo；andI believe that if he were well made up，and we put a littlemustache on him，he couldvery well appear this winter．"
The pharmacist's daughter-"great dramatic talent，"saidthe father；"true beauty，"saidthe mother－was to beJuliet；MadamGabriel had to be the nurse，and the phar-macist，who was both director and stage manager，wouldtakethe role of the apothecary，which was small but ofgreatimportance．Everything depended on HerrGabriel'spermission for Peer to play Romeo．This had tobe workedthrough Madam Gabriel；one had to know how towin herover-and this the pharmacist knew．
"You were born to be the nurse，"he said，andthought that he was flattering her exceedingly．"That is ac－tually the most importantpart in the play，"he continued．"It is the comedy role；without it，the play would be toosad to sit through．Noone but you，Madam Gabriel，hasthequickness and life that should sparkle here．"
All very trne，she agreed，buther husband wouldsurely never permit the young student to contribute whatev-ertime would be required to play the part of Romeo．Shepromised，however，to"pump"him，as she called it．Thepharmacist immediatelybegan to study his part，and espe－cially to think about his make-up．He wantedto look al－most like a skeleton，a poor，miserable fellow，and yet aclever man-a rather difficult problem．But Madam Gabrielhad a much harder one in"pumping "herhusband to givehis permission．He could not，he said，answer for it toPeer's guardians，who paid for his schooling and board，ifhepermitted the young man to play in tragedy．Wecannotconceal the fact，however，thatPeer had the greatest desireto do it．"But it won'twork，"he said．
"It's working，"said Madam；"only let me keep onpumping．"Shewould have given him punch，but HerrGabriel did not liketo drink it．Married people are oftendifferent；this is said without any offense to Madam．
"One glass and no more，"she thought．"It elevatesthe mind and makes one happy，and that's what we oughtto be-it is our Lord's with us．"
Peer was to be Romeo；that was pumped through byMadam．The rehearsals were held at the pharmacist's．They had chocolate and"genii"-that is to say，smallbiscuits．These were sold at the bakery，twelve for a pen－ny，andthey were so exceedingly small，and there wereso many，that it was considered witty to call them genii．
"It is an easy matter to make fun，"saidHerrGabriel，although he himself often gave nicknames toonething and another．He called the pharmacist's house"Noah'sark，with its clean and unclean beasts"，andthat was only because of the affection which was shown bythatfamily toward their pet animals．The young lady hadherown cat，Graciosa，which waspretty and soft－skinned；itwould lie in the window，in her lap，on hersewing work，or run over the tablespread for dinner．Thewife had a poultry yard，a duck yard，a parrot，and ca－nary birds-and Polly could outcrythem all together．Twodogs，Flickand Flock，walked about in the living room；they were by no means perfume bottles，andthey lay onthe sofa and on the family bed．
The rehearsal began，and it was only interrupted amomentby the dogs slobbering over Madam Gabriel's newgown，butthat was out of pure friendship and it did notspot it．Thecat also caused a slight disturbance；it in－sisted on giving its paw to Juliet and sitting on her headandwagging its tail．Juliet's tender speeches were divid－ed equally between cat and Romeo．Every wordthat Peerhad to say was exactly what he wished to say to the phar－macist's daughter．How lovely and charmingshe was，achild of nature，who，as Madam Gabriel expressed it，was perfectfor the role．Peer began to fall in love withher．
There surely was instinct or something even higherin the cat．It perched on Peer's shoulders as if to sym-bolize the sympathybetween Romeo and Juliet．With eachsuccessive rehearsalPeer's fervor became stronger，moreapparent；the cat became more confidential，theparrotand the canary birds noisier；Flick and Flock ranin andout．
The evening of the performance came，and Peer wasaperfect Romeo；he kissed Juliet right on her mouth．
"Perfectly natural！"said Madam Gabriel．
"Disgraceful！"said the Councilor，Herr Svendsen，the richest citizen andfattest man in the town．The perspi－ration poured from him；it was warm in thehouse，andwarm within him as well．Peer found no favor in his eyes．"Such apuppy！"he said；"apuppy so long that one couldbreak him in half and make two puppies of him．"
Great applause-and one enemy！That was havinggood luck．Yes，Peer was a Lucky Peer．Tired and over－come by the exertions of theevening and the flatteryshown him，he went home to hislittle room．It was pastmidnight；Madam Gabriel knocked on the wall．
"Romeo！I have some punch for you！"
And the funnel was put through the hole in thedoor，andPeer Romeo held his glass under．
"Good night，Madam Gabriel．"
But Peer could not sleep．Everything he had said，and particularly what Juliet had said，buzzedthrough hishead，and when he finally fell asleep hedreamed of awedding-a wedding with Miss Frandsen！Whatstrangethings one can dream！