r parish, the friendly and hospitable pastor,
Middelberg, had sent an invitation to friends and acquaintances in the
whole neighbourhood, which included also the inhabitants of Semb, to a
feast at the parsonage, on the second day of Christmas.

Mrs. Astrid excused herself, but besought Harald and Susanna to drive
there. It had frozen a few days before, and had freshly snowed, so that
the sledging was excellent, and Harald now again in good humour seemed
disposed to make a little festival of driving Susanna to the parsonage
in a small sledge with jingling bells.

Mrs. Astrid had regained her accustomed manner and appearance, and thus
Susanna was easy as to all consequences of her unfortunate scheme on
Christmas-eve, and could give herself up with a free mind to the
agreeable impressions which the winter-drive offered. And these were
manifold and rich to a person who was so little used to pleasure of any
kind as Susanna, and who, besides this, was of a fresh, open spirit. The
air was so clear, the snow was so dazzling, mountain and woods so
splendid, the horse so spirited, and Harald drove so indescribably well,
the most difficult places being to him mere play-work, that Susanna
exclaimed every now and then, "Oh, how beautiful! Oh, how divine!"

With all this, Harald was uncommonly polite and entertaining. Attentive
in the extreme that Susanna sate comfortably, was warm about the feet,
and so on, laid himself out at the same time to make her acquainted with
all wonders and beauties of the district; besides which he related much
that was interesting of the peculiarities of the neighbourhood, of its
woods, mountains, and kinds of stones, spoke of the primeval mountains
and transition-formations, of that which had existed before the Flood,
and of that which had been formed after it, so that Susanna was
astonished at his great learning, and a feeling of reverence for him was
excited in her mind. It is true that she forgot this for one while, in a
quarrel which suddenly arose between them respecting the sun, which,
according to Harald's assertion, must appear brighter in Norway than in
Sweden, which Susanna contended against most vehemently, and assured him
of exactly the opposite; and about the strata of air, of which Susanna
asserted that they lay in Norway different to Sweden; upon the whole,
however, the drive was harmonious, and in the highest degree
advantageous to Harald's appearance. By his driving, his politeness, an