Page:Pontoppidan - Emanuel, or Children of the Soil (1896).djvu/261

 bourhood, with what he had inherited from his mother, and intended to support himself entirely as a tiller of the earth. For the work he might do among the congregation, as priest or teacher, he would not take any pay. He wished to lead a perfectly independent life on his farm, sharing what he had with his friends.

He thought in a couple of years he might have acquired enough knowledge of farming—with Hansine at his side and the support of kind friends—to take upon himself, without any great risk, the management of so small a property as he had in his mind, for his means would not allow of more than ten or twelve acres of land, a horse, a couple of cows, and a few sheep.

He was already a pupil of Anders Jorgen, and had—as he thought—made great progress. He had learnt something of the manner of dealing with the earth, could almost drive a pair of horses, and could harness them either to a waggon or a plough, and knew how to feed cattle.

There was a little farm for sale beyond Skibberup—and he had already thought of it. It was a pretty little house with idyllic surroundings, at the bottom of a tiny green dale opening on the fiord. The buildings were small and dilapidated; to make up for this, there was an unusually large and pretty garden, with hollyhocks and honeysuckles covering the walls. One evening he spoke about the place to Hansine, who for the time was the only person to whom he had