Page:Pontoppidan - Emanuel, or Children of the Soil (1896).djvu/89

 some life of the poor; and he thought of the time when, in his hatred of the society to which he belonged by birth, he had fancied himself related to these free children of the soil, and dreamt that he could live in frank intercourse with them as a friend and brother.

He now understood that he had made a mistake. His eyes were opened to the deep impassable gulf, which divided him from these children of the soil, who lived here in their half underground dwellings, digging, and busying themselves with the dark earth—gnomes—whose very being was a riddle, whose language was hardly intelligible, whose thoughts, words, dreams, sorrows and hopes were known to none.

And would it ever be otherwise? Was it not as if mankind had forgotten the magic word which could raise the hills on pillars of fire and bring the earth-folk to the light of day?

He was roused from his reflections by a lively chirping above his head.

He looked up. A Starling!

That was curious, he thought—he had been so taken up all day by his thoughts, that he had not noticed how the sun at last had burst through the cold fogs which had enveloped the land for weeks.

He looked about—and again a starling twittered near him—and then another and another—the whole garden seemed filled with the spring!

He smiled sadly. He thought how many