Page:Selections from the writings of Kierkegaard.djvu/117

 Selections from the Writings of Kierkegaard 115

or covertly, if nothing, I say, threatens to interfere with the happiness of lovers, yet they are not thus secure when sit- ting together. They are in a state of bliss ; and yet it is as if there were some power bent on separating them, so firmly they clasp one another; and yet it is as if there were some enemy present against whom they must defend themselves ; and yet it is as if they could never become sufficiently re- assured. Not thus married people, and not thus that mar- ried couple in the arbor. How long they had been married, however, that was not to be determined with certainty. To be sure, the wife's activity at the tea-table revealed a sure- ness of hand born of practice, but at the same time such almost childlike interest in her occupation as if she were a newly married woman and in that middle condition when she is not, as yet, sure whether marriage is fun or earnest, whether being a housewife is a calling, or a game, or a pastime. Perhaps she had been married for some longer time but did not generally preside at the tea-table, or per- haps did so only out here in the country, or did it perhaps only that morning which, possibly, had a special signifi- cance for them. Who could tell? All calculation is frus- trated to a certain degree by the fact that every personality exhibits some originality which keeps time from leaving its marks. When the sun shines in all his summer glory one thinks straightway that there must be some festal oc- casion at hand â€” that it cannot be so for every-day use, or that it is the first time, or at least one of the first times; for surely, one thinks, it cannot be repeated for any length of time. Thus would think he who saw it but once, or saw it for the first time; and I saw the wife of the justice for the first time. He who sees the object in question every day may think differently ; provided he sees the same thing. But let the judge decide about that!

As I remarked, our amiable housewife was occupied. She poured boiling water into the cups, probably to warm them, emptied them again, set a cup on a platter, poured the tea and served it with sugar and cream â€” now all was ready; was it fun or earnest? In case a person did not relish tea at other times â€” he should have sat in the judge's