Norse Tales and Sketches | Page 6

well that you are standing there grinning at me, Cucumis--but I can leap through the hoop, I can--and if that professor who is standing smoking at my paraffin lamp had only conscientiously referred to corpus juris, I should not now be lying here--in my night-shirt in the middle of Karl Johan's Gade [Footnote: A principal street of Christiania.]--but--' Then I sank into that deep, dreamless slumber which only falls to the lot of an evil conscience when one is very young.
I was in the saddle early next morning.
I don't know if the devil ever had shoes on, but I must suppose he had, for his inspectors were in their boots, and they creaked past me, where I sat in my misery with my face to the wall.
A professor walked round the rooms and looked at the victims. Occasionally he nodded and smiled encouragingly, as his eye fell on one of those miserable lick-spittles who frequent the lectures; but when he discovered me, the smile vanished, and his ice-cold stare seemed to write upon the wall over my head: 'Mene, mene! [Footnote: Dan. v. 25.] Wretch, I know thee not!'
A pair of inspectors walked creakily up to the professor and fawned upon him; I heard them whispering behind my chair. I ground my teeth in silent wrath at the thought that these contemptible creatures were paid for--yes, actually made their living by torturing me and some of my best friends.
The door opened; a glimmering yellow light fell upon the white faces; it called to mind 'The Victims of Terrorism' in Luxembourg. Then all again became dark, and the black-robed emissary of the College flitted through the room like a bat, with the famous white document in his claws.
He began to read.
Never in my life had I been less inclined for leaping; and yet I started violently at the first words. 'The monkey!' I had almost shouted; for he it was--it was evidently the coffee-stain on page 496. The paper bore precisely upon what I had read with so much energy the preceding night.
And I began to write. After a short, but superior and assured preamble, I introduced the high-sounding words of Schweigaard, 'One might thus certainly assume,' etc., and hurried down the left page, with unabated vigour down the right, reached the monkey, dashed past him, began to grope and fumble, and then I found I could not write a word more.
I felt that something was wanting, but I knew that it was useless to speculate; what a man can't do, he can't. I therefore made a full stop, and went away long before any of the others were half finished.
He has dismounted, thought my fellow-sufferers, or he may have leaped wide of the hoop. For it was a difficult paper.
* * * * *
'Why,' said the advocate, as he read, 'you are better than I thought. This is pure Schweigaard. You have left out the last point, but that doesn't matter very much; one can see that you are well up in these things. But why, then, were you so pitiably afraid of the process yesterday?'
'I didn't know a thing.'
He laughed. 'Was it last night, then, that you learned your process?'
'Yes.'
'Did anyone help you?'
'Yes.'
'He must be a devil of a crammer who could put so much law into your head in one night. May I ask what wizard it was?'
'A monkey!' I replied.

A TALE OF THE SEA.
Once there lay in a certain haven a large number of vessels. They had lain there very long, not exactly on account of storm, but rather because of a dead calm; and at last they had lain there until they no longer heeded the weather.
All the captains had gradually become good friends; they visited from ship to ship, and called one another 'Cousin.'
They were in no hurry to depart. Now and then a youthful steersman might chance to let fall a word about a good wind and a smooth sea. But such remarks were not tolerated; order had to be maintained on a ship. Those, therefore, who could not hold their tongues were set ashore.
Matters could not, however, go on thus for ever. Men are not so good as they ought to be, and all do not thrive under law and order.
The crews at length began to murmur a little; they were weary of painting and polishing the cabins, and of rowing the captains to and from the toddy suppers. It was rumoured that individual ships were getting ready for sailing. The sails of some were set one by one in all silence, the anchors were weighed without song, and the ships glided quietly out of the harbour; others sailed while their captains slept. Fighting and mutiny were also heard of; but then there came help from the neighbour captains, the malcontents were punished