Letter
6 Pages
Transcription: Siri Katinka Valdez
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
Kjære Kramer!
Ja nù har jeg intet hört fra dig siden jeg
skrev, – saa nù blir det min tùr til at tro,
Dere er fornærmede paa mig. Jeg skrev kanske
meget klodset – dù veed: sykdom i hùset
uden forbedring og "rykking" paa alle kanter
for gjæld, saa er det jo ikke saa rart, om man
blir nervös og kan skrive tùll, – især naar
man, som jeg, plages af feberen, som aldrig vil
forlade mig – (stadig svedning og forkjöling).
Ja igaar var jeg ude pa Øia-neset og saa paa
din eiendom, – desværre er nok trærene döde alle
med ùndtagelse af et, som har en frisk gren
med store blader, – det er det överste og ytterste
træ. Poteterne staar rigtig pent – penere end hos
mig, – men om der er noget "ùnder jorden" kan
man jo ikke se; – her har jo været en daarlig sommer
for poteterne i aar. Lidt græs er der ogsaa, men
da der ikke har været gjödslet paa flere aar
saa er det ikke meget lönsomt at "slaa" det af; –
men Zakarias vil nù, at jeg skal spörge dig, om
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han kan slaa det til os, – da det ellers blir afbeitet
af Sandalskyr og saùer, naar dyrene nù kommer af
fjeldet, – vi kan nemlig ikke gjærde for <broen>. –
Mod ùdmarken – (indenfor) – gjærdede Zakkarias i <vaar>
og klarte ogsaa at holde saùerne borte tilslùt, – og
det var ikke let sak her, hvor alle saùer er godt
vante til at hoppe over de höieste gjærder, jeg har af
den grùnd ingen saùer – i de senere aar, – endskjönt
jeg maa indrömme, at saùer kanske er det, som
lönner sig bedst her; – jeg kommer kanske til at have
saùer senere, og da kunde jeg godt have en saù for
dig og fore den med dit eget græs om vinteren, – men
hvis dù eller din familie blir boende der om sommeren,
vilde det kanske lönne sig bedre at have en gjed i
"tjor" der ùde og nytte op græsset i den tiden, og saa
faa lidt melk til theen – (jeg synes nemlig at gjede-
melk er saa godt i the). – Noget andet af
interesse fra Øianne veed jeg ikke; – fiskeretten be-
nyttes flittigt af andre, – da der jo intet gjærde er
nedenfor veien, og der sættes stadig ùd "stegler" – ("line")
ùdenfor elven, og jeg har "harvet" op flere med oteren,
og da lader jeg dem forsvinde i stilhed ùde paa dybet.
Hvorledes gaar det med din hùshandel? – Har Sandal
bestemt sig til ikke at sælge? Hvad hans ùdestaaen-
de med Johannes Stranden angaar, – saa er det nok
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Sandal og ikke Johannes, som er ùde med "rævestreker",
– jeg har i sommer talt med ham (Johannes) om ting, som stod
os i mellem og fùndet ùd, at jeg har gjort ham
ùret, – det er jo en let sak for onde mennesker at
stifte fiendskab; – alle har jo sine feil, og hans
feil er kanske mest "aabenbare", – han er iallefald
en ærlig mand i handel og vandel, – saa jeg er sikker
paa, at han ikke benegter nogen af de penge, han
har faaet, – og hvis Sandal önsker det, – skal jeg
gjerne faa Johannes til at skrive op paa et papir,
hvad han har modtaget, – men Sandal har faaet beskjed paa det jeg vilde nödig "fritte"
ham Johannes ùd, – ùden at jeg havde nogen fuldmagt til
at sige, at det var dù eller Sandal, som önskede
at vide det; – thi det er jo en grei sak baade for dig
og Sandal at spörge om det (gjennem mig), – naar det
gjælder kjöb af hùset, – jeg sagde ogsaa til ham (Joh.
Stranden), at Kramer vil ikke kjöbe hùset, hvis Johannes
skùlde være i mod det, – men Johannes siger, at
han har intet imod det, – men dù maa ikke give
over 600 tilföiede han; thi da blev det for dyrt for dig, –
da vilde dù antagelig faa det billigere andensteds fra. –––
En anden sak er det, at baade Johannes, og vi andre
her omkring naturligvis er fuldt opmærksom paa,
at Johannes ikke paa langt nær har faaet fuld va-
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luta af Sandal for alt sit stræv med hans {...}
gamle tùllede mor, – selv om han faar hùset efter
den gamle billige takst, – det siger Engel ogsaa,
som er bedre inde i sakerne end jeg. Jeg mener derfor
at dù kan kjöbe hùset af Sandal, hvis dù kan faa det
for 4–5 hùndrede og kanske lidt mere; – Sandal har
nemlig sagt fra tidligt ivaar, at han ikke vil overlade
hùset til Johannes, – og Johannes har givet Sandal
skriftlig opgave over, hvad han har faaet, og hvad han
forlanger for hans mor, uden at Sandal har havt noget
at indvende mod rigtigheden af det belöb som Johannes
opgav at have faaet, derimod var han "forfærdet", –
over det belöb, som Johannes forlangte for hans mor;
(belöbet, som Johannes forlangte var sat som laveste
takst af fattigstyrets tilsyndsmand). Johannes skal
endnù have 760 kr. af Sandal efter et meget billigt
sjön. – Ja nok herom. – Hùset eller loftet paa Myklebùst
er tegnet og opmaalt af en arkitekt i sommer og skal indkjö-
bes af folkemuseet paa Bygdö Kra. –––
Ja det ser daarlig ud med Engel – hùn ligger endnù
og er daarlig for hjertet – det har ikke været greit for os
i sommer – uden tjenestepike – (vi leiet snart en snart en
anden), – og pengelöse har vi været hele tiden, og vi
maatte leie sykepleierske en tid, – og nù reiser bedstemor
til Bergen idag Tirsdags-baaten Förde Bergen, – og jeg har dristet mig til at sende
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Arnold med hende for at faa ùndersökt, om det
er blærekathar, han lider af, og om der er nogen
raad for ham, – det er jo frækt at bede dig tage
ham omhænde et par dage, medens han blir ùnder-
sögt af en eller anden læge, – men dù tilböd
os det engang, – dù faar lægge <ham> paa gulvet
i kjælderen paa nogen gamle klær eller filler, saa
han ikke ödelægger sengklær e t.c. –––
Jeg skulde sendt nogle træsnit og en tegning,
som dù kanske vilde kùnne være saa venlig at
sælge for mig, – det er noget i likhed med
pennetegningen til Meyer, om hvilken Eie
sagde, at jeg "ikke have holdt daglön paa" –
den var tænkt som illùstration til en barnebok,
som jeg en tid arbeidede paa – men jeg har solgt
væk de andre tegninger til boken, – og denne
sidste, som jeg har "holdt paa" og nù tegnet færdig,
maa jeg nù ogsaa skille mig med, og jeg vil
være glad, om jeg kunde faa 400 kr. for den – som
jeg fik for den til Meyer, – endskjönt denne er
större og har kostet det doble arbeide. – Jeg tör
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vel ikke bede dig om at lave en lignende karton
paa den, som paa dit træsnit "Rævebjældeskogen", og
saa faa det under glas og en tynd simpel ramme.
Jeg lader en kant fölge med överst, som dù kanske
er saa snild at klippe fra. Jeg kalder tegningen:
"Dùkkehùset", – det er kanske noget fattigt motiv,
men jeg synes, jeg har faaet noget af det gaselle-
agtige ind i smaajentas stilling. – Træsnittene
sender jeg ogsaa uden karton – bare sammenrùllet efter
dit forslag tidligere. ––– Ja vi er næsten i
den yderste nöd for tiden, da al kredit er slùt
snart, – (en policé er traadt ud af kraft), og jeg vil
være dig meget taknemlig, om dù kan hjælpe mig
med salg, – jeg lovede at sende noget til Harald
Brùns kùnsthandel, men jeg liker ikke manden stort
mere end konsùl Mohr, hvis breve jeg ikke besvarer.
Jeg sender det lille jeg har af træsnit og tegning en af de förste dage.
Her bor en Kristiania maler i Bygden – Refsùm – höist moderne
Kommer Dere hid i höst? Det var morsomt at
höre at Per er begyndt at male ogsaa. De bedste
hilsener fra os alle til Dere alle din hengivne ven
N. Astrup
Translation
Dear Kramer!
Well I haven’t heard anything from you since I
wrote, – so now it is my turn to think, that
You are offended by me. Perhaps I expressed myself
very clumsily – you know: illness in the home
without any improvement and “tugging” in every direction
due to debts, then it isn’t so strange, if one
becomes nervous and may write nonsense, – especially when
someone, like myself, is beset with a fever, that never
leaves me – (continuous sweating and catching cold).
Well yesterday I was out at Øia-neset to look at
your property, – unfortunately the trees are all dead
with the exception of one, which has one healthy branch
with large leaves, – it is the highest outermost
tree. The potatoes are looking very good – better than at
my place, – but whether there is anything “underground” is
impossible to see; – it has been a poor summer
for potatoes this year. There is a bit of grass there as well, but
since it hasn’t been fertilised in several years
it’s not very worthwhile to “reap” it;–
but Zakarias wants me to ask you anyway, whether
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he can cut it for us, – as it will otherwise be grazed
by Sandal’s cows and sheep, when the animals return from
the mountain, – we cannot actually fence out the <livestock>. –
Against the outlying field – (inside it) – Zakkarias put up a fence this <spring>
and even managed to finally keep the sheep out, – and
it was not an easy matter here, where all the sheep are quite
practiced in jumping over the highest fences, it is for that reason
I have not had sheep – in recent years, – although
I must admit, that sheep are perhaps the
most profitable here; – I will perhaps keep
sheep later, and then I could easily keep a sheep for
you and feed it with your own grass in winter, – but
if you or your family will remain there in the summer,
it might perhaps be better to have a goat on a
“tether” out there and keep the grass cut during that time, and in
addition have a little milk for your tea – (I really think goat’s
milk is very good in tea). – Anything else of
interest from Øianne I do not have; – the fishing rights are used
frequently by others, – since there is no fence
below the road, and “stegler ” – (“trolling lines”) – are placed
along the river, and I have “harrowed” several with my fishing tackle,
and then I let them disappear quietly into the depths.
How are things going with your house purchase? – Has Sandal
decided not to sell? When it comes to his unresolved busi-
ness with Johannes Stranden, – it is most likely
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Sandal and not Johannes, who is guilty of “shenanigans”,
– I have talked with him this summer (Johannes) about things, which concerned
us both and discovered, that I have wronged
him, – it is easy for evil people to
create hostility; – for everyone has their shortcomings, and his
shortcoming is perhaps most “obvious”, – he is however
an honest man when it comes to business, – so I am certain,
that he does not deny any of the money, that he
has received, – and if Sandal wishes, – I will
gladly get Johannes to write down on a paper,
what he has received, – but Sandal has been told I would be reluctant to “ferret”
him Johannes out, – without having any authorisation to
say, that it was you or Sandal, who wished
to know; – because it is fair enough for both you
and Sandal to inquire about it (through me), – when it
concerns the purchase of the house, – I also told him (Joh.
Stranden), that Kramer does not want to buy the house, if Johannes
were against it, – but Johannes says,
he has nothing against it, – but you must not give
more than 600 he added; because then it would be too expensive for you, –
then you would probably get something cheaper somewhere else. –––
Another thing is that both Johannes, and the rest of us
around these parts are naturally fully aware,
that Johannes has not by far received full compen-
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sation from Sandal for all his efforts with his {...}
old doddering mother, – even though he will get the house
for the old bargain listed price, – Engel, who is better informed
about the matter than I, says the same thing. I therefore think
that you can buy the house from Sandal, if you can have it
for 4–5 hundred and perhaps a little more; – Sandal has
in fact said earlier this spring, that he does not want to leave
the house to Johannes, – and Johannes has given Sandal
a written record of, what he has received, and what he
demands for his mother, without Sandal having had anything
to object to regarding the correctness of the amount that Johannes
claimed to have received, on the other hand he was “horrified”, –
by the amount, that Johannes demanded for his mother;
(the amount that Johannes demanded was designated as the lowest
tariff by the poverty relief commissioner). Johannes is
still due 760 kr. from Sandal according to a very low
estimate. – Well enough of that. – The house or loft at Myklebùst
has been drawn up and measured by an architect this summer and will be pur-
chased by the folk museum in Bygdö Kra. –––
Well things are not looking good for Engel – she is still bedridden
and has an ailing heart – it has not been easy for us
this summer – without a housemaid – (we hired first one then
another), – and we have been penniless the entire time, and we
had to hire a nurse for a while, – and now grandmother is leaving
for Bergen today Tuesday boat Förde Bergen, – and I have had the nerve to send
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Arnold along with her in order to find out, whether
it is cystitis he suffers from, and whether there is
any remedy for him, – it is rude of me to ask you to take
care of him for a few days, while he is being exam-
ined by some doctor or other, – but you offered
us to do it once, – you can put <him> to bed on the floor
in the basement on some old clothes or rags, so that
he doesn’t ruin bedclothes, etc. –––
I was going to send some woodcuts and a drawing,
which you might perhaps be so kind as to
sell for me, – it is something similar to
the pen drawing for Meyer, about which Eie
said, that I “had not held myself back ” –
it was intended as an illustration for a children’s book,
that I worked on for a while – but I have sold
off the other drawings for the book, – and this
last one, which I have “held onto” and now completed,
I must now also part with, and I would
be pleased, if I could get 400 kr. for it – which
I received for the one for Meyer, – even though this one is
larger and cost me twice as much work. – Dare I
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ask you to make a cardboard for it,
like the one for the woodcut “Foxglove forest”, and
then put it under glass and a thin simple frame.
I am leaving an extra margin at the top, which you might
be so kind as to cut off. I call the drawing:
“The Dollhouse”, – the motif is perhaps a little scanty,
but I think I have achieved something of the gazelle
effect in the little girl’s posture. – The woodcuts
I also send without cardboard – only rolled up according
to your earlier suggestion. ––– Well we have nearly been in
dire straits lately, since all credit is about
to end, – (one policy has expired), and I would
be very grateful to you, if you can help me
with a sale, – I promised to send something to Harald
Brùn’s art dealership, but I don’t like the man any
more than Consùl Mohr, whose letters I do not respond to.
I will send the little I have of woodcuts and drawings as soon as possible.
A Kristiania painter is staying here in the Village – Refsùm – exceedingly modern
Will You be coming here this autumn? It was amusing to
hear that Per has begun to paint as well. The very best
wishes from all of us to all of You your devoted friend