Letter
6 Pages
Transcription: Tor Martin Leknes
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
Kjære ven!
Hjærtelig tak for sidst! Hils din sympathiske
ùnge nevö, og tak ham fra mig for visitten; – vi
blev alle saa glade i ham, – og det var bare
kjedeligt, at vi ikke kùnde gjort noget mere ud
af toùren, – men veiret og aarstiden og hans daarlige
fod gjorde jo længere ùdflùgter umùlige. –––
Ja saa maa dù have tùsend tak for dit stræv med
ùhrene, – jeg blir skyldig dig meget nù, – og saa tak for
aparatet til telefonen, som Olaùs kom med, – han
var i en meget animeret tilstand, – havde "gaaet paa
fyld" i 14 dages tid, sa han og – mellem os sagt – havde
han glemt igjen baade et og andet af sit "habengùt" ùnder-
veis, og telefonaparatet havde nok faaet en slem medfart,
saa alt, som var af "kaùtsjuk", – eller "gùmmi", var knùst:
"taletrakten" – hörerörene o.s.v – (særlig det rör som var löst,
og som jeg ikke veed hvad det skal brùges til; – dette "re-
serverör" (?) har jeg nù limet sammen, – saa jeg antager , det
kan brùkes, – værre er det, at den tynde metalplate i
det faste hörerör har faaet en styg bùle efter en skarp
gjenstand). Ja jeg har intet sagt til ham om det; thi
han kùnde jo ikke saa godt hjælpe for det i den tilstand,
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hvori han da var; – han er jo ellers en ganske hyggelig
kar, – og han havde rigelig "sjænk" med sig til os.
Telefonen er nù i orden til Myklebùst; – Dvergsdal gaar
nordover med sin telefon – og har "kabel" over Kjösnesfjorden –
til Skei, og vi gaar til Vasenden altsaa; – men der er altsaa
ingen forbindelse mellem de to linjer; – stivhed, bygdepolitik
og fornærmelser gjör, at der nù altsaa staar igjen ca 3–4
kilometer, som mangler paa, at vi har telefon langs hele syd-
siden. Stationen her i Sandal er hos Kristoffer (posthùset) og
det blir langt for mig at faa ledning did – der er ca 3 eller
iallefald 2½ kilometer did, og da jeg maa have to ledninger
(en frem og en tilbake), og to kroker og to isolatorer for hver
stolpe, saa blir det saa dyr historie, at jeg faa betænke mig
en tid paa at anskaffe det. Fond og aktionererne paa
Myklebùst har {…} bestemt sig imellem, at jeg skal
faa tilknytte ledning direkte, – men Sandal gaar ikke med
paa det, og det er desùden ikke lovligt, – da rikstele-
fonen forlanger, at vi for at faa tilknytning til rikstelefonen
maa have samme slags aparater, som de brùker, og det koster
140 kr. forùden nogen extra smaating; – og saa vil ikke riks-
telefonen give tilladelse til mere end 4 aparater paa denne
linje, og disse fire er allerede indstallerede; – men jeg kan
mùligens i "smùg" indskyde en "isolationstraad"; – her staar
nemlig en stolpe i tætteste skogen nedenfor nyhùset her,
og det vilde da let lade sig gjöre, ùden at nogen op-
dagede det, at tilknytte eller indskyde i ledningen et par
isloationstraade, som da enten kùnde gaa fra gren til
gren i trærene like op til hæggen og derfra ind i ny-
hùset, – eller jeg kùnde lede dem ned langs stolpen og lade
dem gaa gjennem et vandledningsrör op til hùset, – det sid-
ste vilde dog lettere opdages. Det kùnde jo være ganske
bekvemt at have sin telefon slik helt hemmelig, –
man havde fordelene ved en telefon og kùnde ùndgaa
ùlemperne: – man slap at staa til tjeneste for hver mand
med sin telefon, – man slap unödige opringninger og den
stadige alarm, – men saa maate jeg vel have et "sig-
nal", som kùn Nilsen paa Vasenden kjendte, saa han
kùnde faa tak i mig, om dù eller andre venner ùdenfor
bygden vilde have tak i mig, – men skùlde dette signal
fùngere, blev jeg nödt at höre paa alle de andre signaler
hele dagen; – det lod sig ogsaa kanske ordne med
Kristoffer Sandal slig, at han heiste flag eller lignende
naar nogen vilde have tak i mig, saa at jeg da kùnde
"koble ledningen". I et hvert fald maatte jeg have en sær-
lig tyk isolationstraad, – lige saa tyk som selve ledningen,
saa der ikke blev nogen "modstand" paa linjen. –––
Kùnde dù skaffe mig en slig isolationstraad? Jeg skal
i saafald opgive tykkelsen paa "strengen", som er brukt
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her paa "linjen" – (den er ikke saa tyk som rikstelefonens
ledninger). Tror dù ikke, at en god isolationstraad
vil "staa sig" ùde i alskens veir, hvis man af og til
giver den en overstrykning med tjære eller kanske
maling. Jeg tror, at en lysledningstraad vilde være
af passende tykkelse, men jeg veed ikke om "isolatio-
nen" er sikker nok paa en slik til taale regn; – en
lysledningstraad har jo ogsaa den fordel, at de to traade
er tvùnde sammen. –––
Ja saa var det "St. Hansbaalet". – Tak for din omtale til
Kreyberg af det, – men jeg synes det blir en lidt vel
"grov lögn", – at lade det gaa for "skissen til Griegs billede",
det er jo et helt andet motiv, – noget som Kreyberg
selv vil have anledning til at overbevise sig om. –
Men for at lade "lögnen" blive til sanhed, saa har jeg, som
dù kanske hùsker, staaende en skisse (adskillig större) hos
Kristoffer Sandal af samme motiv som Griegs billede; –
det er jo svært ùfærdig, – jeg fik jo "pösregn" – de to tre gange,
jeg skulde stùdere "priselden" paa "Bjönnahammaren"; –
men jeg faar kanske pröve at gjöre noget ùd av det, – men
rigtig i en hast gaar det ikke, da jeg er slemt plaget af
sting om dagene eller særlig nætterne, og asthmadjævelen
stikker ogsaa hovedet frem, – jeg frös nemlig frygtelig en
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nat og har været daarlig siden; – dette rùmmet er jo
koldt som et hùndehùs, fordi det staar aabent hele
loftet ovenpaa, – det blir ikke varmt, förend jeg faar
færdigbygget attelieret ovenpaa; – det er af hensyn til
Arnold jeg ligger her, for at jeg skal kùnne vække ham
om natten, og det har jeg rigelig anledning til, da det er
daarligt med min nattesövn. ––– Ja dù taler
om Kjött, – vi har slagtet 10 skrotter, – jeg gjorde saa daarlig
handel i fjor (eller forfjor rettere), saa at Lovisa Stranden
tjente ca 100 kr. paa mig, – og det har jeg stadig faaet höre
af Engel, – derfor har jeg fraskrevet mig alt ansvar og
stræv med kjöt-forsyningen; og iaar har Engel faaet styre
og raade, som hùn vilde, – men hùn maatte give 1,80 pr.
kilo, – saa det blev nok mere en 1,50 , som dù mener vi
maatte kunde faa det for her; – nei det er nok i mange
maater dyrt at bo i en fjeldbygd, – selv veden, som vi
brùker en masse af, maa vi betale dyrere end i Förde
35 – 40 kr. pr. favn: (28–30 kr. i Gloppen og Förde) –
meierierne her "byder den op". Naar jeg faar atteliere o.s.v.
i orden, vil jeg indrette mig paa udelukkende at brùke sten-
kùl. – Nù skal jeg fortælle dig noget, – som dù ikke maa
misforstaa. Fond er nok lidt fornærmet paa mig for tiden.
Engel havde nemlig fortalt ham, at jeg havde solgt mit
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hùs paa Myklebùst til Kramer for kr. 1000 –. Fond
sa da til Engel, at han havde bùdt mig 2000 for det, –
men det har eg aldrig hört – han har kanske tænkt
at byde mig det, men han har aldrig gjort det, – jeg
holdt en gang paa at sælge det til Hildùr Hoskildsen, som
böd mig 1500 – (ùnder forudsætning af at grùndeieren gik
med paa at lade min bygselkontrakt gaa over paa hende)
men P.C. Hoskildsen forpùrrede handelen, da han gjerne
vilde give det samme, og saa blev der intet af det hele.
Jeg maatte love at holde ham hùset til haande for 1500,
men da jeg mellem os sagt – i sommer bad ham om at laane
mig kr. 100 i den værste nöd; svarede han mig ikke en gang.
Jeg laante ham jo flere tusend paa toùren (og blev snydt
paa noget ved tilbakebetalingen – men det var min egen
feil som oversaa det, – og jeg liker aldrig komme med
noget efterpaa et opgjör, – jeg bùrde da heller ikke nævnt
dette nù – men det "bliver jo mellem os".) – Altsaa over for
ham föler jeg mig ikke længer forpligtet, – og Fond har aldrig
nævnt noget til mig, – det er noget, han bare indbilder sig;
men han vidste om historierne med Hildùr og Hoskildsen, og
derfor sa han til Engel, at han ikke kùnne byde mig ùnder
1500 og derfor "gik over" og böd 2000. – Men som jeg antydede för – dù maa
ikke misforstaa mig, jeg sælger heller for 1000 til bortflytning end til 1500 eller
2000 paa stedet – det har ærgret mig nok at se det der efter narreriet med de 3 maal
jord o.s.v. – Jeg taber jo meget i begge tilfældene. Nù har Olaùs og jeg været der inde og har
taget maal af tomten – bygningensmand Anders Aasen fik vi med os – han tager vistnok
flytningen saa billig som mùligt – Jeg havde aftalt med "Flekken" om tomten – men nù havde
dù talt med Olaùs – jeg tror nok han blir lidt dyrere – som fagmand. Ja de bedste hilsen da.
Din Astrup
Translation
Dear friend!
It was wonderful to see you again! Say hello to your sympathetic
young nephew, and thank him from me for his visit; – we
all grew very fond of him, – and it was a real
shame, that we could not make more
of his trip, – but the weather and the season and his bad
foot made lengthier outings impossible. –––
Well and then many thanks for your efforts regarding
the clocks, – I am deeply in debt to you now, – and thank you for
the apparatus for the telephone, which Olaùs brought us, – he
was in a very animated state, – had “been on
a bender” for a fortnight, he said and – between the two of us – he
had forgotten one or another of his “paraphernalia” along
the way, and the telephone apparatus had taken a beating,
so that, everything that was made out of “caoutchouc”, – or “rubber”, was broken:
the “mouthpiece cone” – the earpieces, etc. – (especially the loose tube,
which I have no idea what is used for; – this “spare
tube” (?) I have now glued together, – so I presume, it
is usable, – but the thin metal plate in
the fixed earpiece has acquired an ugly bump from a sharp
object). Well I have not said a word to him about it; because
he could not help it in the state,
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that he was in; – he is normally a rather nice
fellow, – and he brought a generous dose of “liquor” with him for us.
The telephone [service] is in order as far as Myklebùst now; – Dvergsdal reaches
northward with its telephone – and has a “cable” across Kjösnesfjorden –
to Skei, and ours leads to Vasenden; – but there is
no connection between the two lines; – due to obstinacy, village politics
and insults there now remain approx. 3–4 kilometres,
that are lacking in order for us to have telephone lines along the
entire south side. The station here in Sandal is at Kristoffer’s (the postal station) and
it would be difficult for me to have a line reach that far – it is approx. 3 or
at least 2½ kilometres away, and since I must have two cables
(one there and one back), and two hooks and two insulators for each
pole, it would be such an expensive affair, that I must consider
for a while whether I will get it. Fond and the shareholders in
Myklebùst have {…} decided among themselves, that I shall
have a direct line connected, – but Sandal will not agree
to it, and in addition it is illegal, – since the national phone
company requires, that in order to be connected to the long-distance line
we must have the same type of telephone apparatuses as they use, and that costs
140 kr. in addition to some extra small components; – and then the national phone
company will not permit more than 4 telephones along this
line, and these four have already been installed; – but it’s possible
I might “secretly” insert an “insulation cord”; – since there is
a pole in the thickest part of the forest below the new cabin house here,
and it would be easy, without anyone discov-
ing it, to connect or insert a couple of
insulation cords to the line, which might then either extend from branch to
branch in the trees all the way up to the bird cherry and from there into
the new cabin, – or I might have them extend down along the pole
and through a water pipe up to the cabin, – although the lat-
ter would be more easily discovered. It would be very
convenient to have a telephone of one’s own like that in total secrecy, –
one would have the benefits of a telephone while avoiding
the disadvantages: – one would avoid being at the service of everyone
with a telephone, – one would avoid unnecessary phone calls and the
constant apprehension, – but then I would have to have a “sig-
nal”, that only Nilsen in Vasenden knew, so that he
might get hold of me, if you or other friends outside
the village wanted to reach me, – but if this signal were to
work, I would be obliged to listen to all the other signals
throughout the day; – it might perhaps also be arranged with
Kristoffer Sandal in such a way, that he raised his flag or something similar
when someone wanted to reach me, so that I might then
“hook up”. In any case I would need to have a par-
ticularly thick insulation chord, – as thick as the telephone line itself,
so that there wouldn’t be any “resistance” on the line. –––
Would you obtain an insulation chord for me? I will
in that case inform you of the thickness of “the chord”, which is used
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here on “the line” – (it is not as thick as the national telephone
chords). Don’t you think, that a good insulation chord
will “survive” outdoors in all kinds of weather, if one gives it a
coat of tar once in a while or perhaps of
paint. I think a lamp chord would be
a suitable thickness, but I don’t know if the “insula-
tion” on it is secure enough to withstand rain; – a
lamp chord also has the advantage that the two wires
are wound together. –––
Well and then there is the “Midsummer Eve Bonfire”. – Thank you for
mentioning it to Kreyberg, – but I feel it would be a rather
“crude lie”, – to present it as “a sketch for Grieg’s picture”,
it is a totally different motif, – which Kreyberg
himself will have ample opportunity to convince himself of. –
But to allow the “lie” to become truth, I have, as
you perhaps remember, a sketch (considerably larger) in
Kristoffer Sandal’s keeping of the same motif as Grieg’s picture; –
it is quite incomplete, – I encountered “pouring rain” – the two three times,
I intended to study “Midsummer Eve bonfire” in “Bjönnahammaren”; –
but I will perhaps try to make something out of it, – although
it cannot be done in a great hurry, as I am terribly afflicted with
twinges lately or particularly at night, and the asthma devil
also raises its ugly head, – I froze terribly you see one
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night and have been unwell ever since; – this room is
cold as a doghouse, because the entire attic upstairs
remains open, – it will not be warm, until I finish
building the studio on the second floor; – it is for
Arnold’s sake that I lie here, so that I can wake him
at night, which I have abundant opportunities to do, as I
sleep very poorly at night. ––– Well you speak
of Meat, – we have slaughtered 10 carcasses, – I made such a poor
business of it last year (or the year before rather), that Lovisa Stranden
made around 100 kr. off me, – and this I have been repeatedly reminded of
by Engel, – I have therefore renounced all responsibility and
efforts related to meat supplies; and this year Engel has been able to
do as she pleases, – yet she still had to pay 1.80 per
kilo, – so it was more than the 1.50, which you thought we
should be able to get it for here; – well in many ways
it’s expensive to live in a mountain village, – even the firewood, which we
consume great amounts of, we have to pay a higher price for than in Förde
35 – 40 kr. per fathom: (28–30 kr. in Gloppen and Förde) –
the dairies here “raise the price through bidding”. When I finish building
the studio, etc., I will arrange it so that I will only use anthracite
coal. – Now I will tell you something, – which you must not
misunderstand. Fond may be a bit offended with me of late.
Engel has told him, that I had sold my
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house in Myklebùst to Kramer for kr. 1000 –. Fond
then said to Engel, that he had offered me 2000 for it, –
but I have never heard that – he has perhaps thought
of offering me that sum, but he has never done so, – I
was on the verge once of selling it to Hildùr Hoskildsen, who
offered me 1500 – (provided the landowner agreed
to transfer my leaseholder’s contract over to her)
but P.C. Hoskildsen thwarted the transaction, as he
wanted to offer the same sum, and then nothing came of it.
I had to promise to reserve the house for him for 1500,
but just between us – when I asked him this summer to lend
me kr. 100 during our worst need; he did not even respond.
I lent him several thousand on our trip (and was cheated
of some of the repayment – but it was my own
fault for having overlooked it, – and I never like to take up
something again after settling a matter, – I should not mention
this now either – but it “will remain between us”.) – In other words
I no longer feel obligated to him, – and Fond has never
mentioned anything to me, – it is something he has merely imagined;
but he knew about the story pertaining to Hildùr and Hoskildsen, and
that’s why he told Engel, that he could not offer me less than
1500 and therefore “went above” and offered 2000. – But as I insinuated before – you must
not misunderstand me, I would rather sell it for 1000 to have it moved than for 1500 or
2000 to remain on the site – it has annoyed me enough to see it there after being deceived about the ¾ of an acre of
land, etc. – I lose a lot in both cases. Olaùs and I have been there and
measured the lot – the builder Anders Aasen came with us – he will supposedly conduct
the move as cheaply as possible – I had arranged with “The Mole” about the lot – but now
that you have spoken with Olaùs – I believe he will be a little more expensive – as a
professional labourer. Well best wishes then.
Your Astrup