Swanhild prospered well on that first Saturday afternoon, and Madame Lechertier was quite satisfied with her little idea as to the Norwegian costumes; the pretty foreigner at the piano, and the dainty little Norse girl who danced so bewitchingly, caused quite a sensation in the class, and the two sisters went home in high spirits, delighted to have pleased their kind-hearted employer. They had only just returned and taken off their walking things when there came a loud knock at the door. Swanhild still in her Hardanger dress ran to see what was wanted, and could hardly help laughing at the funny-looking old man who inquired whether Frithiof were in.
“Still out, you say,” he panted; “very provoking. I specially wanted to see him on a matter of urgency.”
“Will you not come in and wait?” said the child. “Frithiof will soon be home.”
“Thank you,” said old Herr Sivertsen. “These stairs are terrible work. I shall be glad not to have to climb them again. But houses are all alike in London—all alike! Story after story, till they’re no better than the Tower of Babel.”
Sigrid came forward with her pretty, bright greeting and made the old man sit down by the fire.
“Frithiof has gone for a walk with a friend of his,” she explained. “But he will be home in a few minutes. I always persuade him to take a good walk on Saturday if possible.”
“In consequence of which he doesn’t get through half as much work for me,” said Herr Sivertsen. “However, you are quite right. He needed more exercise. Is he quite well again?”
“Quite well, thank you; though I suppose he will never be so strong as he once was,” she said a little sadly. “You see, overwork and trouble and poor living must in the long run injure even a strong man.”
“There are no strong men nowadays, it seems to me,” said the old author gruffly. “They all knock up sooner or later—a degenerate race—a worthless generation.”
“Well, the doctor says he must have had a very fine constitution to have recovered so fast,” said Sigrid. “Still, I feel rather afraid sometimes of his doing too much again. Were you going to suggest some more work for him?”