THE MORTGAGE.
I am, as well you know, a man of the mountains,
And therefore go to the Fjelds as oft as I can,
To freshen myself on craig or broad hillside,
And look around to see as far as I can.
But as I find I’m getting on in years,
And that I am not so fleet of foot as I was,
I lie and bask in the sun, and think
That I should like a hut in Jötunheim,[150]
Where I could live well for a month’s space,
And strengthen body and soul among the fjelds.
I chose the spot, after looking at many,
With the west end of the hut upon a tongue of land.
From the little hut you see the peaks so lofty,
And Sletmarkhö, so much like Himalaya.
Bareheaded, thus I stood in contemplation,
On mighty Gaurisankar’s highest peak.
I took three with me for this building work;
But then my purse is so extremely light,
That I, who am but an humble fellow,
Cannot pay my share in this property.
I had five dollars—so light was my purse,
And five-and-twenty was the sum required.
But this much wanted, twenty in the total,
I got to-day from Mr. Consul Heftye.
For this, and for his kind goodwill,
I give a mortgage on this house of mine.
So, if I die, or if I leave the land,
He shall possess the fourth part of the house
On paying down five dollars to the man
Who may have any claim upon my hut,
Excepting all that, as the receipt does show,
Was spent upon the house in my own name,
In case he will not, as ofttimes occurs,
Sell this, his mortgage, to another man,
Deducting the amount of the mortgage from
That which the house will fetch when sold by
Auction. With each new year he interest shall
Receive, in Royal coin, at legal five per cent.
And thus, before God and the law, he has
The first mortgage on this isthmus house of mine,
Which is quite new, and, therefore, good as gold,
And shall have number and matriculation,
And have a space allotted in the books of the
Court, in their great big, musty folios.
As witnesses appear the Dike inspector,
Thjöme, and the Keeper of the Archives, Sars,
Who own a share and portion in the house,
Together with myself—Aasmund Olsen Vinge.
Christiania, 28th November, 1868.
Witnesses:
H. J. Thjöme. E. Sars.
Read, extracted, and protocolled at the Monthly Court for the district of Vang and Slidre, the 16th December, 1868.
It is observed, that the debtor is not aware of having produced any proof of the mortgage; neither can it be ascertained that it has been taxed, or that it belongs to any custom, for which reason this document was extracted on the folio for joint ownership for Vang.