After having thought gloomily and sadly over this for a time, her reflections took another course, and she began to anticipate impetuously how they would amuse themselves, she and Nikolai, when once she got away from home.  She would have fun like all other young people, even if they had to give a dance in their own room.  And go out in a boat in the evening and row and fish, and on Sundays take their dinner out into the woods, and shout so loud that the hills would ring again.

She was almost wild, and her eyes burned with all the pressure and work that was put upon her.

When she did not get excited with talking, she looked depressed—­more so every time, Nikolai thought.  Her face seemed to him to wear such a plaintive expression.

There was nothing to be done but to set his teeth and hammer away, and hope for release by the winter.

Georgina Korneliussen in the next house but one, who sewed uppers for the shoemaker—­she was such a nice, quiet girl.  Silla should make friends with her, Mrs. Holman thought; it began to dawn upon her that there are limits to being trained in one’s duty.  On Sundays they might take it in turns to visit one another, for then they would be under surveillance in both places.  And Mrs. Holman even allowed Silla one Sunday to go for a walk with Georgina down in the town.  Young people must have a little pleasure now and then.

Silla had looked forward all the week to this Sunday with the passionate impatience of a bird that is to be let out of its cage, and the morning rose on great expectations of what the day would bring with it.

It seemed as if the soup with swedes in it would never be ready, so that they could have dinner.  And afterwards there was endless waiting for Georgina, who could not finish adorning herself.

At last she came out, tightly laced, and with a strip of crochet in the neck of her dress.  What sort of oil or fatty substance she had plastered down her hair with may be left unsaid; but Silla in her brown straw hat and a plain white collar, felt for a moment insignificant beside her.  But she quickly took her friend’s arm; now they were off to amuse themselves!

Down to the town they went, Silla impatiently champing the bit in her desire to get there in time to take part in the day’s pleasures.

In the streets and the park at this respectable time in the afternoon, crowds of people clad in their best were strolling up and down looking at one another, and for a long time Silla and Georgina had enough to do in directing one another’s attention to the finest and most fashionable dresses, and especially the long white flowing scarfs wound under the chin and thrown over the shoulder.  These, and white straw hats with light blue or pink ribbons and roses, were the objects of their vehement admiration.

They went up and down, lost sight of and met again the same dresses, and the same stiff quiet Sunday faces.