I went to lessons every day with the minister's two children, a bright
boy of the name of Carl, who was a year younger than I, namely twelve,
and his sister Susanna, of exactly the same age as myself, a blue-eyed
wild child, with a quantity of yellow hair, which was always requiring
to be pushed back from her forehead; when she could do so unnoticed by
the student, she made all kinds of faces and grimaces across at us, to
make us laugh.

The tutor was, in fact, exceedingly strict, and inspired the greatest
respect. The torture in which we sat when at school, not daring to look
up at one another for fear our laughter should break out, was really
anything but pleasant; for every time it exploded we fared very badly;
in the first place, we had our hair pulled and our ears boxed, and in
the next, long written harangues in our mark-books about our behaviour.

Susanna was often utterly merciless; it came to such a pass, that with
only a little wink in the corner of her eye, she could instantly put us
in a state of fever, so that we would sit with cheeks as red as apples,
and our eyes fastened on our books, until we could contain ourselves no
longer. She tried especially to work upon me, though she knew I must pay
dearly for misconduct at home; for father was a severe man, who had very
little comprehension of children.

In play hours, we romped with more animation than children generally
indulge in.

In contrast to the strict, gloomy life at home, with father always
either out on business, or up in the office; where, from the blue room,
often came noises and cries from my poor insane mother, and where Anne
Kvæn was always going about, like a wandering spirit, playing with the