Page 52 and Page 53

Page 52:

So when he noticed that I had gotten almost no plowing done I had no choice but to tell the truth. He told me that the womenfolk had absolutely no jurisdiction over me or the horses when he was out of town. He then left again and things got a bit better for a while before they reverted to business as usual. So whether or not he actually spoke to them about the matter I really couldn't say. 

I had been there for a year and a half when it so happened that a short while before I left there, the miller's eighteen year old son was crushed to death. We were having lunch one day while he was at the top of the mill attempting to grease some gears when his clothes got caught in the machinery. While I can't say for sure, he probably died in under a minute. That same evening I drove to Præstø where I was supposed to get a coffin for him. At the same time I took the opportunity to by myself a fine silk hat for when I would get married. I placed both in the carriage and headed back. 

My mother passed away on the first day of Pentecost in the year 1860. She had been the one washing and mending all of my clothes and now with her gone I had to hire a woman to do this for me. I hired such a woman and paid her six thaler a year for services relating to washing and mending. I was also required to buy wool, which she spun and turned into stockings for me, but for these I had to pay separately, 

Page 53:

Marriage:

and it ate up a rather large portion of my wages. At this point in time I was 25 years of age and I was becoming fed up with the constant moving from place to place. So I made the concrete decision to permanently tie myself to the little girl whom I had referred to on page seven of this very book. I moved in with her on the first of November of 1861 and on the fifth of said month we had our wedding where we were married by Pastor Heise in the town of Roholte. At the same time, my new wife and I became the new lifelong leaseholders of her father's property. The land consisted of a parcel of about 3 1/2 acres which had a small grove of trees as well as a garden occupying about 1/2 an acre. We also agreed to supply Stine's dad with whatever he might need for the rest of his life. I paid 100 crowns for the deed and also 30 crowns to each of Stine's three brothers, Niels, Jørgen and Lars in lieu of an inheritance. Furthermore, I also had to pay at least four times as much in annual fees in excess of what had already been paid. However, nothing was too much as long as I got to be with Stine and we had a place we could call home. 

The house was very old and in poor condition and I immediately began collecting materials for a new one. Time passed and on the 7th of February 1863 we welcomed our son Christian. Shortly after that I became ill with pneumonia which nearly robbed me of all of my courage,