At home on Finnøy, in the beginning of June, 1876, I found it, then as now, a beautiful island, especially in spring, with the millions of flowers of all kinds to delight the eye, and with the thousands of songbirds. I could readily exclaim, with the poet: 'Home, home, sweet, sweet home! There's no place like home.' Here I was, a sixteen-year old sailor lad, who already had experienced more and greater events than the greater number of men twice as old.
The reader may be disposed to pardon me if I related that here I was about to go thru the greatest experience in my life, and the event that was to have the greatest influence on the rest of my life.
How many days I had been home I do not remember. But it was a Sunday afternoon, when the young people of both sexes, according to custom of Finnøy, gathered from the various homes, at certain places convenient for social intercourse, play and recreation. This particular afternoon the gathering happened to be at a place (gaard) called Landa, not far from my home (Vestbø). There were young people from most of the paces (gaards) on the west side of Finnøy, schoolmates, confirmants of same age and others, all well acquainted. There were also a couple of girls from Roda, a gaard on the northeast side of the island, and with them were two young ladies I had never seen before. I judged, by their manners and dress that they were from Stavanger. It happened often that there were people from Stavanger vacationing at Finnøy in the summer. One of these two ladies was of normal stature, slightly dark complected, wearing a dark dress and a black straw hat, but attractive withal. The other was small of stature, appeared like a school girl in early teens, light complected, had a light blue dress and a yellow straw hat. There was a great contrast between these ladies, not only in complexion and dress and size, but the first was rather quiet, the latter lively. Each might be adjudged pretty in her own way.
Before this I had been very little interested in the appearance of women, as to whether they were pretty or not. Most of my thoughts had been on all the interesting things in a life at sea, and how I was to make my way in the world. Sometime in the future, when I had attained to something, then it might be time enough to think of girls. But now I could not deny there was something strangely attractive about this little light complected girl, - something I had never before noticed about girls, either from the countryside or from the city. The main distinction between the two was mainly in manner of dress.
It was not customary among these young people to introduce or be introduced formally. If one wished to become acquainted with a stranger, he or she must devise a means to do so. I was by nature not a little bashful and shy toward strangers, and I had little hope of becoming acquainted with either one of these girls. Hearing them speak I knew they must be from the vicinity of Stavanger, because they used the Stavanger dialect. This dialect is quite easily distinguished from all others in the Norwegian language.
Rather than writing a long love story I shall only make a few notations, which may serve as a connecting element for the later narrative of my story.
The Norwegian women played a very big part in the lives of the Norwegian sailors in the days of the sailships. Sailors stood high in the estimation of the women, and that fact inspired the men with courage and daring, at the same time as it was, in many instances, an opportunity for the women to advance to more important stations in society, to have a prospect of marriage, and set up homes of their own.
The gathering of young people, above mentioned, included 25 or more. For amusement, among other things, we played tag, or 'tikken.' One had to touch another on the arm or back, and say 'tikken', and then that one had to run and touch somebody else, and say the same thing, to get rid of the 'tikken.'
I soon noticed that when the little, light-complected girl, described above, go the tag, she would hand it over to me; and I was surprised at how fast she could run. Altho I could run when I got started, she could beat me on getting started. At any rate, I thought it proper to return the attention shown me. This was repeated several times, and I saw she liked it. Of course, if it had been in some matter of importance I think I could have run faster and farther than she. Everybody in the group had much fun during the tag game, and this little girl certainly appeared to have her full share of it. What she saw in me is probably just as much of a mystery as what I saw in her. I was rather tall for my age, lacking an inch of six feet, and fairly well developed. The first time in my life that I was weighed was one year later, in England; then I weighed 203 pounds, so I must have been of more than average weight for my age at this time.
The time passed rapidly, and it was soon evening. The two girls from Roda, and the two visiting girls had a long distance to walk home, over the upland pastures or heath, so they had to depart; and, according to custom, the whole group would accompany those who had come from the most distant point on their way home. On such walks it was also permissible that the boys could offer arm to the girls, if they cared to accept. Most of them accepted, but these two strangers rejected all offers, and took each other's arm. I must admit I also was tempted to offer them my arm, but as I saw they turned everybody down, I did not want to be humiliated by a refusal. Two or three other boys and myself took a position to the rear of the main group.
In one place the road lay up thru a steep ravine. The walk here was difficult and tiresome; and when we reached up to the more level ground someone suggested a rest. The greater number of the girls sat down on one side of the beaten path, while the two boys with me sat down on the opposite side.
Anybody who has been in Norway knows what beautiful summer-evenings there are. There is really no night, even as far south as Finnøy or Stavanger, only a sort of twilight. And a mild summer-night, out in the open air in Norway is extremely enjoyable. But I must admit that my thought at the time was mostly about that little girl, sitting opposite. How and where in the world was I to become acquainted with her, if not this evening? Probably I should never meet her again. Somebody suggested we better be moving along, and began to get up and go. And as quick as a flash that little girl came running over and grabbed my arm, saying: 'Come, let's go.'
Naturally I became so disconcerted and bewildered that I hardly knew where I was at. But I determined she was not going to ask me twice. I though she was extraordinarily brave who could dare to do what I had not dared. But was not this exactly what I wished? We managed so that there was a distance between us and the rest of the group, so they could not hear all we said. Conversation was easily started. She told me she was from Roalsøy, near Stavanger, that she had a brother who was a sailor, and that the lady who accompanied her was his fiancée. She had relatives living at Roda, with whom she was now staying over the week-end. But what struck me especially was, she told me she was about of my age; only three months' difference, and that her name, also, was about like mine, only differing in two latters: Olaus and Olava. Neither was she quite so small as I had thought. She reached fully up to my shoulders. Her form was so neat and well proportioned that she at first appeared smaller than her real size.
She knew I was a sailor. Where she had learned it I did not know. She also confided that she had watched my actions, and that she had asked others where my home was. She knew hardly any of my people; neither did I know any of her folks. But that made very little difference to either of us. We were only interested in each other. In our conversation, however, there was not one word of love, or anything like that, - only a free and frank chat, as between good old friends.
Thus, it did not take us long to become acquainted. The road seemed entirely too short. Soon we were at Roda, and the members of the party said 'Good-night', but not before she had ascertained from me when I would be in Stavanger, and where she might meet me. Then we parted, to meet again.
While returning home and thinking of the events of the afternoon and evening, it seemed like a dream. It was all unexpected and unpremeditated. A few hours ago we had never seen each other, and now, it could not be denied, as far as I could figure out, we had both been hit by the arrows of Amor. Was it an accident, or was it foreordained? Was it fate? Who knows? It was all an insoluble mystery to me, but I was very well satisfied with the situation, whatever was the cause.
After a few days I went to Stavanger, to hire out on a ship for another voyage, and, incidentally to see Olava. Now I had a double reason for continuing my career as a sailor. Some time ago I had made up my mind that I would become an officer in the merchant marine as soon as it was possible. Three things were necessary to make the grade for that. One could not take the examination for that purpose until he had filled 19 years of age. And one had to have a record of a certain number of years and months of voyages to foreign ports. I lacked considerable in this requirement. Thirdly, in order to attend the school of navigation some money was necessary. Money was not plentiful among Norwegian seamen in those days. Six months attendance at the navigation school in Stavanger cost a lot especially for students who could not board at home. I had determined I would pay for my own schooling. I liked to be independent, and did not want to borrow money from anybody.
Time must not be wasted, staying at home. When I came to Stavanger, I looked up Olava, and she was there, looking for me. But my main object was to find a berth on a ship. She did not have much to say about that. She knew a sailor's place was out in the wide world, and on stormy seas, but to her the thought was rather unpleasant now. Nothing could be done about it, however. She told me she also had another brother who had been a seaman, and that he had come home from a voyage, sick with tuberculosis. She had nursed him and sat up nights to take care of him during his sickness until he died, about a year ago. She missed that dear brother very much, but said she had a consolation in her belief that he was saved and entered eternal life when he passed from this life.