'Lizebeth had served the grandfather, then the father and now the son,
and she had long since elected Edi as the future minister, and intended
to look after his house when he should be the master here.



CHAPTER II

_A Call in the Village_


The friendly village Upper Wood lay on the top of the hill close by the
fir wood; it had a beautiful white church with a high, slender tower. At
a distance of three-quarters of an hour's walk, down in the valley, lay
Lower Wood, a small community which, however, did not wish to be
considered smaller. They had a new schoolhouse and a church of their
own, but the church had no tower, only a little red dome. Therefore the
people of Upper Wood were a little proud, because their church was much
prettier and also because they learned much more in the old schoolhouse
in Upper Wood than in the new one of Lower Wood; but that was the
children's fault, not the teacher's. In the middle, between the two
villages lay a hamlet consisting of a few farms and some small houses of
little pretense. It was called the Middle Lot, and its people the Middle
Lotters. They had the choice to what church and school they wished to
belong, whether to Lower Wood or Upper Wood, and according to their
choice they were judged by the people of Upper Wood; for whoever wanted
to learn much and be decent, he must, according to the Upper Wooders,
strive to belong to them. This was a fixed and general idea of the
people on the top of the hill. In the Middle Lot there lived only two
families who were generally respected; the Justice of Peace, who was