272 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



Englishman," at the same time diving his hands 

 into his pockets as if searching for some weapon. 



This was a bit too much, so I hit him with all 

 my might on the point of the jaw, and saw him go 

 down the stairs all in a heap. He struck the wall 

 at an angle with a thud, and then rolled to the 

 passage below, just as the people in the Spiessalon, 

 with anxious faces, came out to ascertain the cause 

 of the row. For a moment or two my antagonist 

 lay still, and then got up slowly, opened the door 

 and passed out into the snow. There he zig-zagged 

 at a crawl in the direction of the town. When I 

 had recovered my composure, and assured the 

 people in the hotel that the fellow had been insolent 

 and I had thrown him downstairs, I went down the 

 town to make quite sure that mine enemy could 

 under no circumstances get his coal, and fully 

 expected to meet him again, but this was not the 

 case. He left Hammerfest that evening. How, 

 I do not know. He must have been forced to sail, 

 unless he induced some of his German friends 

 (who were here numerous) to give him some 

 supplies of fuel. I expected there might be a bit 

 of a row about this incident, but I never heard of 

 him again. At any rate I hope he was sore for 

 some days afterwards. 



This was only one of the little contretemps that 

 may occur any day in the life of a Consul in out- 

 of-the-way places. There was only one matter 

 that I was really frightened about, and that was 

 that I should be asked to perform a marriage. 

 Should such a misfortune have occurred, I do not 

 know what I should have done, beyond reading 

 the marriage service and giving a blessing. One 



