The Best Intentions Read Online Free PDF

strike five, the door opens and the superintendent of traffic enters the salon with Anna at his side. He has put his right arm around her shoulders and leans heavily on his cane with his left.
    Everyone rises and greets the Head of the Household. Perhaps this is the right moment to describe those present. Karin has already been mentioned, as has her son, Ernst, who is the same age as Henrik. The three brothers, Oscar, Gustav, and Carl, are standing slightly to one side, sorting out some of Carl’s constant money troubles, all of them talking at once. When their father comes into the room with Anna, they at once fall silent and turn to smile politely at the two of them.
    Oscar is like his father, a well-off wholesaler, self-confident and taciturn. He is married to Svea, a tall thin woman of sickly appearance, her glasses concealing her pain-filled gaze. She is always considered to be on the brink of death. Every autumn, she goes on cures and takes the waters in southern Germany or Switzerland, and each spring she returns bowed, swaying slightly, a tortured apologetic smile on her face: I didn’t die this time either. You must be patient.
    Gustav is a professor of Roman law and a bore, something those around him are given to pointing out. He has become quite stout to protect himself. He laughs good-naturedly and shakes his head at his own sorrows. His wife, Martha, is of Russian origin, speaks Swedish with a broad accent, and is good-humored. She and her husband are united by an intimate love of the delights of the table. They have two lovely and somewhat unruly daughters in their early teens.
    Carl is an engineer and inventor, largely unsuccessful. Most people consider him the black sheep of the family. He combines intelligence with misanthropy, is a bachelor and not particularly clean either spiritually or physically, the latter to his stepmother’s constant annoyance. Yes, there is something fishy about brother Carl, and I will return to him in a moment.
    Also present is Torsten Bohlin, a young genius with bold features and flowing hair, who is carelessly elegant and loved by the family. At twenty-four, he is writing his doctoral thesis (on the Gregorian chant in pre-Protestant choirs as reflected in the collection of melodies found in Skattungbyn Church during the 1898 restoration). Last but not least, young Bohlin is regarded as Anna’s intended. It’s said that the two young people have been observed expressing their warm feelings for each other.
    Upright Miss Siri appears in the doorway to the dining room, apparently slightly put out. Karin Åkerblom says from across the room, “Our extra dinner guest has not arrived. We’ll wait a few minutes and see if he appears.”
    Karin ( to Ernst ): Are you sure you told your friend that we have dinner at five o’clock?
    Ernst: I emphasized that we are insanely punctual in this family. He pointed out that he himself was a desperate enthusiast for punctuality.
    Johan Åkerblom: What kind of creature is he?
    Ernst: Papa dear, he’s not a creature at all. He is studying theology and is going to be a priest, God willing.
    Carl: A priest, a priest! Why not a priest in the family? A professional addition to this gang of hypocrites.
    Martha: Has this fabulous creature a name?
    Ernst: Henrik Bergman. From the Gästrike-Hälsinge student hostel. We both sing in the Academic Choir. He’s an excellent baritone, and he’s also got three unmarried aunts on his father’s side.
    Oscar: The ladies of Elfvik.
    Ernst: The ladies of Elfvik.
    Johan Åkerblom: Then Fredrik, the member of Parliament, must be his grandfather.
    Karin: Do we know him?
    Johan Åkerblom : A really cunning old fox. He’s keen on a special alliance — an Agrarian party. That would be a fine old mess. Conflicts and splinterings. For that matter, we’re supposed to be related somewhere along the line. Second cousins or something of the kind.
    This gives