And Peer was confirmed at Easter.Felix presented him with a silver watch. It was the first watch Peer had owned; he felt that this made him a man， for now he didnot have to ask others what time it was.Felix came up to the garret， congratulated him， and handed him thewatch; he himself was not to be confirmed until the au- tumn. They took each other by the hand，these two chil- dren of the house，both the same age，born the same day and in the same house.And Felix ate a piece of the cake that had been baked in the garret for the occasion of the confirmation.
"It is a happy day with solemn thoughts，"saidGrandmother.
"Yes，very solemn!"said Mother."If only Father had lived to see Peer today!"
The following Sunday all three of them went to Com-munion. When they came home from church they found a message from the singing master， asking Peer to come tosee him; and Peer went. Some good news awaited him，and yet it was serious， too. While he must give up singingfor a year， and his voice must lie fallow like a field， as apeasant might say，during that time he was to further hiseducation，not in the capital， where every evening he wouldbe running to the theater， from which he could not keepaway， but he was to go one hundred and twenty miles fromhome， to board with a schoolmaster who boarded a coupleof other young men. There he was to learn language andscience， which someday would be useful to him， The charge for a year's coirse was three hundred dollars， andthat was paid by a"benefactor who does not wish hisname to be known."
"It is the merchant，"said Mother and Grandmother.
The day of departure came.A good many tears were shed， and kisses and blessings given; and then Peer rodethe hundred and twenty miles on the railway， out into thewide world. It was Whitsuntide. The sun shone， and thewoods were fresh and green; the train went rushing through them;new fields and villages were continually coming into view; country manors peeped out; the cattle stood in the pastures. Now they passed a station， then another，and market town after market town.At each stopping place there was a crowd of people， welcoming or saying good-by; there was noisy talking， outside and inthe carriages.Where Peer sat there was a lot of entertain- ment and chattering by a widow dressed in black. She talked about his grave， his coffin，and his corpse—mean- ing her child's. It had been such a poor little thing thatthere could have been no happiness for it had it lived. It had been a great relief for her and the little lamb when it had fallen asleep.
"I spared no expense on flowers on that occasion!"
she said;"and you must remember that it died at a veryexpensive time， when the flowers had to be cut from pot-ted plants! Every Sunday I went to my grave and laid a wreath on it with great white silk bows; the silk bows were immediately stolen by some little girls and used for dancing bows; they were so tempting!One Sunday I wentthere， and I knew that my grave was on the left of themain path， but when I got there， there was my grave onthe right.'How is this?' says I to the gravedigger.'Isn't my grave on the left?'
"'No，it isn't any longer!'the gravedigger an- swered.'Madam's grave lies there all right，but the mound has been moved over to the right; that placebelongs to another man's grave.'
"'But I want my corpse in my grave，'says I，'andI have a perfect right to say so.Shall I go and decorate a false mound， when my corpse lies without any sign on theother side?Indeed I won't!'
"'Then Madam must talk to the dean.'
"He is such a good man， that dean! He gave me per- mission to have my corpse on the right.It would cost five dollars. I gave that with a kiss of my hand and walked back to my old grave.'Can I now be very sure that it is my own coffin and my corpse that is moved?'
"'That Madam can!' And so I gave each of the men a coin for the moving. But now， since it had cost so much，I thought I should spend something to make it beautiful， and so I ordered a monument with an inscription. But—
will you believe it—when I got it， there was a gilded but- terfly painted at the top.'Why， that means Frivolity，'
said I.'I won't have that on my glave.'
"'It is not Frivolity， Madam; it is Immortality.'