Table of Contents Table of Contents
Previous Page  40 / 238 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 40 / 238 Next Page
Page Background

40

The 185th Birthday

IGIL TVIBUR CLOSED THE CEMETERY gate behind

him and, as often happened when he stepped into

the great oaks’ shadow, his mind grew calm. The

trees were among the city’s oldest living inhabitants; thanks

to their age and beauty, they were treated with the greatest

respect.

When the municipality first installed drainpipes and laid

sidewalks along Dr. Jakobsensgøtu in the sixties, it was

necessary to move the south stone wall somewhat further

in. That meant that two of the trees came to stand just

outside the cemetery; in order to protect them, attractive

iron grills were placed around the trunks.

The spruces farther up the yard were also a pleasure to behold. A

hundred years ago, Gerd, who married the tradesman Obram

from

Oyndarfjør

ð

ur, brought some root cuttings back to the

Faroes in a tub. She had been visiting her family in Bergen,

and the tub spent the entire trip securely fastened to the

ship’s deck. Perhaps the act of defying storms from heaven

and sea had implanted something joyful and proud in the

trees’ souls. Whatever the case, Eigil had the feeling that

one bright day the trees would burst out singing:

Yes, we

love this land . . .

The rowanberry trees were scrawny and grew best on the

cemetery’s west side, although some had also been planted

E