Translator's note: "I talked to my father, Håkon Solaas, yesterday, about the couple Kari and Jærde/Jæde/Slaughter Bø. He rememberd this fellow, and he could surely imagine why Kari's family was angry about this relationship. There is a lot of stories about him; he was strong, but drinking too much, he was beating up other peoples, he had been to jail; a lot of noise around him all the time. He had a nickname all his life, "Løven" (The Lion), in the beginning because of his strength, but later it just were in common use. He did not like this nickname. I myself can remember my grandfather Anton - who were a great story teller [All 3 generations lived together in the house at Solaas] - had especially one story he told us children many times about "Løven". In a wedding, or other parties, they normally served a traditional porridge made of sour cream (rømmegrøt). Earlier days it was not often you saw raisins in Norway, but when it started to be imported raisins, they were used on this porridge. At this occasion they had been able to spread raisins over the porridge - which made one of the guests ask loudly "What is this on the porridge, is it "The Lions" lice?" Well, I guess this was one of the "kindest" stories about this man - my father told me that a former colleague of him had collected many of the other stories."]

Leirvik, 25. July 1909
Dear Alert!!

When I have got a letter from you, I will write you some words back today, and thank you for being so kind that you remembered me with a letter, you are always as nice and reliable as you were. Yes, thank you from my heart, dear Alert, it was a real pleasure to me to have a letter from such a well known hand, I have to say the truth.

I hope that my letter will also give you the same pleasure, but I cannot expect that. It was good to hear that you do well and like it, it is really good to hear that, it would not be nice to be so far away and be longing back, that would be sad to hear. You don't write anything about the journey over there ... I would like to hear something about it, hope I will next time, don't you think?

You must understand that I felt it was very sad after you were gone [Alert left 3 months ago], when I thought about the nice time we had together when you were at home, then it was sad to think about that we may never see each other again, just memories from former days, but fortunately we have no dark memories, only light ones for me, I hope that's the same with you. You must believe that I never pass [? Name of a place], unless I think about the time when we sat there, imagine that we were there tonight, I don't think we would be freezing as much as we were then, or what do you think, may be I would have told you a lot of different small things which I can't write, because then this letter would never end, if I should tell everything that has been since you left.

I must take the most important things, and now I will try to tell how we are, the first thing I will tell you about is JÆRDE and KARI THUNE. You must have heard that they were engaged, but that they are married, you haven' heard yet. Well, they are, and you can imagine it happened in a hurry too. As you remember, KARI was ill when you left, and what was wrong with her you will understand when you hear that it was in a hurry they had to get married. Now listen, you left from here a Friday [Alert left Norway Monday 4/26/09, so this would seem to imply he left Sogn (for Bergen) the preceding Friday, 4/23/09], and than she left the following Wednesday, she told her brothers that she was going home for a while, so that she could be well again soon, because she didn't dare to tell the truth about how things were, this were Wednesday, and JÆRDE traveled after on Saturday, and on Monday they both went to the town [Bergen?] to buy rings. And then THUNE [Karis father?] was in town at the same time, that of course they didn't expect that, and to him she had said that she was in town to seek ???, and she still did not dare to tell him, but when JÆRDE came home, and they saw the ring they understood it all, and then you can imagine their anger, you can imagine that better than I can write about it, and then it was in a hurry to prepare for the wedding party, because now it had to be like it was, and now they was married almost three weeks ago, it was a nice wedding – so they say they who were there, I wasn't there, so I can't write anything about that. THUNE and HANS weren't there either, because they were so angry, and that's not more than she could expect, when she behaved the way she did. Well, what do you think, I would not have thought such bad things about KARI, because she would not be one like that, but now we see that those who seems best, may be the worst ones.

Yes, now I have told you this as well as I can, it had not been better if I had been talking to you. You are writing that you were thinking about us 17. May, yes, it might be true that I was thinking about you too, it can't be denied. You might have heard already how it were, so I don't have to write anything about it, I will only tell that I thought that everything went so sad [Apparently the last page(s) of the letter is lost]