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} - .c015 { margin-left: 5.56%; text-indent: 1em; margin-top: 0.0em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c016 { text-decoration: none; } - .c017 { margin-left: 5.56%; margin-top: 0.5em; text-indent: 1em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c018 { page-break-before: always; margin-top: 2em; } - .c019 { margin-left: 5.56%; margin-right: 5.56%; text-align: right; } - .c020 { border: none; border-bottom: thin solid; width: 10%; margin-left: 0; - margin-top: 0.5em; text-align: left; } - .c021 { margin-left: 5.56%; margin-top: 2em; } - .c022 { margin-left: 5.56%; } - .c023 { margin-left: 13.89%; text-indent: -8.33%; margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c024 { margin-left: 13.89%; text-indent: -8.33%; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c025 { margin-left: 11.11%; text-indent: -5.56%; margin-top: 0.0em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c026 { margin-left: 5.56%; text-align: right; } - .c027 { margin-left: 11.11%; margin-top: 0.5em; } - .c028 { text-align: right; } - .c029 { margin-left: 11.11%; text-indent: -5.56%; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - .c030 { margin-left: 5.56%; margin-top: 4em; } - .c031 { border: none; border-bottom: thin solid; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%; margin-right: 40%; - margin-top: 2em; } - .c032 { border: none; border-bottom: thin solid; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%; margin-right: 40%; - margin-top: 0.5em; } - .c033 { margin-left: 5.56%; margin-top: 0.5em; text-align: right; } - .c034 { vertical-align: top; text-align: left; } - a:link { text-decoration: none; } - div.tnotes { padding-left:1em;padding-right:1em;background-color:#E3E4FA; - border:1px solid silver; margin:1em 5% 0 5%; text-align: justify; } - .epubonly {visibility: hidden; display: none; } - .htmlonly {visibility: visible; display: inline; } - .x-ebookmaker .htmlonly { visibility: hidden; display: none; } - .x-ebookmaker .epubonly { visibility: visible; display: inline; } - div.box { border: 2px black solid; width: 80%; margin: auto; font-size: 90%; } - ins.correction { text-decoration:none; border-bottom: thin dotted gray; } - .quote { font-size: 95%; margin-top: 1.0em; margin-bottom: 1.0em; } - .lg-container-l .linegroup { min-width: 100%; } - .linegroup .group { margin: 0.5em auto; } - span.float-right { float: right; clear: both; } - div.direction { text-align: left; display: block; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-left: 20%; } - </style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Collected Works of Henrik Ibsen Vol. 02 (of 11), by Henrik Ibsen</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Collected Works of Henrik Ibsen Vol. 02 (of 11)</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Henrik Ibsen</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: William Archer</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 30, 2021 [eBook #66186]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: KD Weeks, Eileen Gormly, Sigal Alon and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COLLECTED WORKS OF HENRIK IBSEN VOL. 02 (OF 11) ***</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Transcriber’s Note:</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Footnotes have been collected at the end of each section or act, -and are linked for ease of reference.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please -see the transcriber’s <a href='#endnote'>note</a> at the end of this text -for details regarding the handling of any other textual issues encountered -during its preparation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The front cover, which had only an embossed decoration, has been augmented -with information from the title page, and, as such, is added to the -public domain.</p> - -<div class='htmlonly'> -<p class='c001'>Any corrections are indicated using an <ins class='correction' title='original'>underline</ins> -highlight. Placing the cursor over the correction will produce the -original text in a small popup.</p> -</div> - -<div class='epubonly'> -<p class='c001'>Any corrections are indicated as hyperlinks, which will navigate the -reader to the corresponding entry in the corrections table in the -note at the end of the text.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='htmlonly'> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>THE COLLECTED WORKS OF</div> - <div class='line in5'>HENRIK IBSEN</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>VOLUME II</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>THE VIKINGS AT HELGELAND</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>THE PRETENDERS</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='box'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>THE COLLECTED WORKS OF</span></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>HENRIK IBSEN</span></div> - <div class='c000'><i>Copyright Edition. Complete in 11 Volumes.</i></div> - <div><i>Crown 8vo, price 4s. each.</i></div> - <div class='c000'><b>ENTIRELY REVISED AND EDITED BY</b></div> - <div><b><span class='large'>WILLIAM ARCHER</span></b></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='23%' /> -<col width='76%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. I.</td> - <td class='c004'>Lady Inger, The Feast at Solhoug, Love’s Comedy</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. II.</td> - <td class='c004'>The Vikings, The Pretenders</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. III.</td> - <td class='c004'>Brand</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. IV.</td> - <td class='c004'>Peer Gynt</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. V.</td> - <td class='c004'>Emperor and Galilean (2 parts)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. VI.</td> - <td class='c004'>The League of Youth, Pillars of Society</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. VII.</td> - <td class='c004'>A Doll’s House, Ghosts</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. VIII.</td> - <td class='c004'>An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. IX.</td> - <td class='c004'>Rosmersholm, The Lady from the Sea</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. X.</td> - <td class='c004'>Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>Vol. XI.</td> - <td class='c004'>Little Eyolf, John Gabriel Borkman, When We Dead Awaken</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='sc'>London</span>: <span class='large'>WILLIAM HEINEMANN</span></div> - <div>21 <span class='sc'>Bedford Street</span>, W.C.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <h1 class='c005' title='Collected Works of Henrik Ibsen: Volume 2'>THE COLLECTED WORKS OF <br /> HENRIK IBSEN</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div><span class='sc'>Copyright Edition</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c006' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>VOLUME II</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>THE VIKINGS AT</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>HELGELAND</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>THE PRETENDERS</span></div> - <div class='c000'>WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY</div> - <div class='c000'>WILLIAM ARCHER</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_title_page.jpg' alt='title page' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<hr class='c006' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>LONDON</div> - <div>WILLIAM HEINEMANN</div> - <div>1910</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c007'> - <div><i>Collected Edition, First printed</i> 1906</div> - <div>Second Impression 1910</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c008'><i>Copyright 1906 by William Heinemann</i></p> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c009'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='83%' /> -<col width='16%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c003'> </td> - <td class='c010'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Introduction to “The Vikings at Helgeland</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_vii'>vii</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Introduction to “The Pretenders</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_xx'>xx</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>“<span class='sc'>The Vikings at Helgeland</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td class='c011' colspan='2'> <i>Translated by</i> <span class='sc'>William Archer</span></td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'>“<span class='sc'>The Pretenders</span>”</td> - <td class='c010'><a href='#Page_117'>117</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td class='c011' colspan='2'> <i>Translated by</i> <span class='sc'>William Archer</span></td></tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span> - <h2 class='c009' title='Introductions'></h2> -</div> -<h3 class='c012'>THE VIKINGS AT HELGELAND.</h3> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='large'>INTRODUCTION.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>Ibsen himself has told us, in his preface to the second -edition of <cite>The Feast at Solhoug</cite>, how the reading of -the Icelandic family-sagas suggested to him, in germ, -the theme of <cite>The Vikings at Helgeland</cite>. What he -first saw, he says, was the contrasted figures of the -two women who ultimately became Hiördis and Dagny, -together with a great banquet-scene at which an interchange -of taunts and gibes should lead to tragic -consequences. So far as one can gather from this -statement, the particular theme which he ultimately -borrowed from the <cite>Volsung-Saga</cite> had not yet entered -his mind. On the other hand, the conception of the -two women’s characters was certainly not new to him, -seeing that a similar contrast presents itself in his -very earliest work, <cite>Catilina</cite>, between the aptly-named -Furia and the gentle Aurelia; while even in <cite>Lady -Inger of Ostråt</cite> it reappears, somewhat disguised, -in the contrast between Inger Gyldenlöve and her -daughter Eline. While the scheme of <cite>The Vikings</cite> -was still entirely vague, however, fresh influences, -both of a personal and of a literary nature, intervened, -and, transposing the theme from the purely dramatic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_viii'>viii</span>into the lyrical key, he produced <cite>The Feast at Solhoug</cite>. -The foster-sisters, Hiördis and Dagny became the -sisters Margit and Signe, and the banquet, instead of -being the culminating-point of the dramatic action, -became its mere background.</p> - -<p class='c015'>The fact probably is that in 1855 the poet found -himself still unripe for the intense effort of dramatic -concentration involved in such a work as <cite>The Vikings</cite>. -Probably, too, he knew that neither his actors nor his -public at the Bergen Theatre were prepared to go -back to the primitive austerity of the heroic age, as it -was beginning to body itself forth in his mind. The -good Bergensers were accustomed either to French -intrigue (such as he had given them in <cite>Lady Inger</cite>), or -to Danish lyrical romanticism; and he perhaps foresaw -that the ruling taste of Bergen would be as -hard to contend against as, in the sequel, the ruling -taste of Copenhagen actually proved to be. At all -events, from whatever mingling of motives, he put -the heroic theme aside for two years, while he kept to -the key of lyrical romanticism not only in the <cite>Feast at -Solhoug</cite>, written in the summer of 1855, but also in -the very feeble <cite>Olaf Liliekrans</cite>, conceived much earlier, -but written in 1856. Not until he had left Bergen -behind him and returned to Christiania in the summer -of 1857, did the poet take up again, and rapidly work -out, the theme of <cite>The Vikings</cite>. It is almost inconceivable -that only a year should have intervened -between it and <cite>Olaf Liliekrans</cite>.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Paul Botten-Hansen, perhaps Ibsen’s closest friend -of those days, has stated that <cite>The Vikings</cite> was begun -in verse. If so, the metre chosen was probably the -twelve-syllable measure of Oehlenschläger’s <cite>Balder’s -Death</cite>, supposed to represent the iambic trimeter of -the Greek dramatists. In an essay <cite>On the Heroic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_ix'>ix</span>Ballad</cite>, written in Bergen in the early months of -1857, Ibsen had condemned, as a medium for the -treatment of Scandinavian themes, the iambic deca-syllable -(our blank verse) in which Oehlenschläger -had written most of his plays, and which Ibsen himself -had adopted in his early imitation of Oehlenschläger, -<cite>The Hero’s Grave</cite>. Blank verse Ibsen regarded -as “entirely foreign” to Norwegian-Danish prosody, -and, moreover, a product of Christian influences; -whereas pagan antiquity, if treated in verse at all, -ought to be treated in the pagan measure of the -Greeks. At the same time we find him expressing a -doubt whether Oehlenschläger’s <cite>Hakon Jarl</cite> might -not have been just as poetic in prose as in verse—a -doubt which clearly shows in what direction his -thoughts were turning. It must be regarded as a -great mercy that he abandoned the iambic trimeter, -which, in Oehlenschläger’s hands, was nothing but an -unrhymed Alexandrine with the cæsura displaced.</p> - -<p class='c015'>This same essay <cite>On the Heroic Ballad</cite> throws a -curious light on the difficulties which occasioned the -long delay between the conception and the execution -of <cite>The Vikings</cite>. He lays it down that “the heroic -ballad is much better fitted than the saga for dramatic -treatment. The saga is a great, cold, rounded and -self-contained epos, essentially objective, and exclusive -of all lyricism.... If, now, the poet is to extract -a dramatic work from this epic material, he must -necessarily bring into it a foreign, a lyrical, element; -for the drama is well known to be a higher blending -of the lyric and the epos.” This “well-known” -dogma he probably accepted from the German æstheticians -with whom, about this time, he seems to have -busied himself. A little further on, he adds that the -accommodating prosody of the ballads gives room for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_x'>x</span>“many freedoms which are of great importance to -dramatic dialogue,” and consequently prophesies a -great future for the drama drawn from this source. -It was a luckless prophecy. He himself, though apparently -he little guessed it, had done his last work in -lyrical romance; and though it has survived, sporadically, -in Danish and even in German literature, it can -count but few masterpieces during the past half-century. -Perhaps, however, Hauptmann’s <cite>Sunken Bell</cite> -might be taken as justifying Ibsen’s forecast.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c016'><sup>[1]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c015'>It must have been very soon after this essay was -published (May 1857) that Ibsen discovered how to -impose dramatic form upon the epic material of the -sagas, without dragging in any foreign lyrical element. -He suddenly saw his way, it would seem, to reproducing -in dialogue the terse, unvarnished prose of the -sagas themselves, eloquent in reticence rather than in -rhetorical or lyrical abundance.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Had he, or had he not, in the meantime read -Björnson’s one-act play, <cite>Between the Battles</cite>? It was -not produced until October 27, 1857, by which time -<cite>The Vikings</cite> must have been almost, if not quite, -finished. But Ibsen may have seen it in manuscript -several months earlier, and it may have put him on -the track of the form in which to cast his saga-material. -The style of <cite>The Vikings</cite> is incomparably -firmer, purer, more homogeneous and clear-cut than -that of <cite>Between the Battles</cite>; but Björnson’s mediæval -comedietta (it is really little more) may quite well -have given Ibsen a valuable impulse towards the -adaptation of the saga-style to drama. The point, however, -is of little moment. It is much more important to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xi'>xi</span>note that while Ibsen was writing <cite>The Vikings</cite> Björnson -was writing his peasant-idyll <cite>Synnöve Solbakken</cite>; so that -these two corner-stones of modern Norwegian literature -were laid, to all intents and purposes, simultaneously.</p> - -<p class='c015'>In an autobiographic letter to Peter Hansen,<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c016'><sup>[2]</sup></a> -written in 1870, Ibsen mentions this play very -briefly: “<cite>The Vikings at Helgeland</cite> I wrote whilst I -was engaged to be married. For Hiördis I had the -same model as I took afterwards for Svanhild in -<cite>Love’s Comedy</cite>.” More noteworthy is his preface to a -German translation of the play, published in 1876. -It runs as follows:</p> - -<p class='c015'>“In issuing a German translation of one of my -earlier dramatic works, it may not be superfluous to -remark that I have taken the material of this play, -not from the <cite>Nibelungenlied</cite>, but in part—and in part -only—from a kindred Scandinavian source, the -<cite>Volsung-Saga</cite>. More essentially, however, my poem -may be said to be founded upon the various Icelandic -family-sagas, in which it often seems that the titanic -conditions and occurrences of the <cite>Nibelungenlied</cite> and -the <cite>Volsung-Saga</cite> have simply been reduced to human -dimensions. Hence I think we may conclude that the -situations and events depicted in these two documents -were typically characteristic of our common Germanic -life in the earliest historical times. If this view be -justified, it disposes of the reproach that in the present -drama our national mythic world is brought down to a -lower plane than that to which it belongs. The idealised, -and in some degree impersonal, myth-figures are -exceedingly ill-adapted for representation on the stage -of to-day; and, however this may be, it was not my -aim to present our mythic world, but simply our life -in primitive times.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xii'>xii</span>The reasoning of this passage does not seem very -cogent; but it expresses clearly enough the design -which the poet proposed to himself. Before discussing -the merits of the play, however, I may as well complete -the outline of its external history.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Part of that external history is written by Ibsen -himself, in letters to the Christiania Press of the day. -In the autumn of 1857, he presented the play to the -Christiania Theatre, then occupied by a Danish -company, under Danish management. After a long -delay, he ascertained that it had been accepted and -would be produced in March 1858. He then proposed -to consult with the manager as to the casting of the -piece, but found that that functionary had no clear conception -of either the plot or the characters, and therefore -left him a couple of months in which to study it. -At the end of that time the poet again reminded the -potentate of his existence, and learned that “since the -economic status and prospects of the theatre did not -permit of its paying fees for original works,” the proposed -production could not take place. Ibsen hints that, -had the choice been offered him, he would have consented -to the performance of the piece without fee or -reward. As the choice was not offered him, he regarded -the whole episode as a move in the anti-national policy -of the Danish management; and the controversy which -arose out of the incident doubtless contributed to the -nationalisation of the Christiania Theatre—the supersession -of Danish by Norwegian managers, actors and -authors—which took place during the succeeding -decade.</p> - -<p class='c015'>In the meantime, almost simultaneously with the -rejection of the play by the Christiania Theatre, it -was rejected by the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. -The director, J. L. Heiberg, was then regarded as an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xiii'>xiii</span>autocrat in the æsthetic world; and his report on <cite>The -Vikings</cite> is now a curiosity of literature. He declared -that nothing was so “monotonous, tiresome and -devoid of all poetry” as the Icelandic family-sagas; -he could not endure their “wildness and rawness” on -the stage; the saga style, as reproduced by Ibsen, -seemed to him “mannered and affected”; and he -concluded his judgment in these terms: “A Norwegian -theatre will scarcely take its rise from such experiments, -and the Danish theatre has fortunately no -need for them.”</p> - -<p class='c015'>The play was published in April 1858 as a supplement -to a Christiania illustrated paper, the author -receiving an “honorarium” of something less than -£7. On November 24, 1858, it was produced at the -little “Norwegian Theatre” in Christiania, of which -the poet was then director. At the Bergen Theatre it -was produced in 1859, at the Christiania Theatre (by -that time pretty well Norwegianised) in 1861. It -did not make its way to Copenhagen and Stockholm -until 1875. In 1876 it was acted at the Court -Theatres of Munich and Dresden, and at the Vienna -Burgtheater. Thenceforward it was pretty frequently -seen on the German stage; but it does not seem to -have reached Berlin (Deutsches Theater) until 1890. -In 1892 it was produced in Moscow. The only production -in the English language of which any account -has reached me took place in 1903 at the Imperial -Theatre, London, when Miss Ellen Terry appeared as -Hiördis and Mr. Oscar Asche as Sigurd. The scenery -and dresses were designed by Miss Terry’s son, -Mr. Gordon Craig.</p> - -<p class='c015'>It would need not merely an essay, but a volume, to -discuss the relation of <cite>The Vikings</cite> to its mythic material, -and to other modern treatments of that material—Friedrich -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xiv'>xiv</span>Hebbel’s <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><cite>Die Nibelungen</cite></span>, Richard Wagner’s -<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><cite>Ring der Nibelungen</cite></span>, &c. The poet’s actual indebtedness -to the <cite>Volsung-Saga</cite> is well summarised by Henrik -Jæger in his “Life of Ibsen”: “Like Sigurd -Fafnir’s-bane,” he says, “Sigurd Viking has achieved -the deed which Hiördis (Brynhild) demands of the -man who shall wed her; and, again like his heroic -namesake, he has renounced her in favour of his -foster-brother, Gunnar, himself taking another to -wife. This other woman reveals the secret in the -course of an altercation with Hiördis (Brynhild), who, -in consequence of this discovery, brings about Sigurd’s -death and her own. The reader will observe that we -must keep to very general terms if they are to fit -both the saga and the drama. Are there any further -coincidences? Yes, one. After Gudrun has betrayed -the secret, there comes a scene in which she seeks to -appease Brynhild, and begs her to think no more of -it; then follows a scene in which Sigurd explains to -Brynhild how it all happened; and finally a scene in -which Brynhild goads Gunnar to kill Sigurd. All -these scenes have their parallels in the third act of -<cite>The Vikings</cite>; but their order is different, and none of -their wording has been adopted.” From the family-sagas, -again, not only the stature of the characters, -so to speak, but several details of incident and dialogue -are borrowed. The boasting-match at Gunnar’s -feast, which, as we have seen, was one of the first -elements of the story to present itself to Ibsen’s -mind, has many analogies in Icelandic lore. Örnulf’s -questions as to how Thorolf fell are borrowed from -<cite>Egils Saga</cite>, and so is the idea of his “drapa,” or -funeral chant over his dead sons. Sigurd and Hiördis -are, perhaps, almost as closely related to Kiartan and -Gudrun in the <cite>Laxdæla Saga</cite> as to Sigurd Fafnir’s bane -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xv'>xv</span>and Brynhild. Indeed, Ibsen seems to have -reckoned too confidently on the unfamiliarity of his -public with the stores of material upon which he drew. -Not, of course, that there could be any question of -plagiarism. The sagas were as legitimately at Ibsen’s -service as were Plutarch and Holinshed at Shakespeare’s. -But having been himself, as he tells us, -almost ignorant of the existence of these sagas until -he came across N. M. Petersen’s translation of them -he forgot that people who had long known and loved -them might resent the removal of this trait and that -from its original setting, and might hold it to be, in -its new context, degraded and sentimentalised. “It -may be,” writes H. H. Boyesen, in his generally -depreciatory remarks on the play, “that my fondness -for these sagas themselves prevents me from relishing -the modification and remoulding to which Ibsen has -subjected them.” Dr. Brandes, too, points to a particular -instance in which the sense of degradation -could not but be felt. The day-dream as to the hair-woven -bowstring which Hiördis relates to Sigurd in -the third act (p. <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>) is in itself effective enough; but -any one who knows the splendid passage in <cite>Nials -Saga</cite>, on which it is founded, cannot but feel that the -actual (or at any rate legendary) event is impoverished -by being dragged in under the guise of a mere morbid -fantasy.</p> - -<p class='c015'>On the whole, I think Ibsen can scarcely escape the -charge of having sentimentalised the sagas in the -same way, though not in the same degree, in which -Tennyson has sentimentalised the Arthurian legends. -Indeed, Sigurd the Strong is not without points of -resemblance to the Blameless King of the <cite>Idylls</cite>. -But, for my part, I cannot regard this as a very -serious charge. <cite>The Vikings</cite> is the work of a man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xvi'>xvi</span>still young (29), who had, moreover, developed very -slowly. It is still steeped in romanticism, though -not in the almost boyish lyricism of its predecessors. -The poet is not yet intellectually mature—very far -from it. But here, for the first time, we are unmistakably -face to face with a great imagination and a -specifically dramatic endowment of the first order. -The germs of promise discernible in <cite>Lady Inger</cite> have -ripened into rare technical mastery.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Ibsen was doubtless right in feeling that the superhuman -figures of the mythical sagas were impossible -on the non-musical stage, just as Wagner was right in -feeling that the world of myth could be embodied only -in an atmosphere of music. The reduction, then, of the -Volsungs and Niblungs to the stature of the men of -the family-sagas was not only judicious, but necessary. -But was it judicious to go to the myth-sagas for the -initial idea of a play which had to be developed in -terms of the family-sagas? Scarcely, I think. The -weak points in the structure of the story are precisely -those at which the poet has had to replace supernatural -by natural machinery. To slay a dragon and to break -through a wall of fire, even with magical aid, are exploits -which we can accept, on the mythic plane, as -truly stupendous. But it is impossible to be really -impressed by the slaying of Hiördis’s bear, or to share -in the breathless admiration with which that achievement -is always mentioned. If the bear is to be regarded -as a fabulous monster, it might just as well be -a dragon at once; if it is to be accepted as a real -quadruped, the killing of it is no such mighty matter. -We feel it, in fact, to be a mere substitute, a more or -less ludicrous makeshift. And in the same way, -Sigurd’s renunciation of Hiördis becomes very difficult -to accept when all supernatural agency—magic potion, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xvii'>xvii</span>or other sleight of wizardry—is eliminated. We feel -that he behaves like a nincompoop in despairing of -winning her for himself, merely because she does not -show an obviously “coming on” disposition, and like -an immoral sentimentalist in handing her over to -Gunnar. This, to be sure, is the poet’s own criticism -of his action. It is the lie which Sigurd and Gunnar -conspire to tell, or rather to enact, that lies at the root -of the whole tragedy. We have here Ibsen’s first -treatment of the theme with which he is afterwards so -much concerned—the necessity of truth as the basis -of every human relation. Gunnar’s acquiescence in -Sigurd’s heroic mendacity is as clearly condemned and -punished as, in <cite>Pillars of Society</cite>, Bernick’s acquiescence -in Johan’s almost equally heroic self-sacrifice. -Both plays convey a warning against excesses of -altruism, and show that we have no right to offer sacrifices -which the person benefiting by them has no right -to accept. But to indicate a correct moral judgment -of Sigurd’s action is not to make it psychologically -plausible. We feel, I repeat, that the poet is trying -in vain to rationalise a series of actions which are -comprehensible only on the supernatural plane.</p> - -<p class='c015'>This unreality of plot involved a similar unreality, -or at any rate extreme simplicity, of characterisation. -All the personages are drawn in large, obvious traits, -which never undergo the smallest modification. Sigurd -is throughout the magnanimous hero, Dagny the submissive, -amiable wife, Hiördis the valkyrie-virago, -Gunnar the well-meaning weakling, not cowardly but -inefficient. By far the most human and most individual -figure is old Örnulf, in whom the spirit of the -family-sagas is magnificently incarnated. We feel -throughout the inexperience of the author, his -incuriousness of half-tones in character, his tendency -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xviii'>xviii</span>to view human relations and problems in a purely sentimental -light. To compare Hiördis with Hedda Gabler, -Sigurd with Halvard Solness, is to realise what an -immeasurable process of evolution the poet was -destined to go through. Indeed, we as yet seem far -enough off even from Duke Skule and Bishop Nicholas.</p> - -<p class='c015'>But the man of inventive imagination and the man -of the theatre are already here in all their strength. -Whatever motives and suggestions Ibsen found in the -sagas, the construction of the play is all his own and -is quite masterly. Exposition, development, the -carrying on of the interest from act to act—all this is -perfect in its kind. The play is “well-made” in the -highest sense of the word. Already the poet shows -himself consummate in his art of gradually lifting veil -after veil from the past, and making each new discovery -involve a more or less striking change in the -relations of the persons on the stage. But it is not -technically alone that the play is great. The whole -second act is a superbly designed and modulated piece -of drama; and, for pure nobility and pathos, the scene -of Örnulf’s return—entirely of the poet’s own invention—is -surely one of the greatest things in dramatic -literature. It is marvellous that even æsthetic prejudice -should have prevented a man like J. L. Heiberg -from recognising that he was here in presence of a -great poet. The interest of the third act is mainly -psychological, and the psychology, as we have seen, is -neither very profound nor very convincing. But the -fourth act, again, rises to a great height of romantic -impressiveness. Whatever hints may have come from -the sagas, the picture of Örnulf’s effort of self-mastery -is a very noble piece of work; and the plunge into -supernaturalism at the close, in the child’s vision of -Asgårdsreien, with his mother leading the rout, seems -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xix'>xix</span>to me an entirely justified piece of imaginative daring. -I cannot even agree with Dr. Brandes in condemning -as “Geheimniskrämerei” Sigurd’s dying revelation of -the fact that he is a Christian. It seems to me to harmonise -entirely with the whole sentimental colouring -of the play. The worst flaws I find in this act are -the terrible asides placed in the mouths of Gunnar -and Dagny after the discovery of Sigurd’s death.</p> - -<p class='c017'>The word <cite>Vikings</cite> in the title is a very free rendering -of <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><i>Hærmændene</i></span>, which simply means “warriors.” As -“warriors,” however, is a colourless word, and as -Örnulf, Sigurd, and Gunnar all are, or have been, -actually vikings, the substitution seemed justifiable. I -would beg, however hopelessly, that “viking” should -be pronounced so as to rhyme <em>not</em> with “liking” but -with “seeking,” or at worst with “kicking.” Helgeland, -it may be mentioned, is a province or district in -the north of Norway.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Örnulf’s “drapa” and his snatches of verse are -rhymed as well as alliterated in the original. I had -the less hesitation in suppressing the rhyme, as it was -actually foreign to the practice of the skalds.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xx'>xx</span> - <h3 class='c018'>THE PRETENDERS.</h3> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='large'>INTRODUCTION.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>Six years elapsed between the composition of <cite>The -Vikings</cite> and that of <cite>The Pretenders</cite>.<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c016'><sup>[3]</sup></a> In the interval -Ibsen wrote <cite>Love’s Comedy</cite>, and brought all the world -of Norwegian philistinism, and (as we should now say) -suburbanism, about his ears. Whereas hitherto his -countrymen had ignored, they now execrated him. In -his autobiographic letter of 1870, to Peter Hansen, he -wrote: “The only person who at that time approved -of the book was my wife.... My countrymen excommunicated -me. All were against me. The fact -that all were against me—that there was no longer any -one outside my own family circle of whom I could -say ‘He believes in me’—must, as you can easily see, -have aroused a mood which found its outlet in <cite>The -Pretenders</cite>.” It is to be noted that this was written -during a period of estrangement from Björnson. I do -not know what was Björnson’s attitude towards <cite>Love’s -Comedy</cite> in particular; but there can be no doubt that, -in general, he believed in and encouraged his brother -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxi'>xxi</span>poet, and employed his own growing influence in efforts -to his advantage. In representing himself as standing -quite alone, Ibsen probably forgets, for the moment, -his relation to his great contemporary.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Yet the relation to Björnson lay at the root of the -character-contrast on which <cite>The Pretenders</cite> is founded. -Ibsen always insisted that each of his plays gave poetic -form to some motive gathered from his own experience -or observation; and this is very clearly true of the -present play. Ever since <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><cite>Synnöve Solbakken</cite></span> had -appeared in 1857, Björnson, the expansive, eloquent, -lyrical Björnson, had been the darling child of fortune. -He had gone from success to success unwearied. He -was recognised throughout Scandinavia (in Denmark -no less than in Norway) as the leader of the rising -generation in almost every branch of imaginative -literature. He was full, not only of inspiration and -energy, but of serene self-confidence. Meanwhile -Ibsen, nearly five years older than he, had been pursuing -his slow and painful course of development in comparative -obscurity, in humiliating poverty, and amid almost -complete lack of appreciation. “Mr. Ibsen is a great -cipher” (or “nullity”) wrote a critic in 1858; another, -in 1863, laid it down that “Ibsen has a certain technical -and artistic talent, but nothing of what can be -called ‘genius.’” The scoffs of the critics, however, -were not the sorest trials that he had to bear. What was -hardest to contend against was the doubt as to his own -poetic calling and election that constantly beset him. -This doubt could not but be generated by the very -tardiness of his mental growth. We see him again -and again (in the case of <cite>Olaf Liliekrans</cite>, of <cite>The -Vikings</cite>, of <cite>Love’s Comedy</cite>, and of <cite>The Pretenders</cite> itself), -conceiving a plan and then abandoning it for years—no -doubt because he found himself, in one respect or -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxii'>xxii</span>another, unripe for its execution. Every such experience -must have involved for him days and weeks of -fruitless effort and discouragement. To these moods -of scepticism as to his own powers he gave expression -in a series of poems (for the most part sonnets) published -in 1859 under the title of <cite>In the Picture Gallery</cite>. -In it he represents the “black elf” of doubt, whispering -to him: “Your soul is like the dry bed of a mountain -stream, in which the singing waters of poetry have -ceased to flow. If a faint sound comes rustling down -the empty channel, do not imagine that it portends -the return of the waters—it is only the dry leaves -eddying before the autumn wind, and pattering among -the barren stones.” In those years of struggle and -stress, of depressing criticism, and enervating self-criticism, -he must often have compared his own lot -and his own character with Björnson’s, and perhaps, -too, wondered whether there were no means by which -he could appropriate to himself some of his younger -and more facile brother-poet’s kingly self-confidence. -For this relation between two talents he partly found -and partly invented a historic parallel in the relation -between two rival pretenders to the Norwegian throne, -Håkon Håkonsson and Skule Bårdsson.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Dr. Brandes, who has admirably expounded the -personal element in the genesis of this play, compares -Håkon-Björnson and Skule-Ibsen with the Aladdin -and Nureddin of Oehlenschläger’s beautiful dramatic -poem. Aladdin is the born genius, serene, light-hearted, -a trifle shallow, who grasps the magic lamp -with an unswerving confidence in his right to it. (“It -is that which the Romans called <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>ingenium</i></span>” says Bishop -Nicholas, “truly I am not strong in Latin; but ’twas -called <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>ingenium</i></span>.”) Nureddin, on the other hand, is -the far profounder, more penetrating, but sceptical -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxiii'>xxiii</span>and self-torturing spirit. When at last he seizes -Aladdin’s lamp, as Skule annexes Håkon’s king’s -thought, his knees tremble, and it drops from his -grasp, just as the Genie is ready to obey him.</p> - -<p class='c015'>It is needless to cite the passages from the scenes -between Skule and Bishop Nicholas in the second act, -Skule and Håkon in the third, Skule and Jatgeir in -the fourth, in which this element of personal symbolism -is present. The reader will easily recognise -them, while recognising at the same time that their -dramatic appropriateness, their relevance to the historic -situation as the poet viewed it, is never for a moment -impaired. The underlying meaning is never allowed -to distort or denaturalise the surface aspect of the -picture.<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c016'><sup>[4]</sup></a> The play may be read, understood, and fully -appreciated, by a person for whom this underlying -meaning has no existence. One does not point it out -as an essential element in the work of art, or even as -adding to its merit, but simply as affording a particularly -clear instance of Ibsen’s method of interweaving -“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wahrheit</span>” with “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dichtung</span>.”</p> - -<p class='c015'>So early as 1858, soon after the completion of <cite>The -Vikings</cite>, Ibsen had been struck by the dramatic -material in <cite>Håkon Håkonsson’s Saga</cite>, as related by -Snorri Sturlasson’s nephew, Sturla Thordsson, and -had sketched a play on the subject. At that time, -however, he put the draft aside. It was only as the -years went on, as he found himself “excommunicated” -after <cite>Love’s Comedy</cite>, and as the contrast between -Björnson’s fortune and his became ever more marked, -that the figures of Skule and Håkon took more and -more hold upon his imagination. In June 1863, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxiv'>xxiv</span>attended a “Festival of Song” at Bergen, and there -met Björnson, who had been living abroad since -1860. Probably under the stimulus of this meeting -he set to work upon <cite>The Pretenders</cite> immediately on -his return to Christiania, and wrote it with almost -incredible rapidity. The manuscript went to the -printers in September; the book was published in -October 1863 (though dated 1864), and the play was -produced at the Christiania Theatre, under the author’s -own supervision, on January 17, 1864. The production -was notably successful; yet no one seems fully to have -realised what it meant for Norwegian literature. Outside -of Norway, at any rate, it awoke no echo. George -Brandes declares that scarcely a score of copies of the -play found their way to Denmark. Not until Ibsen -had left Norway (April 1864) and had taken the -Danish reading public by storm with <cite>Brand</cite> and <cite>Peer -Gynt</cite>, did people go back upon <cite>The Pretenders</cite> and -discover what an extraordinary achievement it was. -In January 1871, it was produced at the Royal -Theatre, Copenhagen, where Emil Poulsen found in -Bishop Nicholas one of the great triumphs of his -career. It was produced by the Meiningen Company -and at the Munich Hoftheater in 1875, in Stockholm -in 1879, at the Königliches Schauspielhaus, Berlin, and -at the Vienna Burgtheater in 1891; and it has from -time to time been acted at many other Scandinavian -and German theatres. The character of Nicholas has -fascinated many great actors: what a pity that it did -not come in the way of Sir Henry Irving when he was -at the height of his power! But of course no English -actor-manager would dream of undertaking a character -which dies in the middle of the third act.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Ibsen’s treatment of history in this play may be -proposed as a model to other historic dramatists. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxv'>xxv</span>Although he has invented a great deal, his inventions -supplement rather than contradict the records. Chronology, -indeed, he treats with considerable freedom, -and at the same time with ingenious vagueness. The -general impression one receives in reading the play is -that the action covers a space of four or five years; as -a matter of fact it covers twenty-two years, between -the folkmote in Bergen, 1218, and Skule’s death, 1240. -All the leading characters are historical; and although -much is read into them which history does not warrant, -there is little that history absolutely forbids us to conceive. -The general features of the struggle between the -two factions—Håkon’s Birkebeiner, or Birchlegs, and -Skule’s Vargbælgs—are correctly enough reproduced. -In his treatment of this period, the Norwegian historian, -J. E. Sars, writing thirteen years after the -appearance of <cite>The Pretenders</cite>, uses terms which might -almost have been suggested by Ibsen’s play. “On the -one side,” he says, “we find strength and certainty, on -the other lameness and lack of confidence. The old -Birchlegs<a id='r5' /><a href='#f5' class='c016'><sup>[5]</sup></a> go to work openly and straightforwardly, -like men who are immovably convinced of the justice -of their cause, and unwaveringly assured of its ultimate -victory. Skule’s adherents, on the other hand, are -ever seeking by intrigues and chicanery to place -stumbling-blocks in the way of their opponents’ enthusiasm.” -Håkon represented Sverre’s ideal of a -democratic kingship, independent of the oligarchy of -bishops and barons. “He was,” says Sars, “reared in -the firm conviction of his right to the Throne; he grew -up among the veterans of his grandfather’s time, men -imbued with Sverre’s principles, from whom he accepted -them as a ready-made system, the realisation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxvi'>xxvi</span>of which could only be a question of time. He stood -from the first in a clear and straightforward position -to which his whole personality corresponded.... He -owed his chief strength to the repose and equilibrium -of mind which distinguished him, and had its root in -his unwavering sense of having right and the people’s -will upon his side.” His great “king’s-thought,” -however, seems to be an invention of the poet’s. -Skule, on the other hand, represented the old nobility -in its struggle against the new monarchy. “He was -the centre of a hierarchic aristocratic party; but after -its repeated defeats this party must have been lacking -alike in number and in confidence.... It was clear -from the first that his attempt to reawaken the old -wars of the succession in Norway was undertaken in -the spirit of the desperate gambler, who does not -count the chances, but throws at random, in the blind -hope that luck may befriend him.... Skule’s enterprise -had thus no support in opinion or in any prevailing -interest, and one defeat was sufficient to crush -him.”</p> - -<p class='c015'>In the character of Bishop Nicholas, too, Ibsen has -widened and deepened his historical material rather -than poetised with a free hand. “Bishop Nicholas,” -says Sars, “represented rather the aristocracy ... -than the cloth to which he belonged. He had begun -his career as a worldly chieftain, and, as such, taken -part in Magnus Erlingsson’s struggles with Sverre; -and although he must have had some tincture of -letters, since he could contrive to be elected a bishop -... there is no lack of indications that his spiritual -lore was not of the deepest. During his long participation -in the civil broils, both under Sverre and later, -we see in him a man to whose character any sort of -religious or ecclesiastical enthusiasm must have been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxvii'>xxvii</span>foreign, his leading motives being personal ambition -and vengefulness rather than any care for general -interests—a cold and calculating nature, shrewd but -petty and without any impetus, of whom Håkon -Håkonsson, in delivering his funeral speech ... -could find nothing better to say than that he had not -his equal in worldly wisdom (<span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><i>veraldar vit</i></span>).” I cannot -find that the Bishop played any such prominent part -in the struggle between the King and the Earl as -Ibsen assigns to him, and the only foundation for the -great death-bed scene seems to be the following passage -from <cite>Håkon Håkonsson’s Saga</cite>, Cap. 138: “As -Bishop Nicholas at that time lay very sick, he sent a -messenger to the King praying him to come to him. -The King had on this expedition seized certain -letters, from which he gathered that the Bishop -had not been true to him. With this he upbraided -him, and the Bishop, confessing it, prayed -the King to forgive him. The King replied that -he did so willingly, for God’s sake; and as he -could discern that the Bishop lay near to death, -he abode with him until God called him from the -world.”</p> - -<p class='c015'>In the introduction to <cite>The Vikings at Helgeland</cite> I -have suggested that in that play Ibsen had reached -imaginative and technical maturity, but was as yet -intellectually immature. The six years that elapsed -between <cite>The Vikings</cite> and <cite>The Pretenders</cite> placed him -at the height of his intellectual power. We have -only to compare Skule, Håkon, and Bishop Nicholas -with Gunnar, Sigurd, and Örnulf to feel that we have -passed from nobly-designed and more or less animated -waxworks to complex and profoundly-studied human -beings. There is no Hiördis in <cite>The Pretenders</cite>, and -the female character-drawing is still controlled by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxviii'>xxviii</span>purely romantic ideals;<a id='r6' /><a href='#f6' class='c016'><sup>[6]</sup></a> but how exquisitely human -is Margrete in comparison with the almost entirely -conventional Dagny! The criticism of life, too, which -in <cite>The Vikings</cite> is purely sentimental, here becomes -intense and searching. The only point of superiority -in <cite>The Vikings</cite>—if it be a point of superiority—is -purely technical. The action of the earlier play is -concentrated and rounded. It has all the “unity,” -or “unities,” that a rational criticism can possibly -demand. In a word, it is, in form as well as essence, -an ideal tragedy. <cite>The Pretenders</cite>, on the other hand, -is a chronicle-play, far more close-knit than Shakespeare’s -or Schiller’s works in that kind, but, nevertheless, -what Aristotle would call “episodic” in its -construction. The weaving of the plot, however, is -quite masterly, betokening an effort of invention -and adjustment incomparably greater than that -which went to the making of <cite>The Vikings</cite>. It -was doubtless his training in the school of French -intrigue that enabled Ibsen to depict with such -astonishing vigour that master wire-puller, Bishop -Nicholas. This form of technical dexterity he -was afterwards to outgrow and bring into disrepute. -But from <cite>The Vikings</cite> to <cite>Pillars of -Society</cite> he practised, whenever he was writing primarily -for the stage, the methods of the “well-made -play”; and in everything but concentration, which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxix'>xxix</span>the very nature of the subject excluded, <cite>The Pretenders</cite> -is thoroughly “well-made.”</p> - -<p class='c015'>With this play, though the Scandinavian criticism of -1864 seems to have been far from suspecting the fact, -Ibsen took his place among the great dramatists of the -world. In wealth of characterisation, complexity and -nobility of emotion, and depth of spiritual insight, -it stands high among the masterpieces of romantic -drama. It would be hard to name a more vigorous -character-projection than that of Bishop Nicholas, -or any one dramatic invention more superbly inspired -than the old man’s death scene, with the triumphant -completion of his <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>perpetuum mobile</i></span>. But even if the -Bishop were entirely omitted, the play would not be -<cite>Hamlet</cite> without the Prince of Denmark. The -characters of Håkon and Skule, and the struggle -between them, would still make one of the greatest -historic dramas in literature.</p> - -<p class='c015'>It has not been generally noticed, I think, that -Ibsen found in Björnson’s <cite>King Sverre</cite>, published in -1861, a study of Bishop Nicholas in his younger days. -The play, as a whole, is a poor one, and does not -appear in the collected edition of Björnson’s works; -but there is distinct merit in the drawing of the -Bishop’s character. Furthermore, it ought to be -remembered that <cite>The Pretenders</cite> was not the first work, -or even the first great work, of its class in Norwegian -literature. In 1862, Björnson had published his splendid -trilogy of <cite>Sigurd Slembe</cite>, which, though more fluid -and uneven than <cite>The Pretenders</cite>, contains several -passages of almost Shakespearean power. It was -certainly greater than anything Ibsen had done up to -that date. Ibsen reviewed it on its appearance, in -terms of unmixed praise, yet, as one cannot but feel, -rather over-cautiously.</p> - -<p class='c015'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxx'>xxx</span>If anything could excuse the coolness of Norwegian -criticism towards <cite>The Pretenders</cite>, it was the great and -flagrant artistic blemish of the Ghost Scene in the last -act. This outburst of prophetico-topical satire is a -sheer excrescence on the play, indefensible, but, at -the same time, fortunately negligible. It is, however, -of interest as a symptom of Ibsen’s mood in the last -months before he left Norway, and also as one of the -links in that chain which binds all his works together. -Just as Skule’s attempt to plagiarise Håkon’s king’s-thought -points backwards to Gunnar’s moral lapse in -taking advantage of the fraud on Hiördis, so the ironic -rhymes of the Bagler-Bishop’s ghost point forwards -to the lyric indignation and irony of <cite>Brand</cite> and <cite>Peer -Gynt</cite>.</p> - -<div class='c019'>W. A.</div> - -<hr class='c020' /> -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. Though he himself wrote no more plays in the key of <cite>The -Feast at Solhoug</cite>, the “accommodating prosody” of the ballads -had doubtless its influence on the metres of <cite>Peer Gynt</cite>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. <cite>Correspondence</cite>, Letter 74.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. The original title <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><cite>Kongsemnerne</cite></span> might be more literally -translated “The Scions of Royalty.” It is rendered by Brandes -in German “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Königsmaterie</span>,” or “the stuff from which kings are -made.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. This remark does not apply, of course, to the satiric “parabasis” -uttered by the Bishop’s ghost in the fifth act. That is a -totally different matter.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. The followers of Håkon’s grandfather, King Sverre. See -Note, p. 125.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f6'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. On page <a href='#f41'>277</a> will be found a reference to Brandes’s <cite>Ibsen and -Björnson</cite>; but I may as well give here the substance of the -passage. In the original form of the play, three speeches of -Ingeborg’s, in her scene with Skule, ran as follows: “It is man’s -right to forget,” “It is woman’s happiness to remember,” and -“To have to sacrifice all and be forgotten, that is woman’s -saga.” It was only on Brandes’s remonstrance that Ibsen substituted -the present form of these speeches, in which they -became, not the generalised expression of an ideal, but merely -utterances of Ingeborg’s individual character.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c009'>THE <br /> VIKINGS AT HELGELAND</h2> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c021'> - <div>(1858)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span> - <h3 class='c018'>CHARACTERS.</h3> -</div> - - <ul class='ul_1 c000'> - <li><span class='sc'>Örnulf of the Fiords</span>, <i>an Icelandic Chieftain.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Sigurd the Strong</span>, <i>a Sea-King.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Gunnar Headman</span>,<a id='r7' /><a href='#f7' - class='c016'><sup>[7]</sup></a> <i>a rich yeoman of Helgeland.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Thorolf</span>, <i>Örnulf’s youngest son.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Dagny</span>, <i>Örnulf’s daughter.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span>, <i>his foster-daughter.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Kåre the Peasant</span>, <i>a Helgeland-man.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Egil</span>, <i>Gunnar’s son, four years old.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Örnulf’s six older Sons.</span> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Örnulf’s and Sigurd’s Men.</span> - </li> - <li><i>Guests, house-carls, serving-maids, outlaws, etc.</i> - </li> - </ul> - -<p class='c015'><i>The action takes place in the time of Erik Blood-axe (about -933</i> <span class='fss'>A.D.</span>) <i>at, and in the neighbourhood of, Gunnar’s house, -on the island of Helgeland, in the north of Norway.</i></p> - -<p class='c017'><i>Pronunciation of Names</i>: Helgeland=Helgheland; Örnulf=Örnoolf; -Sigurd=Sigoord; Gunnar=Goonnar; Thorolf=Toorolf; -Hiördis=Yördeess; Kåre=Koarë; Egil=Ayghil. -The letter “ö” as in German.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span><span class='large'>THE</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>VIKINGS AT HELGELAND.</span></div> - <div class='c000'>PLAY IN FOUR ACTS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c018'>ACT FIRST.</h3> - -<p class='c023'><i>A rocky coast, running precipitously down to the sea -at the back. To the left, a boat-house; to the -right, rocks and pinewoods. The masts of two -warships can be seen down in the cove. Far out -to the right, the sea, dotted with reefs and skerries, -on which the surf is running high; it is a stormy -snow-grey winter-day.</i></p> -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>comes up from the ships; he is clad in a -white tunic with a silver belt, a blue cloak, cross-gartered -hose, untanned brogues, and a steel cap; -at his side hangs a short sword.</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf</span> <i>comes -in sight immediately afterwards, high up among -the rocks, clad in a dark lamb-skin tunic with a -breastplate and greaves, woollen stockings, and -untanned brogues; over his shoulders he has a -cloak of brown frieze, with the hood drawn over -his steel cap, so that his face is partly hidden. -He is very tall and massively built, with a long -white beard, but is somewhat bowed by age; his -weapons are a round shield, sword, and spear.</i></p> -<p class='c024'><span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>enters first, looks around, sees the boat-shed, -goes quickly up to it, and tries to burst open the -door.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appears among the rocks, starts on seeing</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span>, -<i>seems to recognise him, descends and cries:</i>] Give -place, Viking!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turns, lays his hand on his sword, and answers:</i>] -’Twere the first time if I did!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou shalt and must! I need the shelter for -my stiff-frozen men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I for a weary woman!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My men are worth more than thy women!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must outlaws be highly prized in Helgeland!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raising his spear.</i>] Thou shalt pay dear for that -word!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Drawing his sword.</i>] Now will it go ill with -thee, old man!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Örnulf</span> <i>rushes upon him;</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>defends -himself.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>and some of</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>men come up from the -strand;</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf’s</span> <i>six sons appear on the rocks -to the right.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who is a little in front, clad in a red kirtle, blue -cloak, and fur hood, calls down to the ships:</i>] Up, all -Sigurd’s men! My husband is fighting with a -stranger!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf’s Sons.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Help! Help for our father! [<i>They descend.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To his men.</i>] Hold! I can master him alone!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To his sons.</i>] Let me fight in peace! [<i>Rushes -in upon</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span>.] I will see thy blood!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>First see thine own!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Wounds him in the arm so that his spear falls.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A stout stroke, Viking!</div> - <div class='line in6'>Swift the sword thou swingest,</div> - <div class='line in6'>keen thy blows and biting;</div> - <div class='line in6'>Sigurd’s self, the Stalwart,</div> - <div class='line in6'>stood before thee shame-struck.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] Then were his shame his glory!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf’s Sons.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a cry of wonder.</i>] Sigurd himself! Sigurd -the Strong!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But sharper was thy stroke that night thou -didst bear away Dagny, my daughter.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Casts his hood back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd and his Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Örnulf of the Fiords!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Glad, yet uneasy.</i>] My father and my brothers.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Stand thou behind me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, no need. [<i>Approaching</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span>] I no -sooner saw thee than I knew thee, and therefore -I stirred the strife; I was fain to prove the fame -that tells of thee as the stoutest man of his hands -in Norway. Hereafter let peace be between us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Best if so it could be.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here is my hand. Thou art a warrior indeed; -stouter strokes than these has old Örnulf never -given or taken.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes his outstretched hand.</i>] Let them be the -last strokes given and taken between us two; and -be thou thyself the judge in the matter between -us. Art willing?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That am I, and straightway shall the quarrel be -healed. [<i>To the others.</i>] Be the matter, then, -known to all. Five winters ago came Sigurd and -Gunnar Headman as vikings to Iceland; they lay -in harbour close under my homestead. Then -Gunnar, by force and craft, carried away my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>foster-daughter, Hiördis; but thou, Sigurd, didst -take Dagny, my own child, and sailed with her -over the sea. For that I now doom thee to pay -three hundred pieces of silver, and thereby shall -thy misdeed be atoned.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fair is thy judgment, Örnulf; the three hundred -pieces will I pay, and add thereto a silken cloak -fringed with gold. ’Tis a gift from King Æthelstan -of England, and better has no Icelander yet -borne.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well said, my brave husband; and my father, I -thank thee. Now at last is my mind at ease.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>She presses her father’s and brothers’ hands, -and talks low to them.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then thus stands the troth between us; and -from this day shall Dagny be to the full as honourably -regarded as though she had been lawfully -betrothed to thee, with the good will of her kin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And in me canst thou trust, as in one of thine -own blood.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Arnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That I doubt not, and will forthwith prove thy -friendship.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ready shalt thou find me; say, what dost thou -crave?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy help in rede and deed. I have sailed hither -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>to Helgeland to seek out Gunnar Headman and -call him to account for the carrying away of -Hiördis.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Surprised.</i>] Gunnar!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In the same tone.</i>] And Hiördis—where are -they?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In Gunnar’s homestead, I trow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And it is——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not many bow-shots hence; did ye not know?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With suppressed emotion.</i>] No, truly I have -had scant tidings of Gunnar since we sailed from -Iceland together. While I have wandered far and -wide and served many outland kings, Gunnar -has stayed at home. We made the land here -at daydawn, storm-driven. I knew, indeed, that -Gunnar’s homestead lay here in the north, -but——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf</span>.] So <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> errand has brought thee -hither?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That and no other. [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span>.] Our meeting -is the work of the Mighty Ones above; they -willed it so. Had I wished to find thee, little -knew I where to seek.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Thoughtfully.</i>] True, true!—But concerning -Gunnar—tell me, Örnulf, art thou minded to go -sharply to work, with all thy might, be it for good -or ill?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That must I. Listen, Sigurd, for thus it stands: -Last summer I rode to the Council where many -honourable men were met. When the Council-days -were over, I sat in the hall and drank with -the men of my shire, and the talk fell upon the -carrying-away of the women; scornful words they -gave me, because for all these years I had let that -wrong rest unavenged. Then, in my wrath, I -swore to sail to Norway, seek out Gunnar, and -crave reckoning or revenge, and never again to -set foot in Iceland till my claim was made good.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, since so it stands, I see well that if need -be the matter must be pressed home.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It must; but I shall not crave overmuch, and -Gunnar has the fame of an honourable man. I -am glad, too, that I set forth on this quest; the -time lay heavy on me in Iceland; out upon the -blue waters had I grown old and grey, and meseemed -that I must fare forth once again before -I——; well well—Bergthora, my good wife, was -dead these many years; my elder sons sailed on -viking-ventures summer by summer; and since -Thorolf was growing up——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Joyfully.</i>] Thorolf is with thee? Where is he?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>On board the ship. [<i>Points towards the background, -to the right.</i>] Scarce shalt thou know the -boy again, so stout and strong and fair has he -grown. He will be a mighty warrior, Sigurd; one -day he will equal thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] I see it is now as ever: Thorolf stands -nearest thy heart.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is the youngest, and like his mother; therefore -it is.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But tell me—thy errand to Gunnar—thinkest -thou to-day——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Rather to-day than to-morrow. Fair amends -will content me; should Gunnar say me nay, then -must he abide what may follow.</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Kåre the Peasant</span> <i>enters hastily from the right; he -is clad in a grey frieze cloak and low-brimmed -felt hat; he carries in his hand a broken fence-rail.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well met, Vikings!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Vikings are seldom well met.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If ye be honourable men, ye will grant me -refuge among you; Gunnar Headman’s house-carls -are hunting me to slay me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar’s?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then hast thou done him some wrong!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have done myself right. Our cattle grazed -together upon an island, hard by the coast; -Gunnar’s men carried off my best oxen, and one -of them flouted me for a thrall. Then I raised -my sword against him and slew him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That was a lawful deed.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But this morning his men came in arms against -me. By good hap I heard of their coming, and -fled; but my foemen are on my tracks, and short -shrift can I look for at their hands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ill can I believe thee, peasant! In bygone days -I knew Gunnar as I know myself, and this I wot, -that never did he wrong to a peaceful man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar has no part in this wrong-doing; he is -in the southland; nay, it is Hiördis his wife——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To himself.</i>] Ay, ay, ’tis like her!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I offered Gunnar amends for the thrall, and he -was willing; but then came Hiördis, and egged -her husband on with many scornful words, and -hindered the peace. Since then has Gunnar gone -to the south, and to-day——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking out to the left.</i>] Here comes a band of -wayfarers towards the north. Is it not——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is Gunnar himself!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Be of good heart; I trow I can make peace -between you.</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Gunnar Headman</span>, <i>with several men, enters from -the left. He is in peaceful attire, wearing a -brown tunic, cross-gartered hose, a blue mantle, -and a broad hat; he has no weapon but a -small axe.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops in surprise and uncertainty on seeing the -knot of men.</i>] Örnulf of the Fiords! Yes, -surely——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou seest aright.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] Then peace and welcome to -thee in my land, if thou come in peace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If thy will be as mine, there shall be no strife -between us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Standing forward.</i>] Well met, Gunnar!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gladly.</i>] Sigurd—foster-brother! [<i>Shakes his -hand.</i>] Now truly, since thou art here, I know -that Örnulf comes in peace. [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span>] Give -me thy hand, greybeard! Thy errand here in -the north is lightly guessed: it concerns Hiördis, -thy foster-daughter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>As thou sayest; great wrong was done me when -thou didst bear her away from Iceland without -my will.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy claim is rightful; what the youth has -marred, the man must mend. Long have I -looked for thee, Örnulf, for this cause; and if -amends content thee, we shall soon be at one.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So deem I too. Örnulf will not press thee over -hard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Warmly.</i>] Nay, Örnulf, didst thou crave her -full worth, all my goods were not enough!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I shall go by law and usage, be sure of that. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>But now another matter. [<i>Pointing to</i> <span class='sc'>Kåre.</span>] -Seest thou yonder man?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Kåre! [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span>] Thou knowest, then, -that there is a strife between us?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy men have stolen his cattle, and theft must -be atoned.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Murder no less; he has slain my thrall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Because he flouted me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have offered thee terms of peace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Hiördis had no mind to that, and this -morning, whilst thou wert gone, she fell upon me -and now hunts me to my death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Angrily.</i>] Sayest thou true? Has she——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, every word.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Therefore the peasant besought me to stand by -him, and that will I do.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a moment’s thought.</i>] Thou hast dealt -honourably with me, Örnulf; therefore it is fit -that I should yield to thy will. Hear then, -Kåre: I am willing to let the slaying of the thrall -and the wrongs done toward thee quit each -other.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gives</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>his hand.</i>] It is a good offer; -I am content.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And he shall have peace for thee and thine?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peace shall he have, both at home and where -soever he may go.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pointing to the right.</i>] See yonder!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Disturbed</i>.] It is Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With armed men!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>She is seeking me!</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>enters, with a troop of house-carls. She -is clad in black, wearing a kirtle, cloak, and -hood; the men are armed with swords and -axes; she herself carries a light spear.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops on entering.</i>] We meet here in force, -meseems.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes to meet her.</i>] Peace and joy to thee, -Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Coldly.</i>] I thank thee.—’Twas told me thou -wert not far off. [<i>Comes forward, looking sharply -at those assembled.</i>] Gunnar, and—Kåre, my foeman—Örnulf -and his sons, and——[<i>As she -catches sight of</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span>, <i>she starts almost imperceptibly, -is silent a moment, but collects herself and -says:</i>] Many I see here who are known to me—but -little I know who is best minded towards me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We are all well-minded towards thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If so be, thou wilt not deny to give Kåre into -my husband’s hands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There is no need.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There is peace and friendship between us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With suppressed scorn.</i>] Friendship? Well -well, I know thou art a wise man, Gunnar! Kåre -has found mighty friends, and doubtless thou -deem’st it safest——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy taunts avail not! [<i>With dignity.</i>] Kåre is -at peace for us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Restraining herself.</i>] Well and good; if thou -hast sworn him peace, the vow must be held.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Forcibly, but without anger.</i>] It must and it -shall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis</span>.] Another pact had been well-nigh -made ere thy coming.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sharply.</i>] Between thee and Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Nods.</i>] It had to do with thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well can I guess what it had to do with; but -this I tell thee, foster-father, never shall it be -said that Gunnar let himself be cowed because -thou camest in arms to the isle. Hadst thou -come alone, a single wayfarer, to our hall, the -quarrel had more easily been healed.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Örnulf and his sons come in peace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap; but will it sound otherwise in the -mouths of men; and thou thyself, Gunnar, didst -show scant trust in the peace yesterday, in sending -our son Egil to the southland so soon as it -was told us that Örnulf’s warship lay in the fiord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span>] Didst thou send thy son to the -south?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, that he might be in safety should Örnulf -fall upon us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Scoff not at that, Hiördis; what Gunnar has -done may prove wise in the end, if so be thou -hinder the pact.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Life must take its chance; come what will, I -had liever die than save my life by a shameful -pact.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd makes atonement, and will not be -deemed the lesser man for that.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd best knows what his own honour can -bear.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>On that score shall I never need reminding.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd has done famous deeds, but bolder than -all was Gunnar’s deed, when he slew the white -bear that guarded my bower.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With an embarrassed glance at</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span>] Nay, -nay, no more of that!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In truth it was the boldest deed that e’er was -seen in Iceland; and therefore——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The more easily can Gunnar yield, and ne’er be -held faint-hearted.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If amends are to be made, amends shall be -craved as well. Bethink thee, Gunnar, of thy -vow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That vow was ill bethought; wilt thou hold me -to it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will I, if we two are to dwell under one -roof after this day. Know then, Örnulf, that if -atonement is to be made for the carrying away of -thy foster-daughter, thou, too, must atone for the -slaying of Jökul my father, and the seizing of all -his goods and gear.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Jökul was slain in fair fight;<a id='r8' /><a href='#f8' class='c016'><sup>[8]</sup></a> thy kinsmen did -me a worse wrong when they sent thee to Iceland -and beguiled me into adopting<a id='r9' /><a href='#f9' class='c016'><sup>[9]</sup></a> thee, unwitting -who thou wert.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Honour, and no wrong, was thy lot in fostering -Jökul’s daughter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nought but strife hast thou brought me, that I -know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sterner strife may be at hand, if——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I came not hither to bandy words with women!—Gunnar, -hear my last word: art willing to make -atonement?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span>] Think of thy vow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span>] Thou hearest, I have sworn a -vow, and that must I——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Irritated.</i>] Enough, enough! Never shall it -be said that I made atonement for slaying in fair -fight.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Forcibly.</i>] Then we defy thee and thine.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In rising wrath.</i>] And who has the right to -crave atonement for Jökul? Where are his kinsmen? -There is none alive! Where is his lawful -avenger?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is Gunnar, on my behalf.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar! Ay, hadst thou been betrothed to him -with thy foster-father’s good-will, or had he made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>atonement for carrying thee away, then were he -thy father’s lawful avenger; but——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Apprehensive and imploring.</i>] Father, father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quickly.</i>] Speak it not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raising his voice.</i>] Nay, loudly shall it be spoken! -A woman wedded by force has no lawful husband!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Örnulf!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a wild outburst.</i>] Flouted and shamed! [<i>In -a quivering voice.</i>] This—this shalt thou come to -rue!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Continuing.</i>] A woman wedded by force is in -law no more than a leman! Wilt thou regain thine -honour, then must thou——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Controlling herself.</i>] Nay, Örnulf, I know better -what is fitting. If I am to be held as Gunnar’s -leman—well and good, then must he win me -honour by his deeds—by deeds so mighty that my -shame shall be shame no more! And thou, Örnulf, -beware! Here our ways part, and from this day -shall I make war at all times upon thee and thine; -thou shalt know no safety for life or limb, thou, -nor any whom thou——[<i>Looking fiercely at</i> <span class='sc'>Kåre.</span>] -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>Kåre! Örnulf has stood thy friend, forsooth, and -there is peace between us; but I counsel thee not -to seek thy home yet awhile; the man thou -slewest has many avengers, and it well might -befall——See, I have shown thee the danger; -thou must e’en take what follows. Come, Gunnar, -we must gird ourselves for the fight. A famous -deed didst thou do in Iceland, but greater deeds -must be done here, if thou wouldst not have thy—thy -leman shrink with shame from thee and -from herself!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Curb thyself, Hiördis; it is unseemly to bear -thee thus!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Imploringly.</i>] Stay, foster-sister—stay; I will -appease my father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without listening to her.</i>] Homewards, homewards! -Who could have foretold me that I should -wear out my life as a worthless leman? But if I -am to bear this life of shame, ay, even for one day -more, then must my husband do such a deed—such -a deed as shall make his name more famous -than all other names of men.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Sigurd, promise me this, that we shall -have speech together ere thou leave the land.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out with his men to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The storm has meanwhile ceased; the -mid-day sun is now visible, like a red -disc, low upon the rim of the sea.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Threateningly.</i>] Thou shalt pay dear for this -day’s work, foster-daughter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Father, father! Surely thou wilt not harm her!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let me be! Now, Sigurd, now can no amends -avail between Gunnar and me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='fss'>SIGURD.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What thinkest thou to do?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That I know not; but far and wide shall the -tale be told how Örnulf of the Fiords came to -Gunnar’s hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With quiet determination.</i>] Maybe; but this I -tell thee, Örnulf, thou shalt never bear arms -against him so long as I am alive.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So, so! And what if nought else be my will?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall not be—let thy will be never so strong.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Angrily.</i>] Go then; join thou with my foes; -I dare outface the twain of you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hear me out, Örnulf; the day shall never dawn -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>that shall see thee and me at strife. There is -honourable peace between us, Dagny is dearer to -me than weapons or gold, and never shall I forget -that thou art her nearest kinsman.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There I know thee again, brave Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Gunnar is my foster-brother; we have -sworn each other faith and friendship. Both in -war and peace have we faced fortune together, and -of all men he is dearest to me. Stout though he -be, he loves not war;—but as for me, ye know, all -of you, that I shrink not from strife; yet here I -stand forth, Örnulf, and pray for peace on Gunnar’s -behalf. Let me have my will!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I cannot; I should be a scoff to all brave men, -were I to fare empty-handed back to Iceland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou shalt not fare empty-handed. Here in the -cove my two long-ships are lying, with all the -wealth I have won in my viking-ventures. There -are many costly gifts from outland kings, good -weapons by the chestful, and other priceless -chattels. Take thou one of the ships; choose -which thou wilt, and it shall be thine with all it -contains—be that the atonement for Hiördis, and -let Gunnar be at peace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Brave Sigurd, wilt thou do this for Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For a faithful friend, no man can do too much.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give half thy goods and gear!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Urgently.</i>] Take the whole, take both my ships, -take all that is mine, and let me fare with thee to -Iceland as the poorest man in thy train. What -I give, I can win once more; but if thou and -Gunnar come to strife, I shall never see a glad day -again. Now, Örnulf, thy answer?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Reflecting.</i>] Two good long-ships, weapons, and -other chattels—too much gear can no man have; -but——[<i>Vehemently.</i>] No, no!—Hiördis has -threatened me; I will not! I were dishonoured -should I take thy goods!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yet listen——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, I say! I must fight for my own right, be -my fortune what it may.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] Right friendly is Sigurd’s rede, -but if thou wilt indeed fight thine own battle with -all thy might, I can counsel thee better. Dream -not of atonement so long as Hiördis has aught to -say; but revenge can be thine if thou wilt hearken -to me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Revenge? What dost thou counsel?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Evil, I can well see!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf</span>.] Oh, do not hear him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis has declared me an outlaw; she will set -snares for my life; do thou swear to see me scatheless, -and this night will I burn Gunnar’s hall and -all within it. Is that to thy mind?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dastard!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quietly.</i>] To my mind? Knowest thou, Kåre, -what were more to my mind? [<i>In a voice of thunder.</i>] -To hew off thy nose and ears, thou vile thrall. -Little dost thou know old Örnulf if thou thinkest -to have his help in such a deed of shame!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has shrunk backwards.</i>] If thou fall not -upon Gunnar he will surely fall upon thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have I not weapons, and strength to wield -them?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Kåre</span>.] And now away with thee! Thy -presence is a shame to honourable men!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Going off.</i>] Well well, I must shift for myself -as best I may. But this I tell you: if ye think to -deal gently with Hiördis, ye will come to rue it. I -know her—and I know where to strike her -sorest!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes down towards the shore.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is hatching some revenge. Sigurd, it must -be hindered!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Angrily.</i>] Nay, let him do as he will; she is -worth no better!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That meanest thou not; bethink thee, she is thy -foster-child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Woe worth the day when I took her under my -roof! Jökul’s words begin to come true.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Jökul’s?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='fss'>ÖRNULF.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, her father’s. When I gave him his death-wound -he fell back upon the sward, and fixed his -eyes on me and sang:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Jökul’s kin for Jökul’s slayer</div> - <div class='line'>many a woe shall still be weaving;</div> - <div class='line'>Jökul’s hoard whoe’er shall harry</div> - <div class='line'>thence shall harvest little gladness.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c017'>When he had sung that, he was silent awhile, and -laughed; and thereupon he died.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Why should’st thou heed his words?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who knows? The story goes, and many believe -it, that Jökul gave his children a wolf’s heart to -eat, that they might be fierce and fell; and Hiördis -has surely had her share, that one can well see. -[<i>Breaks off on looking out towards the right.</i>] Gunnar!—Do -we two meet again!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters.</i>] Ay, Örnulf, think of me what thou -wilt, but I cannot part from thee as thy foe.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is thy purpose?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To hold out the hand of peace to thee ere thou -depart. Hear me all of you: go with me to my -homestead, and be my guests as long as ye will. -We lack not meat or drink or sleeping-room, and -there shall be no talk of our quarrel either to-day -or to-morrow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Hiördis——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yields to my will; she changed her thought on -the homeward way, and deemed, as I did, that we -would soon be at one if ye would but be our -guests.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; let it be so.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Doubtfully.</i>] But I know not if——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar is thy foster-brother; little I know -thee if thou say him nay.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span>] Thou hast been my friend -where’er we fared; thou wilt not thwart me -now!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And to depart from the land, leaving Hiördis -with hate in her heart—no, no, that must we not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have done Örnulf a great wrong; until it is -made good, I cannot be at peace with myself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] All else will I do for thee, -Gunnar, but not stay here! [<i>Mastering himself.</i>] -I am King Æthelstan’s sworn henchman, and I -must be with him in England ere the winter is out.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But that thou canst be, none the less!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No man can know what lot awaits him; mayhap -this is our last meeting, Sigurd, and thou wilt -repent that thou didst not stand by me to the end.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And long will it be ere thou see me glad again, -if thou set sail to-day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Determined.</i>] Well, be it so! It shall be as ye -will, although——But no more of that; here -is my hand; I will stay to feast with thee and -Hiördis.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shakes his hand.</i>] I knew it, Sigurd, and I thank -thee.—And thou, Örnulf, say’st thou likewise?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gruffly.</i>] I shall think upon it. Bitterly has -Hiördis galled me;—I will not answer to-day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is well, old warrior; Sigurd and Dagny will -know how to smooth thy brow. Now must I -prepare the feast; peace be with you the while, -and well met in my hall. [<i>Goes out by the right.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To himself.</i>] Hiördis has changed her thought, -said he? Little he knows her; I rather deem -that she is plotting——[<i>Interrupting himself and -turning to his men.</i>] Come, follow me all to the -ships; good gifts will I choose for Gunnar and his -household.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gifts of the best we have. And thou, father—thou -shalt have no peace for me until thou yield -thee.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'><i>She goes with</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>and his men down -towards the shore at the back.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yield me? Ay, if there were no women-folk -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>in Gunnar’s house, then——Oh, if I but knew -where to strike her!—Thorolf, thou here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has entered hastily.</i>] As thou seest. Is it -true that thou hast met with Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And art at strife with him?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>H’m—with Hiördis, at least.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then be of good cheer; soon shalt thou be -avenged!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Avenged? Who shall avenge me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Listen: as I stood on board the ship, there -came a man running, with a staff in his hand, and -called to me: “If thou be of Örnulf’s shipfolk, -then greet him from Kåre the Peasant, and say -that now will I avenge the twain of us.” Thereupon -he took a boat and rowed away, saying as he -passed: “Twenty outlaws are at haven in the -fiord; with them I fare southward, and ere -eventide shall Hiördis be childless.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He said that! Ha, now I understand; Gunnar -has sent his son away; Kåre is at feud with -him——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And now he is rowing southward to slay the -boy!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With sudden resolution.</i>] Up, all! That booty -will we fight for!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What wilt thou do?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Leave that to me; it shall be I, and not Kåre, -that will take revenge!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will go with thee!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, do thou follow with Sigurd and thy sister -to Gunnar’s hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd? Is he in the isle?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There may’st thou see his warships; we are at -one—do thou go with him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Among thy foes?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go thou to the feast. Now shall Hiördis learn -to know old Örnulf! But hark thee, Thorolf, to -no one must thou speak of what I purpose; dost -hear? to no one!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I promise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Takes his hand and looks at him affectionately.</i>] -Farewell then, my fair boy; bear thee in courtly -wise at the feast-house, that I may have honour -of thee. Beware of idle babbling; but what thou -sayest, let it be keen as a sword. Be friendly to -those that deal with thee in friendly wise; but if -thou be taunted, hold not thy peace. Drink not -more than thou canst bear; but put not the horn -aside when it is offered thee in measure, lest thou -be deemed womanish.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, be at ease!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then away to the feast at Gunnar’s hall. I -too will come to the feast, and that in the guise -they least think of. [<i>Blithely to the rest.</i>] Come, -my wolf-cubs; be your fangs keen;—now shall -ye have blood to drink.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>He goes off with his elder sons to the right, -at the back.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>come up from the ships, richly -dressed for the banquet. They are followed by -two men, carrying a chest, who lay it down and -return as they came.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking out after his father.</i>] Now fare they all -forth to fight, and I must stay behind; it is hard -to be the youngest of the house.—Dagny! all -hail and greetings to thee, sister mine!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf! All good powers!—thou art a man, -grown!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That may I well be, forsooth, in five years——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, true, true.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Giving him his hand.</i>] In thee will Örnulf find -a stout carl, or I mistake me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Would he but prove me——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] He spares thee more than thou hast -a mind to? Thou wast ever well-nigh too dear -to him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whither has he gone?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Down to his ship;—go you on; he will follow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I await my men; they are mooring my ships -and bringing ashore wares.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There must I lend a hand!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes down towards the shore.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a moment’s reflection.</i>] Dagny, my wife, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>now that we are alone, I have that to tell thee -which must no longer be hidden.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Surprised.</i>] What meanest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There may be danger in this faring to Gunnar’s -hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Danger? Thinkest thou that Gunnar——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Gunnar is brave and true—yet better had -it been that I had sailed from the isle without -crossing his threshold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou makest me fear! Sigurd, what is amiss?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>First answer me this: the golden ring that I -gave thee, where hast thou it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Showing it.</i>] Here, on my arm; thou badest me -wear it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Cast it to the bottom of the sea, so deep that -none may ever set eyes on it again; else may it -be the bane of many men!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The ring!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice.</i>] That night when we bore -away the twain of you—dost remember?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do I remember!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is of that I would speak.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In suspense.</i>] What is it? Say on!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou knowest there had been a feast; thou -didst seek thy chamber betimes; but Hiördis still -sat among the men in the feast-hall. The horn -went busily round, and many a great vow was -sworn. I swore to bear away a fair maid with me -from Iceland; Gunnar swore the same as I, and -passed the cup to Hiördis. She grasped it and -stood up, and vowed this vow, that no warrior -should have her to wife, save him who should go to -her bower, slay the white bear that stood bound -at the door, and carry her away in his arms.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; all this I know!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All men deemed that it might not be, for the -bear was the fiercest of beasts; none but Hiördis -might come near it, and it had the strength of -twenty men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Gunnar slew it, and by that deed won fame -throughout all lands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice.</i>] He won the fame—but—I did -the deed!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a cry.</i>] Thou!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When the men left the feast-hall, Gunnar -prayed me to come with him alone to our sleeping-place. -Then said he: “Hiördis is dearer to me -than all women; without her I cannot live.” I -answered him: “Then go to her bower; thou -knowest the vow she hath sworn.” But he said: -“Life is dear to him that loves; if I should assail -the bear, the end were doubtful, and I am loath to -lose my life, for then should I lose Hiördis too.” -Long did we talk, and the end was that Gunnar -made ready his ship, while I drew my sword, took -Gunnar’s harness upon me, and went to the -bower.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With pride and joy.</i>] And thou—thou didst -slay the bear!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I slew him. In the bower it was dark as under -a raven’s wing; Hiördis deemed it was Gunnar -that sat by her—she was heated with the mead—she -drew a ring from her arm and gave it to me—it -is that thou wearest now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hesitating.</i>] And thou wast alone that night -with Hiördis in her bower?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My sword lay drawn between us. [<i>A short -pause.</i>] Ere the dawn, I bore Hiördis to -Gunnar’s ship; she dreamed not of our guile, and -he sailed away with her. Then went I to thy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>sleeping-place and found thee there among thy -women;—what followed, thou knowest; I sailed -from Iceland with a fair maid, as I had sworn, and -from that day hast thou stood faithfully at my -side whithersoever I have wandered.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Much moved.</i>] My brave husband! And that -great deed was thine!—Oh, I should have known -it; it could have been none else! Hiördis, that -proud and stately woman, couldst thou have won, -yet didst choose me! Now wouldst thou be -tenfold dearer to me, wert thou not already -dearer than all the world.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagny, my sweet wife, now thou knowest all—that -need be known. I could not but warn -thee; for that ring—Hiördis must never see it! -Wouldst thou do my will, then cast it from thee—into -the depths of the sea.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Sigurd, it is too dear to me; is it not thy -gift? But be at ease, I will hide it from every -eye, and never shall I breathe a word of what thou -hast told me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf</span> <i>comes up from the ships, with</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>men.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All is ready for the feast.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Come then, Sigurd—my brave, my noble -warrior!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Beware, Dagny—beware! With thee it rests -now whether this meeting shall end in peace or in -blood. [<i>Cheerfully to the others.</i>] Away then, to -the feast in Gunnar’s hall!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes out with</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>to the right; the -others follow.</i></p> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT SECOND.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><i>The feast-room in</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar’s</span> <i>house. The entrance-door -is in the back; smaller doors in the side-walls. -In front, on the left, the greater high-seat; -opposite it, on the right, the lesser. In -the middle of the floor, a wood fire is burning on -a built-up hearth. In the background, on both -sides of the door, are daïses for the women of the -household. From each of the high-seats, a long -table, with benches, stretches backwards, parallel -with the wall. It is dark outside; the fire -lights the room.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>enter from the right.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Hiördis, it passes my wit to understand -thee. Thou hast shown me all the house; I know -not what thing thou lackest, and all thou hast is -fair and goodly;—then why bemoan thy lot?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Cage an eagle and it will bite at the wires, be -they of iron or of gold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In one thing at least thou art richer than I; -thou hast Egil, thy little son.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Better no child, than one born in shame.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In shame?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dost thou forget thy father’s saying? Egil is -the son of a leman; that was his word.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A word spoken in wrath—why wilt thou heed -it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay, Örnulf was right; Egil is weak; one -can see he is no freeborn child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis, how canst thou——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Unheeding.</i>] Doubt not that shame can be -sucked into the blood, like the venom of a snake-bite. -Of another mettle are the freeborn sons of -mighty men. I have heard of a queen that took -her son and sewed his kirtle fast to his flesh, yet -he never blinked an eye. [<i>With an evil look.</i>] -Dagny, that will I try with Egil!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Horrified.</i>] Hiördis, Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Laughing.</i>] Ha-ha-ha! Dost thou think I -meant my words? [<i>Changing her tone.</i>] But, -believe me or not as thou wilt, there are times -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>when such deeds seem to lure me. Doubtless -it is in my blood—for I am of the race of the -Jötuns,<a id='r10' /><a href='#f10' class='c016'><sup>[10]</sup></a> they say.—Come, sit thou here, Dagny. -Far hast thou wandered in these five long years; -tell me, thou hast ofttimes been a guest in the -halls of kings?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Many a time—and chiefly with Æthelstan of -England.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And everywhere thou hast been held in honour, -and hast sat in the highest seats at the board?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Doubtless. As Sigurd’s wife——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—a famous man is Sigurd—though -Gunnar stands above him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>One deed did Gunnar do that Sigurd shrank -from. But let that be! Tell me, when Sigurd -went a-viking and thou with him, when thou -didst hear the sword-blades sing in the fierce war-game, -when the blood streamed red on the deck—came -there not over thee an untameable longing -to plunge into the strife? Didst thou not don -harness and take up arms?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Never! How canst thou think it? I, a -woman!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A woman, a woman,—who knows what a woman -may do!—But one thing thou canst tell me, -Dagny, for that thou surely knowest: when a man -clasps to his breast the woman he loves—is it true -that her blood burns, that her bosom throbs—that -she swoons in a strange ecstasy?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Blushing.</i>] Hiördis, how canst thou——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Come, tell me——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Surely thou thyself hast known it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay once, and only once; it was that night when -Gunnar sat with me in my bower; he crushed -me in his arms till my byrnie<a id='r11' /><a href='#f11' class='c016'><sup>[11]</sup></a> burst, and then, -then——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Exclaiming.</i>] What! Sigurd——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd? What of Sigurd? I spoke of Gunnar—that -night when he bore me away——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Collecting herself.</i>] Yes, yes, I remember.—I -know well——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That was the only time; never, never again! -I deemed I was bewitched; for that Gunnar could -so clasp a woman——[<i>Stops and looks at</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny.</span>] -What ails thee? Methinks thou turnest pale and -red!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without heeding her.</i>] Aye, the merry -viking-raid should have been <em class='gesperrt'>my</em> lot; it had been -better for me, and—mayhap for all of us. That -were life, full and rich life! Dost thou not -wonder, Dagny, to find me here alive? Art not -afraid to be alone with me in the hall, thus in the -dark? Deem’st thou not that I must have died -in all these years, and that it is my ghost that -stands at thy side?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Painfully ill at ease.</i>] Come—let us go—to the -others.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizing her by the arm.</i>] No, stay! Seems it -not strange to thee, Dagny, that any woman can -yet live who has spent here five such nights?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Five nights?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here in the north each night is a whole winter -long. [<i>Quickly and with an altered expression.</i>] Yet -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>the place is fair enough, doubt it not! Thou -shalt see sights here such as thou hast not seen in -the halls of the English king. We shall be -together as sisters whilst thou bidest with me; -we shall go down to the sea when the storm blows -up afresh; thou shalt see the billows racing to the -land like wild, white-maned horses. And then -the whales far out in the offing! They dash one -against another like steel-clad warriors! Ha, -what joy to be a witch-wife and ride on a whale’s -back—to speed before the bark, and wake the -storm, and lure men to the deeps with lovely -songs of sorcery!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fie, Hiördis, how canst thou speak such things!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Canst <em class='gesperrt'>thou</em> sing sorceries, Dagny?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With horror.</i>] I!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I trow thou canst; how else didst thou lure -Sigurd to thee?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy speech is shameful; let me go!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Holding her back.</i>] Because I jest! Nay, hear -me to the end! Think, Dagny, what it is to sit -by the window in the eventide and hear the -kelpie<a id='r12' /><a href='#f12' class='c016'><sup>[12]</sup></a> wailing in the boat-house; to sit waiting -and listening for the dead men’s ride to Valhal; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>for their way lies past us here in the north. They -are the brave men that fell in fight, the strong -women that did not drag out their lives tamely, -like thee and me; they sweep through the air in -cloud-rack and storm, on their black horses, with -jangling bells! [<i>Embraces</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span>, <i>and presses her -wildly in her arms.</i>] Ha, Dagny! think of riding -the last ride on so rare a steed!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Struggling to escape.</i>] Hiördis, Hiördis! Let -me go! I will not hear thee!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Laughing.</i>] Weak art thou of heart, and easily -affrighted.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'><span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>enters from the back, with</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> -<i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now, truly, are all things to my very mind! I -have found thee again, Sigurd, my brave brother, -as kind and true as of old. I have Örnulf’s son -under my roof, and the old man himself follows -speedily after; is it not so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So he promised.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then all I lack is that Egil should be here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis plain thou lovest the boy, thou namest -him so oft.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Truly I love him; he is my only child; and he -is like to grow up fair and kindly.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But no warrior.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay—that thou must not say.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How couldst thou send him from thee——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Would that I had not! [<i>In an undertone.</i>] But -thou knowest, Sigurd, he who loves overmuch, -takes not always the manliest part. [<i>Aloud.</i>] I -had few men in my house, and none could be -sure of his life when it was known that Örnulf -lay in the cove with a ship of war.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>One thing I know that ought first to be made -safe, life afterwards.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And that is——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Honour and fame among men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall not be said of Gunnar that he has -tainted his honour by doing this.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sternly.</i>] No one shall make strife between -me and Örnulf’s kinsfolk!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] Tell me, Sigurd—can thy ship sail -with any wind?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, when ’tis cunningly steered.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good! I too will steer my ship cunningly, and -make my way whither I will.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Retires towards the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Whispers, uneasily.</i>] Sigurd, let us hence—this -very night!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is too late now; ’twas thou that——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then I held Hiördis dear; but now——; I -have heard her speak words I shudder to think of.</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>men, with other guests, men and women, -house-carls and handmaidens, enter from the -back.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause, in which greetings and the -like are exchanged.</i>] Now to the board! My chief -guest, Örnulf of the Fiords, comes later; so -Thorolf promises.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the house-folk.</i>] Pass the ale and mead -around, that hearts may wax merry and tongues -may be loosed.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>leads</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>to the high-seat on -the right.</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>seats herself on</i> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>right,</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>opposite him, at -the other side of the same table.</i> <span class='sc'>Thorolf</span> -<i>is in like manner ushered to a place at -the other table, and thus sits opposite</i> -<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span>, <i>who occupies the greater high-seat. -The others take their seats further -back.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a pause in which they drink with each other -and converse quietly across the tables.</i>] It seldom -chances that so many brave men are seated -together, as I see to-night in our hall. It were -fitting, then, that we should essay the old pastime: -Let each man name the chief of his deeds, that -all may judge which is the mightiest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is an ill custom at a drinking-feast; ’twill -oft breed strife.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Little did I deem that Gunnar was afraid.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That no one deems; but it were long ere we -came to an end, were we all to tell of our deeds, -so many as we be. Do thou rather tell us, -Gunnar, of thy journey to Biarmeland; ’tis no -small exploit to fare so far to the north, and -gladly would we hear of it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The journey to Biarmeland is chapman’s work, -and little worthy to be named among warriors. -Nay, do thou begin, Sigurd, if thou wouldst not -have me deem that thou canst ill endure to hear -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>my husband’s praise! Say on; name that one of -thy deeds which thou dost prize the highest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well, since thou wilt have it so, so must it be. -Let it be told, then, that I lay a-viking among -the Orkneys; there came foemen against us, but -we swept them from their ships, and I fought -alone against eight men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good was that deed; but wert thou fully -armed?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fully armed, with axe, spear, and sword.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Still the deed was good. Now must thou, my -husband, name that which thou deemest the -chief among thy exploits.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Unwillingly.</i>] I slew two berserkers who had -seized a merchant-ship; and thereupon I sent -the captive chapmen home, giving them their -ship freely, without ransom. The King of -England deemed well of that deed; he said that -I had done honourably, and gave me thanks and -good gifts.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay truly, Gunnar, a better deed than that -couldst thou name.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] I will take praise for no other -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>deed! Since last I fared from Iceland I have -lived at peace and traded in merchandise. No -word more on this matter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If thou thyself wilt hide thy renown, thy wife -shall speak.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peace, Hiördis—I command thee!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd fought with eight men, being fully -armed; Gunnar came to my bower in the black -night, slew the bear that had twenty men’s -strength, and yet had but a short sword in his -hand.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Violently agitated.</i>] Woman, not a word more!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Sigurd, wilt thou endure——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Likewise.</i>] Be still!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the company.</i>] And now, ye brave men—which -is the mightier, Sigurd or Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Silence!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Loudly.</i>] Speak out; I have the right to -crave judgment.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span><span class='sc'>An Old Man.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Among the guests.</i>] If the truth be told, then -is Gunnar’s deed greater than all other deeds -of men; Gunnar is the mightiest warrior, and -Sigurd is second to him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a glance across the table.</i>] Ah, Sigurd, -Sigurd, didst thou but know——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] It is too much—friend though he be!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peace, wife! [<i>Aloud, to the others.</i>] Ay truly, -Gunnar is the most honourable of all men; so -would I esteem him to my dying day, even had -he never done that deed; for that I hold more -lightly than ye.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There speaks thy envy, Sigurd Viking!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] Mightily dost thou mistake. [<i>Kindly, -to</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span>, <i>drinking to him across the table.</i>] Hail, -noble Gunnar; our friendship shall stand fast, -whosoever may seek to break it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No one, that I wot of, has such a thought.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Say not so; I could almost think thou hadst -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>bidden us to the feast in the hope to stir up -strife.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is like thee, Sigurd; now art thou wroth -that thou may’st not be held the mightiest man -at the board.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have ever esteemed Gunnar more highly than -myself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well, well—second to Gunnar is still a good -place, and——[<i>with a side glance at</i> <span class='sc'>Thorolf</span>] had -Örnulf been here, he could have had the third -seat.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then would Jökul, thy father, find a low place -indeed; for he fell before Örnulf.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The following dispute is carried on, by -both parties, with rising and yet repressed -irritation.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That shalt thou never say! Örnulf is a skald, -and men whisper that he has praised himself for -greater deeds than he has done.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then woe to him who whispers so loudly that -it comes to my ear!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a smile of provocation.</i>] Wouldst thou -avenge it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, so that my vengeance should be told of far -and wide.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then here I pledge a cup to this, that thou -may’st first have a beard on thy chin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Even a beardless lad is too good to wrangle -with women.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But too weak to fight with men; therefore thy -father let thee lie by the hearth at home in -Iceland, whilst thy brothers went a-viking.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It had been well had he kept as good an eye -on thee; for then hadst thou not left the land an -unwedded woman.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar and Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Simultaneously.</i>] Brother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly, and quivering with rage.</i>] Ha! wait—wait!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gives</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>his hand.</i>] Be not wroth, -Gunnar;—evil words came to my tongue; but thy -wife goaded me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly and imploringly.</i>] Foster-sister, by any -love thou hast ever borne me, stir not up strife!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Laughing.</i>] Jests must pass at the feast-board, -if the merriment is to thrive.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has been talking softly to</i> <span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span>] Thou -art a brave lad! [<i>Hands him a sword which hangs -beside the high-seat.</i>] Here, Thorolf, here is a good -gift for thee. Wield it well, and let us be friends.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Beware how thou givest away thy weapons, -Gunnar; men may say thou dost part with things -thou canst not use!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has meanwhile examined the sword.</i>] Thanks -for the gift, Gunnar; it shall never be drawn in -an unworthy cause.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If thou wilt keep that promise, then do thou -never lend the sword to thy brothers.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Continuing.</i>] Neither let it hang on thy father’s -wall; for there it would hang with base men’s -weapons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True enough, Hiördis—for there thy father’s -axe and shield have hung this many a year.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Mastering herself.</i>] That Örnulf slew my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>father—that deed is ever on thy tongue; but if -report speak true, ’twas scarce so honourable a -deed as thou deemest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Of what report dost thou speak?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] I dare not name it, for it would make -thee wroth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then hold thy peace—I ask no better.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turns from her.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, why should I not tell it? Is it true, -Thorolf, that for three nights thy father sat in -woman’s weed, doing sorceries with the witch of -Smalserhorn, ere he dared face Jökul in fight?</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>All rise; violent excitement among the -guests.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar, Sigurd, and Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bitterly exasperated.</i>] So base a lie has no man -spoken of Örnulf of the Fiords! Thou thyself -hast made it, for no one less venomous than thou -could dream of such a thing. The blackest crime -a man can do hast thou laid at my father’s door. -[<i>Throwing the sword away.</i>] There, Gunnar, take -thy gift again; I can take nought from that house -wherein my father is reviled.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf, hear me——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let me go! But beware both thou and Hiördis; -for my father has now in his power one whom ye -hold dearest of all!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starting.</i>] Thy father has——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a cry.</i>] What sayest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Where is Örnulf?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With mocking laughter.</i>] Gone southward—with -my brothers.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Southward!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrieking</i>.] Gunnar! Örnulf has slain Egil, -our son.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slain!—Egil slain! Then woe to Örnulf and -all his race! Thorolf, speak out;—is this true?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar, Gunnar—hear me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Speak out, if thou care for thy life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Thorolf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou canst not fright me! Wait till my father -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>comes, he shall plant a mark of shame over -against Gunnar’s house! And meanwhile, -Hiördis, do thou cheer thee with these words I -heard to-day: “Ere eventide shall Gunnar and -his wife be childless.”</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out by the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In agony.</i>] Slain—slain! My little Egil slain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] And thou—dost thou let him go? -Let Egil, thy child, lie unavenged! Then wert -thou the dastard of dastards——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if beside himself.</i>] A sword—an axe! ’Tis -the last tidings he shall ever bring!</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes an axe from one of the bystanders -and rushes out.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>About to follow.</i>] Gunnar, hold thy hand!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Holding him back.</i>] Stay, stay! The men will -part them; I know Gunnar!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A cry from the crowd, which has flocked -together at the main door.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd and Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Voice among the Crowd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf has fallen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf! Ha, let me go!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My brother! Oh, my brother!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>is on the point of rushing out. At -the same moment, the crowd parts,</i> -<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>enters, and throws down the axe -at the door.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now it is done. Egil is avenged!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well for thee if thy hand has not been too -hasty.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap, mayhap; but Egil, Egil, my fair boy!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now must we arm us, and seek help among our -friends; for Thorolf has many avengers.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gloomily.</i>] He will be his own worst avenger; -he will be with me night and day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf got his reward. Kinsmen must suffer -for kinsmen’s deeds.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, true; but this I know, my mind was -lighter ere this befell.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The first night<a id='r13' /><a href='#f13' class='c016'><sup>[13]</sup></a> is ever the worst;—when that -is over, thou wilt heed it no more. Örnulf has -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>sought his revenge by shameful guile; he would -not come against us in open strife; he feigned to -be peacefully minded; and then he falls upon our -defenceless child! Ha, I saw more clearly than -ye; well I deemed that Örnulf was evil-minded -and false; good cause had I to egg thee on against -him and all his faithless tribe.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Fiercely.</i>] That hadst thou! My vengeance -is poor beside Örnulf’s crime. He has lost -Thorolf, but he has six sons left—and I have none—none!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A House-carl.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters hastily from the back.</i>] Örnulf of the -Fiords is at hand!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Örnulf!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis and several Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To arms! to arms!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Simultaneously.</i>] My father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if seized by a foreboding.</i>] Örnulf——! -Ah, Gunnar, Gunnar!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Draws his sword.</i>] Up, all my men! Vengeance -for Egil’s death!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf</span> <i>enters, with</i> <span class='sc'>Egil</span> <i>in his arms.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a shriek.</i>] Egil!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I bring you back little Egil.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>All.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>One to another.</i>] Egil! Egil alive!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Letting his sword fall.</i>] Woe is me! what have -I done?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, Thorolf, my brother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I knew it! I knew it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Setting Egil down.</i>] There, Gunnar, hast thou -thy pretty boy again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Father! Old Örnulf would not do me ill, as -thou saidst when I went away.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span>] Now have I atoned for thy -father; now surely there may be peace between -us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With repressed emotion.</i>] Mayhap!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if waking up.</i>] Is it a hideous dream that -maddens me! Thou—thou bringest Egil home!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>As thou seest; but in truth he has been near -his death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That I know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And hast no more joy in his return?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Had he come sooner, I had been more glad. But -tell me all that has befallen!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is soon done. Kåre the Peasant was -plotting evil against you; with other caitiffs he -fared southward after Egil.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Kåre! [<i>To himself.</i>] Ha, now I understand -Thorolf’s words!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>His purpose came to my ears; I needs must -thwart so black a deed. I would not give atonement -for Jökul, and, had things so befallen, I had -willingly slain thee, Gunnar, in single combat—yet -I could not but save thy child. With my sons, -I hasted after Kåre.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] An accursed deed has here been -done.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When I came up with him, Egil’s guards lay -bound; thy son was already in thy foemen’s hands, -and they would not long have spared him. Hot -was the fight! Seldom have I given and taken -keener strokes; Kåre and two men fled inland; -the rest sleep safely, and will be hard to waken.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In eager suspense.</i>] But thou—thou, Örnulf——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Darkly.</i>] Six sons followed me into the fight.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Breathlessly.</i>] But homewards——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>None.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appalled.</i>] None! [<i>Softly.</i>] And Thorolf, -Thorolf!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Deep emotion among the bystanders.</i> -<span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>shows signs of a violent mental -struggle;</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>weeps silently by the -high-seat on the right.</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>stands -beside her, painfully agitated.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] It is hard for a many-branching -pine to be stripped in a single storm. -But men die and men live;—hand me a horn; I -will drink to my sons’ memory. [<i>One of</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> -<i>men gives him a horn.</i>] Hail to you where now ye -ride, my bold sons! Close upon your heels shall -the bronze-gates not clang, for ye come to the -hall with a great following. [<i>Drinks, and hands -back the horn.</i>] And now home to Iceland! -Örnulf has fought his last fight; the old tree has -but one green branch left, and it must be shielded -warily. Where is Thorolf?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To his father.</i>] Ay, let me see Thorolf! Örnulf -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>says he will carve me a ship with many, many -warriors aboard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I praise all good wights that Thorolf came not -with us; for if he too—nay, strong though I be, -<em class='gesperrt'>that</em> had been too heavy for me to bear. But -why comes he not? He was ever the first to -meet his father; for to both of us it seemed we -could not live apart a single day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Örnulf, Örnulf!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With growing uneasiness.</i>] Ye stand all silent, -I mark it now. What ails you? Where is -Thorolf?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd, Sigurd—this will be the sorest blow to -him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Struggling with himself.</i>] Old man!—No——and -yet, it cannot be hid——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] My son! Where is he?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thorolf is slain!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slain! Thorolf? Thorolf? Ha, thou liest!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I would give my warmest heart-blood to know -him alive!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span>] Thorolf was himself to blame -for what befell; with dark sayings he gave us to -wit that thou hadst fallen upon Egil and slain him;—we -had parted half in wrath, and thou hast ere -now brought death among my kindred. And -moreover—Thorolf bore himself at the feast like -a wanton boy; he brooked not our jesting, and -spoke many evil things. Not till then did Gunnar -wax wroth; not till then did he raise his hand -upon thy son; and well I wot that he had good -and lawful ground for that deed.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Calmly.</i>] Well may we see that thou art -a woman, for thou usest many words. To what -end? If <a id='corr63.16'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Thorold'>Thorolf</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_63.16'><ins class='correction' title='Thorold'>Thorolf</ins></a></span> is slain, then is his saga over.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If <a id='corr63.18'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Thorold'>Thorolf</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_63.18'><ins class='correction' title='Thorold'>Thorolf</ins></a></span> is slain, I shall have no warriors.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Egil—we have lost our warriors now, both -thou and I. [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span>] Thy father sang:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Jökul’s kin for Jökul’s slayer</div> - <div class='line'>many a woe shall still be weaving.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c017'>Well hast thou wrought that his words should -come true. [<i>Pauses a moment, then turns to one of -the men.</i>] Where got he his death-wound?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Man.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Right across his brow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pleased.</i>] Ha; that is an honourable wound; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>he did not turn his back. But fell he sideways, -or in toward Gunnar’s feet?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Man.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Half sideways and half toward Gunnar.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That bodes but half vengeance; well well,—we -shall see!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] Örnulf, I know well that all my -goods were naught against thy loss; but crave of -me what thou wilt——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sternly interrupting him.</i>] Give me Thorolf’s -body, and let me go! Where lies he?</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>points silently to the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Takes a step or two, but turns and says in a voice -of thunder to</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd, Dagny,</span> <i>and others who are -making as though to follow him, sorrowing.</i>] Stay! -Think ye Örnulf will be followed by a train of -mourners, like a whimpering woman? Stay, I -say!—I can bear my Thorolf alone. [<i>With calm -strength.</i>] Sonless I go; but none shall say that -he saw me bowed.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>He goes slowly out.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With forced laughter.</i>] Ay, let him go as he -will; we shall scarce need many men to face him -should he come with strife again! Now, Dagny—I -wot it is the last time thy father shall sail -from Iceland on such a quest!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Indignant.</i>] Oh, shame!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Likewise.</i>] And thou canst mock him—mock -him, after all that has befallen?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A deed once done, ’tis wise to praise it. This -morning I swore hate and vengeance against -Örnulf;—the slaying of Jökul I might have forgotten—all, -save that he cast shame upon my lot. -He called me a leman; if it <em class='gesperrt'>be</em> so, it shames me -not; for Gunnar is mightier now than thy father; -he is greater and more famous than Sigurd, thine -own husband!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In wild indignation.</i>] There thou errest, Hiördis—and -even now shall all men know that thou -dwellest under a coward’s roof!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Dagny, beware!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A coward!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With scornful laughter.</i>] Thou pratest senselessly.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall no longer be hidden; I held my peace -till thou didst mock at my father and my dead -brothers; I held my peace while Örnulf was -here, lest he should learn that Thorolf fell by a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>dastard’s hand. But now—praise Gunnar nevermore -for that deed in Iceland; for Gunnar is a -coward! The sword that lay drawn between -thee and the bear-slayer hangs at my husband’s -side—the ring thou didst take from thy arm thou -gavest to Sigurd. [<i>Takes it off and holds it aloft.</i>] -Behold it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Crowd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd! Sigurd did the deed!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quivering with agitation.</i>] He! he!—Gunnar, -is this true?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With lofty calm.</i>] It is all true, save only that -I am a coward; no coward or dastard am I.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Moved.</i>] That art thou not, Gunnar! That -hast thou never been! [<i>To the rest.</i>] Away, my -men! Away from here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>At the door, to</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span>] Who is now the -mightiest man at the board—my husband, or -thine?</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>She goes out with Sigurd and his men.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To herself.</i>] Now have I but one thing left to -do—but one deed to think upon: Sigurd or I -must die!</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT THIRD.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c024'><i>The hall in</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar’s</span> <i>house. It is day.</i></p> -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>sits on the bench in front of the smaller high-seat, -busy twisting a bow-string; on the table -lie a bow and some arrows.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pulling at the bow-string.</i>] It is tough and -strong; [<i>With a glance at the arrows</i>] the shaft is -both keen and well-weighted—[<i>Lets her hands fall -in her lap</i>] but where is the hand that——! -[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Flouted, flouted by him—by -Sigurd! I must hate him more than others, that -can I well mark; but many days shall not pass -ere I have——[<i>Meditating.</i>] Ay, but the arm, -the arm that shall do the deed——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>enters, silent and thoughtful, from the back.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] How goes it with thee, -my husband?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ill, Hiördis; I cannot away with that deed of -yesterday; it lies heavy on my heart.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do as I do; get thee some work to busy thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Doubtless I must.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A pause;</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>paces up and down the -hall, notices what</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>is doing, and -approaches her.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What dost thou there?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without looking up.</i>] I am twisting a bow-string; -canst thou not see?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A bow-string—of thine own hair?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] Great deeds are born with every -hour in these times; yesterday thou didst slay -my foster-brother, and I have woven this since -daybreak.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis, Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking up.</i>] What is amiss?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where wast thou last night?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Last night?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou wast not in the sleeping-room.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Know’st thou that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I could not sleep; I tossed in restless dreams -of that—that which befell Thorolf. I dreamt -that he came——No matter; I wakened. Then -methought there sounded a strange, fair song -through all the house; I arose; I pushed the -door ajar; here I saw thee sitting by the log-fire—it -burned blue and red—fixing arrow-heads, -and singing sorceries over them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I did what was needful; for strong is the -breast that must be pierced this day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I understand thee well: thou wouldst have -Sigurd slain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou shalt never have thy will. I will keep -peace with Sigurd, howe’er thou goad me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] Dost think so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I know it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hands him the bow-string.</i>] Tell me, Gunnar—canst -loose this knot?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Tries it.</i>] Nay, it is too cunningly and firmly -woven.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rising.</i>] The Norns<a id='r14' /><a href='#f14' class='c016'><sup>[14]</sup></a> weave yet more -cunningly; their web is still harder to unravel.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dark are the ways of the Mighty Ones;—what -know we of them, thou or I?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yet one thing I know surely: that to both of us -must Sigurd’s life be baleful.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>A pause;</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>stands lost in thought.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has been silently watching him.</i>] Of what -thinkest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Of a dream I had of late. Methought I had -done the deed thou cravest; Sigurd lay slain on -the earth; thou didst stand beside him, and thy -face was wondrous pale. Then said I: “Art thou -glad, now that I have done thy will?” But thou -didst laugh and answer: “Blither should I be -didst thou, Gunnar, lie there in Sigurd’s stead.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With forced laughter.</i>] Ill must thou know me -if such a senseless dream can stay thy hand.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Tell me, Hiördis, what thinkest thou of this hall?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To speak truly, Gunnar, sometimes it seems to -me too strait and narrow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, so I have thought; we are one too -many.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Two, mayhap.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has not heard her last words.</i>] But that -shall be set right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks at him interrogatively.</i>] Set right? Then -thou art minded to——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To fit out my warships and put to sea; I will -win back the honour I have lost because thou -wast dearer to me than all beside.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Thoughtfully.</i>] Thou wilt put to sea? Ay, so -it may be best for us both.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Even from the day we sailed from Iceland, I -saw that it would go ill with us. Thy soul is -strong and proud; there are times when I well-nigh -fear thee; yet, it is strange—chiefly for that -do I hold thee so dear. Dread goes forth from -thee like a spell; methinks thou couldst lure me -to the blackest deeds, and all would seem good to -me that thou didst crave. [<i>Shaking his head -reflectively.</i>] Unfathomable is the Norn’s rede; -Sigurd should have been thy husband.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, Sigurd. Vengeance and hatred blind thee, -else wouldst thou prize him better. Had I been -like Sigurd, I could have made life glad for thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With strong but suppressed emotion.</i>] That—that -deemest thou Sigurd could have done?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is strong of soul, and proud as thou to boot.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Violently.</i>] If that be so—[<i>Collecting herself.</i>] -No matter, no matter! [<i>With a wild outburst.</i>] -Gunnar, take Sigurd’s life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Never!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>By fraud and falsehood thou mad’st me thy wife—that -shall be forgotten! Five joyless years -have I spent in this house—all shall be forgotten -from the day when Sigurd lives no more!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No harm shall e’er befall him from my hand. -[<i>Shrinks back involuntarily.</i>] Hiördis, Hiördis, -tempt me not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must I find another avenger; not long -shall Sigurd mock at me and thee! [<i>Clenching -her hands in convulsive rage.</i>] With her—that -simpleton—with her mayhap he is even now -sitting alone, dallying, and making sport of us; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>speaking of the bitter wrong that was done me -when in thy stead he bore me away; telling how -he laughed over his guile as he stood in the mirk -of my bower, and I knew him not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay, he does not so!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Firmly.</i>] Sigurd and Dagny must die! I -cannot draw breath till they two are gone! -[<i>Comes close up to him, with sparkling eyes, and -speaks passionately, but in a whisper.</i>] Wouldst -thou help me to <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>, Gunnar, then should I live -in love with thee; then should I clasp thee in such -warm and wild embraces as thou dream’st not of.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wavering.</i>] Hiördis! Wouldst thou——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Set thy hand to the work, Gunnar—and the -heavy days shall be past. No longer will I quit -the hall when thou comest, no longer speak harsh -things and quench thy smile when thou art glad. -I will clothe me in furs and costly silken robes. -When thou goest to war, I will follow thee; when -thou ridest forth in peace, I will ride by thy side. -At the feast I will sit by thee and fill thy horn, -and drink to thee and sing fair songs to make glad -thy heart!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Almost overcome.</i>] Is it true? Thou wouldst——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>More than that, trust me, ten times more! -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>Give me but revenge! Revenge on Sigurd and -Dagny, and I will——[<i>Stops as she sees the door -open.</i>] Dagny—comest thou here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the back.</i>] Haste thee, Gunnar! Call -thy men to arms!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To arms! Against whom?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Kåre the Peasant is coming, and many outlaws -with him; he means thee no good; Sigurd has -once barred his way; but who can tell——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Moved.</i>] Sigurd has done this for me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd is ever thy faithful friend.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And we, Hiördis—we, who thought to——! It -is as I say—there is witchcraft in all thy speech; -no deed but seemeth fair to me, when thou dost -name it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Astonished.</i>] What meanest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nothing, nothing! I thank thee for thy -tidings, Dagny; I go to gather my men together. -[<i>Turns towards the door, but stops and comes forward -again.</i>] Tell me—how goes it with Örnulf?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bowing her head.</i>] Ask not of him. Yesterday -he bore Thorolf’s body to the ships; now he is -raising a grave-mound on the shore;—there shall -his sons be laid.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>goes out by the back in silence.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Until evening there is no danger. [<i>Coming -nearer.</i>] Hiördis, I have another errand in thy -house; it is to thee I come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To me? After all that befell yesterday?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Even because of that. Hiördis, foster-sister, do -not hate me; forget the words that sorrow and -evil spirits placed in my mouth; forgive me all -the wrong I did thee; for, trust me, I am now -tenfold more hapless than thou!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hapless—thou! Sigurd’s wife!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was <em class='gesperrt'>my</em> doing, all that befell—the stirring up -of strife, and Thorolf’s death, and all the scorn -that fell upon Gunnar and thee. Mine is all the -guilt! Woe upon me!—I have lived so happily; -but after this day I shall never know joy again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if seized by a sudden thought.</i>] But before—in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>these five long years—all that time hast thou -been happy?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Canst thou doubt it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yesterday I doubted it not; but——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What meanest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, ’tis nought; let us speak of other matters.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No truly. Hiördis, tell me——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It will profit thee little; but since thou wilt -have it so——[<i>With a malignant expression.</i>] -Canst thou remember once, over in Iceland—we -had followed with Örnulf thy father to the -Council, and we sat with our playmates in the -Council Hall, as is the manner of women. Then -came two strangers into the hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd and Gunnar.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They greeted us in courtly fashion, and sat on -the bench beside us; and there passed between -us much merry talk. There were some who must -needs know why these two vikings came thither, -and if they were not minded to take them wives -there in the island. Then said Sigurd: “Twill -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>be hard for me to find the woman that shall be to -my mind.” Örnulf laughed, and said there was -no lack of high-born and well-dowered women in -Iceland; but Sigurd answered: “The warrior -needs a high-souled wife. She whom I choose -must not rest content with a humble lot; no -honour must seem too high for her to strive for; -gladly must she follow me a-viking; war-weed -must she wear; she must egg me on to strife, and -never blink her eyes where sword-blades lighten; -for if she be faint-hearted, scant honour will befall -me.” Is it not true, so Sigurd spake?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hesitatingly.</i>] True, he did—but——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em class='gesperrt'>Such</em> was she to be, the woman who could -make life fair to him; and then—[With a scornful -smile] then he chose <em class='gesperrt'>thee</em>!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starting, as in pain.</i>] Ha, thou wouldst say -that——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Doubtless thou hast proved thyself proud and -high-souled; hast claimed honour of all, that -Sigurd might be honoured in thee—is it not so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Hiördis, but——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou hast egged him on to great deeds, followed -him in war-weed, and joyed to be where the strife -raged hottest—hast thou not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Deeply moved.</i>] No, no!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hast thou, then, been faint of heart, so that -Sigurd has been put to shame?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Overwhelmed.</i>] Hiördis, Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling scornfully.</i>] Yet thy lot has been a -happy one all these years! Think’st thou that -Sigurd can say the same?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Enough, enough. Woe is me! thou hast made -me see myself too clearly.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A jesting word, and straightway thou art in -tears! Think no more of it. Look what I have -done to-day. [<i>Takes some arrows from the table.</i>] Are -they not keen and biting—feel! I know well how -to sharpen arrows, do I not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And to use them too; thou strikest surely, -Hiördis! All this thou hast said to me—I had -never thought of it before. [<i>More vehemently.</i>] But -that Sigurd——! That for all these years I should -have made his life heavy and unhonoured;—no, -no, it cannot be true!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay now, comfort thee, Dagny; indeed it is not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>true. Were Sigurd of the same mind as in former -days, it might be true enough; for then was his -whole soul bent on being the foremost man in the -land;—now he is content with a lowlier lot.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, Hiördis; Sigurd is high-souled now as ever; -I see it well, I am not the right mate for him. He -has hidden it from me; but it shall be so no -longer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What wilt thou do?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='fss'>DAGNY.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will no longer hang like a clog upon his feet; -I will be a hindrance to him no longer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then thou wilt——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peace; some one comes!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><i>A House-carl enters from the back.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Carl.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd Viking is coming to the hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd! Then call Gunnar hither.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Carl.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar has ridden forth to gather his neighbours -together; for Kåre the Peasant would——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good, good, I know it; go! [<i>The Carl goes. To</i> -<span class='sc'>Dagny</span>, <i>who is also going.</i>] Whither wilt <a id='corr82.29'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='thou'>thou?</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_82.29'><ins class='correction' title='thou'>thou?</ins></a></span></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will not meet Sigurd. Too well I feel that we -must part; but to meet him <em class='gesperrt'>now</em>—no, no, I -cannot!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the left.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks after her in silence for a moment.</i>] And it -was she I would have——[<i>Completes her thought by -a glance at the bow-string</i>]. That had been a poor -revenge;—nay, I have cut deeper now! —Tis hard -to die, but sometimes harder still to live!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>enters from the back.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Belike it is Gunnar thou seekest; be seated, he -will be here even now.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Is going.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, stay; it is thee I seek, rather than him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And ’tis well I find thee alone.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If thou comest to mock me, it would sure be no -hindrance to thee though the hall were full of -men and women.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, well I know what thoughts thou hast of -me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bitterly.</i>] I do thee wrong mayhap! Nay, nay, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>Sigurd, thou hast been as a poison to all my days. -Bethink thee who it was that wrought that -shameful guile; who it was that sat by my side in -the bower, feigning love, with the laugh of -cunning in his heart; who it was that flung me -forth to Gunnar, since for him I was good enough, -forsooth—and then sailed away with the woman -he held dear!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Man’s will can do this thing and that; but fate -rules in the deeds that shape our lives—so has it -gone with us twain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True enough; evil Norns hold sway over the -world; but their might is little if they find not -helpers in our own heart. Happy is he who has -strength to battle with the Norn—and it is that I -have now in hand.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What mean’st thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will venture a trial of strength against those—those -who are over me. But let us talk no more -of this; I have much to do to-day.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>She seats herself at the table.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] Thou makest good -weapons for Gunnar.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a quiet smile.</i>] Not <em class='gesperrt'>for</em> Gunnar, but -<em class='gesperrt'>against</em> thee. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></p> - -<p class='c015'>Most like it is the same thing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, most like it is; for if I be a match for -the Norn, then sooner or later shalt thou and -Gunnar——[<i>Breaks off, leans backwards against -the table, looks at him with a smile, and says with an -altered ring in her voice:</i>] Wouldst know the thought -that sometimes comes to me? Oft have I made it -my pastime to limn pleasant pictures in my mind; -at such times I sit and close my eyes and think: -Now comes Sigurd the Strong to the isle;—he -will burn us in our house, me and my husband. All -Gunnar’s men have fallen; only he and I are left; -they set light to the roof from without:—“A -bow-shot,” cries Gunnar, “one bow-shot may save -us”;—then the bow-string breaks—“Hiördis, cut -a tress of thy hair and make of it a bow-string—our -life is at stake.” But then I laugh—“Let -it burn, let it burn—to me, life is not worth a -wisp of hair!”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There is a strange might in all thy speech.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Approaches her.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks coldly at him.</i>] Wouldst sit beside me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou deemest my heart is bitter toward thee. -’Tis the last time, Hiördis, that we shall have -speech together; there is something that gnaws -me like a sore sickness, and in this wise I cannot -part from thee; thou must know me better.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What wouldst thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Tell thee a saga.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is it sad?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sad, as life itself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bitterly.</i>] What knowest thou of the sadness -of life?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Judge when my saga is over.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then tell it me; I will work the while.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He sits on a low stool to her right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Once upon a time there were two young vikings, -who set forth from Norway to win wealth and -honour; they had sworn each other friendship, and -held truly together, how far soever they might -fare.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And the two young vikings hight Sigurd and -Gunnar?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, we may call them so. At last they came to -Iceland; and there dwelt an old chieftain, who -had come forth from Norway in King Harald’s -days. He had two fair women in his house; but -one, his foster-daughter, was the noblest, for she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>was wise and strong of soul; and the vikings spoke -of her between themselves, and never had they -seen a fairer woman, so deemed they both.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In suspense.</i>] Both? Wilt thou mock me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar thought of her night and day, and that -did Sigurd no less; but both held their peace, and -no man could say from her bearing whether Gunnar -found favour in her eyes; but that Sigurd found -none, that was easy to discern.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Breathlessly.</i>] Go on, go on——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yet ever the more must Sigurd dream of her; -but of that wist no man. Now it befell one -evening that there was a drinking-feast; and there -did that proud woman vow that no man should -possess her save he who wrought a mighty deed, -which she named. Then high beat Sigurd’s heart -for joy; for he felt within him the strength to do -that deed. But Gunnar took him apart and told -him of his love;—Sigurd said nought of his, but -went to the——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Sigurd, Sigurd! [<i>Controlling herself.</i>] -And this saga—is it true?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True it is. One of us had to yield; Gunnar -was my friend; I could do nought else. So -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>Gunnar had thee to wife, and I wedded another -woman.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And didst come to love her!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I learned to prize her; but one woman only has -Sigurd loved, and that is she who frowned upon -him from the first day they met. [<i>Rises.</i>] Here -ends my saga; and now let us part.—Farewell, -Gunnar’s wife; never shall we meet again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Springing up.</i>] Stay, stay! Woe to us both; -Sigurd, what hast thou done?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starting.</i>] I, done? What ails thee?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And all this dost thou tell me now! But no—it -cannot be true!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>These are my last words to thee, and every word -is true. I would not thou shouldst think hardly -of me, therefore I needs must speak.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Involuntarily clasps her hands together, and gazes -at him in voiceless astonishment.</i>] Loved—loved me—thou! -[<i>Vehemently, coming close up to him.</i>] I -will not believe thee! [<i>Looks hard at him, and -bursts forth in wild grief.</i>] Yes, it is true, and—hateful -for us both!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Hides her face in her hands, and turns away -from him.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appalled.</i>] Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly, struggling with tears and laughter.</i>] Nay, -heed me not! I meant but this, that——[<i>Lays -her hand on his arm.</i>] Sigurd, thou hast not told -thy saga to the end; that proud woman thou -didst tell of—she returned thy love!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts backwards.</i>] Thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With composure.</i>] Aye, Sigurd, I have loved -thee, at last I understand it. Thou sayest I was -ungentle and short of speech towards thee; what -wouldst thou have a woman do? Could I offer -thee my love? Then had I been little worthy of -thee. I deemed thee ever the noblest man of men; -and then to know thee another’s husband—’twas -that caused me the bitter pain, that myself I could -not understand!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Much moved.</i>] A baleful web has the Norn -woven around us twain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The blame is thine own; bravely and firmly it -becomes a man to act. When I set that hard -proof for him who should win me, my thought -was all of thee;—yet couldst thou——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I knew Gunnar’s soul-sickness; I alone could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>heal it;—was there aught for me to choose? And -yet, had I known what I now know, I scarce dare -answer for myself; for great is the might of love.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With animation.</i>] But now, Sigurd!—A -baleful hap has held us apart all these years; now -the knot is loosed; the days to come shall make -good the past to us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] It cannot be; thou knowest -we must part again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, we must not. I love thee, that may I now -say unashamed; for my love is no mere dalliance, -like a weak woman’s; were I a man—by all the -Mighty Ones, I could still love thee, even as now -I do! Up then, Sigurd! Happiness is worth a -daring deed; we are both free if we but will it, -and then the game is won.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Free? What meanest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is Dagny to thee? What can she be to -thee? No more than I count Gunnar in my -secret heart. What matter though two worthless -lives be wrecked?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis, Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let Gunnar stay where he is; let Dagny fare -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>with her father to Iceland; I will follow thee in -harness of steel, whithersoever thou wendest. -[<span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>makes a movement.</i>] Not as thy wife will -I follow thee; for I have belonged to another, and -the woman lives that has lain by thy side. No, -Sigurd, not as thy wife, but like those mighty -women, like Hildë’s sisters,<a id='r15' /><a href='#f15' class='c016'><sup>[15]</sup></a> will I follow thee, -and fire thee to strife and to manly deeds, so that -thy name shall be heard over every land. In the -sword-game will I stand by thy side; I will fare -forth among thy warriors in the storm and on the -viking-raid; and when thy death-song is sung, it -shall tell of Sigurd and Hiördis in one!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Once was that my fairest dream; now, it is too -late. Gunnar and Dagny stand between us, and -that by right. I crushed my new-born love for -Gunnar’s sake;—how great soever my suffering, I -cannot undo my deed. And Dagny—full of faith -and trust she left her home and kindred; never -must she dream that I longed for Hiördis as often -as she took me to her breast.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And for such a cause wilt thou lay a burden on -all thy life! To what end hast thou strength and -might, and therewith all noble gifts of the mind? -And deemest thou it can now beseem me to dwell -beneath Gunnar’s roof? Nay, Sigurd, trust me, -there are many tasks awaiting such a man as -thou. Erik is king in Norway—do thou rise -against him! Many goodly warriors will join -thee and swear thee fealty; with unconquerable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>might will we press onward, and fight and toil -unresting, until thou art seated on the throne of -Hårfager!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis, Hiördis, so have I dreamt in my wild -youth; let it be forgotten—tempt me not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With dignity.</i>] It is the Norn’s will that we -two shall hold together; it cannot be altered. -Plainly now I see my task in life: to make thee -famous over all the world. Thou hast stood -before me every day, ever hour of my life; I -sought to tear thee out of my mind, but I lacked -the might; now it is needless, now that I know -thou lovest me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With forced coldness.</i>] If that be so—then -know—I <em class='gesperrt'>have</em> loved thee; it has passed now;—I -have forgot those days.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd, in that thou liest! So much at least -am I worth, that if thou hast loved me once, thou -canst never forget it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] I must; and now I will.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So be it; but thou <em class='gesperrt'>canst</em> not. Thou wilt seek -to hinder me, but in vain; ere evening falls, -Gunnar and Dagny shall know all.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha, that wilt thou never do!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will I do!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must I know thee ill; high-souled have I -ever deemed thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Evil days breed evil thoughts; too great has -been thy trust in me. I will, I must, go forth by -thy side—forth to face life and strife; Gunnar’s -roof-tree is too low for me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With emphasis.</i>] But honour between man and -man hast thou highly prized. There lack not -grounds for strife between me and Gunnar; say, -now, that he fell by my hand—wouldst thou still -make all known and follow me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starting.</i>] Wherefore askest thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Answer me first: what wouldst thou do, were -I to give thy husband his bane.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks hard at him.</i>] Then must I keep silence -and never rest until I had seen thee dead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a smile.</i>] It is well, Hiördis—I knew it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hastily.</i>] But it can never come to pass!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It must come to pass; thou thyself hast cast -the die even now for Gunnar’s life and mine.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Gunnar</span>, <i>with some House-carls, enters -from the back.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gloomily, to</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span>] See now; the seed thou -hast sown is sprouting!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] What is amiss with thee?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd, is it thou? What is amiss? Nought -but what I might well have foreseen. As soon -as Dagny, thy wife, had brought tidings of Kåre -the Peasant, I took horse and rode to my neighbours -to seek help against him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Eagerly.</i>] Well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I was answered awry where’er I came: my -dealings with Kåre had been little to my honour, -it was said;—aye, and other things were said to -boot, that I will not utter—I am a dishonoured -man; I am thought to have done a dastard deed; -men hold it shame to make common cause with -me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall not long be held shame; ere evening -comes, thou shalt have men enough to face -Kåre.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice, triumphantly.</i>] Ha, I knew it -well!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With forced resolution.</i>] But thereafter is the -peace between us at an end; for hearken to my -words, Gunnar Headman—thou hast slain -Thorolf, my wife’s kinsman, and therefore do I -challenge thee to single combat<a id='r16' /><a href='#f16' class='c016'><sup>[16]</sup></a> to-morrow at -break of day.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Hiördis</span>, <i>in violent inward emotion, makes -a stride towards</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span>, <i>but collects -herself and remains standing motionless -during the following.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In extreme astonishment.</i>] To single combat——! -Me!—Thou art jesting, Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou art lawfully challenged to single combat; -’twill be a game for life or death; one of us must -fall!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bitterly.</i>] Ha, I understand it well. When I -came, thou didst talk with Hiördis alone; she has -goaded thee afresh!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap. [<i>Half towards</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span>] A high-souled -woman must ever guard her husband’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>honour. [<i>To the men in the background.</i>] And do -ye, house-carls, now go to Gunnar’s neighbours, -and say to them that to-morrow he is to ply -sword-strokes with me; none dare call that man a -dastard who bears arms against Sigurd Viking!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>The House-carls go out by the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes quickly up to</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>and presses his hands, -in strong emotion.</i>] Sigurd, my brave brother, now -I understand thee! Thou venturest thy life for -my honour, as of old for my happiness!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thank thy wife for that; she has the main -part in what I do. To-morrow at break of -day——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will meet thee. [<i>Tenderly.</i>] Foster-brother, -wilt thou have a good blade of me? ’Tis a gift of -price.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I thank thee; but let it hang.—Who knows if -next evening I may have any use for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shakes his hand.</i>] Farewell, Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Again farewell, and fortune befriend thee this -night!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>They part.</i> <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span> <i>goes out to the right.</i> -<span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>casts a glance at</i> <span class='sc'>Hiördis</span>, <i>and -goes out by the back.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a pause, softly and thoughtfully.</i>] To-morrow -they fight! Which will fall? [<i>After a -moment’s silence, she bursts forth as if seized by a -strong resolution.</i>] Let fall who will—Sigurd and -I shall still be together!</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT FOURTH.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c024'><i>By the coast. It is evening; the moon breaks forth -now and again, from among dark and ragged -storm-clouds. At the back, a black grave-mound, -newly heaped up.</i></p> -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Örnulf</span> <i>sits on a stone, in front on the right, his head -bare, his elbows resting on his knees, and his face -buried in his hands. His men are digging at the -mound; some give light with pine-knot torches. -After a short pause,</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>enter -from the boat-house, where a wood fire is burning.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice.</i>] There sits he still. [<i>Holding</i> -<span class='sc'>Sigurd</span> <i>back.</i>] Nay, speak not to him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou say’st well; it is too soon; best leave him -to himself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes over to the right, and gazes at her father in -quiet sorrow.</i>] So strong was he yesterday when he -bore Thorolf’s body on his back; strong was he -as he helped to heap the grave-mound; but when -they were all laid to rest, and earth and stones -piled over them—then the sorrow seized him; -then seemed it of a sudden as though his fire were -quenched. [<i>Dries her tears.</i>] Tell me, Sigurd, -when thinkest thou to fare homeward to Iceland?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So soon as the storm abates, and my dealings -with Gunnar are ended.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And then wilt thou buy land and build thee a -homestead, and go a-viking no more?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes,—that have I promised thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I may believe without doubt that Hiördis -spoke falsely when she said that I was unworthy -to be thy wife?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes yes, Dagny, trust thou to my word.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then am I glad again, and will try to forget all -the evil that here has been wrought. In the long -winter evenings we will talk together of Gunnar -and Hiördis, and——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, Dagny, wouldst thou have things go well -with us, never do thou speak Hiördis’ name when -once we are at home in Iceland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Mildly upbraiding him.</i>] Unjust is thy hatred -towards her. Sigurd, Sigurd, it is little like thee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>One of the Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] There now, the mound is -finished.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if awaking.</i>] The mound? Is it—ay, -ay——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now speak to him, Dagny.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] Father, it is cold out here; -the storm is rising with the night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, never heed it; the mound is close-heaped -and crannyless; they lie warm in there.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, but thou——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I? I am not cold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nought hast thou eaten to-day; wilt thou not -go in? The supper-board stands ready.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let the supper-board stand; I have no hunger.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But to sit here so still—trust me, thou wilt take -hurt of it; thou art ever wont to be stirring.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>May be so; there is somewhat that crushes my -breast; I cannot draw breath.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>He again hides his face in his hands. A -pause.</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span> <i>seats herself beside him.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To-morrow wilt thou make ready thy ship and -set forth for Iceland?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without looking up.</i>] What should I do there? -Nay, I will to my sons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With pain.</i>] Father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raises his head.</i>] Go in and let me sit here; -when the storm has played with me for a night or -two, the game will be over, I ween.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou canst not think to deal thus with thyself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dost marvel that I fain would rest? My day’s -work is done; I have laid my sons in their grave-mound. -[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Go from me!—Go, go!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He hides his face.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly, to</i> <span class='sc'>Dagny</span><i>, who rises.</i>] Let him sit yet -awhile.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, I have one rede yet untried;—I know him. -[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span>] Thy day’s work done, say’st thou? -Nay, that it is not. Thou hast laid thy sons in -the grave;—but art thou not a skald? It is meet -that thou should’st sing their memory.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] Sing? Nay, nay; yesterday -I could sing; I am too old to-day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But needs must thou; honourable men were thy -sons, one and all; a song must be made of them, -and that can none of our kin but thou.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks inquiringly at</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span>] To sing? What -thinkest <em class='gesperrt'>thou</em>, Sigurd?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Meseems it is but meet; thou must e’en do as -she says.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thy neighbours in Iceland will deem it ill done -when the grave-ale is drunk over Örnulf’s children, -and there is no song to sing with it. Thou hast -ever time enough to follow thy sons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well well, I will try it; and thou, Dagny, give -heed, that afterwards thou mayst carve the song -on staves.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'><i>The men approach with the torches, forming -a group around him; he is silent for a -time, reflecting; then he says:</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Bragi’s<a id='r17' /><a href='#f17' class='c016'><sup>[17]</sup></a> gift is bitter</div> - <div class='line'>when the heart is broken;</div> - <div class='line'>sorrow-laden singer,</div> - <div class='line'>singing, suffers sorely.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Natheless, since the Skald-god</div> - <div class='line'>gave me skill in song-craft,</div> - <div class='line'>in a lay loud-ringing</div> - <div class='line'>be my loss lamented!</div> - <div class='c028'>[<i>Rises.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>Ruthless Norn<a id='r18' /><a href='#f18' class='c016'><sup>[18]</sup></a> and wrathful</div> - <div class='line'>wrecked my life and ravaged,</div> - <div class='line'>wiled away my welfare,</div> - <div class='line'>wasted Örnulf’s treasure.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sons had Örnulf seven,</div> - <div class='line'>by the great gods granted;—</div> - <div class='line'>lonely now and life-sick</div> - <div class='line'>goes the greybeard, sonless.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Seven sons so stately,</div> - <div class='line'>bred among the sword-blades,</div> - <div class='line'>made a mighty bulwark</div> - <div class='line'>round the snow-locked sea-king.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Levelled lies the bulwark,</div> - <div class='line'>dead my sons strong-hearted;</div> - <div class='line'>gone the greybeard’s gladness,</div> - <div class='line'>desolate his dwelling.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thorolf,—thou my last-born!</div> - <div class='line'>’Mongst the bold the boldest!</div> - <div class='line'>Soon were spent my sorrow</div> - <div class='line'>so but thou wert left me!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Fair thou wast as springtide,</div> - <div class='line'>fond towards thy father,</div> - <div class='line'>waxing straight and stalwart</div> - <div class='line'>to so wight a warrior.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Dark and drear his death-wound</div> - <div class='line'>leaves my life’s lone evening;</div> - <div class='line'>grief hath gripped my bosom</div> - <div class='line'>as ’twixt hurtling targes.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Nought the Norn denied me</div> - <div class='line'>of her rueful riches,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>showering woes unstinted</div> - <div class='line'>over Örnulf’s world-way.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Weak are now my weapons.</div> - <div class='line'>But, were god-might given me,</div> - <div class='line'><em class='gesperrt'>one</em> thing would I strive for—</div> - <div class='line'>on the Norn to venge me!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><em class='gesperrt'>One</em> thing would I toil for—</div> - <div class='line'>down to death to hurl thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Norn, that now hast left me</div> - <div class='line'>nought but yonder grave-mound.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Nought, I said? Nay, truly,</div> - <div class='line'>somewhat still is Örnulf’s,</div> - <div class='line'>since of Suttung’s<a id='r19' /><a href='#f19' class='c016'><sup>[19]</sup></a> mead-horn</div> - <div class='line'>he betimes drank deeply.</div> - <div class='c028'>[<i>With rising enthusiasm.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Though she stripped me sonless,</div> - <div class='line'>one great gift she gave me—</div> - <div class='line'>songcraft’s mighty secret,</div> - <div class='line'>skill to sing my sorrows.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>On my lips she laid it,</div> - <div class='line'>goodly gift of songcraft;</div> - <div class='line'>loud, then, let my lay sound,</div> - <div class='line'>e’en where they are lying!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hail, my stout sons seven!</div> - <div class='line'>Hail, as homeward ride ye!</div> - <div class='line'>Songcraft’s glorious god-gift</div> - <div class='line'>stauncheth woe and wailing.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c029'>[<i>He draws a deep breath, throws back the -hair from his brow, and says calmly:</i></p> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So—so; now is Örnulf sound and strong again. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>[<i>To the men.</i>] Follow me to the supper-board, -lads; heavy has been our day’s work!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes with the men into the boat-house.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Praised be the Mighty Ones on high that gave -me so good a rede. [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span>] Wilt thou -not go in?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, I list not to. Tell me, are all things -ready for to-morrow?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are ready; a silk-sewn shroud lies on the -bench; but I know full surely that thou wilt hold -thee against Gunnar, so I have not wept over it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Grant all good powers, that thou mayst never -weep for my sake.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He stops and looks out.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What art thou listening to?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hear’st thou nought—<em class='gesperrt'>yonder</em>?</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Points towards the left.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, there goes a fearsome storm over the sea!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Going up a little towards the background.</i>] -There will fall hard hailstones in that storm. -[<i>Shouts.</i>] Who comes?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span><span class='sc'>Kåre the Peasant.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without on the left.</i>] Folk thou wotst of, -Sigurd Viking!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre the Peasant,</span> <i>with a band of armed men, enters from the left.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whither would ye?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To Gunnar’s hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>As foemen?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, trust me for that! Thou didst hinder me -before; but now I ween thou wilt scarce do the -like.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Maybe not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have heard of thy challenge to Gunnar; but -if things go to my mind, weak will be his weapons -when the time comes for your meeting.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis venturesome work thou goest about; take -heed for thyself, Peasant!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Kåre.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With defiant laughter.</i>] Leave that to me; -wouldst thou tackle thy ship to-night, we will -see that thou hast light enow!—Come, all my -men; here goes the way.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>They go off to the right, at the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd, Sigurd, this misdeed must thou hinder.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes quickly to the door of the hut, and calls in.</i>] -Up from the board, Örnulf; take vengeance on -Kåre the Peasant.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Comes out, with the rest.</i>] Kåre the Peasant—where -is he?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is making for Gunnar’s hall to burn it over -their heads.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha-ha—let him do as he will; so shall I be -avenged on Gunnar and Hiördis, and afterwards -I can deal with Kåre.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, that rede avails not; wouldst thou strike -at Kåre, thou must seek him out to-night; for -when his misdeed is done, he will take to the -mountains. I have challenged Gunnar to meet -me, man to man; him thou hast safe enough, -unless I myself—but no matter.—To-night he -must be shielded from his foes; it would ill befit -thee to let so vile a caitiff as Kåre rob thee of thy -revenge.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou say’st truly. To-night will I shield the -slayer of Thorolf; but to-morrow he must die.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He or I—doubt not of that!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Come then, to take vengeance for Örnulf’s -sons.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He goes out with his men by the back, to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagny, do thou follow them;—I must bide -here; for the rumour of the combat is already -abroad, and I may not meet Gunnar ere the time -comes. But thou—do thou keep rein on thy -father; he must go honourably to work; in -Gunnar’s hall there are many women; no harm -must befall Hiördis or the rest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, I will follow them. Thou takest thought -even for Hiördis; I thank thee for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go, go, Dagny!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I go; but be thou at ease as to Hiördis; she -has gilded armour in her bower, and will know -how to shield herself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That deem I too; but go thou nevertheless; -guide thy father’s course; watch over all—and -over Gunnar’s wife!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trust to me. Farewell, till we meet again!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>She follows the others.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis the first time, foster-brother, that I stand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>weaponless whilst thou art in danger. [<i>Listens.</i>] -I hear shouts and sword-strokes;—they are already -at the hall. [<i>Goes towards the right, but stops and -recoils in astonishment.</i>] Hiördis! Comes she -hither!</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Hiördis</span> <i>enters, clad in a short scarlet kirtle, with -gilded armour: helmet, hauberk, arm-plates, and -greaves. Her hair is flying loose; at her back -hangs a quiver, and at her belt a small shield. -She has in her hand the bow strung with her -hair.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hastily looking behind her, as though in dread of -something pursuing her, goes close up to</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd,</span> -<i>seizes him by the arm, and whispers:</i>] Sigurd, -Sigurd, canst thou see it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What? Where?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The wolf <em class='gesperrt'>there</em>—close behind me; it does not -move; it glares at me with its two red eyes. It -is my wraith,<a id='r20' /><a href='#f20' class='c016'><sup>[20]</sup></a> Sigurd! Three times has it -appeared to me; that bodes that I shall surely -die to-night!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hiördis, Hiördis!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It has sunk into the earth! Aye, aye, now it -has warned me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thou art sick; come, go in with me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, here will I bide; I have but little time left.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What has befallen thee?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What has befallen? That know I not; but -’twas true what thou said’st to-day, that Gunnar -and Dagny stand between us; we must away -from them and from life; then can we be -together!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We? Ha, thou meanest——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With dignity.</i>] I have been homeless in this -world from that day thou didst take another to -wife. That was ill done of thee! All good gifts -may a man give to his faithful friend—all, save -the woman he loves; for if he do that, he rends -the Norn’s secret web, and two lives are wrecked. -An unerring voice within me tells me I came into -the world that my strong soul might cheer and -uphold thee through heavy days, and that thou -wert born to the end I might find in <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> man all -that seemed to me great and noble; for this I -know Sigurd—had we two held together, then -hadst thou become more famous than all others, -and I happier.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It avails not now to mourn. Think’st thou ’tis -a merry life that awaits me? To be by Dagny’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>side day by day, and feign a love my heart -shrinks from? Yet so it must be; it cannot be -altered.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a growing frenzy.</i>] It <em class='gesperrt'>shall</em> be altered! -We must out of this life, both of us! Seest thou -this bow-string? With it can I surely hit my -mark; for I have crooned fair sorceries over it! -[<i>Places an arrow in the bow, which is strung.</i>] -Hark! hark! that rushing in the air? It is the -dead men’s ride to Valhal: I have bewitched them -hither;—we two will join them in their ride!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrinking back.</i>] Hiördis, Hiördis—I fear -thee!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Not heeding him.</i>] Our fate no power can -alter now! Oh, ’tis better so than if thou hadst -wedded me here in this life—if I had sat in thy -homestead weaving linen and wool for thee and -bearing thee children—pah!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hold, hold! Thy sorceries have been too -strong for thee; they have made thee soul-sick, -Hiördis! [<i>Horror-struck.</i>] Ha, see—see! Gunnar’s -hall—it is burning!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let it burn, let it burn! The cloud-hall up -yonder is loftier than Gunnar’s rafter-roof!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Egil, thy son—they are slaying him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let him die—my shame dies with him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And Gunnar—they are taking thy husband’s -life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What care I! A better husband shall I follow -home this night! Ay, Sigurd, so must it be; -here on this earth grows no happiness for me. -The White God is coming northward; him will I -not meet; the old gods are strong no longer;—they -sleep, they sit half shadow-like on high;—with -them will we strive! Out of this life, -Sigurd! I will enthrone thee king in heaven, and -I myself will sit by thy side. [<i>The storm bursts -wildly.</i>] Hark, hark, here comes our company! -Canst see the black steeds galloping?—one is for -me and one for thee. [<i>Draws the arrow to her ear -and shoots.</i>] Away, then, on thy last ride home!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well aimed, Hiördis! [<i>He falls.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Jubilant, rushes up to him.</i>] Sigurd, my brother,—now -art thou mine at last!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now less than ever. Here our ways part; for -I am a Christian man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appalled.</i>] Thou——! Ha, no, no!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The White God is mine; King Æthelstan taught -me to know him; it is to <em class='gesperrt'>him</em> I go.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In despair.</i>] And I——! [<i>Drops her bow.</i>] -Woe! woe!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Heavy has my life been from the hour I tore -thee out of my own heart and gave thee to Gunnar. -I thank thee, Hiördis;—now am I so light and -free.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Dies.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Hiördis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quietly.</i>] Dead! Then truly have I brought -my soul to wreck! [<i>The storm increases; she -breaks forth wildly.</i>] They come! I have bewitched -them hither! No, no! I will not go -with you! I will not ride without Sigurd! It -avails not—they see me; they laugh and beckon -to me; they spur their horses! [<i>Rushes out to the -edge of the cliff at the back.</i>] They are upon me;—and -no shelter, no hiding-place! Ay, mayhap at -the bottom of the sea!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>She casts herself over.</i></div> - -<p class='c024'>[<span class='sc'>Örnulf</span>, <span class='sc'>Dagny</span>, <span class='sc'>Gunnar</span>, <i>with</i> <span class='sc'>Egil</span>, <i>gradually -followed by</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Örnulf’s</span> <i>men, enter -from the right.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turning towards the grave-mound.</i>] Now may -ye sleep in peace; for ye lie not unavenged.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Entering.</i>] Father, father—I die of fear—all -that blood and strife—and the storm;—hark, -hark!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Carrying</i> <span class='sc'>Egil.</span>] Peace, and shelter for my -child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnar!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, Örnulf, my homestead is burnt and my men -are slain; I am in thy power; do with me what -thou wilt!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That Sigurd must look to. But in, under roof! -It is not safe out here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, in! [<i>Goes towards the boat-house, catches -sight of</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd’s</span> <i>body, and shrieks.</i>] Sigurd, my -husband!—They have slain him!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Throwing herself upon him.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes up.</i>] Sigurd!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sets</i> <span class='sc'>Egil</span> <i>down.</i>] Sigurd dead!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks despairingly at the men, who surround the -body.</i>] No, no, it is not so;—he must be alive! -[<i>Catches sight of the bow.</i>] Ha, what is that?</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Rises.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Daughter, it is as first thou saidst—Sigurd is -slain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if seized by a sudden thought.</i>] And Hiördis!—Has -Hiördis been here?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly and with self-control.</i>] I know not; but -this I know, that her bow has been here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, I thought no less!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hush, hush! [<i>To herself.</i>] So bitterly did she -hate him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Aside.</i>] She has slain him—the night before -the combat; then after all she loved me.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A thrill of dread runs through the whole -group;</i> <span class='sc'>Asgårdsreien</span>—<i>the ride of the -fallen warriors to Valhal—hurtles through -the air.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In terror.</i>] Father! See, see!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Up there—all the black horses——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is the clouds that——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, it is the dead men’s home-faring.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a shriek.</i>] Mother is with them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagny.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All good spirits!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Child, what say’st thou?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Egil.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There—in front—on the black horse! Father, -father!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Egil</span> <i>clings in terror to his father; a short -pause; the storm passes over, the clouds -part, the moon shines peacefully on the -scene.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In quiet sorrow.</i>] Now is Hiördis surely dead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So it must be, Gunnar;—and my vengeance -was rather against her than thee. Dear has this -meeting been to both of us;—there is my hand; -be there peace between us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gunnar.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thanks, Örnulf! And now aboard; I sail with -thee to Iceland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Örnulf.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, to Iceland! Long will it be ere our forthfaring -is forgotten.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Weapon-wielding warriors’ meeting,</div> - <div class='line'>woful, by the norland seaboard,</div> - <div class='line'>still shall live in song and saga</div> - <div class='line'>while our stem endures in Iceland.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div>THE END</div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c020' /> -<div class='footnote' id='f7'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r7'>7</a>. Failing to find a better equivalent for the Norwegian -“Herse,” I have used the word “Headman” wherever it seemed -necessary to give Gunnar a title or designation. He is generally -spoken of as “Gunnar Herse” in the Norwegian text; but where -it could be done without inconvenience, the designation has here -been omitted.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f8'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r8'>8</a>. “<span lang="no" xml:lang="no">I ærlig holmgang.</span>” The established form of duel in the -viking times was to land the combatants on one of the rocky -islets or “holms” that stud the Norwegian coast, and there let -them fight it out. Hence “<span lang="no" xml:lang="no">holmgang</span>”=duel.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f9'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r9'>9</a>. “<span lang="no" xml:lang="no">At knæsætte</span>” = to knee-set a child, to take it on one’s -knee, an irrevocable form of adoption.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f10'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r10'>10</a>. The giants or Titans of Scandinavian mythology.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f11'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r11'>11</a>. Breastplate.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f12'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r12'>12</a>. “Draugen,” a vague and horrible sea-monster.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f13'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r13'>13</a>. Literally the “blood-night.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f14'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r14'>14</a>. The “Nornir” were the Fates of northern mythology.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f15'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r15'>15</a>. The Valkyries.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f16'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r16'>16</a>. Holmgang—see note, p. <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f17'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r17'>17</a>. Bragi, the god of poetry and eloquence.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f18'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r18'>18</a>. See note, p. <a href='#f14'>72</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f19'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r19'>19</a>. Suttung was a giant who kept guard over the magic mead -of poetical inspiration.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f20'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r20'>20</a>. The word “wraith” is here used in an obviously inexact -sense; but the wraith seemed to be the nearest equivalent in -English mythology to the Scandinavian “fylgie,” an attendant -spirit, often regarded as a sort of emanation from the person -it accompanied, and sometimes (as in this case) typifying that -person’s moral attributes.</p> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span> - <h2 class='c009'><span class='large'>THE PRETENDERS</span> <br />(1863)</h2> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span> - <h3 class='c012'>CHARACTERS.</h3> -</div> - - <ul class='ul_1 c000'> - <li><span class='sc'>Håkon Håkonsson,</span> <i>the King elected by the Birchlegs.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Inga of Varteig,</span> <i>his mother.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild,</span> <i>his wife.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Sigrid,</span> <i>his sister.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Margrete,</span> <i>his daughter.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Guthorm Ingesson.</span> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Sigurd Ribbung.</span> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Nicholas Arnesson,</span> <i>Bishop of Oslo.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant,</span> <i><a id='corr118.12'></a><span - class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Hakon’s'>Håkon’s</ins></span><span - class='epubonly'><a href='#c_118.12'><ins class='correction' - title='Hakon’s'>Håkon’s</ins></a></span> marshal.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde,</span> <i>his chaplain.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Vegard Væradal,</span> <i>one of his guard.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson,</span> <i>a nobleman.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Paul Flida,</span> <i>a nobleman.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Ingeborg,</span> <i>Andres Skialdarband’s wife.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Peter,</span> <i>her son, a young priest.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam,</span> <i>Bishop Nicholas’s chaplain.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Master Sigard of Brabant,</span> <i>a physician.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Jatgeir Skald,</span><i> an Icelander.</i> - </li> - <li><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte,</span> <i>a chieftain from the Trondhiem district.</i> - </li> - <li><i>Populace and Citizens of Bergen, Oslo, and Nidaros.</i> - </li> - <li><i>Priests, Monks, and Nuns.</i> - </li> - <li><i>Guests, Guards, and Ladies.</i> - </li> - <li><i>Men-at-Arms, etc. etc.</i> - </li> - </ul> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><i>The action passes in the first half of the Thirteenth Century.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><i>Pronunciation of Names</i>: Håkon=Hoakoon (“oa” as in -“board”); Skule=Skoolë; Margrete=Margraytë; Guthorm=Gootorm; -Sigurd Ribbung=Sigoord Ribboong; Dagfinn (“a” -as in “hard”); Ivar Bodde=Eevar Boddë; Vegard=Vaygard; -Jonsson=Yoonson; Flida=Fleeda; Ingeborg=Ingheborg; -Jatgeir=Yatgheir; Bård Bratte=Board Brattë. The name -“Ingeborg” appears as “Ingebjörg” in Ibsen’s text. The form -I have substituted is equally current in Norway, and less troublesome -to pronounce.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c030'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span><span class='large'>THE PRETENDERS.</span></div> - <div>HISTORIC PLAY IN FIVE ACTS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c031' /> -<h3 class='c018'>ACT FIRST.</h3> - -<p class='c023'><i>The churchyard of Christ Church, Bergen. At -the back rises the church, the main portal of -which faces the spectators. In front, on the left, -stands</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon Håkonsson,</span> <i>with</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn the -Peasant, Vegard of Væradal, Ivar Bodde,</span> -<i>and several other nobles and chieftains. Opposite -to him stand</i> <span class='sc'>Earl Skule, Gregorius Jonsson, -Paul Flida,</span> <i>and others of the Earl’s men. -Further back on the same side are seen</i> <span class='sc'>Sigurd -Ribbung</span> <i>and his followers, and a little way from -him</i> <span class='sc'>Guthorm Ingesson,</span> <i>with several chiefs. -Men-at-arms line the approaches to the church; -the common people fill the churchyard; many are -perched in the trees and seated on the walls; all -seem to await, in suspense, the occurrence of -some event. All the church bells of the town -are ringing far and near.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly and impatiently, to</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span>] -Why tarry they so long in there?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hush! The psalm is beginning.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>From inside the closed church doors, to the -accompaniment of trumpets, is heard a</i> -<span class='sc'>Choir of Monks and Nuns</span> <i>singing</i> -Domine cœli, <i>etc. etc. While the singing -is going on, the church door is opened -from inside; in the porch</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop -Nicholas</span> <i>is seen, surrounded by Priests -and Monks.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Steps forward to the doorway and proclaims with -uplifted crozier.</i>] Inga of Varteig is even now -bearing the iron on behalf of Håkon the Pretender.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The church door is closed again; the singing -inside continues.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice, to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] Call upon Holy King -Olaf to protect the right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hurriedly, with a deprecating gesture.</i>] Not now. -Best not remind him of me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizing</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>by the arm.</i>] Pray to the Lord thy -God, Håkon Håkonsson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No need; I am sure of him.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The singing in the church grows louder; all -uncover; many fall upon their knees and -pray.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] A solemn hour for you and for -many!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking anxiously towards the church.</i>] A solemn -hour for Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Near the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] Now is the glowing iron in her -hands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Beside</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon.</span>] They are coming down the -nave.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Christ protect thy tender hands, Inga, mother -of the King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Surely all my life shall reward her for this hour.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has been listening intently, breaks out suddenly.</i>] -Did she cry out? Has she let the iron fall?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes up.</i>] I know not what it was.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hark to the women weeping in the outer hall!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Choir in the Church.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Breaks forth in jubilation.</i>] <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gloria in excelsis Deo!</span></p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The doors are thrown open.</i> <span class='sc'>Inga</span> <i>comes -forth, followed by Nuns, Priests, and -Monks.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span><span class='fss'>INGA.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>On the church steps.</i>] God has given judgment! -Behold these hands; with them I bore the iron!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Voices amongst the Multitude.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are tender and white as before!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Other Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fairer still!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The whole Multitude.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is Håkon’s son! He is Sverre’s<a id='r21' /><a href='#f21' class='c016'><sup>[21]</sup></a> grandson!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Embraces her.</i>] Thanks to thee, thanks to thee, -blessed among women!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In passing, to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] ’Twas ill done to press -for the ordeal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, my lord Bishop, needs must we pray for -God’s voice in this matter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Deeply moved, holding</i> <span class='sc'>Inga</span> <i>by the hand.</i>] It is -done, then, that which my every fibre cried out -against—that which has made my heart shrivel -and writhe within me——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turning towards the multitude.</i>] Ay, look upon -this woman and bethink you, all that are gathered -here! Who ever doubted her word, until certain -folk required that it should be doubted.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Doubt has whispered in every corner from the -hour when Håkon the Pretender was borne, a little -child, into King Inge’s<a id='r22' /><a href='#f22' class='c016'><sup>[22]</sup></a> hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And last winter it swelled to a roar, and sounded -forth over the land, both north and south; I trow -every man can bear witness to that.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I myself can best bear witness to it. Therefore -have I yielded to the counsel of many faithful -friends, and humbled myself as no other chosen -king has done for many a day. I have proved my -birth by the ordeal, proved my right, as the son of -Håkon Sverresson, to succeed to the throne of -Norway. I will not now question who fostered the -doubt, and made it, as the Earl’s kinsman says, -swell into a roar; but this I know, that I have -suffered bitterly under it. I have been chosen -king from boyhood, but little kingly honour has -been shown me, even where it seemed I might look -for it most securely. I will but remind you of last -Palm Sunday in Nidaros,<a id='r23' /><a href='#f23' class='c016'><sup>[23]</sup></a> when I went up to the -altar to make my offering, and the Archbishop -turned away and made as though he saw me not, -to escape greeting me as kings are wont to be -greeted. Yet such slights I could easily have -borne, had not open war been like to break loose -in the land; that I must needs hinder.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It may be well for kings to hearken to counsels -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>of prudence; but had my counsel been heard in -this matter, it had not been with hot iron, but with -cold steel that Håkon Håkonsson had called for -judgment between himself and his foes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Curb yourself, Dagfinn; think what beseems the -man who is to be foremost in the State.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a slight smile.</i>] ’Tis easy to call every -one the King’s foe who chimes not with the King’s -will. Methinks <em class='gesperrt'>he</em> is the King’s worst foe who -would counsel him against making good his right -to the kingship.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who knows? Were my right alone in question, -mayhap I had not paid so dear to prove it; but -higher things are here at stake: my calling and -my duty. Deep and warm is the faith within me—and -I blush not to own it—that I alone am he -who in these times can sway the land to its weal. -Kingly birth begets kingly duty——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There are others here who bear themselves the -like fair witness.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigurd Ribbung.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That do I, and with full as good ground. My -grandfather was King Magnus Erlingsson——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, if your father, Erling Steinvæg, was indeed -King Magnus’s son; but most folk deny it, and -in that matter none has yet faced the ordeal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span><span class='sc'>Sigurd Ribbung.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Ribbungs chose me as king of their own -free will, whereas ’twas by threats that Dagfinn the -Peasant and other Birchlegs<a id='r24' /><a href='#f24' class='c016'><sup>[24]</sup></a> gained for you the -name of King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, so ill had you dealt with Norway that -the stock of Sverrë had to claim its right with -threats.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Guthorm Ingesson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am of the stock of Sverrë as much as you——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But not in the true male line.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You come on the spindle side, Guthorm.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Guthorm Ingesson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yet this I know, that my father, Ingë Bårdsson, -was lawfully chosen king of Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Because none knew that Sverrë’s grandson was -alive. From the day that became known, he held -the kingdom in trust for me—not otherwise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That cannot truly be said; Ingë was king all his -days, with all lawful power and without reserve. -’Tis true enough that Guthorm has but little claim, -for he was born out of wedlock; but I am King -Ingë’s lawfully begotten brother, and the law is -with me if I claim, and take, his full inheritance.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ah, Sir Earl, of a truth you have taken full -inheritance, not of your father’s wealth alone, -but of all the goods Håkon Sverresson left behind -him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not all, good Dagfinn. Respect the truth;—King -Håkon has kept a brooch and the golden -ring he wears on his arm.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Be that as it will; with God’s help I shall win -myself wealth again. And now, ye barons and -thanes, ye churchmen and chieftains and men-at-arms, -now it is time we held the folkmote, as has -been agreed. I have sat with bound hands until -this day; methinks no man will blame me for -longing to have them loosed.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There are others in like case, Håkon -Håkonsson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>His attention arrested.</i>] What mean you, Sir -Earl?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I mean that all we Pretenders have the same -cause for longing. We have all alike been straitly -bound, for none of us has known how far his right -might reach.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Church has been even as unstable as the -kingdom; but now must we abide by the sainted -King Olaf’s law.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Half aloud.</i>] Fresh subtleties!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Håkon’s</span> <i>men gather more closely together.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With forced calmness, advances a couple of paces -towards the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] I would fain think I have not -rightly taken your meaning. The ordeal has made -good my birthright to the kingdom, and therefore, -as I deem, the folkmote has nought to do but to -confirm my election, made at the Örething<a id='r25' /><a href='#f25' class='c016'><sup>[25]</sup></a> six -years ago.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Several of the Earl’s and Sigurd’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no! That we deny!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas with no such thought that we agreed to -hold the folkmote here. The ordeal has not given -you the kingdom; it has but proved your title to -come forward to-day, along with the other Pretenders -here present, and contend for the right -you hold to be yours——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Constraining himself to be calm.</i>] That means, -in brief, that for six years I have unlawfully borne -the name of King, and you, Sir Earl, have for six -years unlawfully ruled the land as regent for me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In no wise. When my brother died, ’twas -needful that some one should bear the kingly title. -The Birchlegs, and most of all Dagfinn the Peasant, -were active in your cause, and hastened your -election through before we others could set forth -our claims.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon.</span>] The Earl would say that that -election gave you but the use of the kingly power, -not the right to it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have held all the marks of kingship; but -Sigurd Ribbung and Guthorm Ingesson and I hold -ourselves to the full as near inheritors as you; -and now shall the law judge between us, and say -whose shall be the inheritance for all time.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In truth, Earl Skule reads the case aright.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There has been talk more than once in these -years of both ordeal and folkmote; but something -has ever come between. And, Sir Håkon, if you -deemed your right for ever fixed by the first -election, how came you to accept the ordeal?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Exasperated.</i>] To your swords, King’s men, -let <em class='gesperrt'>them</em> decide!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many of the King’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushing forward.</i>] Down with the King’s -enemies!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Calls to his men.</i>] Slay none! Wound none! -Only keep them off.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Restraining his men.</i>] Up with your blades, all -who have drawn them!—Up with your blades, I -say! [<i>Calmly.</i>] You make things tenfold worse -for me by such doings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Even so are men flying at each other’s throats -all the country over. You see now, Håkon -Håkonsson; does not this show clearly what you -have to do, if you care aught for the country’s -peace and the lives of men?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After some reflection.</i>] Yes—I see it. [<i>Takes</i> -<span class='sc'>Inga</span> <i>by the hand and turns to one of those standing -by him.</i>] Torkell, you were a trusty man in my -father’s guard; take this woman to your own -abode and see you tend her well; she was very -dear to Håkon Sverresson.—God bless you, my -mother,—now I must gird me for the folkmote. -[<span class='sc'>Inga</span> <i>presses his hand, and goes with</i> <span class='sc'>Torkell.</span> -<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>is silent awhile, then steps forward and says -with emphasis:</i>] The law shall decide, and it alone. -Ye Birchlegs who, at the Örething, took me for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>your King, I free you from the oath ye sware to -me. You, Dagfinn, are no longer my marshal; I -will not appear with marshal or with guard,<a id='r26' /><a href='#f26' class='c016'><sup>[26]</sup></a> with -vassals or with henchmen. I am a poor man; all -my inheritance is a brooch and this gold ring;—these -are scant goods wherewith to reward so -many good men’s service. Now, ye other Pretenders, -now we stand equal; I will have no -advantage of you, save the right which I have -from above—that I neither can nor will share with -any one.—Let the assembly-call be sounded, and -then let God and the Holy King Olaf’s law decide.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes out with his men to the left; blasts -of trumpets and horns are heard in the -distance.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span>, <i>as the crowd is departing.</i>] Methought -you seemed afraid during the ordeal, and -now you look so glad and of good cheer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Well at ease.</i>] Marked you that he had Sverre’s -eyes as he spoke? Whether he or I be chosen -king, the choice will be good.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Uneasily.</i>] But do not you give way. Think -of all who stand or fall with your cause.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I stand now upon justice; I no longer fear to -call upon Saint Olaf.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the left with his followers.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hastening after</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant.</span>] All -goes well, good Dagfinn, all goes well;—but keep -the Earl far from the King when he is chosen;—see -you keep them far apart!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>All go out to the left, behind the church.</i></div> - -<hr class='c032' /> - -<p class='c024'><i>A hall in the Palace. In front, on the left, is a low -window; on the right, the entrance-door; at the -back, a larger door which leads into the King’s -Hall. By the window, a table; chairs and -benches stand about.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span> <i>enter by the smaller door;</i> <span class='sc'>Sigrid</span> <i>follows immediately.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In here?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, here it is darkest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes to the window.</i>] And here we can look -down upon the mote-stead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks out cautiously.</i>] Ay, there they are, all -gathered behind the church. [<i>Turns, in tears.</i>] -Yonder must now betide what will bring so much -in its train.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who will be master in this hall to-morrow?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, hush! So heavy a day I had never thought -to see.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It had to be; to rule in another’s name was no -full work for him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, it had to be; <em class='gesperrt'>he</em> could never rest content -with but the name of king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Of whom speak you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Of Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I spoke of the Earl.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There breathe not nobler men than they two.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>See you Sigurd Ribbung? With what a look -of evil cunning he sits there—like a wolf in chains.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, see!—He folds his hands before him on his -sword-hilt and rests his chin upon them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He bites his beard and laughs——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis an evil laugh.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He knows that none will further his cause;—’tis -that which makes him wroth. Who is -yonder thane that speaks now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is Gunnar Grionbak.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is he for the Earl?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, he is for the King——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking at her.</i>] For whom say you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For Håkon Håkonsson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks out; after a short pause.</i>] Where sits -Guthorm Ingesson?—I see him not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Behind his men, lowest of all there—in a long -mantle.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, there.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He looks as though he were ashamed——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is for his mother’s sake.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So looked not Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who speaks now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking out.</i>] Tord Skolle, the thane of -Ranafylke.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is <em class='gesperrt'>he</em> for the Earl?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No—for Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How motionless the Earl sits listening!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon seems thoughtful—but strong none the -less. [<i>With animation.</i>] If there came a traveller -from afar, he could pick out those two amongst all -the thousand others.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>See, Margrete! Dagfinn the Peasant drags -forth a gilded chair for Håkon——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Paul Flida places one like it behind the -Earl——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon’s men seek to hinder it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Earl holds fast to the chair——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon speaks wrathfully to him. [<i>Starts back, -with a cry, from the window.</i>] Lord Jesus! Saw -you his eyes—and his smile——! No, that was -not the Earl!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has followed her in terror.</i>] ’Twas not -Håkon either! Neither one nor the other!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>At the window.</i>] Oh pitiful! Oh pitiful!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigrid!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Goes the path so low that leads up to the -throne!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, pray with us, that all be guided for the -best.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>White and horror-stricken, to</i> <span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span>] Saw you -him——? Saw you my husband——? His eyes -and his smile—I should not have known him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Looked he like Sigurd Ribbung?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Ay, he looked like Sigurd Ribbung.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Laughed he like Sigurd?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must we all pray.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With the force of despair.</i>] The Earl <em class='gesperrt'>must</em> be -chosen King! ’Twill work ruin in his soul if he -be not the first man in the land!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>More loudly.</i>] Then must we all pray!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hist! What is <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>? [<i>At the window.</i>] What -shouts! All the men have risen; all the banners -and standards wave in the wind.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes her by the arm.</i>] Pray, woman! Pray -for your husband!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, Holy King Olaf, give him all the power in -this land!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] None—none! Else is he lost!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He <em class='gesperrt'>must</em> have the power. All the good in him -will grow and blossom should he win it.—Look -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>forth, Margrete! Listen! [<i>Starts back a step.</i>] -All hands are lifted for an oath!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Margrete</span> <i>listens at the window.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God and St. Olaf, to whom do they swear?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Pray!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Margrete</span> <i>listens, and with uplifted hand -motions for silence.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a little while.</i>] Speak!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>From the mote-stead is heard a loud blast -of trumpets and horns.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God and St. Olaf! To whom have they -sworn?</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>A short pause.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turns her head and says:</i>] They have chosen -Håkon Håkonsson king.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The music of the royal procession is heard, -first in the distance and then nearer and -nearer.</i> <span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild</span> <i>clings weeping -to</i> <span class='sc'>Sigrid,</span> <i>who leads her quietly out on the -right;</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span> <i>remains immovable, -leaning against the window-frame. The</i> -<span class='sc'>King’s</span> <i>attendants open the great doors, -disclosing the interior of the Hall, which -is gradually filled by the procession from -the mote-stead.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In the doorway, turning to</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span>] Bring -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>me a pen and wax and silk—I have parchment -here. [<i>Advances exultantly to the table and spreads -some rolls of parchment upon it.</i>] Margrete, now -am I King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hail to my lord and King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I thank you. [<i>Looks at her and takes her hand.</i>] -Forgive me; I forgot that it must wound you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Drawing her hand away.</i>] It did not wound -me;—of a surety you are born to be king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With animation.</i>] Ay, must not all men own -it, who remember how marvellously God and the -saints have shielded me from all harm? I was but -a year old when the Birchlegs bore me over the -mountains, in frost and storm, and through the -very midst of those who sought my life. At -Nidaros I came scatheless from the Baglers<a id='r27' /><a href='#f27' class='c016'><sup>[27]</sup></a> when -they burnt the town with so great a slaughter, -while King Ingë himself barely saved his life by -climbing on shipboard up the anchor-cable.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your youth has been a hard one.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking steadily at her.</i>] Methinks you might -have made it easier.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You might have been so good a foster-sister to -me, through all the years when we were growing -up together.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But it fell out otherwise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, it fell out otherwise;—we looked at each -other, I from my corner, you from yours, but we -seldom spoke——[<i>Impatiently.</i>] What is keeping -him? [<span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde</span> <i>comes with the writing materials.</i>] -Are you there? Give me the things!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>seats himself at the table and -writes. A little while after,</i> <span class='sc'>Earl Skule</span> -comes in; then <span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant,</span> -<span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Vegard -Væradal.</span></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks up and lays down his pen.</i>] Know you, Sir -Earl, what I am writing here? [<i>The</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span> -<i>approaches.</i>] This is to my mother; I thank her -for all her love, and kiss her a thousand times—here -in the letter you understand. She is to be -sent eastward to Borgasyssel, there to live with -all queenly honours.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You will not keep her in the palace?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>She is too dear to me, Earl;—a king must have -none about him whom he loves too well. A king -must act with free hands; he must stand alone -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>he must neither be led nor lured. There is so -much to be mended in Norway.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes on writing.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Vegard Væradal.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly to</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span>] ’Tis by <em class='gesperrt'>my</em> counsel -he deals thus with Inga, his mother.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I knew your hand in it at once.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Vegard Væradal.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But now one good turn deserves another.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wait. I will keep my promise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gives the parchment to</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span>] Fold it -together and bear it to her yourself, with many -loving greetings——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has glanced at the parchment.</i>] My lord—you -write here—“to-day”——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The wind is fair for a southward course.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Slowly.</i>] Bethink you, my lord King, that she -has lain all night on the altar-steps in prayer and -fasting.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And she may well be weary after the ordeal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, true;—my good, kind mother—— [<i>Collects -himself.</i>] Well, if she be too weary, let -her wait until to-morrow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall be as you will. [<i>Puts another parchment -forward.</i>] But this other, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That other?—Ivar Bodde, I cannot.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Points to the letter for</i> <span class='sc'>Inga.</span>] Yet you could do -<em class='gesperrt'>that</em>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All things sinful must be put away.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has drawn near in the meantime.</i>] Bind the -Earl’s hands, King Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a low voice.</i>] Think you <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> is needful?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>At no cheaper rate can you buy peace in the -land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then I can do it! Give me the pen!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Writes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop</span>, <i>who crosses to the right.</i>] You -have the King’s ear, it would seem.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For your behoof.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Say you so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Before nightfall you will thank me.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He moves away.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hands the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span> <i>the parchment.</i>] Read that, -Earl Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Reads, looks in surprise at the</i> <span class='sc'>King,</span> <i>and says in a -low voice.</i>] You break with Kanga the Young?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Kanga whom I have loved more than all -the world. From this day forth she must never -more cross the King’s path.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>This that you do is a great thing, Håkon. Mine -own memory tells me what it must cost.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whoever is too dear to the King must away.—Tie -up the letter. [<i>Gives it to</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bending over the chair.</i>] You have made a -great stride towards the Earl’s friendship, my lord -King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Holds out his hand to him.</i>] I thank you, Bishop -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>Nicholas; you counselled me for the best. Ask -a grace of me, and I will grant it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Will you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I promise it on my kingly faith.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then make Vegard Væradal thane of Halogaland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Vegard? He is well-nigh the trustiest friend I -have; I am loath to send him so far from me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King’s friend must be royally rewarded. -Bind the Earl’s hands as I have counselled you, -and you will be secure for ever and a day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Takes a sheet of parchment.</i>] Vegard shall bear -rule in Halogaland. [<i>Writing.</i>] I hereby grant it -under my royal hand. [<i>The Bishop retires.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaches the table.</i>] What write you now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hands him the sheet.</i>] Read.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Reads, and looks steadily at the</i> <span class='sc'>King.</span>] Vegard -Væradal? In Halogaland?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The northern part stands vacant.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bethink you that Andres Skialdarband<a id='r28' /><a href='#f28' class='c016'><sup>[28]</sup></a> has also -a charge in the north. They two are bitter foes;—Andres -Skialdarband is of my following——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling and rising.</i>] And Vegard Væradal of -mine. Therefore they must e’en make friends -again, the sooner the better. Henceforth there -must be no enmity between the King’s men and -the Earl’s.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha!—this may go too far. [<i>Approaches, uneasy.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your thoughts are wise and deep, Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Warmly.</i>] Earl Skule, to-day have I taken -the kingdom from you—let your daughter share -it with me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My daughter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, God!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Margrete, will you be my Queen?</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Margrete is silent.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Takes her hand.</i>] Answer me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] I will gladly be your wife.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pressing Håkon’s hand.</i>] Peace and friendship -from my heart!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I thank you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span>] Heaven be praised; here is the -dawn.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I almost believe it. Never before have I liked -the Earl so well.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Behind him.</i>] Ever on your guard, good Dagfinn—ever -on your guard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Vegard.</span>] Now are you thane in Halogaland; -here you have it under the King’s hand.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Gives him the letter.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Vegard Væradal.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will thank the King for his favour another -time.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>About to go.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops him.</i>] Andres Skialdarband is an ugly -neighbour; be not cowed by him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Vegard Væradal.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No one has yet cowed Vegard Væradal. [<i>Goes.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Following.</i>] Be as rock and flint to Andres -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>Skialdarband,—and, while I think on’t, take my -blessing with you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has been waiting behind the</i> <span class='sc'>King</span> <i>with the -parchments in his hand.</i>] Here are the letters, my -lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good; give them to the Earl.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To the Earl? Will you not seal them?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Earl is wont to do that;—he holds the seal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Ay, hitherto—while he was regent—but -<em class='gesperrt'>now</em>!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now as before;—the Earl holds the seal.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Moves away.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me the letters, Ivar Bodde.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes to the table with them, takes out the -Great Seal which he wears under his girdle, -and seals the letters during the following.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Muttering.</i>] Håkon Håkonsson is King—and -the Earl holds the royal seal;—I like that—I like -that.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What says my lord Bishop?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I say that God and St. Olaf watch over their -holy church. [<i>Goes into the King’s Hall.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching Margrete.</i>] A wise queen can -do great things in the land: I chose you fearlessly, -for I know you are wise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Only <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What mean you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nothing, my lord, nothing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you will bear me no grudge if for my sake -you have had to forgo fair hopes?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have forgone no fair hopes for your sake.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you will stand ever near me, and give me -good counsel?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I would fain stand near to you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And give me good counsel. I thank you for -that; a woman’s counsel profits every man, and -henceforth I have none but you—my mother I -had to send away——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, she was too dear to you——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I am King. Farewell then, Margrete! -You are so young yet; but next summer shall -our bridal be,—and from that hour I swear to -keep you by my side in all seemly faith and -honour.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiles sadly.</i>] Ay, ’twill be long, I know, ere -you send me away.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Brightly.</i>] Send you away? That will I never -do.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With tears in her eyes.</i>] No, that Håkon does -only to those who are too dear to him.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>She goes towards the entrance door.</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon</span> -<i>gazes thoughtfully after her.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the right.</i>] The King and the Earl tarry -here so long! My fears are killing me;—Margrete, -what has the King said and done?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, much, much! Last of all, he chose a thane -and a Queen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, Margrete!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Throws her arms round her mother’s neck.</i>] Yes!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You are to be Queen!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Queen only;—but I think I am glad even of -that.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>She and her mother go out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span>] Here are our letters; bear -them to the King’s mother and to Kanga.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde</span> <i>bows and goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In the doorway of the hall.</i>] The Archbishop -of Nidaros craves leave to offer King Håkon -Håkonsson his homage.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Draws a deep breath.</i>] At last, then, I am King -of Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Places the Great Seal in his girdle.</i>] But <i>I</i> rule the -realm.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT SECOND.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><i>Banquet Hall in the Palace at Bergen. A large bay-window -in the middle of the back wall, along which -there is a daïs with seats for the ladies. Against -the left wall stands the throne, raised some steps -above the floor; in the centre of the opposite wall -is the great entrance door. Banners, standards, -shields and weapons, with many-coloured draperies, -hang from the wall-timbers and from the carven -rafters. Around the hall stand drinking-tables, -with flagons, horns, and beakers.</i></p> -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>King Håkon</span><i> sits upon the daïs, with</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span>, -<span class='sc'>Sigrid</span>, <span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild</span>, <i>and many noble ladies.</i> -<span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde</span> <i>stands behind the King’s chair. -Round the drinking-tables are seated the King’s -and the Earl’s men, with guests. At the foremost -table on the right sit, among others,</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn -The Peasant</span>, <span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson</span>, <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Paul -Flida.</span> <span class='sc'>Earl Skule</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas</span> <i>are -playing chess at a table on the left. The Earl’s -house-folk go to and fro, bearing cans of liquor. -From an adjoining room, music is heard during -the following scene.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The fifth day now wears on, yet the henchmen -are none the less nimble at setting forth the -brimming flagons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was never the Earl’s wont to stint his guests.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, so it would seem. So royal a bridal-feast -was never seen in Norway before.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Earl Skule has never before given a daughter in -marriage.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, true; the Earl is a mighty man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Man-at-Arms.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He holds a third part of the kingdom. That -is more than any earl has held heretofore.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But the King’s part is larger.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We talk not of that here; we are friends now, -and fully at one. [<i>Drinks to</i> <span class='sc'>Paul</span>.] So let King -be King and Earl be Earl.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Laughs.</i>] ’Tis easy to hear that you are a -King’s man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That should the Earl’s men also be.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Never. We have sworn fealty to the Earl, not -to the King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That may yet have to be done.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span>, <i>under cover of the game.</i>] Hear -you what Dagfinn the Peasant says?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without looking up.</i>] I hear.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking steadily at</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span>] Has the King -thoughts of that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay,—let be;—no wrangling to-day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King would force your men to swear him -fealty, Earl.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Louder.</i>] Has the King thoughts of that, I -ask?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will not answer. Let us drink to peace and -friendship between the King and the Earl. The -ale is good.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It has had time enough to mellow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Three times has the Earl prepared the bridal—three -times the King promised to come—three -times he came not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Blame the Earl for <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>: he gave us plenty to -do in Viken.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis said Sigurd Ribbung gave you still more to -do in Vermeland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Flaring up.</i>] Ay, and who was it that let -Sigurd Ribbung slip through their fingers?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigurd Ribbung fled from us at Nidaros, that -all men know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But no man knows that you did aught to hinder -him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span>, <i>who is pondering on a move.</i>] Hear -you, Earl? It was you who let Sigurd Ribbung -escape.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Makes a move.</i>] That is an old story.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you not heard, then, of the Icelander -Andres Torsteinsson, Sigurd Ribbung’s friend——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; when Sigurd had escaped, you hanged -the Icelander—that I know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Makes a move and says laughingly to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] -I take the pawn, Sir Earl.<a id='r29' /><a href='#f29' class='c016'><sup>[29]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Aloud.</i>] Take him; a pawn is of small -account.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Makes a move.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; that the Icelander found to his cost, when -Sigurd Ribbung escaped to Vermeland.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Suppressed laughter amongst the King’s -men; the conversation is continued in a -low tone; presently a man comes in and -whispers to</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then I move here, and you have lost.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So it would seem.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Leaning back in his chair.</i>] You did not guard -the king well at the last.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Strews the pieces topsy-turvy and rises.</i>] I have -long been weary of guarding kings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaches and says in a low tone.</i>] Sir Earl, -Jostein<a id='r30' /><a href='#f30' class='c016'><sup>[30]</sup></a> Tamb sends word that the ship now -lies ready for sea.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Good. [<i>Takes out a sealed parchment.</i>] -Here is the letter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] Earl, Earl,—is <em class='gesperrt'>this</em> well -bethought?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It bears the King’s seal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am acting for the King’s good.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then let the King himself reject the offer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That he will not, if he has his own way. His -whole heart is bent on cowing the Ribbungs, -therefore he is fain to secure himself on other -sides.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your way may be wise,—but it is dangerous.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Leave that to me. Take the letter, and bid -Jostein sail forthwith.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall be as you command.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes out to the right, and presently comes -in again.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] You have much to see to, it -would seem.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But small thanks for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King has risen.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>comes down; all the men rise from -the tables.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop.</span>] We are rejoiced to see you -bear up so bravely and well through all these days -of merriment.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There comes a flicker now and again, my lord -King; but ’twill scarce last long. I have lain -sick all the winter through.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay,—you have lived a strong life, rich in -deeds of fame.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shakes his head.</i>] Ah, ’tis little enough I have -done, and I have <em class='gesperrt'>much</em> still left to do. If I but -knew whether I should have time for it all!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The living must take up the tasks of those who -go before, honoured lord; we all have the welfare -of the land at heart. [<i>Turns to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] I -marvel much at one thing: that neither of our -thanes from Halogaland has come to the bridal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True; I doubted not that Andres Skialdarband -would be here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] And Vegard Væradal too.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, Vegard too.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In jest.</i>] And I trust you would now have -received my old friend better than you did seven -years ago on Oslo wharf, when you stabbed him -in the cheek so that the blade cut its way out.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a forced laugh.</i>] Ay, the time that -Gunnulf, your mother’s brother, cut off the right -hand of Sira Eiliv, my best friend and counsellor.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Merrily.</i>] And when Dagfinn the Peasant and -the men-at-arms set a strong night-watch on the -King’s ship, saying that the King was unsafe in -the Earl’s ward?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seriously.</i>] Those days are old and forgotten.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaching.</i>] Now may we sound the call to -the weapon-sports on the green, if so please you, -my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good. To-day will we give up to nought but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>merriment; to-morrow we must turn our thoughts -again to the Ribbungs and the Earl of Orkney.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, he denies to pay tribute, is it not so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Were I once well rid of the Ribbungs, I would -myself fare westward.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>goes towards the daïs, gives his -hand to</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span>, <i>and leads her out to -the right; the others gradually follow.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span>] Who is the man called -Jostein Tamb?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There is a trader from Orkney who bears that -name.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From Orkney? So, so! And now he sails -home again?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So I think.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] With a precious freight, Ivar Bodde.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Corn and raiment, most like.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And a letter from Earl Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starting.</i>] To whom?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I know not; it bore the King’s seal——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes him by the arm.</i>] Lord Bishop,—is it as -you say?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hush! Do not mix me up in the matter.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Retires.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must I straightway——Dagfinn the -Peasant! Dagfinn! Dagfinn——!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Pushes through the crowd towards the door.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a tone of commiseration, to</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius -Jonsson.</span>] Never a day but one or another must -suffer in goods or freedom.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who is it now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A poor trader,—Jostein Tamb methinks they -called him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Jostein——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagfinn the Peasant would forbid him to set -sail.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagfinn, would forbid him, say you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He went even now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Pardon, my lord; I must make speed——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, do even so, my dear lord;—Dagfinn the -Peasant is so hasty.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson</span> <i>hastens out to the -right along with the remainder of the -company; only</i> <span class='sc'>Earl Skule</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop -Nicholas</span> <i>are left behind in the hall.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Walks up and down in deep thought; he seems -suddenly to awaken; looks round him, and says:</i>] -How still it has become here of a sudden!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King has gone.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And every one has followed him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All, save us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is a great thing to be King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Tentatively.</i>] Are you fain to try it, Earl?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a serious smile.</i>] I <em class='gesperrt'>have</em> tried it; every -night that brings me sleep makes me King of -Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dreams forbode.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, and tempt.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not you, surely. In bygone days, that I could -understand—but now, when you hold a third part -of the kingdom, rule as the first man in the land, -and are the Queen’s father——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now most of all—now most of all.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hide nothing! Confess; for verily I can see a -great pain is gnawing you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now most of all, I say. <em class='gesperrt'>This</em> is the great -curse that lies upon my whole life: to stand so -near to the highest,—with an abyss between. One -leap, and on the other side are the kingship, and -the purple robe, the throne, the might, and all! -I have it daily before my eyes—but can <em class='gesperrt'>never</em> -reach it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, Earl, true.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When they made Guthorm Sigurdsson king, I -was in the full strength of my <a id='corr161.27'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='youth;'>youth.</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_161.27'><ins class='correction' title='youth;'>youth.</ins></a></span> It was -as though a voice cried aloud within me: Away -with the child,—I am the man, the strong man!—But -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>Guthorm was the king’s son; there yawned -an abyss between me and the throne.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you dared not venture——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then Erling Steinvæg was chosen by the -Slittungs. The voice cried within me again: -Skule is a greater chieftain than Erling Steinvæg! -But I must needs have broken with the Birchlegs,—<em class='gesperrt'>that</em> -was the abyss that time.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And Erling became king of the Slittungs, and -after of the Ribbungs, and still you waited!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I waited for Guthorm to die.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And Guthorm died, and Inge Bårdsson, your -brother, became king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then I waited for my brother’s death. He was -sickly from the first; every morning, when we met -at holy mass, I would cast stolen glances to see -whether his sickness increased. Every twitch of -pain that crossed his face was as a puff of wind in -my sails, and bore me nearer to the throne. -Every sigh he breathed in his agony sounded to -me like an echoing trumpet-blast, like a herald -from afar, proclaiming that the throne should soon -be mine. Thus I tore up by the roots every -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>thought of brotherly kindness; and Inge died, -and Håkon came—and the Birchlegs made <em class='gesperrt'>him</em> -king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you waited.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Methought help must come from above. I felt -the kingly strength within me, and I was growing -old; every day that passed was a day taken -from my life-work. Each evening I thought: -To-morrow will come the miracle that shall strike -him down and set me in the empty seat.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Small was then Håkon’s power; he was no -more than a child; it wanted but a single step -from you—yet you took it not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That step was hard to take; it would have -parted me from my kindred and from all my -friends.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, <em class='gesperrt'>there</em> is the rub, Earl Skule,—<em class='gesperrt'>that</em> is the -curse which has lain upon your life. You would -fain know every way open at need,—you dare not -break all your bridges and keep only one, defend -it alone, and on it conquer or fall. You lay snares -for your foe, you set traps for his feet, and hang -sharp swords over his head; you strew poison in -every dish, and you spread a hundred nets for -him; but when he walks into your toils you dare -not draw the string; if he stretch out his hand -for the poison, you think it safer he should fall by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>the sword; if he is like to be caught in the -morning, you hold it wiser to wait till eventide.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking earnestly at him.</i>] And what would -<em class='gesperrt'>you</em> do, my lord Bishop?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Speak not of me; my work is to build up -thrones in this land, not to sit on them and rule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] Answer me <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> thing, -my honoured lord, and answer me truly. How -comes it that Håkon can follow the straight -path so unflinchingly? He is no wiser, no bolder -than I.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who does the greatest work in this world?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The greatest man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But who is the greatest man?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The bravest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So says the warrior. A priest would say: the -man of greatest faith,—a philosopher: the most -learned. But it is none of these, Earl Skule. The -most fortunate man<a id='r31' /><a href='#f31' class='c016'><sup>[31]</sup></a> is the greatest man. It is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>the most fortunate man that does the greatest -deeds—he whom the cravings of his time seize -like a passion, begetting thoughts he himself -cannot fathom, and pointing to paths which lead -he knows not whither, but which he follows and -must follow till he hears the people shout for joy, -and, looking around him with wondering eyes, -finds that he has done a mighty deed.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, there is that unswerving confidence in -Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is that which the Romans called <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>ingenium</i></span>.—Truly -I am not strong in Latin; but ’twas called -<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>ingenium</i></span>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Thoughtfully at first, afterwards in increasing -excitement.</i>] Is Håkon made of other clay than -mine? The fortunate man?—Ay, does not everything -thrive with him? Does not everything -shape itself for the best, when he is concerned? -Even the peasants note it; they say the trees bear -fruit twice, and the fowls hatch out two broods -every summer, whilst Håkon is king. Vermeland, -where he burned and harried, stands smiling with -its houses built afresh, and its cornlands bending -heavy-eared before the breeze. ’Tis as though -blood and ashes fertilised the land where Håkon’s -armies pass; ’tis as though the Lord clothed with -double verdure what Håkon has trampled down; -’tis as though the holy powers made haste to blot -out all evil in his track. And how easy has been -his path to the throne! He needed that Inge -should die early, and Inge died: his youth needed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>to be watched and warded, and his men kept -watch and ward around him; he needed the -ordeal, and his mother arose and bore the iron for -him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With an involuntary outburst.</i>] But we—we -two——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, I would say—what of you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The right is Håkon’s, Bishop.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The right is his, for he is the fortunate one; -’tis even the summit of fortune, to have the -right. But by what right has Håkon the right, -and not you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] There are things I pray -God to save me from thinking upon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Saw you never an old picture in Christ’s Church -at Nidaros? It shows the Deluge rising and rising -over all the hills, so that there is but one single -peak left above the waters. Up it clambers a -whole household, father and mother and son and -son’s wife and children;—and the son is hurling the -father back into the flood to gain better footing; -and he will cast his mother down and his wife and -all his children, to win to the top himself;—for up -there he sees a handsbreadth of ground, where he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>may keep life in him for an hour.—That, Earl, -that is the saga of wisdom, and the saga of every -wise man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But the right!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The son <em class='gesperrt'>had</em> the right. He had strength, and -the craving for life;—fulfil your cravings and use -your strength: so much right has every man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, for that which is good.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Words, empty words! There is neither good -nor evil, up nor down, high nor low. You must -forget such words, else will you never take the -last stride, never leap the abyss. [<i>In a subdued -voice and insistently.</i>] You must not hate a -party or a cause for that the party or the cause -would have <em class='gesperrt'>this</em> and not <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>; but you must -hate every man of a party for that he is against -you, and you must hate all who gather round a -cause, for that the cause clashes with your will. -Whatever is helpful to you, is good—whatever -lays stumbling-blocks in your path is evil.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gazing thoughtfully before him.</i>] What has -that throne not cost me, which yet I have not -reached! And what has it cost Håkon, who -now sits in it so securely! I was young, and I -forswore my sweet secret love to ally myself -with a powerful house. I prayed to the saints -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>that I might be blessed with a son—I got only -daughters.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon will have sons, Earl—mark that!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Crossing to the window on the right.</i>] Ay—all -things fall out to Håkon’s wish.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you—will you suffer yourself to be outlawed -from happiness all your life through? Are you -blind? See you not that it is a stronger might -than the Birchlegs that stands at Håkon’s back, -and furthers all his life-work? He has help from -above, from—from those that are against you—from -those that have been your enemies, even from -your birth! And will you bow before these your -enemies? Rouse you, man; straighten your -back! To what end got you your masterful soul? -Bethink you that the first great deed in all the -world was done by one who rose against a mighty -realm!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The angel who rose against the light!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And was hurled into the bottomless pit——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] And founded there a kingdom, -and made himself a king, a mighty king—mightier -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>than any of the ten thousand—earls up -yonder!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Sinks down upon a bench beside the table.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks long at him.</i>] Bishop Nicholas, are you -something more or something less than a man?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] I am in the state of innocence: I -know not good from evil.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Half to himself.</i>] Why did they send me into -the world, if they meant not to order it better for -me? Håkon has so firm and unswerving a faith -in himself—all his men have so firm and unswerving -a faith in him——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let it not be seen that <em class='gesperrt'>you</em> have no such faith -in yourself! Speak as though you had it, swear -great oaths that you have it—and all will believe -you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Had I a son! Had I but a son, to take all the -great heritage after me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Eagerly.</i>] Earl—if you <em class='gesperrt'>had</em> a son?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have none.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon will have sons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wringing his hands.</i>] And is king-born!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rising.</i>] Earl—if he were not so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Has he not proved it? The ordeal——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas</span>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And if he were not—in spite of the ordeal?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do you say that God lied in the issue of the -ordeal?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What was it Inga of Varteig called upon God to -witness?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That the child she bore in the eastland, in -Borgasyssel, was the son of Håkon Sverresson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Nods, looks round, and says softly.</i>] And if King -Håkon were not that child?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts a step backwards.</i>] Great God——! -[<i>Controls himself.</i>] It is beyond belief.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hearken to me, Earl Skule. I have lived -seventy years and six; it begins to go sharply -downhill with me now, and I dare not take this -secret with me over yonder——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Speak, speak! Is he not the son of Håkon -Sverresson?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hear me. It was known to none that Inga was -with child. Håkon Sverresson was lately dead, -and doubtless she feared Inge Bårdsson, who was -then king, and you, and—well, and the Baglers<a id='r32' /><a href='#f32' class='c016'><sup>[32]</sup></a> -too mayhap. She was brought to bed secretly in -the house of Trond the Priest, in Heggen parish, -and after nine days she departed homewards; but -the child remained a whole year with the priest, -she not daring to look to it, and none knowing -that it breathed saved Trond and his two sons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—and then?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When the child was a year old, it could scarce -be kept hidden longer. So Inga made the matter -known to Erlend of Huseby—an old Birchleg of -Sverre’s days, as you know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He and other chiefs from the Uplands took the -child, bore it over the mountains in midwinter, -and brought it to the King, who was then at -Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And yet you can say that——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Needless to say, ’twas a dangerous task for a -humble priest to rear a king’s child. So soon as -the child was born, he laid the matter before -one of his superiors in the church, and prayed for -his counsel. This his superior bade Trond send -the true king’s son with secrecy to a place of -safety, and give Inga another, if she or the -Birchlegs should afterwards ask for her child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Indignantly.</i>] And who was the hound that -gave that counsel?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was I.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You? Ay, you have ever hated the race of -Sverre.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I deemed it not safe for the king’s son to fall -into your hands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But the priest——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Promised to do as I bade.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizing him by the arm.</i>] And Håkon is the -other child?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If the priest kept his promise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em class='gesperrt'>If</em> he kept it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trond the Priest departed the land the same -winter that the child was brought to King Inge. -He journeyed to Thomas Beckett’s grave, and -afterwards abode in England till his death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He departed the land, say you? Then must -he have changed the children and dreaded the -vengeance of the Birchlegs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Or he did <em class='gesperrt'>not</em> change the children, and dreaded -<em class='gesperrt'>my</em> vengeance.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Which surmise hold you for the truth?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Either may well be true.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But the priest’s sons of whom you spoke?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They went with the crusaders to the Holy -Land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And there have since been no tidings of them?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, tidings there have been.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where are they?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They were drowned in the Greek Sea on the -journey forth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And Inga——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Knows nought, either of the priest’s confession -or of my counsel.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Her child was but nine days old when she left -it, you said?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, and the child she next saw was over a -year——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then no living creature can here bring light! -[<i>Paces rapidly to and fro.</i>] Almighty God, can -this be true? Håkon—the King—he who holds -sway over all this land, not born of royal blood!—And -why should it not be like enough? Has not -all fortune miraculously followed him?—Why not -this also, to be taken as a child from a poor -cottar’s hut and laid in a king’s cradle——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whilst the whole people believes that he is the -king’s son——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whilst <em class='gesperrt'>he himself</em> believes it, Bishop—<em class='gesperrt'>that</em> -is the heart of his fortune, <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> is the girdle of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>strength! [<i>Goes to the window.</i>] See how bravely -he sits his horse! None rides as he does. His -eyes are filled with laughing, dancing sunshine; -he looks forth into the day as though he knew -himself created to go forward, ever forward. -[<i>Turns towards the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop.</span>] I am a king’s arm, -mayhap a king’s brain as well; but he is the -whole King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yet no king after all, mayhap.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap no king after all.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Lays his hand on the Earl’s shoulder.</i>] Hearken -to me, Earl Skule——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Still looking out.</i>] There sits the Queen. -Håkon speaks gently to her; she turns red and -white with joy. He took her to wife because it -was wise to choose the daughter of the mightiest -man in the land. There was then no thought of -love for her in his heart;—but it will come; Håkon -has fortune with him. She will shed light over -his life——[<i>Stops, and cries out in wonder.</i>] What -is <em class='gesperrt'>this</em>?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagfinn the Peasant bursts violently through -the crowd. Now he is giving the King some -tidings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking out from behind the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] Håkon -seems angered—does he not? He clenches his -fist——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He looks hitherward—what can it be?</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>About to go.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Holding him back.</i>] Hearken to me, Earl -Skule—there may yet be one means of winning -assurance as to Håkon’s right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>One means, you say?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trond the Priest, ere he died, wrote a letter -telling his whole tale, and took the sacrament in -witness of its truth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And that letter—for God’s pity’s sake—where -is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You must know that——[<i>Looks towards the -door.</i>] Hush!—here comes the King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The letter, Bishop—the letter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King is here.</p> - -<p class='c015'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>[<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>enters, followed by his Guard and many -guests. Immediately afterwards,</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span> -<i>appears; she seems anxious and alarmed, and is -about to rush up to the King, when she is restrained -by</i> <span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild</span>, <i>who, with other ladies, has -followed her.</i> <span class='sc'>Sigrid</span> <i>stands somewhat apart, -towards the back. The</i> <span class='sc'>Earl’s</span> <i>men appear uneasy, -and gather in a group on the right, where</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span> -<i>is standing, but some way behind him.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In strong but repressed excitement.</i>] Earl Skule, -who is king in this land?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who is king?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That was my question. I bear the kingly title, -but who holds the kingly might?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The kingly might should dwell with him who -has the kingly right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So should it be; but is it so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do you summon me to judgment?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That do I; for that right I have toward every -man in the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I fear not to answer for my dealings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well for us all if you can. [<i>Mounts a step of -throne-daïs, and leans upon one arm of the throne.</i>] -Here stand I as your king, and ask. Know you -that Jon, Earl of Orkney, has risen against me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That he denies to pay me tribute?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And is it true that you, Sir Earl, have this day -sent him a letter?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who says so?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That do I.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Jostein Tamb dared not deny to carry it, since -it bore the King’s seal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You write to the King’s foes under the King’s -seal, although the King knows nought of what is -written?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So have I done for many a year, with your good -will.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, in the days of your regency.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Never have you had aught but good thereby. -Earl Jon wrote to me praying that I would mediate -on his behalf; he offered peace, but on terms -dishonourable to the King. The war in Vermeland -has weighed much upon your mind; had this -matter been left to you, Earl Jon had come too -lightly off. I can deal better with him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas our will to deal with him ourself.—And -what answer made you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Read my letter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give it me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I deemed you had it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, you know better than that. Gregorius -Jonsson was too swift of foot; when we came on -board, the letter was gone.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turns to</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span>] Sir Baron, give -the King the letter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Coming close to him, uneasily.</i>] Hearken -Earl——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Bethink you, there were sharp words -in it concerning the King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My words I shall answer for. The letter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have it not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have it not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagfinn the Peasant was at our heels. I snatched -the letter from Jostein Tamb, tied a stone to it——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It lies at the bottom of the fiord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have done ill—ill.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I await the letter, Sir Earl.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I cannot give it you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You <em class='gesperrt'>cannot</em>!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Advancing a step towards the</i> <span class='sc'>King.</span>] My pride -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>brooks not to be put to shifts, as you and your -men would call it——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Controlling his rising wrath.</i>] And so——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In one word—I <em class='gesperrt'>will</em> not give it you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then you defy me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Since so it must be—yes, I defy you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Forcibly.</i>] Now, my lord King, I scarce think -you or any man can now need further proof!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, now I think we know the Earl’s mind.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Coldly, to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl.</span>] You will hand the Great -Seal to Ivar Bodde.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes with clasped hands towards the daïs, where -the</i> <span class='sc'>King</span> <i>is standing.</i>] Håkon, be a kind and -gracious husband to me!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>makes an imperative gesture towards -her; she hides her face in her veil, and -goes up towards her mother again.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span>] Here is the Great Seal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>This was to be the last evening of the feast. It -has ended in a heavy sorrow for the King; but -sooner or later it needs must come, and methinks -every true man must rejoice that it has come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I think every true man must feel bitter -wrath to see a priest thus make mischief between -us Birchlegs;—ay, Birchlegs, I say; for I am every -whit as good a Birchleg as the King or any of his -men. I am of the same stock, the stock of Sverre, -the kingly stock—but you, Priest, you have built -up a wall of distrust around the King, and shut -me out from him; that has been your task this -many a year.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enraged, to the bystanders.</i>] Earl’s men. Shall -we abide this longer?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Steps forward.</i>] No, we can and will no more -abide it. ’Tis time to say it plainly—none of the -Earl’s men can serve the King in full trust and love, -so long as Ivar Bodde comes and goes in the -palace, and makes bad blood between us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Priest! I bid you look to life and limb, wheresoever -I meet you—in the field, on shipboard, or -in any unconsecrated house.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Earl’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I too! I too! You are an outlaw to us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God forbid that I should stand between the -King and so many mighty chieftains.—Håkon, my -gracious lord, my soul bears me witness that I have -served you in all faithfulness. True, I have warned -you against the Earl; but if I have ever done him -wrong, I pray God forgive me. Now have I no -more to do in the palace; here is your Seal; take -it into your own hands; there it should have rested -long ago.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has come down from the daïs.</i>] You shall -remain!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I cannot. If I did, my conscience would gnaw -and rend me night and day. Greater evil can no -man do in these times than to hold the King and -the Earl asunder.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ivar Bodde, I command you to remain!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ivar Bodde.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If the Holy King Olaf should rise from his silver -shrine to bid me stay, still I needs must go. -[<i>Places the Seal in the</i> <span class='sc'>King’s</span> <i>hand.</i>] Farewell, my -noble master! God bless and prosper you in all -your work!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out through the crowd, to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Gloomily, to the</i> <span class='sc'>Earl</span> <i>and his men.</i>] There have -I lost a trusty friend for your sakes; what requital -can you offer to make good that loss?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I offer myself and all my friends.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I almost fear ’twill not suffice. Now must I -gather round me all the men I can fully trust. -Dagfinn the Peasant, let a messenger set out -forthwith for Halogaland; Vegard Væradal must -be recalled.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has been standing somewhat towards the back, -in conversation with a man in travelling dress who has -entered the hall, approaches and says with emotion:</i>] -Vegard cannot come, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How know you that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have even now had tidings of him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What tidings?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That Vegard Væradal is slain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slain!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who slew him?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Andres Skialdarband, the Earl’s friend.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A short pause; uneasy whispers pass among -the men.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where is the messenger?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Leading the man forward.</i>] Here, my lord King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What caused the slaying?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Messenger.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That no man knows. The talk fell upon the -Finnish tribute, and on a sudden Andres sprang up -and gave him his death-wound.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Had there been quarrels between them before?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Messenger.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ever and anon. Andres would often say that a -wise councillor here in the south had written to -him that he should be as rock and flint toward -Vegard Væradal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Strange! Ere Vegard set forth he told me that -a wise councillor had said he should be as rock and -flint toward Andres Skialdarband.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Spitting.</i>] Shame upon such councillors.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We will not question more closely from what root -this wrong has grown. Two faithful souls have I -lost this day. I could weep for Vegard, but ’tis -no time for weeping; it must be life for life. Sir -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>Earl, Andres Skialdarband is your sworn retainer; -you offered me all service in requital for Ivar Bodde. -I take you at your word, and look to you to see -that this misdeed be avenged.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Of a truth, bad angels are at work between us -to-day. On any other of my men, I would have -suffered you to avenge the murder——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Expectantly.</i>] Well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But not on Andres Skialdarband.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Flashing out.</i>] Will you shield the murderer?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em class='gesperrt'>This</em> murderer I <em class='gesperrt'>must</em> shield.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And the reason?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That none but God in heaven may know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly, to</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span>] I know it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I suspect it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Say nought, good Dagfinn!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Earl, I will believe as long as I may, that you -mean not in good sooth what you have said to -me——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Were it my own father Andres Skialdarband -had slain, he should still go free. Ask me no more.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good. Then we ourselves must do justice in -the matter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With an expression of alarm.</i>] There will be -bloodshed on both sides, my lord King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So be it; none the less shall the deed be avenged.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It shall <em class='gesperrt'>not</em> be!—It <em class='gesperrt'>cannot</em> be!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, there the Earl is right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Say you so, my honoured lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Andres Skialdarband has taken the Cross.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon and Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Taken the Cross!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And has already sailed from the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis well for all of us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The day wanes; the bridal-feast must now be -at an end. I thank you, Sir Earl, for all the honour -that has been shown me in these days.—You are -bound for Nidaros, as I think?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That is my intent.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I for Viken.—If you, Margrete, choose -rather to abide in Bergen, then do so.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whither you go, I go, until you forbid.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good; then come with me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now is our kindred spread far abroad. [<i>Kneels -to</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon.</span>] Grant me a grace, my lord King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Rise, Lady Sigrid; whatever you crave shall be -granted.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I cannot go with the Earl to Nidaros. The -nunnery at Rein will soon be consecrated; write -to the Archbishop—take order that I be made -Abbess.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, my sister?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You will enter a nunnery!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rising.</i>] Since my wedding-night of blood, -when the Baglers came and hewed down my bridegroom, -and many hundreds with him, and fired -Nidaros town at all its corners—since then, it has -been as though the blood and flames had dulled -and deadened my sight for the world around me. -But power was given me to catch glimpses of that -which other eyes see not—and one thing I see -now: a time of great dread hanging over this -land!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] She is sick! Heed her not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A plenteous harvest is ripening for him that -reaps in the darkness. Every woman in Norway -will have but one task now—to kneel in church -and cloister, and pray both day and night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaken.</i>] Is it prophecy or soul-sickness that -speaks thus?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Farewell, my brother—we shall meet once more.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Involuntarily.</i>] When?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] When you take the crown; in the hour -of danger,—when you are fain of me in your direst -need.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes out to the right, with</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete, Lady -Ragnhild,</span> <i>and the women.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause, draws his sword, and says with -quiet determination.</i>] All the Earl’s men shall take -the oath of fealty.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Is this your settled purpose? -[<i>Almost imploringly.</i>] King Håkon, do not so!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No Earl’s man shall leave Bergen ere he has -sworn fealty to the King.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes out with his Guard. All except the</i> -<span class='sc'>Earl</span> <i>and the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop</span> <i>follow him.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He has dealt hardly with you to-day!</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<span class='sc'>Earl Skule</span> <i>is silent, and looks out after the</i> -<span class='sc'>King</span>, <i>as though struck dumb.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>More loudly.</i>] And mayhap not king-born after -all.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Turns suddenly, in strong excitement, and seizes the</i> -<span class='sc'>Bishop</span> <i>by the arm.</i>] Trond the Priest’s confession—where -is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He sent it to me from England ere he died; I -know not by whom—and it never reached me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But it must be found!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I doubt not but it may.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And if you find it, you will give it into my hands?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That I promise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You swear it by your soul’s salvation?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I swear it by my soul’s salvation!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good; till that time I will work against Håkon, -wherever it can be done secretly and unnoted. -He must be hindered from growing mightier than -I, ere the struggle begins.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But should it prove that he is in truth king-born—what -then?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then I must try to pray—to pray for humbleness, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>that I may serve him with all my might, as a -faithful chieftain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And if he be not the rightful king?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then shall he give place to me! The kingly -title and the kingly throne, host and guard, fleet -and tribute, towns and strongholds, all shall be -mine!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He will betake him to Viken——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will drive him out of Viken!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He will establish himself in Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will storm Nidaros!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He will shut himself up in Olaf’s holy -church——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will force the sanctuary——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He will fly to the high altar, and cling to Olaf’s -shrine——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will drag him down from the altar, though I -drag the shrine along with him——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But the crown will still be on his head, Earl -Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will strike off the crown with my sword!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But if it sits too tight——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Earl Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then, in God’s name or Satan’s—I will strike off -the head along with it!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks out after him, nods slowly, and says:</i>] Ay—ay—’tis -in this mood I like the Earl!</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT THIRD.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><i>A room in the Bishop’s Palace at Oslo.</i><a id='r33' /><a href='#f33' class='c016'><sup>[33]</sup></a> <i>On the right -is the entrance door. In the back, a small door, -standing open, leads into the Chapel, which is -lighted up. A curtained door in the left wall leads -into the Bishop’s sleeping room. In front, on the -same side, stands a cushioned couch. Opposite, -on the right, is a writing-table, with letters, documents, -and a lighted lamp.</i></p> - -<p class='c024'><i>At first the room is empty; behind the curtain on the -left, the singing of monks is heard. Presently</i> -<span class='sc'>Paul Flida,</span> <i>in travelling dress, enters from the -right, stops by the door, waits, looks around, and -then knocks three times with his staff upon the -floor.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Comes out from the left, and exclaims in a hushed -voice.</i>] Paul Flida! God be praised;—then the -Earl is not far off.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The ships are already at Hoved-isle; I came on -ahead. And how goes it with the Bishop?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is even now receiving the Extreme -Unction.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then there is great danger.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Master Sigard of Brabant has said that he cannot -outlive the night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then meseems he has summoned us too late.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay,—he has his full senses and some -strength to boot; every moment he asks if the -Earl comes not soon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You still call him Earl; know you not that the -King has granted him the title of Duke?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, we know it; ’tis but old custom. Hist!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>He and</i> <span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span> <i>cross themselves and -bow their heads. From the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop’s</span> <i>door -issue two acolytes with candles, then two -more with censers; then priests bearing -chalice, paten, and crucifix, and a church -banner; behind them a file of priests and -monks; acolytes with candles and censers -close the procession, which passes slowly -into the chapel. The door is shut behind -them.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So now the old lord has made up his account -with the world.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I can tell him that Duke Skule comes so soon -as may be?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He comes straight from the wharf up here to -the Palace. Farewell!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes.</i></div> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Several priests, among them</i> <span class='sc'>Peter,</span> <i>with -some of the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop’s</span> <i>servants, come out -from the left with rugs, cushions, and a -large brazier.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Why do you this?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Priest.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Arranging the couch.</i>] The Bishop wills to lie -out here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But is it prudent?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Priest.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Master Sigard thinks we may humour him. -Here he is.</p> - -<p class='c024'><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas</span> <i>enters, supported by</i> <span class='sc'>Master Sigard</span> -<i>and a priest. He is in his canonicals, but without -crozier and mitre.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Light more candles. [<i>He is led to a seat upon -the couch, near the brazier, and is covered with rugs.</i>] -Viliam! Now have I been granted forgiveness -for all my sins! They took them all away with -them;—meseems I am so light now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Duke sends you greeting, my lord; he has -already passed Hoved-isle!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis well, very well. Belike the King, too, -will soon be here. I have been a sinful hound in -my day, Viliam; I have grievously trespassed -against the King. The priests in there averred -that all my sins should be forgiven me;—well -well, it may be so; but ’tis easy for them to -promise; ’tis not against <em class='gesperrt'>them</em> that I have trespassed. -No no; it is safest to have it from the -King’s own mouth. [<i>Exclaims impatiently.</i>] Light, -I say! ’tis so dark in here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The candles are lighted——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops him by a sign, and approaches the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop.</span>] -How goes it with you, my lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So-so—so-so; my hands and feet are cold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Half aloud, as he moves the brazier nearer.</i>] Ha—’tis -the beginning of the end.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Apprehensively, to</i> <span class='sc'>Viliam.</span>] I have commanded -that eight monks shall chant and pray for me in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>the chapel to-night. Have an eye to them; there -are idle fellows among them.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Sira Viliam</span> <i>points silently towards the -chapel, whence singing is heard, which -continues during what follows.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So much still undone, and to go and leave it -all! So much undone, Viliam!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, think of heavenly things!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have time before me;—till well on in the -morning, Master Sigard thinks——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me mitre and crozier!—’Tis very well for -you to say that I should think——[<i>A priest -brings them.</i>] So, set the cap there, ’tis too -heavy for me; give me the crozier in my hand; -there, now am I in my armour. A bishop!——The -Evil One dare not grapple with me now!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Desire you aught beside?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No. Stay—tell me:—Peter, Andres Skialdarband’s -son,—all speak well of him——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In truth, his is a blameless soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peter, you shall watch beside me until the -King or the Duke shall come. Leave us, meanwhile, -ye others, but be at hand.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>All except</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span> <i>go out on the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] Peter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaches.</i>] My lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hast ever seen old men die?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are all afeard; that I dare swear. There -on the table lies a large letter with seals to it; -give it to me. [<span class='sc'>Peter</span> <i>brings the letter.</i>] ’Tis to -your mother.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To my mother?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You must get you northward with it to Halogaland. -I have written to her touching a great -and weighty matter; tidings have come from your -father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is fighting as a soldier of God in the Holy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>Land. Should he fall there, he falls on hallowed -ground; for there every foot’s-breadth of earth -is sacred. I commend him to God in all my -prayers.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is Andres Skialdarband dear to you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is an honourable man; but there lives -another man whose greatness my mother, as it -were, fostered and nourished me withal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Hurriedly and eagerly.</i>] Is that Duke Skule?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, the Duke—Skule Bårdsson. My mother -knew him in younger days. The Duke must sure -be the greatest man in the land!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There is the letter; get you northward with it -forthwith!—Are they not singing in there?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Eight lusty fellows with throats like trumpets, -they must surely help somewhat, methinks.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, my lord! Why not pray yourself!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have too much still undone, Peter. Life is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>all too short;—besides, the King will surely forgive -me when he comes——[Gives a start in pain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You are suffering?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I suffer not; but there is a ringing in mine ears, -a twinkling and flickering before mine eyes——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis the heavenly bells ringing you home, and -the twinkling of the altar-lights God’s angels -have lit for you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, sure ’tis so;—there is no danger if only -they lag not with their prayers in there——Farewell; -set forth at once with the letter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Shall I not first——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, go; I fear not to be alone.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well met again, then, what time the heavenly -bells shall sound for me too.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out on the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The heavenly bells,—ay, ’tis easy talking when -you still have two stout legs to stand upon.—So -much undone! But much will live after me, -notwithstanding. I promised the Duke by my -soul’s salvation to give him Trond the Priest’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>confession if it came into my hand;—’tis well I -have not got it. Had he certainty, he would -conquer or fall; and then one of the twain would -be the mightiest man that ever lived in Norway. -No no,—what <i>I</i> could not reach none other shall -reach. Uncertainty serves best; so long as the -Duke is burdened with that, they two will waste -each other’s strength, wheresoever they may; -towns will be burnt, dales will be harried,—neither -will gain by the other’s loss—[<i>Terrified.</i>] -Mercy, pity! It is I who bear the guilt—I, who -set it all agoing! [<i>Calming himself.</i>] Well, well, -well! but now the King is coming—’tis he that -suffers most—he will forgive me—prayers and -masses shall be said; there is no danger;—I am -a bishop, and I have never slain any man with -mine own hand.—’Tis well that Trond the Priest’s -confession came not; the saints are with me, they -will not tempt me to break my promise.—Who -knocks at the door? It must be the Duke! -[<i>Rubs his hands with glee.</i>] He will implore me for -proofs as to the kingship,—and I have no proofs -to give him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga of Varteig</span> <i>enters; she is dressed in</i></div> - <div><i>black, with a cloak and hood.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts.</i>] Who is that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A woman from Varteig in Borgasyssel, my -honoured lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King’s mother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>So was I called once.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go, go! ’Twas not I counselled Håkon to send -you away.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What the King does is well done; ’tis not therefore -I come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wherefore then?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gunnulf, my brother, is come home from -England——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From England——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He has been away these many years, as you -know, and has roamed far and wide; now has he -brought home a letter——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Breathlessly.</i>] A letter——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From Trond the Priest. ’Tis for you, my lord.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Hands it to him.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ah, truly;—and <em class='gesperrt'>you</em> bring it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was Trond’s wish. I owe him great thanks -since the time he fostered Håkon. It was told -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>me that you were sick; therefore I set forth at -once; I have come hither on foot——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There was no such haste, Inga!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant</span> <i>enters from the right.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God’s peace, my honoured lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Comes the King?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is now riding down the Ryen hills, with -the Queen and the King-child and a great -following.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes up to</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span>] The King,—the King! -Comes <em class='gesperrt'>he</em> hither?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Inga! You here, much-suffering woman!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>She is not much-suffering who has so great a -son.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now will his hard heart be melted.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not a word to the King of me. Yet, oh, I -must see him!—Tell me,—comes he hither?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, presently.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And it is dark evening. The King will be -lighted on his way with torches?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then will I hide me in a gateway as he goes -by;—and then home to Varteig. But first will -I into Hallvard’s church; the lights are burning -there to-night; there will I call down blessings -on the King, on my fair son.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have fulfilled mine errand; I go to meet the -King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bear him most loving greeting, good Dagfinn!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As he goes out to the right.</i>] <i>I</i> would not be -Bishop Nicholas to-morrow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trond the Priest’s confession——! So it has -come after all—here I hold it in my hand. [<i>Muses -with a fixed gaze.</i>] A man should never promise -aught by his soul’s salvation, when he is as old -as I. Had I years before me, I could always -wriggle free from such a promise; but this -evening, this last evening—no, that were imprudent.—But -can I keep it? Is it not to endanger -all that I have worked for, my whole life through? -[<i>Whispering.</i>] Oh, could I but cheat the Evil -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>One, only this one more time! [<i>Listens.</i>] What -was <em class='gesperrt'>that</em>? [<i>Calls.</i>] Viliam, Viliam!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam</span> <i>enters from the right.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is it that whistles and howls so grimly?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis the storm; it grows fiercer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The storm grows fiercer! Ay truly, I will keep -my promise! The storm, say you——? Are they -singing in there?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bid them bestir themselves, and chiefly brother -Aslak; he always makes such scant prayers; he -shirks whenever he can; he skips, the hound! -[<i>Strikes the floor with his crozier.</i>] Go in and -say to him ’tis the last night I have left; he shall -bestir himself, else will I haunt him from the -dead!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, shall I not fetch Master Sigard?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go in, I say! [<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>goes into the chapel.</i>] -It must doubtless be heaven’s will that I should -reconcile the King and the Duke, since it sends -me Trond’s letter now. This is a hard thing, -Nicholas; to tear down at a single wrench what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>you have spent your life in building up. But -there is no other way; I must e’en do the will of -heaven this time.—If I could only read what is -written in the letter! But I cannot see a word! -Mists drive before my eyes; they sparkle and -flicker; and I dare let none other read it for me! -To make such a promise——! Is human cunning, -then, so poor a thing that it cannot govern the -outcome of its contrivances in the second and -third degree? I spoke so long and so earnestly -to Vegard Væradal about making the King send -Inga from him, that at length it came to pass. -That was wise in the first degree; but had I not -counselled thus, then Inga had not now been at -Varteig, the letter had not come into my hands in -time, and I had not had any promise to keep—therefore -’twas unwise in the second degree. Had -I yet time before me——! but only the space of -one night, and scarce even that. I must, I will -live longer! [<i>Knocks with his crozier; a priest -enters from the right.</i>] Bid Master Sigard come! -[<i>The priest goes; the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop</span> <i>crushes the letter in -his hands.</i>] Here, under this thin seal, lies -Norway’s saga for a hundred years! It lies and -dreams, like the birdling in the egg! Oh, that I -had more souls than <em class='gesperrt'>one</em>—or else <em class='gesperrt'>none</em>! [<i>Presses -the letter wildly to his breast.</i>] Oh, were not the -end so close upon me,—and judgment and doom -I would hatch you out into a hawk that should -cast the dreadful shadow of his wings overall the -land, and strike his sharp talons into every heart! -[<i>With a sudden shudder.</i>] But the last hour is at -hand! [<i>Shrieking.</i>] No, no! You shall become -a swan, a white swan! [<i>Throws the letter far from, -him, on to the floor, and calls:</i>] Master Sigard, -Master Sigard!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the right.</i>] How goes it, honoured lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Master Sigard—sell me three days’ life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have told you——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; but that was in jest; ’twas a little -revenge on me. I have been a tedious master -to you; therefore you thought to scare me. Fie, -that was evil,—nay, nay—’twas no more than I -deserved! But, now be good and kind! I will -pay you well;—three days’ life, Master Sigard, -only three days’ life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Though I myself were to die in the same hour as -you, yet could I not add three days to your span.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em class='gesperrt'>One</em> day, then, only <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> day! Let it be light, -let the sun shine when my soul sets forth! Listen, -Sigard! [<i>Beckons him over, and drags him down -upon the couch.</i>] I have given well-nigh all my -gold and silver to the Church, to have high -masses sung for me. I will take it back again; -you shall have it all! How now, Sigard, shall we -two fool them in there? He-he-he! You will be -rich, Sigard, and can depart the country; I shall -have time to cast about me a little, and make -shift with fewer prayers. Come, Sigard, shall -we——! [<span class='sc'>Sigard</span> <i>feels his pulse; the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop</span> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span><i>exclaims anxiously:</i>] How now, why answer you -not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rising.</i>] I have no time, my lord. I must -prepare you a draught that may ease you somewhat -at the last.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, wait with that! Wait,—and answer me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Master Sigard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have no time; the draught must be ready -within an hour.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Within an hour! [<i>Knocks wildly.</i>] Viliam! -Viliam!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Sira Viliam</span> <i>comes out from the chapel.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Call more to help in there! The eight are not -enough!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>More to help, I say! Brother Kolbein has lain -sick these five weeks,—he cannot have sinned -much in that time——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He was at shrift yesterday.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Eagerly.</i>] Ay, <i>he</i> must be good; call him! -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>[<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>goes into the chapel again.</i>] Within an hour! -[<i>Dries the sweat off his brow.</i>] Pah—how hot it is -here!—The miserable hound—what boots all his -learning, when he cannot add an hour to my life? -There sits he in his closet day by day, piecing -together his cunning wheels and weights and -levers; he thinks to fashion a machine that shall -go and go and never stop—<i>perpetuum mobile</i> -he calls it. Why not rather turn his art and -his skill to making man such a <i>perpetuum mobile</i>? -[<i>Stops and thinks; his eyes light up.</i>] <i>Perpetuum -mobile</i>,—I am not strong in Latin—but it means -somewhat that has power to work eternally, -through all the ages. If I myself, now, could -but——? <em class='gesperrt'>That</em> were a deed to end my life -withal! That were to do my greatest deed in my -latest hour! To set wheel and weight and lever -at work in the King’s soul and the Duke’s; to set -them a-going so that no power on earth can stop -them; if I can but do that, then shall I live -indeed, live in my work—and, when I think of it, -mayhap ’tis <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> which is called immortality.—Comfortable, -soothing thoughts, how ye do the old -man good! [<i>Draws a deep breath, and stretches -himself comfortably upon the couch.</i>] Diabolus has -pressed me hard to-night. That comes of lying idle; -<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>olium est pulvis—pulveris</i></span>—pooh, no matter for the -Latin——Diabolus shall no longer have power -over me; I will be busy to the last; I will——; -how they bellow in yonder——[<i>Knocks;</i> <span class='sc'>Viliam</span> -<i>comes out.</i>] Tell them to hold their peace; they -disturb me. The King and the Duke will soon -be here; I have weighty matters to ponder.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, shall I then——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bid them hold awhile, that I may think in peace. -Look you, take up yonder letter that lies upon the -floor.—Good. Reach me the papers here——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes to the writing-table.</i>] Which, my lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It matters not——; the sealed ones; those -that lie uppermost—So; go now in and bid -them be silent. [<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>goes.</i>] To die, and yet -rule in Norway! To die, and yet so contrive -things that no man may come to raise his head -above the rest. A thousand ways may lead -towards that goal; yet can there be but <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> that -will reach it;—and now to find that one—to find -it and follow it——Ha! The way lies so close, so -close at hand! Ay, so it must be. I will keep -my promise; the Duke shall have the letter in -his hands;—but the King—he shall have the -thorn of doubt in his heart. Håkon is upright, as -they call it; many things will go to wreck in his -soul along with the faith in himself and in his -right. Both of them shall doubt and believe by -turns, still swaying to and fro, and finding no firm -ground beneath their feet—<i>perpetuum mobile!</i>—But -will Håkon believe what I say? Ay, that will -he; am I not a dying man?—And to prepare the -way I will feed him up with truths.—My strength -fails, but fresh life fills my soul;—I no longer lie -on a sick-bed, I sit in my workroom; I will work -the last night through, work—till the light goes -out——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the right and advances towards the</i> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span><span class='sc'>Bishop.</span>] Peace and greeting, my honoured lord! -I hear it goes ill with you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am a corpse in the bud, good Duke; this -night shall I break into bloom; to-morrow you -may scent my perfume.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Already to-night, say you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Master Sigard says: within an hour.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And Trond the Priest’s letter——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you still upon that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis never out of my thoughts.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King has made you Duke; before you, no -man in Norway has borne that title.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis not enough. If Håkon be not the rightful -king, then must I have all!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha, ’tis cold in here; the blood runs icy -through my limbs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trond the Priest’s letter, my lord! For -Almighty God’s sake,—have you it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>At least, I know where it may be found.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Tell me then, tell me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wait——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay—lose not your time; I see it draws to -an end;—and ’tis said the King comes hither.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, the King comes; thereby you may best see -that I am mindful of your cause, even now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is your purpose?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mind you, at the King’s bridal—you said that -Håkon’s strength lay in his steadfast faith in -himself?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If I confess, and raise a doubt in his mind, then -his faith will fall, and his strength with it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, this is sinful, sinful, if he be the rightful -king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twill be in your power to restore his faith. -Ere I depart hence, I will tell you where Trond -the Priest’s letter may be found.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the right.</i>] The King is now coming up -the street, with torch-bearers and attendants.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He shall be welcome. [<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>goes.</i>] Duke, I -beg of you one last service: do you carry on my -feuds against all mine enemies. [<i>Takes out a -letter.</i>] Here I have written them down. Those -whose names stand first I would fain have hanged, -if it could be so ordered.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think not upon vengeance now; you have but -little time left——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not on vengeance, but on punishment. Promise -me to wield the sword of punishment over all mine -enemies when I am gone. They are your foemen -no less than mine; when you are King you must -chastise them; do you promise me that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I promise and swear it; but Trond’s letter——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You shall learn where it is;—but see—the King -comes; hide the list of our foemen!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The</i> <span class='sc'>Duke</span> <i>hides the paper; at the same -moment</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>enters from the right.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well met at the grave-feast, my lord King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have ever withstood me stubbornly; but -that shall be forgiven and forgotten now; death -wipes out even the heaviest reckoning.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That lightened my soul! Oh how marvellous -is the King’s clemency! My lord, what you -have done for an old sinner this night shall be -tenfold——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No more of that; but I must tell you that I -greatly marvel you should summon me hither to -obtain my forgiveness, and yet prepare for me such -a meeting as this.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Meeting, my lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis of me the King speaks. Will you, my lord -Bishop, assure King Håkon, by my faith and -honour, that I knew nought of his coming, ere I -landed at Oslo wharf?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Alas, alas! The blame is all mine! I have -been sickly and bedridden all the last year; I -have learnt little or nought of the affairs of the -kingdom; I thought all was now well between -the princely kinsmen!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have marked that the friendship between the -Duke and myself thrives best when we hold aloof -from one another; therefore farewell, Bishop -Nicholas, and God be with you where you are now -to go.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes towards the door.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly and uneasily.</i>] Bishop, Bishop, he is -going!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Suddenly and with wild energy.</i>] Stay, King -Håkon!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops.</i>] What now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You shall not leave this room until old Bishop -Nicholas has spoken his last word!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Instinctively lays his hand upon his sword.</i>] -Mayhap you have come well attended to Viken, -Duke.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have no part in this.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis by force of words that I will hold you. -Where there is a burial in the house, the dead -man ever rules the roost; he can do and let alone -as he will—so far as his power may reach. Therefore -will I now speak my own funeral-speech; in -days gone by, I was ever sore afraid lest King -Sverre should come to speak it——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Talk not so wildly, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You shorten the precious hour still left to you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your eyes are already dim.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, my sight is dim; I scarce can see you where -you stand; but before my inward eye, my life -is moving in a blaze of light. <em class='gesperrt'>There</em> I see -sights——; hear and learn, O King!—My race -was the mightiest in the land; many great -chieftains had sprung from it; <i>I</i> longed to be -the greatest of them all. I was yet but a boy -when I began to thirst after great deeds; meseemed -I could by no means wait till I were -grown. Kings arose who had less right than I,—Magnus -Erlingsson, Sverre the Priest——; I also -would be king; but I must needs be a chieftain -first. Then came the battle at Ilevoldene; ’twas -the first time I went out to war. The sun went -up, and glittering lightnings flashed from a -thousand burnished blades. Magnus and all his -men advanced as to a game; I alone felt a -tightness at my heart. Fiercely our host swept -forward; but I could not follow—I was afraid! -All Magnus’s other chieftains fought manfully, -and many fell in the fight; but I fled up over the -mountain, and ran and ran, and stayed not until -I came down to the fiord again, far away. Many -a man had to wash his bloody clothes in -Trondheim-fiord that night;—I had to wash mine -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>too, but not from blood. Ay, King, I was afraid;—born -to be a chieftain—and afraid! It fell -upon me as a thunderbolt; from that hour I -hated all men. I prayed secretly in the churches, -I wept and knelt before the altars, I gave rich -gifts, made sacred promises; I tried and tried in -battle after battle, at Saltösund, at Jonsvoldene -that summer the Baglers lay in Bergen,—but ever -in vain. Sverre it was who first noted it; he -proclaimed it loudly and with mockery, and from -that day forth, not a man in the host but laughed -when Nicholas Arnesson was seen in war-weed. -A coward, a coward—and yet was I filled with -longing to be a chief, to be a king; nay, I felt I -was born to be King. I could have furthered -God’s kingdom upon earth; but ’twas the saints -themselves that barred the way for me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Accuse not heaven, Bishop Nicholas! You have -hated much.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, I have hated much; hated every head in -this land that raised itself above the crowd. But -I hated because I could not love. Fair women,—oh, -I could devour them even now with glistening -eyes! I have lived eighty years, and yet do I -yearn to kill men and clasp women;—but my lot -in love was as my lot in war: nought but an -itching will, my strength sapped from my birth; -dowered with seething desire—and yet a weakling! -So I became a priest: king or priest must -that man be who would have all might in his -hands. [<i>Laughs.</i>] I a priest! I a churchman! -Yes, for <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> clerkly office Heaven had notably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>fitted me—for taking the high notes—for singing -with a woman’s voice at the great church-festivals. -And yet they up yonder claim of me—the half-man—what -they have a right to claim only of -those whom they have in all things fitted for their -life-work! There have been times when I fancied -such a claim might be just; I have lain here on -my sick-bed crushed by the dread of doom and -punishment. Now it is over; my soul has fresh -marrow in its bones; <i>I</i> have not sinned; it is <i>I</i> -that have suffered wrong; <i>I</i> am the accuser!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] My lord—the letter! You have little -time left.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think of your soul, and humble you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A man’s life-work is his soul, and my life-work -still shall live upon the earth. But you, King -Håkon, you should beware; for as Heaven has -stood against <em class='gesperrt'>me</em>, and reaped harm for its reward, -so are you standing against the man who holds -the country’s welfare in his hand——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha—Duke, Duke! Now I see the bent of this -meeting!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Vehemently, to the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop.</span>] Not a word more of -this!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon.</span>] He will stand against you so long -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>as his head sits fast on his shoulders. Share with -him! I will have no peace in my coffin, I will -rise again, if you two share not the kingdom! -Neither of you shall add the other’s height to his -own stature. If that befell, there would be a -giant in the land, and here shall no giant be; for -I was never a giant!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Sinks back exhausted on the couch.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Falls on his knees beside the couch and cries to</i> -<span class='sc'>Håkon.</span>] Summon help! For God’s pity’s sake; -the Bishop must not die yet!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How it waxes dusk before my eyes!—King, for -the last time—will you share with the Duke?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not a shred will I let slip of that which God -gave me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well and good. [<i>Softly.</i>] Your faith, at least, -you shall let slip. [<i>Calls.</i>] Viliam!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] The letter! The letter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Not listening to him.</i>] Viliam! [<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>enters; -the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop</span> <i>draws him close down to him and whispers.</i>] -When I received the Extreme Unction, all my sins -were forgiven me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All your sins from your birth, till the moment -you received the Unction.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No longer? Not until the very end?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You will not sin to-night, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who can tell——? Take the golden goblet -Bishop Absalon left me—give it to the Church— -and say seven high masses more.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God will be gracious to you, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Seven more masses, I say—for sins I may -commit to-night! Go, go! [<span class='sc'>Viliam</span> <i>goes; the</i> -<span class='sc'>Bishop</span> <i>turns to</i> <span class='sc'>Skule.</span>] Duke, if you should -come to read Trond the Priest’s letter, and it -should mayhap prove that Håkon is the rightful -king—what would you do then?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In God’s name—king he should remain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bethink you; much is at stake. Search every -fold of your heart; answer as though you stood -before your Judge! What will you do, if he be -the rightful king?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bow my head and serve him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Mumbles.</i>] So, so: then bide the issue. [<i>To</i> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span><span class='sc'>Skule.</span>] Duke, I am weak and weary; a mild and -charitable mood comes over me——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It is death! Trond the Priest’s letter! Where -is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>First another matter;—I gave you the list of -my enemies——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Impatiently.</i>] Yes, yes; I will take full revenge -upon them——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, my soul is filled with mildness; I will forgive, -as the Scripture commands. As you would -forgo might, I will forgo revenge. Burn the -list!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay; as you will.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here, in the brazier; so that I may see it——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Throws the paper into the fire.</i>] There, then; -see, it burns. And now, speak, speak. You risk -thousands of lives if you speak not now!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With sparkling eyes.</i>] Thousands of lives. -[<i>Shrieks.</i>] Light! Air!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes to the door and cries.</i>] Help! The Bishop -is dying!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam</span> <i>and several of the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop’s</span> <i>men enter.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shakes the</i> <span class='sc'>Bishop’s</span> <i>arm.</i>] You risk Norway’s -happiness through hundreds of years, mayhap its -greatness to all eternity!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To all eternity! [<i>Triumphantly.</i>] <i>Perpetuum -mobile!</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>By your soul’s salvation,—where is Trond the -Priest’s letter?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Calls.</i>] Seven more masses, Viliam!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Beside himself.</i>] The letter! The letter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bishop Nicholas.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling in his death-agony.</i>] ’Twas it you burned, -good Duke!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Falls back on the couch and dies.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With an involuntary cry, starts backwards and -covers his face with his hands.</i>] Almighty God!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monks.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushing in flight from the chapel.</i>] Save you, -all who can!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Some Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The powers of evil have broken loose!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Other Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There rang a loud laugh from the corner!—A -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>voice cried: “We have him!”——All the -lights went out!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bishop Nicholas is even now dead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monks.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Fleeing to the right.</i>] Pater noster—Pater noster</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Approaches</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span>, <i>and says in a low voice.</i>] -Duke, I will not question what secret counsel you -were hatching with the Bishop ere he died;—but -from to-morrow must you give up your powers and -dignities into my hands; I see clearly now that -we two cannot go forward together.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks at him absently.</i>] Go forward together——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To-morrow I hold an Assembly in the Palace; -then must all things be made clear between us.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Bishop dead and the letter burnt! A life -full of doubt and strife and dread! Oh, could I -but pray!—No—I must act; this evening must the -stride be taken, once for all! [<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Viliam.</span>] Whither -went the King?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Terrified.</i>] Christ save me,—what would you -with him?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you I would slay him to-night?</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sira Viliam.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks after him, shaking his head, while the house-folk -bear the body out to the left.</i>] Seven more -masses, the Bishop said; I think ’twere safest we -should say fourteen.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Follows the others.</i></div> - -<hr class='c032' /> - -<p class='c024'><i>A room in the Palace. In the back is the entrance -door; in each of the side walls a smaller door; -in front, on the right, a window. Hung from -the roof, a lamp is burning. Close to the door -on the left stands a bench, and further back a -cradle, in which the King-child is sleeping; -<span class='sc'>Margrete</span> is kneeling beside the child.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - <div>[<i>Rocks the cradle and sings.</i>]</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Now roof and rafters blend with</div> - <div class='line'>the starry vault on high;</div> - <div class='line'>now flieth little Håkon</div> - <div class='line'>on dream-wings through the sky.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>There mounts a mighty stairway</div> - <div class='line'>from earth to God’s own land;</div> - <div class='line'>there Håkon with the angels</div> - <div class='line'>goes climbing, hand in hand.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>God’s angel-babes are watching</div> - <div class='line'>thy cot, the still night through;</div> - <div class='line'>God bless thee, little Håkon,</div> - <div class='line'>thy mother watcheth too.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span><i>A short pause.</i> <span class='sc'>Duke Skule</span> <i>enters from the back.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts up with a cry of joy and rushes to meet him.</i>] -My father!—Oh, how I have sighed and yearned -for this meeting!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God’s peace be with you, Margrete! Where is -the King?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With Bishop Nicholas.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha,—then must he soon be here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you will talk together and be at one, be -friends again, as in the old days?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That would I gladly.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twould rejoice Håkon no less; and I pray to -God every day that so it may be. Oh, but come -hither and see——</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Takes his hand and leads him to the cradle.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your child!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, that lovely babe is mine;—is it not marvellous? -He is called Håkon, like the King! -See, his eyes—nay, you cannot see them now he -is sleeping—but he has great blue eyes; and he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>can laugh, and reach forth his hands to take hold -of me.—and he knows me already.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Smoothes out the bed-clothes tenderly.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon will have sons, the Bishop foretold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To me this little child is a thousand times -dearer than all Norway’s land—and to Håkon too. -Meseems I cannot rightly believe my happiness; -I have the cradle standing by my bedside; every -night, as often as I waken, I look to see if it be -there—I am fearful lest it should prove to be all -a dream——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Listens and goes to the window.</i>] Is not that the -King?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; he is going up the other stair; I will bring -him. [<i>Takes her father’s hand and leads him playfully -up to the cradle.</i>] Duke Skule! Keep -watch over the King-child the while—for he is a -King-child too—though I can never remember it! -Should he wake, then bow deeply before him, and -hail him as men hail kings! Now will I bring -Håkon. Oh, God, God! now at last come light and -peace over our house. [<i>Goes out to the right.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short and gloomy silence.</i>] Håkon has a -son. His race shall live after him. If he die, he -leaves an heir who stands nearer the throne than -all others. All things thrive with Håkon. Mayhap -he is not the rightful king; but his faith in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>himself stands firm as ever; the Bishop would -have shaken it, but Death gave him not time, God -gave him not leave. God watches over Håkon, -and suffers him to keep the girdle of strength. -Were I to tell him now? Were I to make oath -to what the Bishop told me? What would it -avail? None would believe me, neither Håkon -nor the others. He would have believed the -Bishop in the hour of death; the doubt would -have rankled poisonously in him; but it was not -to be. And deep-rooted as is Håkon’s faith, so is -my doubt deep-rooted; what man on earth can -weed it out? None, none. The ordeal has been -endured, God has spoken, and still Håkon may -not be the rightful king, while my life goes to -waste. [<i>Seats himself broodingly beside a table on -the right.</i>] And if, now, I won the kingdom, -would not the doubt dwell with me none the less, -gnawing and wearing and wasting me away, with -its ceaseless icy drip, drip.—Aye; but ’tis better -to sit doubting on the throne than to stand down -in the crowd, doubting of him who sits there in -your stead.—There must be an end between me -and Håkon! An end? But how? [<i>Rises.</i>] -Almighty, thou who hast thus bestead me, thou -must bear the guilt of the issue! [<i>Goes to and -fro, stops and reflects.</i>] I must break down all -bridges, hold only <em class='gesperrt'>one</em>, and there conquer or fall—as -the Bishop said at the bridal-feast at Bergen. -That is now nigh upon three years since, and -through all that time have I split up and spilt my -strength in trying to guard all the bridges. [<i>With -energy.</i>] Now must I follow the Bishop’s counsel; -now or never! Here are we both in Oslo; this -time I have more men than Håkon; why not -seize the advantage—’tis so seldom on my side. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>[<i>Vacillating.</i>] But to-night——? At once——? -No, no! Not to-night! Ha-ha-ha—there -again!—pondering, wavering! Håkon knows not -what that means; he goes straight forward, -and so he conquers! [<i>Going up the room, stops -suddenly beside the cradle.</i>] The King-child!—How -fair a brow! He is dreaming. [<i>Smoothes -out the bed-clothes; and looks long at the child.</i>] Such -an one as thou can save many things in a man’s -soul. I have no son. [<i>Bends over the cradle.</i>] He -is like Håkon——[<i>Shrinks suddenly backwards.</i>] -The King-child, said the Queen! Bow low before -him and hail him as men hail kings! Should -Håkon die before me, this child will be raised to -the throne; and I—I shall stand humbly before -him, and bow low and hail him as king! [<i>In -rising agitation.</i>] This child, Håkon’s son, shall sit -on high, on the seat that should in right, mayhap, -be mine—and I shall stand before his footstool, -white-haired and bowed with age, and see my -whole life-work lying undone—die without having -been king!—I have more men than Håkon—there -blows a storm to-night, and the wind sweeps down -the fiord——! If I took the King-child? I am -safe with the Trönders.<a id='r34' /><a href='#f34' class='c016'><sup>[34]</sup></a> What would Håkon -dare attempt, were his child in my power? My -men will follow me, fight for me and conquer. -Their reward shall be kingly, and they know it.—So -shall it be! I will take the stride; I will -leap the abyss, for the first time! Could I but -see if thou hast Sverre’s eyes—or Håkon Sverresson’s——! -He sleeps. I cannot see them. [<i>A -pause.</i>] Sleep is as a shield. Sleep in peace, thou -little Pretender! [<i>Goes over to the table.</i>] Håkon -shall decide; once again will I speak with him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters, with the</i> <span class='sc'>King</span>, <i>from the room on the right.</i>] -The Bishop dead! Oh, trust me, all strife dies -with him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To bed, Margrete! You must be weary after -the journey.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes. [<i>To the</i> <span class='sc'>Duke.</span>] Father, be kind and -yielding—Håkon has promised to be the like! A -thousand good-nights, to both of you!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Makes a gesture of farewell at the door on -the left, and goes out; two women carry -out the cradle.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Håkon, this time we must not part as foes. -All evil will follow; there will fall a time of dread -upon the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The land has known nought else through many -generations; but, see you, God is with me; every -foeman falls that would stand against me. There -are no more Baglers, no Slittungs, no Ribbungs; -Earl Jon is slain, Guthorm Ingesson is dead, Sigurd -Ribbung likewise—all claims that were put forth -at the folkmote at Bergen have fallen powerless—from -whom, then, should the time of dread come -now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon, I fear me it might come from me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When I came to the throne, I gave you the third -part of the kingdom——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But kept two-thirds yourself!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You ever thirsted after more; I eked out your -share until now you hold half the kingdom.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There lack ten ship-wards.<a id='r35' /><a href='#f35' class='c016'><sup>[35]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I made you Duke; that has no man been in -Norway before you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But you are king! I must have no king over -me! I was not born to serve you; I must rule in -my own right!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks at him for a moment, and says coldly:</i>] -Heaven guard your understanding, my lord. Good -night.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Going.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Blocking the way.</i>] You shall not go from me -thus! Beware, or I will forswear all faith with -you; you can no longer be my overlord; we two -must share!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You dare to say this to me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have more men than you in Oslo, Håkon -Håkonsson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap you think to——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hearken to me! Think of the Bishop’s words! -Let us share; give me the ten ship-wards; let me -hold my share as a free kingdom, without tax or -tribute. Norway has ere this been parted into two -kingdoms;—we will hold firmly together——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Duke, you must be soul-sick, that you can crave -such a thing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, I am soul-sick, and there is no other healing -for me. We two must be equals; there must be -no man over me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Every treeless skerry is a stone in the building -which Harald Hårfager and the sainted King Olaf -reared; would you have me break in twain what -they have mortised together? Never!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well, then let us reign by turns; let each bear -sway for three years! You have reigned long; -now my turn has come. Depart from the land for -three years;—I will be king the while; I will even -out your paths for you against your home-coming; -I will guide all things for the best;—it wears and -blunts the senses to sit ever on the watch. Håkon, -hear me—three years each; let us wear the crown -by turns!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you my crown would fit well on your brow?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No crown is too wide for me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It needs a God-sent right and a God-sent calling -to wear the crown.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And know you so surely that you have a God-sent -right?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have God’s own word for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Rest not too surely on that. Had the Bishop -had time to speak—but that were bootless now; -you would not believe me. Ay, truly you have -mighty allies on high; but I defy you none the -less! You will not reign by turns with me? -Well—then must we try the last resort;—Håkon, -let us two fight for it, man to man, with heavy -weapons, for life or death!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Speak you in jest, my lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I speak for my life-work and for my soul’s -salvation!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then is there small hope for the saving of your -soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You will not fight with me? You shall, you shall!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh blinded man! I cannot but pity you. You -think ’tis the Lord’s calling that draws you toward -the throne; you see not that ’tis nought but pride -of heart. What is it that allures you? The royal -circlet, the purple-bordered mantle, the right to -be seated three steps above the floor;—pitiful, -pitiful: Were that kingship, I would cast it into -your hat, as I cast a groat to a beggar.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have known me since your childhood, and -you judge me thus!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have wisdom and courage and all noble -gifts of the mind; you are born to stand nearest a -king, but not to be a king yourself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will we now put to the proof!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Name me a single king’s-task you achieved in -all the years you were regent for me! Were the -Baglers or the Ribbungs ever mightier than then? -You were in ripe manhood, yet the land was -harried by rebellious factions; did you quell a single -one of them? I was young and untried when I -came to the helm—look at me—all fell before me -when I became king; there are no Baglers, no -Ribbungs left!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Beware how you boast of that; for <em class='gesperrt'>there</em> lies -the greatest danger. Party must stand against -party, claim against claim, region against region, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>if the king is to have the might. Every village, -every family, must either need him or fear him. -If you strike at the root of faction, at the same -stroke you kill your own power.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you would be king—you, who think such -thoughts! You had been well fitted for a chieftain’s -part in Erling Skakke’s days; but the time -has grown away from you, and you know it not. -See you not, then, that Norway’s realm, as Harald -and Olaf built it up, may be likened to a church -that stands as yet unconsecrate? The walls soar -aloft with mighty buttresses, the vaultings have a -noble span, the spire points upward, like a fir-tree -in the forest; but the life, the throbbing heart, -the fresh blood-stream, is lacking to the work; -God’s living spirit is not breathed into it; it stands -unconsecrate.—<i>I</i> will bring consecration! Norway -has been a <em class='gesperrt'>kingdom</em>, it shall become a <em class='gesperrt'>people</em>. -The Trönder has stood against the man of Viken, -the Agdeman against the Hordalander, the Halogalander -against the Sogndalesman; all shall be -one hereafter, and all shall feel and know that -they are one! <em class='gesperrt'>That</em> is the task which God has -laid on my shoulders; <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> is the work which now -lies before the King of Norway. That life-work, -Duke, I think you were best to leave untried, for -truly it is beyond you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Impressed.</i>] To unite——? To unite the -Trönders and the men of Viken,—all Norway——? -[<i>Sceptically.</i>] ’Tis impossible! Norway’s saga -tells of no such thing!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For you ’tis impossible, for you can but work -out the old saga afresh; for me, ’tis as easy as for -the falcon to cleave the clouds.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In uneasy agitation.</i>] To unite the whole people—to -awaken it so that it shall know itself <em class='gesperrt'>one</em>! -Whence got you so strange a thought? It runs -through me like ice and fire. [<i>Vehemently.</i>] It -comes from the devil, Håkon; it shall never be -carried through while I have strength to buckle -on my helm.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis from God the thought comes to me, and -never shall I let it slip while I bear St. Olaf’s -circlet on my brow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must St. Olaf’s circlet fall from your -brow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who will make it fall?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I, if none other.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, Skule, will be harmless after to-morrow’s -Assembly.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon! Tempt not God! Drive me not out -upon the last ledge of the deep!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Points to the door.</i>] Go, my lord—and be it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>forgotten that we have spoken with sharp tongues -this night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Duke Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks hard at him for a moment, and says:</i>] -Next time, ’twill be with sharper tongues we speak.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes to the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause.</i>] He threatens! No, no, it -cannot come to that. He must, he shall give way -and do my will; I have need of that strong arm, -that cunning brain.—Whatsoever courage and -wisdom and strength there maybe in this land, all -gifts that God has endowed men withal, are but -granted them to my uses. For my service did all -noble gifts fall to Duke Skule’s share; to defy me -is to defy Heaven; ’tis my duty to punish whosoever -shall set himself up against Heaven’s will—for -Heaven has done so much for me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the back.</i>] Be on your guard to-night, -my lord; the Duke has surely evil in his -mind.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What say you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What may be his drift, I know not; but sure am -I that something is brewing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Can he think to fall upon us? Impossible, -impossible!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, ’tis something else. His ships lie clear for -sailing; he has summoned an Assembly on board -them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You must mistake——! Go, Dagfinn, and bring -me sure tidings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay ay, trust to me.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No,—’tis not to be thought of! The Duke dare -not rise against me. God will not suffer it—God, -who has hitherto guided all things for me so -marvellously. I must have peace now, for ’tis now -I must set about my work!—I have done so little -yet; but I hear the unerring voice of the Lord -calling to me: Thou shalt do a great king’s-work -in Norway!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the back.</i>] My lord and King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gregorius Jonsson! Come <em class='gesperrt'>you</em> hither?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I offer myself for your service. Thus far have -I followed the Duke; but now I dare follow him -no further.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What has befallen?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That which no man will believe, when ’tis -rumoured through the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Speak, speak!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I tremble to hear the sound of my own words; -know then——</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>He seizes the</i> <span class='sc'>King’s</span> <i>arm and whispers.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts backwards with a cry.</i>] Ha, are you distraught?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Would to God I were.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Unheard of! No, it cannot be true!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>By Christ’s dear blood, so is it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go, go; sound the trumpet-call for my guard; -get all my men under arms.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson</span> <i>goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Paces the room once or twice, then goes quickly up -to the door of</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete’s</span> <i>chamber, knocks at it, takes -one or two more turns through the room, then goes again -to the door, knocks, and calls.</i>] Margrete!</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes on pacing up and down.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In the doorway, attired for the night, with her hair -down; she has a red cloak round her shoulders, holding -it close together over her breast.</i>] Håkon! Is it -you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; come hither.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, but you must not look at me; I was in bed -already.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have other things to think of.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What has befallen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me a good counsel! I have even now -received the worst tidings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Alarmed.</i>] What tidings, Håkon?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That there are now two kings in Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Two kings in Norway!—Håkon, where is my -father?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He has proclaimed himself king on board his -ship; now he is sailing to Nidaros to be crowned.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh God, thou almighty——!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Sinks down on the bench, covers her face -with her hands and weeps.</i>]</p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Two kings in the land!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My husband the one—my father the other!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pacing restlessly up and down.</i>] Give me a good -counsel, Margrete! Should I cross the country by -way of the Uplands, come first to Nidaros, and -prevent the crowning? No, it may not be done; -My men are too few; there in the north he is more -powerful than I.—Give me counsel; how can I -have the Duke slain, ere he come to Nidaros?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Imploringly, with folded hands.</i>] Håkon, Håkon!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Can you not hit upon a good device, I say, to -have the Duke slain?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sinks down from the bench in agony and remains -kneeling.</i>] Oh, can you so utterly forget that he is -my father?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your father——; ay, ay, it is true; I had forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raises her up.</i>] Sit, sit, Margrete; -comfort you; do not weep; you have no fault in -this. [<i>Goes over to the window.</i>] Duke Skule will -be worse for me than all other foemen! God, -God,—why hast thou stricken me so sorely, when -I have in nowise sinned! [<i>A knock at the door in -the back; he starts, listens, and cries:</i>] Who knocks -so late?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga’s Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] One who is a-cold, Håkon!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a cry.</i>] My mother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Springs up.</i>] Inga!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes to the door and opens it; Inga is sitting on -the doorstep.</i>] My mother! Sitting like a dog -outside her son’s door! And I ask why God has -stricken me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stretches out her arms towards him.</i>] Håkon, my -child! Blessings upon you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raising her up.</i>] Come—come in; here are -light and warmth!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><em class='gesperrt'>May</em> I come in to you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Never shall we part again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Inga.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My son—my King—oh, but you are good and -loving! I stood in a corner and saw you, as you -came from the Bishop’s Palace; you looked so -sorrowful; I <em class='gesperrt'>could</em> not part from you thus.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God be thanked for that! No one, truly, -could have come to me more welcome than you. -Margrete—my mother—I have sorely sinned; I -have barred my heart against you two, who are so -rich in love.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Falls on his neck.</i>] Oh, Håkon, my beloved -husband; do I stand near you now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, near me, near me; not to give me cunning -counsels, but to shed light over my path. Come -what will, I feel the Lord’s strength within me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters hastily from the back.</i>] My lord, my lord! -The worst has befallen!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiles confidently while he holds</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span> <i>and</i> -<span class='sc'>Inga</span> <i>closely to him.</i>] I know it; but there is nought -to fear, good Dagfinn! If there be two kings -in Norway, there is but one in Heaven—and He -will set all straight!</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT FOURTH.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><i>The great hall in Oslo Palace.</i> <span class='sc'>King Skule</span> <i>is -feasting with the Guard and his Chiefs. In -front, on the left, stands the throne, where</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span> -<i>sits, richly attired, with a purple mantle and the -royal circlet on his head. The supper-table, by -which the guests are seated, stretches from the -throne towards the background. Opposite to</i> -<span class='sc'>Skule</span> <i>sit</i> <span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span> <i>and</i> <span class='sc'>Bård Bratte</span>. <i>Some -of the humbler guests are standing, to the right. -It is late evening; the hall is brightly lighted. -The banquet is drawing to a close; the men are -very merry, and some of them drunk; they drink -to each other, laugh, and all talk together.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rises and strikes the table.</i>] Silence in the hall; -Jatgeir Skald will say forth his song in honour of -King Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Stands out in the middle of the floor.</i><a id='r36' /><a href='#f36' class='c016'><sup>[36]</sup></a></div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Duke Skule he summoned the Örething;<a id='r37' /><a href='#f37' class='c016'><sup>[37]</sup></a></div> - <div class='line'>when ’twas mass-time in Nidaros town;</div> - <div class='line'>and the bells rang and swords upon bucklers clashed bravely</div> - <div class='line'>when Duke Skule he donned the crown.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>King Skule marched over the Dovrefjeld,</div> - <div class='line'>his host upon snow-shoes sped;</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>the Gudbranddalesman he grovelled for grace,</div> - <div class='line'>but his hoard must e’en ransom his head.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>King Skule south over Miösen fared,—</div> - <div class='line'>the Uplander cursed at his banner;</div> - <div class='line'>King Skule hasted through Raumarike to Låka in Nannestad manor.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>’Twas all in the holy Shrove-tide week</div> - <div class='line'>we met with the Birchleg horde;</div> - <div class='line'>Earl Knut was their captain—the swords with loud tongue</div> - <div class='line'>in the suit for the throne made award.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>They say of a truth that since Sverre’s days</div> - <div class='line'>was never so hot a fight;</div> - <div class='line'>red-sprent, like warriors’ winding-sheets,</div> - <div class='line'>grew the upland that erst lay white.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>They took to their heels did the Birchenlegs,</div> - <div class='line'>flinging from them both buckler and bill there;</div> - <div class='line'>many hundreds, though, took to their heels nevermore,</div> - <div class='line'>for they lay and were icily chill there.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>No man knows where King Håkon hideth;—</div> - <div class='line'>King Skule stands safe at the helm.</div> - <div class='line'>All hail and long life to thee, lord, in thy state</div> - <div class='line'>as King of all Norway’s realm!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>Skule’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Spring up with loud jubilation, hold goblets -and beakers aloft, clash their weapons, -and repeat:</i></p> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All hail and long life to thee, lord, in thy state -as King of all Norway’s realm!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule</span>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thanks for the song, Jatgeir Skald! ’Tis as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>I best like it; for it gives my men no less praise -than myself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King is honoured when his men are -praised.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Take as guerdon this arm-ring, stay with me, -and be of my household; I will have many skalds -about me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twill need many, my lord, if all your great -deeds are to be sung.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will be threefold more bountiful than Håkon; -the skald’s song shall be honoured and rewarded -like all other noble deeds, so long as I am king. -Be seated; now you belong to my household; -all you have need of shall be freely given you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seats himself.</i>] Ere long there will be a dearth -of what I most need, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What mean you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Foes to King Skule, whose flight and fall I can -sing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many of the Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Amid laughter and applause.</i>] Well said, -Icelander!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span>] The song was good; but ’tis -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>known there goes a spice of lying to every skald-work, -and yours was not without it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Lying, Sir Marshal?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; you say no man knows where King Håkon -is hiding; that is not true; we have certain -tidings that Håkon is at Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling.</i>] He has claimed homage for the -King-child, and given it the kingly title.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That have I heard; but I knew not that any -man could give away that which he himself does -not possess.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis easiest to give what you yourself do not -possess.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But it can scarce be easy to beg your way in -midwinter from Bergen to Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The fortunes of the Birchlegs move in a ring; -they began hungry and frozen, and now they end -in like case.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis rumoured in Bergen that Håkon has forsworn -the Church and all that is holy; he heard -not mass on New Year’s day.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He could plead lawful hindrance, Paul; he -stood all day cutting his silver goblets and dishes -to pieces—he had naught else wherewith to pay -his household.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Laughter and loud talk among the guests.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raises his goblet.</i>] I drink to you, Bård Bratte, -and thank you and all my new men. You fought -manfully for me at Låka, and bore a great part in -the victory.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was the first time I fought under you, my -lord; but I soon felt that ’tis easy to conquer when -such a chieftain as you rides at the head of the -host. But I would we had not slain so many and -chased them so far; for now I fear ’twill be long -ere they dare face us again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wait till the spring: we shall meet them again, -never fear. Earl Knut lies with the remnant at -Tunsberg rock, and Arnbiörn Jonsson is gathering -a force eastward in Viken; when they deem -themselves strong enough, they will soon let us -hear from them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They will never dare to, after the great -slaughter at Låka.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then will we lure them forth with cunning.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—do so, lord King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have good store of cunning, King Skule. -Your foemen have never warning ere you fall upon -them, and you are ever there where they least -await you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis therefore that the Birchlegs call us -Vårbælgs.<a id='r38' /><a href='#f38' class='c016'><sup>[38]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Others say Vargbælgs; but this I swear, that -when next we meet, the Birchlegs shall learn how -hard it is to turn such Wolf-skins inside out.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With their good will shall we never meet-’twill -be a chase the whole country round.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, that it shall be. First we must purge -Viken, and make sure of all these eastward parts; -then will we get our ships together, and sail round -the Naze and up the coast to Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And when you come in such wise to Nidaros, -I scare think the monks will deny to move -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>St. Olaf’s shrine out to the mote-stead, as they -did in the autumn, when we swore allegiance.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The shrine <em class='gesperrt'>shall</em> out; I will bear my kingship -in all ways lawfully.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I promise you to sing a great death-song, -when you have slain the Sleeper.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>An outburst of laughter among the men.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Sleeper?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Know you not, my lord, that King Håkon is -called “Håkon the Sleeper,” because he sits as -though benumbed ever since you came to the -throne?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They say he lies ever with his eyes closed. -Doubtless he dreams that he is still king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let him dream; he shall never dream himself -back into the kingship.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let his sleep be long and dreamless, then shall -I have stuff for songs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, do as the skald says!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When so many good men counsel as one, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>counsel must be good; yet will we not talk now -of that matter. But one promise I will make: -each of my men shall inherit the weapons and -harness, and gold and silver, of whichever one of -the enemy he slays; and each man shall succeed -to the dignities of him he lays low. He who slays -a baron shall himself be a baron; he who slays a -thane, shall receive his thaneship; and all they -who already hold such dignities and offices, shall -be rewarded after other kingly sort.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Spring up in wild delight.</i>] Hail, hail, King -Skule! Lead us against the Birchlegs!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now are you sure to conquer in all battles.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I claim Dagfinn the Peasant for myself; he -owns a good sword that I have long hankered -after.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will have Bård Torsteinsson’s hauberk; it -saved his life at Låka, for it withstands both cut -and thrust.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, but let me have it; ’twill fit me better; -you shall have five golden marks in exchange.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where will you find five golden marks, Skald?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will take them from Gregorius Jonsson when -we come northward.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>All talking together.</i>] And I will have—I will -have——[<i>The rest becomes indistinct in the hubbub.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Away! Every man to his quarters; bethink -you that you are in the King’s hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—hail to the King, hail to King Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To bed now, good fellows! We have sat long -over the drinking-table to-night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Man-at-Arms.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As the crowd is trooping out.</i>] To-morrow we -will cast lots for the Birchlegs’ goods.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Rather leave it to luck!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Several.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Others.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now the Wolf-skins are fighting for the bear-fell.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And they have yet to fell the bear.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>All go out by the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Waits till the men are gone; the tension of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>his features relaxes; he sinks upon a bench.</i>] How -weary I am, weary to death. To live in the -midst of that swarm day out and day in, to look -smilingly ahead as though I were so immovably -assured of right and victory and fortune. To have -no creature with whom I may speak of all that -gnaws me so sorely. [<i>Rises with a look of terror.</i>] -And the battle at Låka! That I should have -conquered there! Håkon sent his host against -me; God was to judge and award between the -two kings—and I conquered, conquered, as never -any before has conquered the Birchlegs! Their -shields stood upright in the snow, but there was -none behind them—the Birchlegs took to the -woods, and fled over upland and moor and lea as -far as their legs would carry them. The unbelievable -came to pass; Håkon lost and I won. -There is a secret horror in that victory. Thou -great God of Heaven! there rules, then, no certain -law on high, that all things must obey? The -right carries with it no conquering might? [<i>With a -change of tone, wildly.</i>] I am sick, I am sick!—Wherefore -should not the right be on my side? -May I not deem that God himself would assure -me of it, since he let me conquer? [<i>Brooding.</i>] -The possibilities are even;—not a feather-weight -more on the one side than on the other; and yet—[<i>shakes -his head</i>]—yet the balance dips on -Håkon’s part. I have hatred and hot desire to -cast into my scale, yet the balance dips on Håkon’s -part. When the thought of the kingly right comes -over me unawares, ’tis ever he, not I, that is the -true king. When I would see myself as the true -king, I must do it with forethought, I must build -up a whole fabric of subtleties, a work of cunning; -I must hold memories aloof, and take faith by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>storm. It was not so before. What has befallen -to fill me so full of doubt? The burning of the -letter? No—that made the uncertainty eternal, -but did not add to it. Has Håkon done any great -and kingly deed in these later days? No, his -greatest deeds were done while I least believed -in him. [<i>Seats himself on the right.</i>] What is it? -Ha, strange! It comes and goes like a marsh-fire; -it dances at the tip of my tongue, as when one has -lost a word and cannot find it. [<i>Springs up.</i>] Ha! -Now I have it! No——! Yes, yes! Now I have -it!—“Norway has been a <em class='gesperrt'>kingdom</em>, it shall become -a <em class='gesperrt'>people</em>; all shall be one, and all shall feel -and know that they are one!” Since Håkon spoke -those madman’s words, he stands ever before me -as the rightful king. [<i>Whispers with fixed and apprehensive -gaze.</i>] What if God’s calling glimmered -through these strange words? If God had garnered -up the thought till now, and would now -strew it forth—and had chosen Håkon for his -sower?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the back.</i>] My lord King, I have -tidings for you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Tidings?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A man who comes from down the fiord brings -news that the Birchlegs in Tunsberg have launched -their ships, and that many men have gathered in -the town in these last days.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good, we will go forth to meet them—to-morrow -or the day after.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It might chance, my lord King, that the Birchlegs -had a mind to meet us first.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They have not ships enough for that, nor men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But Arnbiörn Jonsson is gathering both men -and ships, all round in Viken.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The better for us; we will crush them at one -blow, as we did at Låka.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, ’tis not so easy to crush the Birchlegs -twice following.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And wherefore not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Because Norway’s saga tells not that the like -has ever befallen. Shall I send forth scouts to -Hoved-isle?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis needless; the night is dark, and there is a -sea-fog to boot.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well well, the King knows best; but bethink -you, my lord, that all men are against you here in -Viken. The townsfolk of Oslo hate you, and should -the Birchlegs come, they will make common cause -with them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With animation.</i>] Paul Flida, were it not -possible that I could win over the men of Viken -to my side?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks at him in astonishment, and shakes his -head.</i>] No, my lord, it is not possible.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And wherefore not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Why, for that you have the Trönders on your -side.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will have both the Trönders and the men of -Viken!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, my lord, that cannot be!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not possible! cannot be! And wherefore—wherefore -not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Because the man of Viken is the man of Viken, -the Trönder is the Trönder; because so it has -always been, and no saga tells of a time when it -was otherwise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—you are right. Go.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And send forth no scouts?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wait till daybreak. [<span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span> <i>goes</i>.] Norway’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>saga tells of no such thing; it has never -been so yet; Paul Flida answers me as I answered -Håkon. Are there, then, upward as well as downward -steps? Stands Håkon as high over me as I -over Paul Flida? Has Håkon an eye for unborn -thoughts, that is lacking in me? Who stood so -high as Harold Hårfager in the days when every -headland had its king, and he said: Now they -must fall—hereafter shall there be but one? He -threw the old saga to the winds, and made a new -saga. [<i>A pause; he paces up and down lost in thought; -then he stops.</i>] Can one man take God’s calling -from another, as he takes weapons and gold -from his fallen foe? Can a Pretender clothe himself -in a king’s life-task, as he can put on the -kingly mantle? The oak that is felled to be a -ship’s timber, can it say: Nay, I will be the mast, -I will take on me the task of the fir-tree, point -upwards, tall and shining, bear the golden vane -at my top, spread bellying white sails to the sunshine, -and meet the eyes of all men, from afar!—No, -no, thou heavy gnarled oak-trunk, thy place is -down in the keel; <em class='gesperrt'>there</em> shalt thou lie, and do thy -work, unheard-of and unseen by those aloft in the -daylight; it is thou that shalt hinder the ship from -being whelmed in the storm; while the mast with -the golden vane and the bellying sail shall bear it -forward toward the new, toward the unknown, -toward alien strands and the saga of the future! -[<i>Vehemently.</i>] Since Håkon uttered his great -king-thought, I can see no other thought in the -world but that only. If I cannot take it and act it -out, I see no other thought to fight for. [<i>Brooding.</i>] -And can I not make it mine? If I cannot, -whence comes my great love for Håkon’s -thought?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the back.</i>] Forgive my coming, -lord King——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You come to my wish, Skald!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I overheard some townsfolk at my lodging -talking darkly of——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let that wait. Tell me, Skald: you who have -fared far abroad in strange lands, have you ever -seen a woman love another’s child? Not only -have kindness for it—’tis not that I mean; but -<em class='gesperrt'>love</em> it, love it with the warmest passion of her -soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That do only those women who have no child of -their own to love.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Only those women——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And chiefly women who are barren.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Chiefly the barren——? They love the children -of others with all their warmest passions?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will oftentimes befall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And does it not sometimes befall that such a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>barren woman will slay another’s child, because -she herself has none?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay; but in that she does unwisely.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Unwisely?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, for she gives the gift of sorrow to her whose -child she slays.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you the gift of sorrow is a great good?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks fixedly at him.</i>] Methinks there are two -men in you, Icelander. When you sit amid the -household at the merry feast, you draw cloak and -hood over all your thoughts; when one is alone -with you, sometimes you seem to be of those among -whom one were fain to choose his friend. How -comes it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When you go to swim in the river, my lord, you -would scarce strip you where the people pass by -to church; you seek a sheltered privacy.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>True, true.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My soul has the like shamefastness; therefore -I do not strip me when there are many in the -hall.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha. [<i>A short pause.</i>] Tell me, Jatgeir, how -came you to be a skald? Who taught you skald-craft?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Skaldcraft cannot be taught, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Cannot be taught? How came it then?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The gift of sorrow came to me, and I was a -skald.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then ’tis the gift of sorrow the skald has need -of?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><i>I</i> needed sorrow; others there may be who need -faith, or joy—or doubt——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Doubt as well?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; but then must the doubter be strong and -sound.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And whom call you the unsound doubter?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He who doubts of his own doubt.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Slowly.</i>] That, methinks, were death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis worse; ’tis neither day nor night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quickly, as if shaking off his thoughts.</i>] Where -are my weapons? I will fight and act—not think. -What was it you would have told me when you -came?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas what I noted in my lodging. The townsmen -whisper together secretly, and laugh mockingly, -and ask if we be well assured that King -Håkon is in the westland; there is somewhat they -are in glee over.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are men of Viken, and therefore against -me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They scoff because King Olaf’s shrine could not -be brought out to the mote-stead when you were -chosen king; they say it boded ill.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When next I come to Nidaros, the shrine <em class='gesperrt'>shall</em> -out! It shall stand under the open sky, though -I should have to tear down St. Olaf’s church and -widen out the mote-stead over the spot where it -stood.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That were a strong deed; but I shall make a -song of it, as strong as the deed itself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you many unmade songs within you, -Jatgeir?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, but many unborn; they are conceived -one after the other, come to life, and are brought -forth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And if I, who am King and have the might, if -I were to have you slain, would all the unborn -skald-thoughts you bear within you die along with -you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, it is a great sin to slay a fair thought.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I ask not if it be a <em class='gesperrt'>sin</em>; I ask if it be -<em class='gesperrt'>possible</em>!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I know not.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you never had another skald for your -friend, and has he never unfolded to you a great -and noble song he thought to make?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Did you not then wish that you could slay him, -to take his thought and make the song yourself?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, I am not barren; I have children of -my own; I need not to love those of other men.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a pause.</i>] The Icelander is in very deed a -skald. He speaks God’s deepest truth and knows -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>it not——<i>I</i> am as a barren woman. Therefore -I love Håkon’s kingly thought-child, love it with -the warmest passion of my soul. Oh, that I could -but adopt<a id='r39' /><a href='#f39' class='c016'><sup>[39]</sup></a> it! It would die in my hands. Which -were best, that it should die in my hands, or wax -great in his? Should I ever have peace of soul if -that came to pass? Can I forgo all? Can I stand -by and see Håkon make himself famous for all -time! How dead and empty is all within me—and -around me. No friend—; ah, the Icelander! -[<i>Goes to the door and calls</i>:] Has the skald gone -from the palace?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Guard.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Outside.</i>] No, my lord; he stands in the -outer hall talking with the watch.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bid him come hither. [<i>Goes forward to the -table; presently</i> <span class='sc'>Jatgeir</span> <i>enters</i>.] I cannot sleep, -Jatgeir; ’tis all my great kingly thoughts that -keep me awake, you see.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis with the king’s thoughts as with the skald’s, -I doubt not. They fly highest and grow quickest -when there is night and stillness around.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is it so with the skald’s thoughts too?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, lord; no song is born by daylight; it may -be written down in the sunshine; but it makes -itself in the silent night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who gave you the gift of sorrow, Jatgeir?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>She whom I loved.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>She died, then.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, she deceived me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And then you became a skald?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, then I became a skald.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes him by the arm.</i>] What gift do <i>I</i> need -to become a king?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not the gift of doubt; else would you not -question so.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What gift do I need?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, you are a king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you at all times full faith that you are a -skald?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks silently at him for a while, and asks.</i>] Have -you never loved?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, once—burningly, blissfully, and in sin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have a wife.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Her I took to bear me sons.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But you have a daughter, my lord—a gracious -and noble daughter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Were my daughter a son, I would not ask you -what gift I need. [<i>Vehemently.</i>] I must have -some one by me who sinks his own will utterly in -mine—who believes in me unflinchingly, who will -cling close to me in good hap and ill, who lives -only to shed light and warmth over my life, and -must die if I fall. Give me counsel, Jatgeir -Skald!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Buy yourself a dog, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Would no man suffice?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You would have to search long for such a man.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Suddenly.</i>] Will <em class='gesperrt'>you</em> be that man to me, -Jatgeir? Will <em class='gesperrt'>you</em> be a son to me? You shall -have Norway’s crown to your heritage—the whole -land shall be yours, if you will be a son to me, and -live for my life-work, and believe in me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And what should be my warranty that I did not -feign——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give up your calling in life; sing no more songs, -and then will I believe you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, lord—that were to buy the crown too dear.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bethink you well—’tis greater to be a king than -a skald.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not always.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis but your unsung songs you must sacrifice!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Songs unsung are ever the fairest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But I must—I must have one who can trust in -me! Only one! I feel it—had I that one, I -were saved!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trust in yourself and you will be saved!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters hastily.</i>] King Skule, look to yourself! -Håkon Håkonsson lies off Elgjarness with all his -fleet!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Off Elgjarness——! Then he is close at hand.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Get we to arms then! If there be bloodshed -to-night, I will gladly be the first to die for you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, who would not live for me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Jatgeir.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A man can die for another’s life-work; but if -he go on living, he must live for his own.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Impatiently.</i>] Your commands, my lord! The -Birchlegs may be in Oslo this very hour.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twere best if we could fare to St. Thomas -Beckett’s grave; he has helped so many a sorrowful -and penitent soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>More forcibly.</i>] My lord, speak not so wildly -now; I tell you, the Birchlegs are upon us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let all the churches be opened, that we may -betake us thither and find grace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You can crush all your foemen at one stroke, -and yet would betake you to the churches!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes, keep all the churches open!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Be sure Håkon will break sanctuary, when ’tis -Vårbælgs he pursues.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will he not; God will shield him from such -a sin;—God always shields Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In deep and sorrowful wrath.</i>] To hear you -speak thus, a man could not but ask: Who is king -in this land?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiling mournfully.</i>] Ay, Paul Flida, that is -the great question: <em class='gesperrt'>Who</em> is king in this land?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Imploringly.</i>] You are soul-sick to-night, my -lord; let me act for you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, do so.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Going.</i>] First will I break down all the -bridges.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Madman! Stay!—Break down all the bridges! -Know you what that means? <i>I</i> have assayed it;—beware -of that!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What would you then, my lord?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will talk with Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He will answer you with a tongue of steel.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go, go;—you shall learn my will anon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Every moment is precious! [<i>Seizes his hand.</i>] -King Skule, let us break down all the bridges, -fight like Wolves,<a id='r40' /><a href='#f40' class='c016'><sup>[40]</sup></a> and trust in Heaven!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Heaven trusts not in me; I dare -not trust in Heaven.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Short has been the saga of the Vargbælgs.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out by the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A hundred cunning heads, a thousand mighty -arms, are at my beck; but not a single loving, -trusting heart. That is kingly beggary; no more, -no less.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the back.</i>] Two wayfarers from afar -stand without, praying to have speech with you -my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who are they?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A woman and a priest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let the woman and the priest approach.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Bård</span> <i>goes</i>; <span class='sc'>King Skule</span> <i>seats himself, -musing, on the right; presently there -enters a black-robed woman; she wears -a long cloak, a hood, and a thick veil, -which conceals her face; a priest follows -her, and remains standing by the door</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who are you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>One you have loved.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] There lives no one who -remembers that I have loved. Who are you, I -ask?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>One who loves you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then are you surely one of the dead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Comes close to him and says softly and passionately.</i>] -Skule Bårdsson!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rises with a cry.</i>] Ingeborg!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do you know me now, Skule?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ingeborg,—Ingeborg!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, let me look at you—look long at you, so -long! [<i>Seizes his hands; a pause.</i>] You fair, you -deeply loved, you faithless man!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Take off that veil; look at me with the eyes -that once were as clear and blue as the sky.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>These eyes have been but a rain-clouded sky -for twenty years; you would not know them -again, and you shall never see them more.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But your voice is fresh and soft and young as -ever!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have used it only to whisper <em class='gesperrt'>your</em> name, to -imprint your greatness in a young heart, and to -pray to the sinners’ God for grace toward us -twain, who have loved in sin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have done that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have been silent save to speak loving words -of you;—therefore has my voice remained fresh -and soft and young.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There lies a life-time between. Every fair -memory from those days have I wasted and let -slip——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was your right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And meantime you, Ingeborg, loving, faithful -woman, have dwelt there in the north, guarding -and treasuring your memories, in ice-cold -loneliness!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It was my happiness.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And I could give you up to win might and -riches! With you at my side, as my wife, I had -found it easier to be a king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God has been good to me in willing it otherwise. -A soul like mine had need of a great sin, -to arouse it to remorse and expiation.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And now you come——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>As Andres Skialdarband’s widow.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your husband is dead!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>On the way from Jerusalem.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then has he atoned for the slaying of Vegard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas not therefore that my noble husband -took the Cross.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not therefore?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No; it was <em class='gesperrt'>my</em> sin he took upon his strong, -loving shoulders; ’twas <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> he went to wash -away in Jordan stream; ’twas for <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> he bled.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Then he knew all.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From the first. And Bishop Nicholas knew it, -for to him I confessed. And there was one other -man that came to know it, though how I cannot -guess.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Vegard Væradal.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Vegard!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He whispered a mocking word of me into my -husband’s ear; and thereupon Andres Skialdarband -drew his sword, and slew him on the spot.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He kept ward over her whom <i>I</i> betrayed and -forgot.—And wherefore seek you me now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To bring you the last sacrifice.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What mean you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Points to the Priest who stands by the door.</i>] -Look at him!—Peter, my son, come hither!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Your son——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And <em class='gesperrt'>yours</em>, King Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Half bewildered.</i>] Ingeborg!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<span class='sc'>Peter</span> <i>approaches in silent emotion, and -throws himself before</i> <span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Take him! For twenty years has he been the -light and comfort of my life.—Now are you King -of Norway; the King’s son must enter on his -heritage; I have no longer any right to him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raises him up, in a storm of joy.</i>] Here, to -my heart, you whom I have yearned for so burningly! -[<i>Presses him in his arms, lets him go, looks -at him, and embraces him again.</i>] My son! My -son! I have a son! Ha-ha-ha! who can stand -against me now? [<i>Goes over to</i> <span class='sc'>Ingeborg</span> <i>and -seizes her hand</i>.] And you, you give him to me, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>Ingeborg! You take not back your word? You -give him to me indeed?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Heavy is the sacrifice, and scarce had I strength -to make it, but that Bishop Nicholas sent him to -me, bearing a letter with tidings of Andres Skialdarband’s -death. ’Twas the Bishop that laid on -me the heavy sacrifice, to atone for all my sin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then is the sin blotted out, and henceforth he -is mine alone; is it not so, mine alone?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes; but one promise I crave of you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Heaven and earth, crave all you will!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is pure as a lamb of God, as I now give him -into your hands. ’Tis a perilous path that leads -up to the throne; let him not take hurt to his -soul. Hear you, King Skule: let not my child -take hurt to his soul!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That I promise and swear to you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes his arm.</i>] From the moment you mark -that his soul suffers harm, let him rather die!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Rather die! I promise and swear it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then shall I be of good cheer as I go back to -Halogaland.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, you may be of good cheer.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There will I repent and pray, till the Lord calls -me. And when we meet before God, he shall -come back to me pure and blameless.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Pure and blameless! [<i>Turning to</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span>.] Let -me look at you! Ay, your mother’s features and -mine; you are he for whom I have longed so -sorely.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My father, my great, noble father! Let me -live and fight for you! Let your cause be mine; -and be your cause what it may—I know that I -am fighting for the right!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a cry of joy.</i>] You trust in me! You -trust in me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Immovably!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then all is well; then am I surely saved! -Listen: you shall cast off the cowl; the Archbishop -shall loose you from your vows; the King’s son -shall wield the sword, shall go forward unwavering -to might and honour.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Together with you, my noble father! We will -go together!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Drawing the youth close up to himself.</i>] Ay, -together, we two alone!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Ingeborg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To herself.</i>] To love, to sacrifice all and be -forgotten, that is my saga.<a id='r41' /><a href='#f41' class='c016'><sup>[41]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes quietly out by the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now shall a great king’s-work be done in -Norway! Listen, Peter, my son! We will -awaken the whole people, and gather it into one; -the man of Viken and the Trönder, the Halogalander -and the Agdeman, the Uplander and the -Sogndaleman, all shall be <em class='gesperrt'>one</em> great family! Then -shall you see how the land will come to flourish!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What a great and dizzy thought——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do you grasp it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes—yes!—Clearly——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And have you faith in it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; for I have faith in you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] Håkon Håkonsson must die.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If you will it, then it is right that he die.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twill cost blood; but that we cannot heed!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The blood is not wasted that flows in your -cause.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All the might shall be yours when I have built -up the kingdom. You shall sit on the throne -with the circlet on your brow, with the purple -mantle flowing wide over your shoulders; all men -in the land shall bow before you——[<i>The sounds -of distant horns<a id='r42' /><a href='#f42' class='c016'><sup>[42]</sup></a> are heard.</i>] Ha! what was -that? [<i>With a cry.</i>] The Birchleg host! What -was it Paul Flida said——?</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Rushes towards the back.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters and cries</i>:] The hour is upon us, King -Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Bewildered.</i>] The Birchlegs! King Håkon’s -host! Where are they?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are swarming in thousands down over the -Ekeberg.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sound the call to arms! Sound, sound! Give -counsel; where shall we meet them?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All the churches stand open for us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis of the Birchlegs I ask——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For them all the bridges stand open.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Unhappy man, what have you <a id='corr279.13'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='done'>done?</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_279.13'><ins class='correction' title='done'>done?</ins></a></span></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Obeyed my King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My son! My son! Woe is me; I have lost -your kingdom!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, you will conquer! So great a king’s-thought -cannot die!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peace, peace! [<i>Horns and shouts are heard, -nearer at hand.</i>] To horse! To arms! More is -here at stake than the life and death of men!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Rushes out by the back; the others follow -him.</i></p> -</div> - -<p class='c024'><span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span><i>A street in Oslo. On each side, low wooden houses, -with porches. At the back, St. Hallvard’s churchyard, -enclosed by a high wall with a gate. On -the left, at the end of the wall, is seen the -church, the chief portal of which stands open. -It is still night; after a little, the day begins -to dawn. The alarm-bell is ringing: far away -on the right are heard battle-shouts and confused -noises.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule’s Hornblower.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the right, blows his horn, and shouts.</i>] -To arms! To arms, all King Skule’s men!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Blows his horn again, and proceeds on his -way; presently he is heard blowing and -shouting in the next street.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appears at a house door on the right.</i>] Great -God of mercy, what is astir?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has come out, half dressed, from a house on -the other side of the street.</i>] The Birchlegs are in -the town! Now will Skule have his reward for -all his misdeeds.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>One of Skule’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters with some others, bearing their cloaks and -weapons on their arms, from a side street on the left.</i>] -Where are the Birchlegs?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another of Skule’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Coming from a house on the right.</i>] I know -not!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hist! Listen!—They must be down at the -Geite-bridge!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Off to the Geite-bridge then!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>They all rush out to the right; a townsman -comes running in from the same side.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hey, neighbour, whence come you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From down at the Lo-river; there’s ugly work -there.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>St. Olaf and St. Hallvard! Is it the Birchlegs, -or who is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who else but the Birchlegs! King Håkon is -with them; the whole fleet is laying in to the -wharves; but he himself landed with his best men -out at Ekeberg.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then will he take revenge for the slaughter at -Låka!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, be sure of that.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>See, see! The Vårbælgs are flying already!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span><i>A troop of</i> <span class='sc'>Skule’s</span> <i>men enter in full flight, from the right</i>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>One of Them.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Into the church! None can stand against the -Birchlegs as they lay about them to-night.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The troop rushes into the church and bars -the door on the inside.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking out to the right.</i>] I see a standard far -down the street; it must be King Håkon’s.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>See, see, how the Vårbælgs are running!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><i>A second troop enters from the right.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>One of the Fugitives.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Let us take to the church and pray for grace.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>They rush at the door.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Several Vårbælgs.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis barred! ’tis barred!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Up over Martestokke then!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where is King Skule?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I know not. Away! yonder I see the Birchlegs -standard!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>They flee past the church, out to the left.</i></div> - -<p class='c024'><span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span><span class='sc'>Håkon</span> <i>enters from the right with his Standard-bearer</i>, -<span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson, Dagfinn the -Peasant</span>, <i>and several other men</i>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hark to the war-cry! Skule is gathering his -men behind the churchyard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>An Old Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Calls from his porch, to</i> <span class='sc'>Håkon</span>.] Take heed for -yourself, dear my lord; the Vargbælgs are fierce, -now they are fighting for life.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is it you, old Guthorm Erlendsson? You have -fought both for my father and for my grandfather.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Would to God I could fight for you as well.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For that you are too old, and there is no need; -men pour in upon me from all sides.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pointing off over the wall to the right.</i>] There -comes the Duke’s standard!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Duke himself! He rides his white war-horse.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We must hinder his passage through the gate -here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Wind the horn, wind the horn! [<i>The Hornblower -does so.</i>] You blew better, you whelp, when you -blew for money on Bergen wharf.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The Hornblower winds another blast, louder -than the first; many men come rushing -in.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Vårbælg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the right, fleeing towards the church, pursued -by a Birchleg.</i>] Spare my life! Spare my life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Birchleg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not though you sat on the altar! [<i>Cuts him -down.</i>] ’Tis a costly cloak you wear, methinks -’twill fit me well. [<i>Is about to take the cloak, but -utters a cry and casts away his sword.</i>] My lord -King! Not another stroke will I strike for you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You say that in such an hour as this?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Birchleg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not another stroke!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Cuts him down.</i>] Well, you may e’en let it alone.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Birchleg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Pointing to the dead Vårbælg.</i>] Methought I -had done enough when I slew my own brother.</p> -<div class='c026'>[<i>Dies.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>His brother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What! <span class='float-right'>[<i>Goes up to the Vårbælg’s body.</i></span></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is it true?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I fear me it is.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaken.</i>] Here see we what a war we are -waging. Brother against brother, father against -son;—by God Almighty, this must have an end!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There comes the Duke, in full fight with Earl -Knut’s troop!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bar the gate against him, king’s men!</p> - -<p class='c024'><i>On the other side of the wall, the combatants come in -sight. The Vårbælgs are forcing their way -towards the left, driving the Birchlegs back, foot -by foot.</i> <span class='sc'>King Skule</span> <i>rides his white war-horse, -with his sword drawn</i>. <span class='sc'>Peter</span> <i>walks at his side, -holding the horse’s bridle, and with his left -hand uplifting a crucifix</i>. <span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span> <i>bears</i> -<span class='sc'>Skule’s</span> <i>standard, which is blue, with a golden -lion rampant, without the axe</i>.<a id='r43' /><a href='#f43' class='c016'><sup>[43]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Cut them down! Spare no man! There is -come a new heir<a id='r44' /><a href='#f44' class='c016'><sup>[44]</sup></a> to the throne of Norway!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span><span class='sc'>The Birchlegs.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A new heir, said he?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Skule Bårdsson, let us share the kingdom!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All or nought!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think of the Queen, your daughter!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I have a son, I have a son! I think of none -but him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I too have a son;—if I fall the kingdom will be -his!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slay the King-child, wherever you find it! Slay -it on the throne; slay it at the altar; slay it—slay -it in the Queen’s arms!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There did you utter your own doom!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Slashing about him.</i>] Slay, slay without mercy! -King Skule has a son! Slay, slay!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>The fighting gradually passes away to the left.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Vargbælgs are hewing their way through!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, but only to flee.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, by Heaven,—the other gate stands open; -they are fleeing already!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Up towards Martestokke. [<i>Calls out.</i>] After -them, after them, Earl Knut! Take vengeance -for the slaughter at Låka!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You heard it: he proclaimed my child an outlaw—my -innocent child, Norway’s chosen king -after me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The King’s Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, we heard it!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And what is the punishment for such a crime?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Death!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must he die! [<i>Raises his hand to make -oath.</i>] Here I swear it: Skule Bårdsson shall die, -wherever he be met on unconsecrated ground!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis every true man’s duty to slay him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Birchleg</span>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the left.</i>] Duke Skule has taken to flight!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Townsfolk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Birchlegs have conquered!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What way?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Birchleg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Past Martestokke, up towards Eidsvold; most -of them had horses waiting up in the streets, else -had not one escaped with his life.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Thanks be to God that has helped us yet again! -Now may the Queen safely come ashore from the -fleet.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Points off to the right.</i>] She has already landed, -my lord; there she comes!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To those nearest him.</i>] The heaviest task is yet -before me; she is a loving daughter;—listen—no -word to her of the danger that threatens her -child. Swear to me, one and all, to keep ward -over your King’s son; but let her know nothing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] We swear it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters, with ladies and attendants, from the right.</i>] -Håkon, my husband! Heaven has shielded you; -you have conquered and are unhurt!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, I have conquered. Where is the child?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>On board the King’s ship, in the hands of trusty -men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go more of you thither.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Some of the men go.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon, where is—Duke Skule?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He has made for the Uplands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He lives, then!—My husband, may I thank God -that he lives?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In painful agitation.</i>] Hear me, Margrete: you -have been a faithful wife to me, you have followed -me through good hap and ill, you have been unspeakably -rich in love;—now must I cause you a -heavy sorrow; I am loath to do it; but I am King, -therefore must I——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In suspense.</i>] Has it to do with—the Duke?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes. No bitterer lot could befall me than to -live my life far from you; but if you think it must -be so after what I now tell you—if you feel that -you can no longer sit by my side, no longer look -at me without turning pale—well, we must even -part—live each alone—and I shall not blame you -for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Part from you! How can you think such a -thought? Give me your hand——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Touch it not!—It has even now been lifted in -oath——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In oath?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>An oath that set its sacred seal upon a death-warrant.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a shriek.</i>] My father! Oh, my father!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Totters; two women rush forward to support her.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, Margrete—his King has doomed your -father to death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then well I know he has committed a greater -crime than when he took the kingly title.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That has he;—and now, if you feel that we must -part, so let it be.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Coming close to him, firmly.</i>] We can never -part! I am your wife, nought else in the world -but your wife!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Are you strong enough? Did you hear and -understand all? I have doomed your father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I heard and understood. You have doomed my -father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you ask not to know what was his crime?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis enough that you know it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But it was to death that I doomed him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Kneels before the</i> <span class='sc'>King</span>, <i>and kisses his hand</i>.] My -husband and noble lord, your doom is just!</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span> - <h3 class='c012'>ACT FIFTH.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><i>A room in the palace at Nidaros. The entrance door is -on the right; in front, on the same side, a window; -to the left a smaller door. It is after night-fall.</i> -<span class='sc'>Paul Flida, Bård Bratte,</span> <i>and several of</i> <span class='sc'>King -Skule’s</span> <i>principal followers are standing at the -window and looking upward</i>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Man-at-Arms.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How red it glows!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It stretches over half the sky, like a flaming -sword.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Holy King Olaf, what bodes such a sign of -dread?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>An Old Vårbælg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Assuredly it bodes a great chief’s death.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon’s death, my good Vårbælgs. He is lying -out in the fiord with his fleet; we may look for -him in the town to-night. This time, ’tis our turn -to conquer!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Trust not to that; there is little heart in the -host now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span><span class='sc'>The Old Vårbælg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And reason enough, in sooth; ever since the -flight from Oslo has King Skule shut himself in, -and will neither see nor speak with his men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Man-at-Arms.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There are those in the town who know not -whether to believe him alive or dead.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King must out, however sick he may be. -Speak to him, Bård Bratte—the safety of all is at -stake.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It avails not; I have spoken to him already.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must I try what I can do. [<i>Goes to the -door on the left, and knocks.</i>] My lord King, -you must take the helm in your own hands; -things can no longer go on in this fashion.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Within.</i>] I am sick, Paul Flida.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What else can you look for? You have eaten -nought these two days; you must nourish and -strengthen you——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am sick.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>By the Almighty, ’tis no time for sickness. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>King Håkon lies out in the fiord, and may at any -time be upon us here in Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Strike him down for me! Slay him and the -King-child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You must be with us, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no, no,—you are surest of fortune and -victory when I am not there.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the right; he is in armour.</i>] The -townsfolk are ill at ease; they flock together in -great masses before the palace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Unless the King speak to them, they will desert -him in the hour of need.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then must he speak to them. [<i>At the door on -the left.</i>] Father! The Trönders, your trustiest -subjects, will fall away from you if you give them -not courage.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What said the skald?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The skald?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The skald who died for my sake at Oslo. A -man cannot give what he himself does not possess, -he said.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then neither can you give away the kingdom; -for it is mine after you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now I will come!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>God be praised!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Comes forward in the doorway; he is pale and -haggard; his hair has grown very grey.</i>] You shall -not look at me! I will not have you look at me -now that I am sick! [<i>Goes up to</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span>.] Take -from you the kingdom, you say? Great God in -heaven, what was I about to do!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, forgive me;—I know that what you do is -ever the right.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no, not hitherto; but now I will be strong -and sound—I will act!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Loud Shouts.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without, on the right.</i>] King Skule! King Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What is that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>At the window.</i>] The townsmen are flocking -together; the whole courtyard is full of people;—you -must speak to them.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Do I look like a king? Can I speak now?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You must, my noble father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well, be it so. [<i>Goes to the window and draws the -curtain aside, but lets it go quickly and starts back in -terror.</i>] There hangs the flaming sword over me -again!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It bodes that the sword of victory is drawn for -you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ah, were it but so! [<i>Goes to the window and -speaks out.</i>] Trönders, what would you? Here -stands your King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] Leave the town! The Birchlegs -will burn and slay if they find you here.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We must all hold together. I have been -a gracious King to you; I have craved but small -war-tax——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Man’s Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Down in the crowd.</i>] What call you all the -blood, then, that flowed at Låka and Oslo?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me my betrothed again!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Boy.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me my father and my brother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another Woman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Give me my three sons, King Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span><span class='sc'>A Man.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is no King; homage has not been done him -on St. Olaf’s shrine!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no—no homage has been done him on St. -Olaf’s shrine! He is no king!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrinks behind the curtain.</i>] No homage——! -No king!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas a dire mischance that the shrine was not -brought forth when you were chosen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Should the townsfolk desert us, we cannot hold -Nidaros if the Birchlegs come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And they will desert us, so long as homage has -not been done to me on the Saint’s shrine.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then let the shrine be brought forth, and take -our homage now!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] How should that be possible?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Is aught impossible, where <em class='gesperrt'>he</em> is concerned? -Sound the call for the folkmote, and bring forth -the shrine!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Several of the Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrinking back.</i>] Sacrilege!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No sacrilege!—Come, come! The monks are -well disposed towards King Skule; they will -agree——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will they not; they dare not, for the -Archbishop.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Are you King’s men, and will not lend your aid -when so great a cause is at stake! Good, there -are others below of better will. My father and -King, the monks <em class='gesperrt'>shall</em> give way; I will pray, I -will beseech; sound the summons for the folkmote; -you shall bear your kingship rightfully.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Rushes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Beaming with joy.</i>] Saw you him! Saw you -my gallant son! How his eyes shone! Yes, we -will all fight and conquer. How strong are the -Birchlegs?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not stronger than that we may master them, if -but the townsfolk hold to us.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They <em class='gesperrt'>shall</em> hold to us. We must all be at one -now and put an end to this time of dread. See -you not that ’tis Heaven’s command that we should -end it? Heaven is wroth with all Norway for the -deeds that have so long been doing. A flaming -sword glows night by night in the sky; women -swoon and bear children in the churches; a frenzy -creeps abroad among priests and monks, causing -them to run through the streets and proclaim -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>that the last day is come. Ay, by the Almighty, -this shall be ended at one stroke!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What are your commands?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All the bridges shall be broken down!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go, and let all the bridges be broken.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>One of the Men-at-arms goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Gather all our men upon the foreshore; not -one Birchleg shall set foot in Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Well spoken, King.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>When the shrine is borne forth, let the horn -sound to the folkmote. The host and the townsfolk -shall be called together.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To one of the men.</i>] Go forth and bid the -hornblower wind his horn in all the streets.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>The man goes.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Addresses the people from the window.</i>] Hold -fast to me, all my sorrowing people. There shall -come peace and light over the land once more, -as in Håkon’s first glad days, when the fields -yielded two harvests every summer. Hold fast -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>to me; believe in me and trust to me; ’tis that -I need so unspeakably. I will watch over you -and fight for you; I will bleed and die for you, -if need be; but fail me not, and doubt not——! -[<i>Loud cries, as though of terror, are heard among the -people.</i>] What is that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Wild Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Atone! Atone!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks out.</i>] ’Tis a priest possessed of the -devil!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is tearing his cowl to shreds and scourging -himself with a whip.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Atone, atone! The last day is come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Flee, flee! Woe upon Nidaros. A deed of -sin!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What has befallen?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All flee, all shrink away as though a wild beast -were in their midst.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, all flee. [<i>With a cry of joy.</i>] Ha! it -matters not. We are saved! See, see—King -Olaf’s shrine stands in the middle of the courtyard.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Olaf’s shrine!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, by Heaven—there it stands!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The monks are true to me; so good a deed -have they never done before!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hark! the call to the folkmote!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Now shall lawful homage be done to me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the right.</i>] Take on you the kingly -mantle; now stands the shrine out yonder.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then have you saved the kingdom for me and -for yourself; and tenfold will we thank the pious -monks for yielding.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The monks, father—you have nought to thank -them for.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas not they that helped you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They laid the ban of the Church on whoever -should dare to touch the holy thing.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Archbishop then! At last he gives way.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Archbishop hurled forth direr curses than -the monks.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ah, then I see that I still have trusty men. -You here, who should have been the first to serve -me, stood terrified and shrank back—but down -in the crowd have I friends who for my sake fear -not to take so great a sin upon their souls.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have not one trusty man who dared to -take the sin upon him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Almighty God! has then a miracle come to -pass? Who bore out the holy thing?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I, my father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a shriek.</i>] You!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Men.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrink back appalled.</i>] Church-robber!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<span class='sc'>Paul Flida, Bård Bratte,</span> <i>and one or two others go out</i>.</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The deed had to be done. No man’s faith is -sure ere homage be lawfully done to you. I -begged, I besought the monks; it availed not. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>Then I broke open the church door; none dared -to follow me. I sprang up to the high altar, -gripped the handle, and pressed hard with my -knees; ’twas as though an unseen power gave me -more than human strength. The shrine came -loose, I dragged it after me down the nave, while -the ban moaned like a storm high up under the -vaultings. I dragged it out of the church; all -fled and shrank from me. When I came to the -middle of the courtyard the handle broke; here -it is!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Holds it aloft.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Quietly, appalled.</i>] Church-robber.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For your sake; for the sake of your great king’s-thought! -You will wipe out the sin; all that -is evil you will wipe away. Light and peace will -follow you; a glorious day will dawn over the -land—what matter, then, if there went a storm-night -before it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There was as ’twere a halo round your head -when your mother brought you to me; now I -see in its stead the lightnings of the ban.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Father, father, think not of me; be not afraid -for my woe or weal. Is it not your will I have -fulfilled?—how can it be accounted to me for a -crime?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I hungered for your faith in me, and your faith -has turned to sin.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] For your sake, for your sake! -Therefore God dare not deny to blot it out!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>“Pure and blameless,” I swore to Ingeborg—and -he scoffs at heaven!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Entering.</i>] All is in uproar! The impious -deed has struck terror to your men; they flee -into the churches.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They shall out; they must out!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Entering.</i>] The townsfolk have risen against -you; they are slaying the Vårbælgs wherever they -find them, on the streets or in the houses!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Man-at-Arms.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Entering.</i>] The Birchlegs are sailing up the -river!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Summon all my men together! None must -fail me here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They will not come; they are benumbed with -dread.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Despairingly.</i>] But I <em class='gesperrt'>cannot</em> fall now! My -son must not die with a deadly sin upon his -soul!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think not of me; ’tis you alone that are to be -thought of. Let us make for Indherred; there -all men are true to you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, to flight! Follow me, whoso would save -his life!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What way?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Over the bridge!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All bridges are broken down, my lord.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Broken down——! All the bridges broken, -say you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Had you broken them down at Oslo, you might -have let them stand at Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We must over the river none the less;—we -have our lives and our souls to save! To flight! -To flight!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He and</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span> <i>rush out to the left</i>.</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, better so than to fall at the hands of the -townfolk and the Birchlegs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In God’s name, then, to flight!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>All follow</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span>.</div> - -<p class='c024'><span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span><i>The room stands empty for a short time; a distant -and confused noise is heard from the streets; -then a troop of armed townsmen rushes in by -the door on the right.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here! He must be here!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slay him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Slay the church-robber too!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Single One.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Go carefully! They may yet bite!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No need; the Birchlegs are already coming -up the street.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Entering.</i>] Too late—King Skule has fled!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Whither? Whither?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The New-comer.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Into one of the churches, methinks; they are -full of the Vargbælgs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then let us seek for him; great thanks and -reward will King Håkon give to the man who -slays Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here come the Birchlegs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span><span class='sc'>A Third.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Håkon himself!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many of the Crowd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shout.</i>] Hail to King Håkon Håkonsson!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Enters from the right, followed by</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius -Jonsson, Dagfinn the Peasant,</span> <i>and many others</i>.] -Ay, now are you humble, you Trönders; you -have stood against me long enough.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Kneeling.</i>] Mercy, my lord! Skule Bårdsson -bore so hardly on us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Also kneeling.</i>] He compelled us, else had -we never followed him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He seized our goods and forced us to fight for -his unrighteous cause.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Alas, noble lord, he has been a scourge to his -friends no less than to his foes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay,—Skule Bårdsson has been a scourge to -the whole land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That, at least, is true enough.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Good; with you townsfolk I will speak later; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>’tis my purpose to punish sternly all transgressions; -but first there are other things to be -thought of. Knows any man where Skule -Bårdsson is?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In one of the churches, lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>HÅkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Know you that for certain?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Townsmen.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, there are all the Vargbælgs.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly to</i> <span class='sc'>Dagfinn</span>.] He must be found; set a -watch on all the churches in the town.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And when he is found, he must straightway be -slain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Slain? Dagfinn, Dagfinn, how heavy -a deed it seems!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, you swore it solemnly at Oslo.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And all men in the land will call for his death. -[<i>Turns to</i> <span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson</span> <i>and says, unheard by -the others</i>.] Go; you were once his friend; seek -him out and prevail on him to fly the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Joyfully.</i>] You will suffer it, my lord!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>For the sake of my gentle, well-beloved wife.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But if he should <em class='gesperrt'>not</em> flee? If he will not or -cannot?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then, in God’s name, I may not spare him; -then must my kingly word be fulfilled. Go!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I go, and shall do my utmost. Heaven grant I -may succeed.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out by the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You, Dagfinn, go with trusty men down to the -King’s ship; you shall conduct the Queen and her -child up to Elgesæter<a id='r45' /><a href='#f45' class='c016'><sup>[45]</sup></a> convent.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My lord, think you she will be safe there?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nowhere safer. The Vargbælgs have shut -themselves up in the churches, and she has -besought to be sent thither; her mother is at -Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay, that I know.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Greet the Queen most lovingly from me; and -greet Lady Ragnhild also. You may tell them -that so soon as the Vargbælgs shall have made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>submission and been taken to grace, all the bells -in Nidaros shall be rung, for a sign that there has -come peace in the land once more.—You townsfolk -shall reckon with me to-morrow, and punishment -shall be meted to each according to his -misdeeds.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes with his men.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Woe upon us to-morrow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We have a long reckoning to pay.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We, who have stood against Håkon so long—who -bore our part in acclaiming Skule when he -took the kingly title.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who gave Skule both ships and war-tribute—who -bought all the goods he seized from Håkon’s -thanes.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, woe upon us to-morrow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Rushes in from the left.</i>] Where is Håkon? -Where is the King?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What would you with him?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The New-comer</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bring him great and weighty tidings.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What tidings?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span><span class='sc'>The New-comer.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I tell them to no other than the King himself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Many.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, tell us, tell us!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The New-comer.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Skule Bårdsson is fleeing up toward Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It cannot be! He is in one of the churches.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The New-comer.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no; he and his son crossed over the river in -a skiff.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha, then we can save us from Håkon’s wrath!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, let us forthwith give him to know where -Skule is.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, better than that; we will say nought, but -ourselves go up to Elgesæter and slay Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Second.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, ay—that will we!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Third.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But did not many Vargbælgs go with him over -the river?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The New-comer.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, there were but few men in the boat.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We will arm us as best we can. Oh, now are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>we townsfolk safe enough! Let no man know -what we are about; we are enough for the task!—And -now, away to Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>All.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly.</i>] Ay, away to Elgesæter!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>They go out to the left, rapidly but cautiously.</i></div> - -<hr class='c032' /> - -<p class='c024'><i>A fir-wood on the hills above Nidaros. It is moonlight, -but the night is misty, so that the background -is seen indistinctly, and sometimes scarcely -at all. Tree-stumps and great boulders lie round -about.</i> <span class='sc'>King Skule, Peter, Paul Flida, Bård -Bratte,</span> <i>and other</i> <span class='sc'>Vårbælgs</span> <i>come through the -wood from the left</i>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Come hither and rest you, my father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, let me rest, rest.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Sinks down beside a stone.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>How goes it with you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am hungry! I am sick, sick! I see dead -men’s shadows!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Springing up.</i>] Help here—bread for the -King!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here is every man king; for life is at stake. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>Stand up, Skule Bårdsson, if you be king! Lie -not there to rule the land.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If you scoff at my father, I will kill you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I shall be killed whatever betides; for me King -Håkon will have no grace; for I was his thane, -and deserted him for Skule’s sake. Think of -somewhat that may save us. No deed so desperate -but I will risk it now.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Vårbælg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Could we but get over to the convent at -Holm?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Better to Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a sudden outburst.</i>] Best of all to go -down to Håkon’s ship and bear away the King-child.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Are you distraught?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>No, no; ’tis our one hope, and easy enough to -do. The Birchlegs are ransacking every house, -and keeping watch on all the churches; they -think none of us can have taken flight, since all -the bridges are broken. There can be but few -men on board the ships; when once we have his -heir in our power, Håkon must grant us peace, else -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>will his child die with us. Who will go with me -to save our lives?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not I, if they are to be saved in such wise.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Several.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not I! Not I!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ha, but if it were to save my father——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If you will go with me, come. First I go down -to Hladehammer; there lies the troop we met at -the bottom of the hill; they are the wildest dare-devils -of all the Vargbælgs; they had swum the -river, knowing that they would find no grace in the -churches. They are the lads for a raid on the -King’s ship! Which of you will follow me?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Some.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I! I!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Mayhap I too; but first must I see my father -into safe shelter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Bård Bratte.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ere daybreak will we make speed up the river. -Come, here goes a short way downwards towards -Hlade.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He and some others go out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span>.] Let not my father know aught -of this; he is soul-sick to-night, we must act -for him. There is safety in Bård Bratte’s deed; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>ere daybreak shall the King-child be in our -hands.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>To be slain, most like. See you not that it is a -sin——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, it cannot be a sin; for my father doomed -the child in Oslo. Sooner or later it must die, for -it blocks my father’s path;—my father has a great -king’s-thought to carry through; it matters not -who or how many fall for its sake.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hapless for you was the day you came to know -that you were King Skule’s son. [<i>Listening.</i>] -Hist!—cast you flat to the ground; there come -people this way.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>All throw themselves down behind stones -and stumps; a troop of people, some -riding, some on foot, can be seen indistinctly -through the mist and between the -trees; they come from the left, and pass -on to the right.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis the Queen!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay; she is talking with Dagfinn the Peasant. -Hush!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are making for Elgesæter. The King-child -is with them!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And the Queen’s ladies.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But only four men! Up, up, King Skule—now -is your kingdom saved!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My kingdom? ’Tis dark, my kingdom—like the -angel’s that rose against God.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><i>A party of</i> <span class='sc'>Monks</span> <i>comes from the right</i>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who speaks there? Is it King Skule’s men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Skule himself.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span>.] God be praised that we met you, -dear lord! Some townsmen gave us to know that -you had taken the upward path, and we are no less -unsafe than you in Nidaros.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have deserved death, you who denied to -give forth St. Olaf’s shrine.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The Archbishop forbade it; but none the less -we would fain serve King Skule; we have ever -held to him. See, we have brought with us robes -of our Order for you and your men; put them on, -and then can you easily make your way into one -convent or another, and can seek to gain grace of -Håkon.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, let me put on the robe; my son and I -must stand on consecrated ground. I will to -Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly, to</i> <span class='sc'>Paul Flida</span>.] See that my father -comes safely thither.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bethink you that there are Birchlegs at -Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But four men; you may easily deal with them, -and once inside the convent walls they will not -dare to touch you. I will seek Bård Bratte.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Paul Flida.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, do not so!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Not on the King’s ship, but at Elgesæter, must -the outlaws save the kingdom for my father.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes quickly out to the right.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Vårbælg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Whispering to another.</i>] Go you to Elgesæter -with Skule?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Other.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hist; no; the Birchlegs are there!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Neither will I go; but say nought to the -rest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And now away, two and two,—one spearman -and one monk.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sitting on a stump behind the rest.</i>] I will -guide King Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Know you the way?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The broad way.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The First Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Haste you; let us take different paths, and -meet outside the convent gate.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>They go out among the trees, to the right; -the fog lifts and the comet shows itself -red and glowing, through the hazy air.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Peter, my son——! [<i>Starts backwards.</i>] Ha, -there is the flaming sword in heaven!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Sitting behind him on the stump.</i>] And here -am I!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who are you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>An old acquaintance.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Paler man have I never seen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>But you know me not?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis you that are to lead me to Elgesæter.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis I that will lead you to the throne.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Can you do that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I can, if you but will it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And by what means?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>By the means I have used before;—I will take -you up into a high mountain and show you all the -glory of the world.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All the glory of the world have I seen ere now, -in dreams of temptation.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twas I that gave you those dreams.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who are you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>An envoy from the oldest Pretender in the -world.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From the oldest Pretender in the world?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From the first Earl, who rose against the -greatest kingdom, and himself founded a kingdom -that shall endure beyond doomsday.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shrieks.</i>] Bishop Nicholas!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>[<i>Rising.</i>] Do you know me now? We were friends of yore,</div> - <div class='line'>and ’tis you that have brought me back;</div> - <div class='line'>once the self-same galley our fortunes bore,</div> - <div class='line'>and we sailed on the self-same tack.</div> - <div class='line'>At our parting I quailed, in the gloom and the blast;</div> - <div class='line'>for a hawk in his talons had gripped my soul fast;</div> - <div class='line'>I besought them to chant and to ply the bell,</div> - <div class='line'>and I bought me masses and prayers as well,—</div> - <div class='line'>they read fourteen, though I’d paid but for seven;</div> - <div class='line'>yet they brought me no nearer the gates of heaven.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And you come from down yonder——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Yes, from the kingdom down yonder I’m faring;</div> - <div class='line'>the kingdom men always so much miscall.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>I vow ’tis in nowise so bad after all,</div> - <div class='line'>and the heat, to my thinking, is never past bearing.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And it seems you have learnt skald-craft, old -Bagler-chieftain!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Not only skald-craft, but store of Latinity!</div> - <div class='line'>Once my Latin was not over strong, you know;</div> - <div class='line'>now few can beat it for ease and flow.</div> - <div class='line'>To take any station in yonder vicinity,</div> - <div class='line'>ay, even to pass at the gate, for credential</div> - <div class='line'>a knowledge of Latin is well-nigh essential.</div> - <div class='line'>You can’t but make progress with so many able</div> - <div class='line'>and learned companions each day at the table,—</div> - <div class='line'>full fifty ex-popes by my side carouse, and</div> - <div class='line'>five hundred cardinals, skalds seven thousand.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Greet your Master and give him my thanks -for his friendship. Tell him he is the only king -who sends help to Skule the First of Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hear now, King Skule, what brings me to you—</div> - <div class='line'>my Master’s henchmen down there are legion,</div> - <div class='line'>and each up here is allotted a region;</div> - <div class='line'>they gave Norway to me, as the place I best knew.</div> - <div class='line'>Håkon Håkonsson serves not my Master’s will;</div> - <div class='line'>we hate him, for he is our foeman still—</div> - <div class='line'>so he must fall, leaving you at the helm,</div> - <div class='line'>the sole possessor of crown and realm.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, give me the crown! When once I have -that, I will rule so as to buy myself free again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ay, that we can always talk of later——</div> - <div class='line'>we must seize the time if we’d win the fight.</div> - <div class='line'>King Håkon’s child sleeps at Elgesæter;</div> - <div class='line'>could you once wrap him in the web of night,</div> - <div class='line'>then like storm-swept motes will your foes fly routed,</div> - <div class='line'>then your victory’s sure and your kingship undoubted!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you so surely that the victory were -mine?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>All men in Norway are sighing for rest;</div> - <div class='line'>the king with an heir<a id='r46' /><a href='#f46' class='c016'><sup>[46]</sup></a> is the king they love best—</div> - <div class='line'>a son to succeed to the throne without wrangling;</div> - <div class='line'>for the people are tired of this hundred-years’ jangling.</div> - <div class='line'>Rouse you, King Skule! one great endeavour!</div> - <div class='line'>the foe must perish to-night or never!</div> - <div class='line'>See, to the northward how light it has grown,</div> - <div class='line'>see how the fog lifts o’er fiord and o’er valley—</div> - <div class='line'>there gather noiselessly galley on galley—</div> - <div class='line'>hark! men are marching with rumble and drone!</div> - <div class='line'>One word of promise, and all is your own—</div> - <div class='line'>hundreds of glittering sails on the water,</div> - <div class='line'>thousands of warriors hurtling to slaughter.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>What word would you have?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>For raising you highest, my one condition</div> - <div class='line'>is just that you follow your heart’s ambition;</div> - <div class='line'>all Norway is yours, to the kingship I’ll speed you,</div> - <div class='line'>if only you vow that your son shall succeed you!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c013'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Raising his hand as if for an oath.</i>] My son -shall—-[<i>Stops suddenly, and breaks forth in -terror.</i>] The church-robber! All the might to -him! Ha! now I understand;—you seek for his -soul’s perdition! Get thee behind me, get thee -behind me! [<i>Stretches out his arms to heaven.</i>] -Oh have mercy on me, thou to whom I now call -for help in my sorest need!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>He falls prone to the earth.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Monk.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Accursëd! He’s slipped through my fingers at last—</div> - <div class='line'>and I thought of a surety I held him so fast!</div> - <div class='line'>But the Light, it seems, had a trick in store</div> - <div class='line'>that I knew not of—and the game is o’er.</div> - <div class='line'>Well, well; what matters a little delay?</div> - <div class='line'><i>Perpetuum mobile</i>’s well under way;</div> - <div class='line'>my might is assured through the years and the ages,</div> - <div class='line'>the haters of light shall be still in my wages;</div> - <div class='line'>in Norway my empire for ever is founded,</div> - <div class='line'>though it be to my subjects a riddle unsounded.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c033'>[<i>Coming forward.</i></div> -<div class='lg-container-l c027'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>While to their life-work Norsemen set out</div> - <div class='line'>will-lessly wavering, daunted with doubt,</div> - <div class='line'>while hearts are shrunken, minds helplessly shivering,</div> - <div class='line'>weak as a willow-wand wind-swept and quivering,—</div> - <div class='line'>while about one thing alone they’re united,</div> - <div class='line'>namely, that greatness be stoned and despited,—</div> - <div class='line'>when they seek honour in fleeing and falling</div> - <div class='line'>under the banner of baseness unfurled,—</div> - <div class='line'>then Bishop Nicholas ’tends to his calling,</div> - <div class='line'>the Bagler-Bishop’s at work in the world!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='c033'>[<i>He disappears in the fog among the trees.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>After a short pause, half rises and looks around.</i>] -Where is he, my black comrade? [<i>Springs up.</i>] -My guide, my guide, where are you? Gone!— -No matter; now I myself know the way, both to -Elgesæter and beyond.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Goes out to the right.</i></div> - -<hr class='c032' /> - -<p class='c024'><i>The courtyard of Elgesæter Convent. To the left -lies the chapel, with an entrance from the courtyard; -the windows are lighted up. Along the -opposite side of the space stretch some lower -buildings; in the back, the convent wall with a -strong gate, which is locked. It is a clear -moonlight night. Three Birchleg Chiefs stand -by the gate</i>; <span class='sc'>Margrete, Lady Ragnhild,</span> <i>and</i> -<span class='sc'>Dagfinn the Peasant</span> <i>come out from the -chapel</i>.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Half to herself.</i>] King Skule had to flee into -the church, you say! He, he, a fugitive! begging -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>at the altar for peace—begging for his life mayhap—oh -no, no, that could never be; but God -will punish you who dared to let it come to this!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My dear, dear mother, curb yourself; you -know not what you say; ’tis your grief that -speaks.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hear me, ye Birchlegs! ’Tis Håkon Håkonsson -that should lie before the altar, and beseech -King Skule for life and peace.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Birchleg.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It ill beseems loyal men to listen to such -words.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Bow your heads before a wife’s sorrow!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Skule doomed! Look to yourselves, look -to yourselves all of you, when he regains his -power!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will never be, Lady Ragnhild.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hush, hush!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Think you Håkon Håkonsson dare let his -doom be fulfilled if the King should fall into his -hands?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Håkon himself best knows whether a -king’s oath can be broken.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To</i> <span class='sc'>Margrete</span>.] And this man of blood have -you followed in faith and love! Are you your -father’s child? May the wrath of heaven——! -Go from me, go from me!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Blessed be your lips, although now they curse -me.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I must down to Nidaros and into the church to -find King Skule. He sent me from him when he -sat victorious on the throne; then, truly, he had -no need of me—now will he not be wroth if I -come to him. Open the gate for me; let me go -to Nidaros!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My mother, for God’s pity’s sake——!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>A loud knocking at the convent gate.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who knocks?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] A king.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Skule Bårdsson.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Skule.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Open, open!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>We open not here to outlaws.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis a king who knocks, I tell you; a king who -has no roof over his head; a king whose life is -forfeit if he reach not consecrated ground.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Dagfinn, Dagfinn, ’tis my father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Goes to the gate and opens a small shutter.</i>] Come -you with many men to the convent?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>With all the men that were true to me in my -need.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And how many be they?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fewer than one.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is alone, Dagfinn.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Heaven’s wrath fall upon you if you deny him -sanctuary!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In God’s name, then!</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>He opens the gate; the Birchlegs respectfully -uncover their heads.</i> <span class='sc'>King Skule</span> -<i>enters the courtyard</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Throwing herself on his neck.</i>] My father! -My dear, unhappy father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Interposing wildly between him and the Birchlegs.</i>] -Ye who feign reverence for him, ye will betray -him, like Judas. Dare not to come near him! -Ye shall not lay a finger on him while I live!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here he is safe, for he is on holy ground.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And not one of all your men had the heart to -follow you this night!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Both monks and spearmen brought me on the -way; but they slipped from me one by one, for -they knew there were Birchlegs at Elgesæter. -Paul Flida was the last to leave me; he came with -me to the convent gate; there he gave me his last -hand-grip, in memory of the time when there were -Vargbælgs in Norway.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>To the Birchlegs.</i>] Get you in, chieftains, and -set you as guards about the King-child; I must to -Nidaros to acquaint the King that Skule Bårdsson -is at Elgesæter; in so weighty a matter ’tis for -him to act.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, Dagfinn, Dagfinn, have you the heart for -that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Else should I ill serve King and land. [<i>To the -men.</i>] Lock the gates after me, watch over the -child, and open to none until the King be come. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>[<i>Softly</i> <a id='corr329.1'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='missing'>to</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_329.1'><ins class='correction' title='missing'>to</ins></a></span> <span class='sc'>Skule.</span>] Farewell, Skule Bårdsson—and -God grant you a blessed end.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Goes out by the gate; the Birchlegs close it -after him, and go into the chapel.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, let Håkon come; I will not loose you; I will -hold you straitly and tenderly in my arms, as I -never held you before.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh, how pale you are—and aged; you are cold.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am not cold—but I am weary, weary.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Come in then, and rest you——</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Yes, yes; ’twill soon be time to rest.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>From the chapel.</i>] You come at last, my -brother!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigrid! you here?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I promised that we should meet when you were -fain of me in your sorest need.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Where is your child, Margrete?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He sleeps, in the sacristy.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Then is our whole house gathered at Elgesæter -to-night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, gathered after straying long and far.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Håkon Håkonsson alone is wanting.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete and Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Cling about him, in an outburst of sorrow.</i>] My -father!—My husband!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looking at them, much moved.</i>] Have you -loved me so deeply, you two? I sought after -happiness abroad, and heeded not the home -wherein I might have found it. I pursued after -love through sin and guilt, little dreaming that -’twas mine already, in right of God’s law and -man’s.—And you, Ragnhild, my wife, you, against -whom I have sinned so deeply, you take me to -your warm, soft heart in the hour of my sorest -need; you can tremble and be afraid for the life -of the man who has never cast a ray of sunshine -upon your path.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you sinned? Oh, Skule, speak not so; -think you I should ever dare accuse you! From -the first I was too mean a mate for you, my noble -husband; there can rest no guilt on any deed of -yours.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Have you believed in me so surely, Ragnhild?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From the first day I saw you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With animation.</i>] When Håkon comes, I will -beg grace of him! You gentle, loving women,—oh, -but it is fair to live!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With an expression of terror.</i>] Skule, my brother! -Woe to you if you stray from the path this night.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A loud noise without; immediately afterwards, -a knocking at the gate.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hark, hark! Who comes in such haste?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who knocks at the gate?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] Townsfolk from Nidaros! Open! -We know that Skule Bårdsson is within!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, he is within; what would ye with him?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Noisy Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] Come out, come out! Death to the -evil man!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You townsfolk dare to threaten that?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Single Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>King Håkon doomed him at Oslo.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis every man’s duty to slay him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I am the Queen; I command you to depart!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis Skule Bårdsson’s daughter, and not the -Queen, that speaks thus.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have no power over life and death; the -King has doomed him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Into the church, Skule! For God’s mercy’s sake, -let not the bloodthirsty caitiffs approach you!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, into the church; I would not fall at the -hands of such as these. My wife, my daughter; -meseems I have found peace and light; oh, I -cannot lose them again so soon!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Moves towards the chapel.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without, on the right.</i>] My father, my king. -Now will you soon have the victory!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>With a shriek.</i>] He! He!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Sinks down upon the church steps.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Who is it?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span><span class='sc'>A Townsman.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without.</i>] See, see! the church-robber climbs -over the convent roof!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Others.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Stone him! Stone him!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Appears on a roof to the right, and jumps down -into the yard.</i>] Well met again, my father!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks at him aghast.</i>] You—I had forgotten -you——! Whence come you?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Wildly.</i>] Where is the King-child?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The King-child!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Starts up.</i>] Whence come you, I ask?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>From Hladehammer; I have given Bård Bratte -and the Vargbælgs to know that the King-child -lies at Elgesæter to-night.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>O God!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You have done that! And now——?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He is gathering together his men, and they are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>hasting up to the convent.—Where is the King-child, -woman?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Who has placed herself before the church door.</i>] -He sleeps in the sacristy!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Twere the same if he slept on the altar! I -have dragged out St. Olaf’s shrine—I fear not to -drag out the King-child as well.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Calls to</i> <span class='sc'>Skule</span>.] And he it is you have loved so -deeply!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Father, father! How could you forget us all -for his sake?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>He was pure as a lamb of God when the penitent -woman gave him to me;—’tis his faith in me has -made him what he now is.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Without heeding him.</i>] The child must out! -Slay it, slay it in the Queen’s arms,—that was -King Skule’s word in Oslo!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Oh shame, oh shame!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A saint might do it unsinning, at my father’s -command! My father is King; for the great -king’s-thought is his!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span><span class='sc'>Townsmen.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Knocking at the gate.</i>] Open! Come out, you -and the church-robber, else will we burn the -convent down!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>As if seized by a strong resolution.</i>] The great -king’s-thought! ’Tis <em class='gesperrt'>that</em> has poisoned your -young loving soul! Pure and blameless I was to -give you back; ’tis faith in me that drives you -thus wildly from crime to crime, from deadly sin -to deadly sin! Oh, but I can save you yet: I can -save us all! [<i>Calls toward the background.</i>] Wait, -wait, ye townsmen without there: I come!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizing his hand in terror.</i>] My father! what -would you do?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Clinging to him with a shriek.</i>] Skule!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Tears them away from him, and calls with wild, -radiant joy.</i>] Loose him, loose him, women;—now -his thought puts forth wings!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Firmly and forcibly, to</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span>.] You saw in -me the heaven-chosen one,—him who should do -the great king’s-work in the land. Look at -me better, misguided boy! The rags of kingship -I have decked myself withal, they were -borrowed and stolen—now I put them off me, -one by one.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In dread.</i>] My great, my noble father, speak -not thus!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>The king’s-thought is Håkon’s, not mine; to -him alone has the Lord granted the power that -can act it out. You have believed in a lie; turn -from me, and save your soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>In a broken voice.</i>] The king’s-thought is -Håkon’s!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I yearned to be the greatest in the land. My -God! my God! behold, I abase myself before thee, -and stand as the least of all men.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Take me from the earth, O Lord! Punish me -for all my sin; but take me from the earth; for -here am I homeless now!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Sinks down upon the church steps.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I had a friend who bled for me at Oslo. He -said: A man can die for another’s life-work; but -if he is to go on living, he must live for his own.—I -have no life-work to live for, neither can I -live for Håkon’s,—but I can die for it.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay, that shall you never do!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Takes her hand, and looks at her tenderly.</i>] Do -you love your husband, Margrete?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Better than the whole world.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You could endure that he should doom me; -but could you also endure that he should let the -doom be fulfilled?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Lord of heaven, give me strength!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Could you, Margrete?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Softly and shuddering.</i>] No, no—we should -have to part,—I could never see him more!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>You would darken the fairest light of his life -and of yours;—be at peace, Margrete,—it shall -not be needful.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Flee from the land, Skule; I will follow you -whithersoever you will.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Shaking his head.</i>] With a mocking shade -between us?—To-night have I found you for the -first time; there must fall no shade between me -and you, my silent, faithful wife;—therefore -must we not seek to unite our lives on this earth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My kingly brother! I see you need me not;—I -see you know what path to take.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There are men born to live, and men born to -die. My desire was ever thitherward where God’s -finger pointed not the way for me; therefore I -never saw my path clear, till now. My peaceful -home-life have I wrecked; I can never win it back -again. My sins against Håkon I can atone by -freeing him from a kingly duty which must have -parted him from his dearest treasure. The townsfolk -stand without; I will not wait for King -Håkon! The Vargbælgs are near; so long as I -live they will not swerve from their purpose; if -they find me here, I cannot save your child, Margrete.—See, -look upwards! See how it wanes -and pales, the flaming sword that has hung over -my head! Yes, yes,—God has spoken and I have -understood him, and his wrath is appeased. Not -in the sanctuary of Elgesæter will I cast me down -and beg for grace of an earthly king;—I must into -the mighty church roofed with the vault of stars -and ’tis the King of Kings I must implore for grace -and mercy over all my life-work.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Withstand him not! Withstand not the call -of God! The day dawns; it dawns in Norway -and it dawns in his restless soul! Have not we -trembling women cowered long enough in our -secret rooms, terror-stricken and hidden in the -darkest corners, listening to all the horror that was -doing without, listening to the bloody pageant -that stalked over the land from end to end! Have -we not lain pale and stone-like in the churches, -not daring to look forth, even as Christ’s disciples -lay in Jerusalem on the Great Good Friday when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>the Lord was led by to Golgotha! Use thy wings, -and woe to them who would bind thee now!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Fare forth in peace, my husband; fare thither, -where no mocking shade shall stand between us, -when we meet.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Hastens into the chapel.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Margrete.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>My father, farewell, farewell,—a thousand times -farewell!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Follows</i> <span class='sc'>Lady Ragnhild</span>.</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Opens the church door and calls in.</i>] To your -knees, all ye women! Assemble yourselves in -prayer; send up a message in song to the Lord, -and tell him that now Skule Bårdsson comes -penitent home from his rebellious race on earth.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Sigrid, my faithful sister, greet King Håkon -from me; tell him that even in my last hour I -know not whether he be king-born; but this I -know of a surety: he it is whom God has chosen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I will bear him your greeting.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And yet another greeting must you bear. There -dwells a penitent woman in the north, in Halogaland; -tell her that her son has gone before; he -went with me when there was great danger for -his soul.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will I.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Tell her, it was not with the heart he sinned; -pure and blameless shall she surely meet him -again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>That will I. [<i>Points towards the background.</i>] -Hark! they are breaking the lock!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Points towards the chapel.</i>] Hark! they are -singing loud to God of salvation and peace!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hark again! All the bells in Nidaros are -ringing——!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Smiles mournfully.</i>] They are ringing a king -to his grave.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Sigrid.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, nay, they ring for your true crowning! -Farewell, my brother, let the purple robe of blood -flow wide over your shoulders; under it may all -sin be hidden! Go forth, go into the great church -and take the crown of life.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Hastens into the chapel.</i></div> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>Chanting and bell-ringing continue during -what follows.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Voices.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Outside the gate.</i>] The lock has burst! Force -us not to break the peace of the church!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>I come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Townsmen.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And the church-robber must come <a id='corr341.4'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='too'>too!</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_341.4'><ins class='correction' title='too'>too!</ins></a></span></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, the church-robber shall come too. [<i>Goes -over to</i> <span class='sc'>Peter</span>.] My son, are you ready?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Ay, father, I am ready.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Looks upwards.</i>] O God, I am a poor man, I -have but my life to give; but take that, and keep -watch over Håkon’s great king’s-thought.—See -now, give me your hand.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Here is my hand, father.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And fear not for that which is now to come.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Peter.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Nay, father, I fear not, when I go with you.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>A safer way have we two never trodden together. -[<i>He opens the gate; the</i> <span class='sc'>Townsmen</span> <i>stand without with -upraised weapons</i>.] Here are we; we come of our -own free will;—but strike him not in the face.</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>They pass out, hand in hand; the gate glides to.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span><span class='sc'>A Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Aim not, spare not;—strike them where ye can.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>King Skule’s Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>’Tis base to deal thus with chieftains.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>A short noise of weapons; then a heavy fall -is heard; all is still for a moment.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>A Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>They are dead, both of them!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>The</i> <span class='sc'>King’s</span> <i>horn sounds</i>.</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Another Voice.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There comes King Håkon with all his guard!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>The Crowd.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>Hail Håkon Håkonsson; now have you no longer -any foemen.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Gregorius Jonsson.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stops a little before the corpses.</i>] So I have come -too late!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Enters the convent yard.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>It had been ill for Norway had you come sooner. -[<i>Calls out.</i>] In here, King Håkon!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Stopping.</i>] The body lies in my way!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>If Håkon Håkonsson would go forward, he must -pass over Skule Bårdsson’s body!</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>In God’s name then!</p> - -<div class='c026'>[<i>Steps over the corpse and comes in.</i></div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>At last you can set about your king’s-work with -free hands. In there are those you <em class='gesperrt'>love</em>; in -Nidaros they are ringing in peace in the <em class='gesperrt'>land</em>; and -yonder he lies who was your direst foe.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>All men misjudged him, reading not his secret.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Dagfinn.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>His secret?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='sc'>Håkon.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>[<i>Seizes him by the arm, and says softly.</i>] Skule -Bårdsson was God’s step-child on earth; that was -the secret.</p> - -<div class='direction'> -<p class='c025'>[<i>The song of the women is heard more -loudly from the chapel; all the bells are -still ringing in Nidaros.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div>THE END.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c020' /> -<div class='footnote' id='f21'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r21'>21</a>. Pronounce <i>Sverrë</i>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f22'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r22'>22</a>. Pronounce Inghë.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f23'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r23'>23</a>. The old name for <a id='corr123.32'></a><span class='htmlonly'><ins class='correction' title='Trondhiem'>Trondheim</ins></span><span class='epubonly'><a href='#c_123.32'><ins class='correction' title='Trondhiem'>Trondheim</ins></a></span>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f24'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r24'>24</a>. The “Birkebeiner” or Birchlegs were at this period a -political faction. They were so called because, at the time of -their first appearance, when they seem to have been little more -than bandits, they eked out their scanty attire by making themselves -leggings of birch-bark. Norway at this time swarmed -with factions, such as the “Bagler” or Croziers (Latin, baculus), -so called because Bishop Nicholas was their chief, the Ribbungs, -the Slittungs, etc., devoted, for the most part, to one or other of -the many Pretenders to the crown.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f25'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r25'>25</a>. A “thing,” or assembly, held from time to time on the “öre” -or foreshore at the mouth of the river Nid, at Trondhiem.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f26'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r26'>26</a>. The word <i>hird</i> is very difficult to render. It meant something -between “court,” “household,” and “guard.” I have -never translated it “court,” as that word seemed to convey an -idea of peaceful civilisation foreign to the country and period; -but I have used either “guard” or “household” as the context -seemed to demand. <i>Hirdmand</i> I have generally rendered -“man-at-arms.” <i>Lendermand</i> I have represented by “baron”; -<i>lagmand</i> and <i>sysselmand</i> by “thane”; and <i>stallare</i> by -“marshal”—all mere rough approximations.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f27'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r27'>27</a>. See note, p. <a href='#f24'>125</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f28'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r28'>28</a>. Pronounce <i>Shaldarband</i>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f29'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r29'>29</a>. Bishop Nicholas’s speech, “<span lang="no" xml:lang="no">Nu slår jeg bonden, herre jarl</span>,” -means literally, “Now I strike (or slay) the peasant”; the pawn -being called in Norwegian “<span lang="no" xml:lang="no">bonde</span>,” peasant, as in German -“Bauer.” Thus in this speech and the next the Bishop and the -Earl are girding at Dagfinn the Peasant. [Our own word -“pawn” comes from the Spanish <span lang="es" xml:lang="es">peon</span> = a foot-soldier or day-labourer.]</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f30'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r30'>30</a>. Pronounce <i>Yostein</i>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f31'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r31'>31</a>. <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><i>Den lykkeligste mand.</i></span> The word <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><i>lykke</i></span> means not only luck -or fortune, but happiness. To render <span lang="no" xml:lang="no"><i>lykkeligste</i></span> completely, we -should require a word in which the ideas “fortunate” and -“happy” should be blent.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f32'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r32'>32</a>. See note, p. <a href='#f24'>125</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f33'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r33'>33</a>. An ancient city close to the present Christiania.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f34'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r34'>34</a>. Men of the Trondheim district.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f35'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r35'>35</a>. <i>Skibreder</i>, districts each of which furnished a ship to the -fleet.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f36'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r36'>36</a>. The metre of this song is very rugged in the original, and -the wording purposely uncouth.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f37'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r37'>37</a>. See <a href='#f25'>note, p. 127</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f38'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r38'>38</a>. The derivation of this word is doubtful. In the form -<i>Vargbælg</i> it means Wolf-skin, from Icelandic <i>Vargr</i> = a wolf, -and <i>Belgr</i>—the skin of an animal taken off whole. The more -common form, however, is <i>Varbelg,</i> which, as P. A. Munch -suggests (“Det Norske Folks Historie,” iii. 219), may possibly -come from <i>var</i> (our word “ware”), a covering, and may be an -allusion to the falsity and cunning of the faction. What Ibsen -understands by the form <i>Vårbælg</i> I cannot discover. <i>Vår</i> -(Icelandic <i>Vâr</i>) means the springtide. The nick-name had been -applied to a political faction as early as 1190, and was merely -revived as a designation for Skule’s adherents.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f39'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r39'>39</a>. <i>Knœsœtte</i>, see note, p. 19.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f40'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r40'>40</a>. <i>Varger</i>, the first part of the word <i>Vargbælg</i>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f41'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r41'>41</a>. As to the earlier text of this scene, see Brandes’ <cite>Ibsen and -Björnson</cite> (Heinemann, 1899), p. 29.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f42'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r42'>42</a>. <i>Lur</i>, the long wooden horn still used among the mountains -in Norway.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f43'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r43'>43</a>. The arms of Norway consist of a lion rampant, holding -an axe.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f44'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r44'>44</a>. <i>Et nyt kongs-emne.</i></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f45'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r45'>45</a>. <i>Elgesæter</i>—Elk-châlet.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f46'> -<p class='c015'><a href='#r46'>46</a>. <i>Et kongs-emne.</i></p> -</div> -<hr class='c020' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div>Printed by <span class='sc'>Ballantyne & Co. Limited</span></div> - <div>Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<p class='c015'><a id='endnote'></a></p> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c022'> - <div><span class='large'>Transcriber’s Note</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>There are quite a few instances of missing punctuation. The -conventional period following the character’s name is sometimes -missing and has been added for consistency’s sake without -further comment. Those missing from setting and stage direction -are also added without comment, since there is no obvious purpose to be -served by the omission. However, the restoration of punctuation -missing from dialogue is noted below, since the punctuation is -frequently expressive.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Volume I of this series included errata for each succeeding volume. -Some, but not all of the corrections indicated there had been made -before this printing. Those that remained unchanged have -been corrected here, and noted as such.</p> - -<p class='c015'>Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and -are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. -The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.</p> - -<table class='table2' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='69%' /> -<col width='18%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_63.16'></a><a href='#corr63.16'>63.16</a></td> - <td class='c003'>If Thorol[d/f] is slain</td> - <td class='c034'>Replaced, per Errata.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_63.18'></a><a href='#corr63.18'>63.18</a></td> - <td class='c003'>If Thorol[d/f] is slain</td> - <td class='c034'>Replaced, per Errata.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_82.29'></a><a href='#corr82.29'>82.29</a></td> - <td class='c003'>Whither wilt thou[?]</td> - <td class='c034'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_118.12'></a><a href='#corr118.12'>118.12</a></td> - <td class='c003'><i>H[a/å]kon’s marshal.</i></td> - <td class='c034'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_123.32'></a><a href='#corr123.32'>123.32</a></td> - <td class='c003'>The old name for Trondh[ie/ei]m.</td> - <td class='c034'>Transposed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_161.27'></a><a href='#corr161.27'>161.27</a></td> - <td class='c003'>the full strength of my youth[;/.]</td> - <td class='c034'>Replaced.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_279.13'></a><a href='#corr279.13'>279.13</a></td> - <td class='c003'>what have you done[?]</td> - <td class='c034'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_329.1'></a><a href='#corr329.1'>329.1</a></td> - <td class='c003'>[<i>Softly</i> [to] <span class='sc'>Skule.</span>] Farewell, Skule Bårdsson</td> - <td class='c034'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c003'><a id='c_341.4'></a><a href='#corr341.4'>341.4</a></td> - <td class='c003'>And the church-robber must come too[!]</td> - <td class='c034'>Added.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COLLECTED WORKS OF HENRIK IBSEN VOL. 02 (OF 11) ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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