summer-house].
Nay, tho' I took it to the highest place,--
Judgment, I know, would be reversed by grace!
I know two hearts can live a life complete,
With hope still ardent, and with faith still sweet;
You preach the wretched gospel of the hour,
That the Ideal is secondary!
STIVER.
No!
It's primary: appointed, like the flower,
To generate the fruit, and then to go.
[Indoors, MISS JAY plays and sings: "In the Gloaming."
STIVER stands listening in silent emotion.
With the same melody she calls me yet
Which thrilled me to the heart when first we met.
[Lays his hand on FALK's arm and gazes intently at him.
Oft as she wakens those pathetic notes,
From the white keys reverberating floats
An echo of the "yes" that made her mine.
And when our passions shall one day decline,
To live again as friendship, to the last
That song shall link that present to this past.
And what tho' at the desk my back grow round,
And my day's work a battle for mere bread,
Yet joy will lead me homeward, where the dead
Enchantment will be born again in sound.
If one poor bit of evening we can claim,
I shall come off undamaged from the game!
[He goes into the house. FALK turns towards the
summer-house. SVANHILD comes out, she is pale
and agitated. They gaze at each other in silence
a moment, and fling themselves impetuously into
each other's arms.
FALK.
O, Svanhild, let us battle side by side!
Thou fresh glad blossom flowering by the tomb,--
See what the life is that they call youth's bloom!
There's coffin-stench wherever two go by
At the street corner, smiling outwardly,
With falsehood's reeking sepulchre beneath,
And in their blood the apathy of death.
And this they think is living! Heaven and earth,
Is such a load so many antics worth?
For such an end to haul up babes in shoals,
To pamper them with honesty and reason,
To feed them fat with faith one sorry season,
For service, after killing-day, as souls?
SVANHILD.
Falk, let us travel!
FALK.
Travel? Whither, then?
Is not the whole world everywhere the same?
And does not Truth's own mirror in its frame
Lie equally to all the sons of men?
No, we will stay and watch the merry game,
The conjurer's trick, the tragi-comedy
Of liars that are dupes of their own lie;
Stiver and Lind, the Parson and his dame,
See them,--prize oxen harness'd to love's yoke,
And yet at bottom very decent folk!
Each wears for others and himself a mask,
Yet one too innocent to take to task;
Each one, a stranded sailor on a wreck,
Counts himself happy as the gods in heaven;
Each his own hand from Paradise has driven,
Then, splash! into the sulphur to the neck!
But none has any inkling where he lies,
Each thinks himself a knight of Paradise,
And each sits smiling between howl and howl;
And if the Fiend come by with jeer and growl,
With horns, and hoofs, and things yet more abhorred,--
Then each man jogs the neighbour at his jowl:
"Off with your hat, man! See, there goes the Lord!"
SVANHILD [after a brief thoughtful silence].
How marvellous a love my steps has led
To this sweet trysting place! My life that sped
In frolic and fantastic visions gay,
Henceforth shall grow one ceaseless working day!
O God! I wandered groping,--all was dim:
Thou gavest me light--and I discovered him!
[Gazing at FALK in love and wonder.
Whence is that strength of thine, thou mighty tree
That stand'st alone, and yet canst shelter me--?
FALK.
God's truth, my Svanhild; that gives fortitude.
SVANHILD [with a shy glance towards the house].
They came like tempters, evilly inclined,
Each spokesman for his half of humankind,
One asking: How can true love reach its goal
When riches' leaden weight subdues the soul?
The other asking: How can true love speed
When life's a battle to the death with Need?
O horrible!--to bid the world receive
That teaching as the truth, and yet to live!
FALK.
How if 'twere meant for us?
SVANHILD.
For us?--What, then?
Can outward fate control the wills of men?
I have already said: if thou'lt stand fast,
I'll dare and suffer by thee to the last.
How light to listen to the gospel's voice,
To leave one's home behind, to weep, rejoice,
And take with God the husband of one's choice!
FALK [embracing her].
Come then, and blow thy worst, thou winter weather!
We stand unshaken, for we stand together!
[MRS. HALM and GULDSTAD come in from the right in
the background.
GULDSTAD [aside].
Observe!
[FALK and SVANHILD remain standing by the summer-house.
MRS. HALM [surprised].
Together!
GULDSTAD.
Do you doubt it now?
MRS. HALM.
This is most singular.
GULDSTAD.
O, I've noted how
His work of late absorb'd his interest.
MRS. HALM [to herself].
Who would have fancied Svanhild so sly?
[Vivaciously to GULDSTAD.
But no--I can't think.
GULDSTAD.
Put it to the test.
MRS. HALM.
Now, on the spot?
GULDSTAD.
Yes, and decisively!
MRS. HALM [giving him her hand].
God's blessing with you!
GULDSTAD [gravely].
Thanks, it may bestead.
[Comes to the front.
MRS. HALM [looking back as she goes towards the house].
Whichever way it goes, my child is sped.
[Goes in.
GULDSTAD [approaching FALK].
It's late, I think?
FALK.
Ten minutes and I go.
GULDSTAD.
Sufficient for my purpose.
SVANHILD [going].
Farewell.
GULDSTAD.
No,
Remain.
SVANHILD.
Shall I?
GULDSTAD.
Until you've answered me.
It's time we squared accounts. It's time we three
Talked out for once together from the heart.
FALK [taken aback].
We three?
GULDSTAD.
Yes,--all disguises flung apart.
FALK [suppressing a smile].
O, at your service.
GULDSTAD.
Very good, then hear.
We've been acquainted now for half a year;
We've wrangled--
FALK.
Yes.
GULDSTAD.
We've been in constant feud;
We've changed hard blows enough. You fought--alone--
For a sublime ideal; I as one
Among the money-grubbing multitude.
And yet it seemed as if a chord united
Us two, as if a thousand thoughts that lay
Deep in my own youth's memory benighted
Had started at your bidding into day.
Yes, I amaze you. But this hair grey-sprinkled
Once fluttered brown in spring-time, and this brow,
Which daily occupation moistens now
With sweat of labour, was not always wrinkled.
Enough; I am a man of business, hence--
FALK [with gentle sarcasm].
You are the type of practical good sense.
GULDSTAD.
And you are hope's own singer young and fain.
[Stepping between them.
Just therefore, Falk and Svanhild, I am here.
Now let us talk, then; for the hour is near
Which brings good hap or sorrow in its train.
FALK [in suspense].
Speak, then!
GULDSTAD [smiling].
My ground is, as I said last night,
A kind of poetry--
FALK.
In practice.
GULDSTAD.
Right!
FALK.
And if one asked the source from which you drew--?
GULDSTAD
[Glancing a moment at SVANHILD, and then turning
again to FALK.
A common source discovered by us two.
SVANHILD.
Now I must go.
GULDSTAD.
No, wait till I conclude.
I should not ask so much of others. You,
Svanhild, I've learnt to fathom thro' and thro';
You are too sensible to play the prude.
I watched expand, unfold, your little life;
A perfect woman I divined within you,
But long I only saw a daughter in you;--
Now I ask of you--will you be my wife?
[SVANHILD draws back in embarrassment.
FALK [seizing his arm].
Hold!
GULDSTAD.
Patience; she must answer. Put your own
Question;--then her decision will be free.
FALK.
I--do you say?
GULDSTAD [looking steadily at him].
The happiness of three
Lives is at stake to-day,--not mine alone.
Don't fancy it concerns you less than me;
For tho' base matter is my chosen sphere,
Yet nature made me something of a seer.
Yes, Falk, you love her. Gladly, I confess,
I saw your young love bursting into flower.
But this young passion, with its lawless power,
May be the ruin of her happiness.
FALK [firing up].
You have the face to say so?
GULDSTAD [quietly].
Years give right.
Say now you won her--
FALK [defiantly].
And what then?
GULDSTAD [slowly and emphatically].
Yes, say
She ventured in one bottom to embark
Her all, her all upon one card to play,--
And then life's tempest swept the ship away,
And the flower faded as the day grew dark?
FALK [involuntarily].
She must not!
GULDSTAD [looking at him with meaning].
Hm. So I myself decided
When I was young, like you. In days of old
I was afire for one. Our paths divided.
Last night we met again;--the fire was cold.
FALK.
Last night?
GULDSTAD.
Last night. You know the parson's dame--
FALK.
What? It was she, then, who--
GULDSTAD.
Who lit the flame.
Long I remembered her with keen regret,
And still in my remembrance she arose
As the young lovely woman that she was
When in life's buoyant spring-time first we met.
And that same foolish fire you now are fain
To light, that game of hazard you would dare.
See, that is why I call to you--beware!
The game is perilous! Pause, and think again!
FALK.
No, to the whole tea-caucus I declared
My fixed and unassailable belief--
GULDSTAD [completing his sentence].
That heartfelt love can weather unimpaired
Custom, and Poverty, and Age, and Grief.
Well, say it be so; possibly you're right;
But see the matter in another light.
What love is, no man ever told us--whence
It issues, that ecstatic confidence
That one life may fulfil itself in two,--
To this no mortal ever found the clue.
But marriage is a practical concern,
As also is betrothal, my good sir--
And by experience easily we learn
That we are fitted just for her, or her.
But love, you know, goes blindly to its fate,
Chooses a woman, not a wife, for mate;
And what if now this chosen woman was
No wife for you--?
FALK [in suspense].
Well?
GULDSTAD [shrugging his shoulders].
Then you've lost your cause.
To make happy bridegroom and a bride
Demands not love alone, but much beside,
Relations that do not wholly disagree.
And marriage? Why, it is a very sea
Of claims and calls, of taxing and exaction,
Whose bearing upon love is very small.
Here mild domestic virtues are demanded,
A kitchen soul, inventive and neat handed,
Making no claims, and executing all;--
And much which in a lady's presence I
Can hardly with decorum specify.
FALK.
And therefore--?
GULDSTAD.
Hear a golden counsel then.
Use your experience; watch your fellow-men,
How every loving couple struts and swaggers
Like millionaires among a world of beggars.
They scamper to the altar, lad and lass,
They make a home and, drunk with exultation,
Dwell for awhile within its walls of glass.
Then comes the day of reckoning;--out, alas,
They're bankrupt, and their house in liquidation!
Bankrupt the bloom of youth on woman's brow,
Bankrupt the flower of passion in her breast,
Bankrupt the husband's battle-ardour now,
Bankrupt each spark of passion he possessed.
Bankrupt the whole estate, below, above,--
And yet this broken pair were once confessed
A first-class house in all the wares of love!
FALK [vehemently].
That is a lie!
GULDSTAD [unmoved].
Some hours ago 'twas true
However. I have only quoted you;--
In these same words you challenged to the field
The "caucus" with love's name upon your shield.
Then rang repudiation fast and thick
From all directions, as from you at present;
Incredible, I know; who finds it pleasant
To hear the name of death when he is sick?
Look at the priest! A painter and composer
Of taste and spirit when he wooed his bride;--
What wonder if the man became a proser
When she was snugly settled by his side?
To be his lady-love she was most fit;
To be his wife, tho'--not a bit of it.
And then the clerk, who once wrote clever numbers?
No sooner was the gallant plighted, fixed,
Than all his rhymes ran counter and got mixed;
And now his Muse continuously slumbers,
Lullabied by the law's eternal hum.
Thus you see-- [Looks at SVANHILD.
Are you cold?
SVANHILD [softly].
No.
FALK [with forced humour].
Since the sum
Works out a minus then in every case
And never shows a plus,--why should you be
So resolute your capital to place
In such a questionable lottery?
GULDSTAD [looks at him, smiles, and shakes his head].
My bold young Falk, reserve a while your mirth.--
There are two ways of founding an estate.
It may be built on credit--drafts long-dated
On pleasure in a never-ending bout,
On perpetuity of youth unbated,
And permanent postponement of the gout.
It may be built on lips of rosy red,
On sparkling eyes and locks of flowing gold,
On trust these glories never will be shed,
Nor the dread hour of periwigs be tolled.
It may be built on thoughts that glow and quiver,--
Flowers blowing in the sandy wilderness,--
On hearts that, to the end of life, for ever
Throb with the passion of the primal "yes."
To dealings such as this the world extends
One epithet: 'tis known as "humbug," friends.
FALK.
I see, you are a dangerous attorney,
You--well-to-do, a millionaire may-be;
While two broad backs could carry in one journey
All that beneath the sun belongs to me.
GULDSTAD [sharply].
What do you mean?
FALK.
That is not hard to see.
For the sound way of building, I suppose,
Is just with cash--the wonder-working paint
That round the widow's batten'd forehead throws
The aureole of a young adored saint.
GULDSTAD.
O no, 'tis something better that I meant.
'Tis the still flow of generous esteem,
Which no less honours the recipient
Than does young rapture's giddy-whirling dream.
It is the feeling of the blessedness
Of service, and home quiet, and tender ties,
The joy of mutual self-sacrifice,
Of keeping watch lest any stone distress
Her footsteps wheresoe'er her pathway lies;
It is the healing arm of a true friend
The manly muscle that no burdens bend,
The constancy no length of years decays,
The arm that stoutly lifts and firmly stays.
This, Svanhild, is the contribution I
Bring to your fortune's fabric: now, reply.
[SVANHILD makes an effort to speak; GULDSTAD lifts
his hand to check her.
Consider well before you give your voice!
With clear deliberation make your choice.
FALK.
And how have you discovered--
GULDSTAD.
That I love her?
That in your eyes 'twas easy to discover.
Let her too know it. [Presses his hand.
Now I will go in.
Let the jest cease and earnest work begin;
And if you undertake that till the end
You'll be to her no less a faithful friend,
A staff to lean on, and a help in need,
Than I can be-- [Turning to SVANHILD.
Cancel it from the tables of your thought.
Then it is I who triumph in very deed;
You're happy, and for nothing else I fought.
[To FALK.
And, apropos--just now you spoke of cash,
Trust me, 'tis little more than tinsell'd trash.
I have not ties, stand perfectly alone;
To you I will make over all I own;
My daughter she shall be, and you my son.
You know I have a business by the border:
There I'll retire, you set your home in order,
And we'll foregather when a year is gone.
Now, Falk, you know me; with the same precision
Observe yourself: the voyage down life's stream,
Remember, is no pastime and no dream.
Now, in the name of God--make your decision!
[Goes into the house. Pause. FALK and
SVANHILD look shyly at each other.
FALK.
You are so pale.
SVANHILD.
And you so silent.
FALK.
True.
SVANHILD.
He smote us hardest.
FALK [to himself].
Stole my armour, too.
SVANHILD.
What blows he struck!
FALK.
He knew to place them well.
SVANHILD.
All seemed to go to pieces where they fell.
[Coming nearer to him.
How rich in one another's wealth before
We were, when all had left us in despite,
And Thought rose upward like the echoing roar
Of breakers in the silence of the night.
With exultation then we faced the fray,
And confidence that Love is lord of death;--
He came with worldly cunning, stole our faith,
Sowed doubt,--and all the glory pass'd away!
FALK [with wild vehemence].
Tear, tear it from thy memory! All his talk
Was true for others, but for us a lie!
SVANHILD [slowly shaking her head].
The golden grain, hail-stricken on its stalk,
Will never more wave wanton to the sky.
FALK [with an outburst of anguish].
Yes, we two, Svanhild--!
SVANHILD.
Hence with hopes that snare!
If you sow falsehood, you must reap despair.
For others true, you say? And do you doubt
That each of them, like us, is sure, alike,
That he's the man the lightning will not strike,
And no avenging thunder will find out,
Whom the blue storm-cloud scudding up the sky
On wings of tempest, never can come nigh?
FALK.
The others split their souls on scattered ends:
Thy single love my being comprehends.
They're hoarse with yelling in life's Babel din:
I in this quiet shelter fold thee in.
SVANHILD.
But if love, notwithstanding, should decay,
--Love being Happiness's single stay--
Could you avert, then, Happiness's fall?
FALK.
No, my love's ruin were the wreck of all.
SVANHILD.
And can you promise me before the Lord
That it will last, not drooping like the flower,
But smell as sweet as now till life's last hour?
FALK [after a short pause].
It will last long.
SVANHILD.
"Long!" "Long!"--Poor starveling word!
Can "long" give any comfort in Love's need?
It is her death-doom, blight upon her seed.
"My faith is, Love will never pass away"--
That song must cease, and in its stead be heard:
"My faith is, that I loved you yesterday!"
[As uplifted by inspiration.
No, no, not thus our day of bliss shall wane,
Flag drearily to west in clouds and rain;--
But at high noontide, when it is most bright,
Plunge sudden, like a meteor, into the night!
FALK.
What would you, Svanhild?
SVANHILD.
We are of the Spring;
No autumn shall come after, when the bird
Of music in thy breast shall not be heard,
And long not thither where it first took wing.
Nor ever Winter shall his snowy shroud
Lay on the clay-cold body of our bliss;--
This Love of ours, ardent and glad and proud,
Pure of disease's taint and age's cloud,
Shall die the young and glorious thing it is!
FALK [in deep pain].
And far from thee--what would be left of life?
SVANHILD.
And near me what were left--if Love depart?
FALK.
A home?
SVANHILD.
Where Joy would gasp in mortal strife.
[Firmly.
It was not given to me to be your wife.
That is the clear conviction of my heart!
In courtship's merry pastime I can lead,
But not sustain your spirit in its need.
[Nearer and gathering fire.
Now we have revell'd out a feast of spring;
No thought of slumber's sluggard couch come nigh!
Let Joy amid delirious song make wing
And flock with choirs of cherubim on high.
And tho' the vessel of our fate capsize,
One plank yet breasts the waters, strong to save;--
The fearless swimmer reaches Paradise!
Let Joy go down into his watery grave;
Our Love shall yet triumph, by God's hand,
Be borne from out the wreckage safe to land!
FALK.
O, I divine thee! But--to sever thus!
Now, when the portals of the world stand wide,--
When the blue spring is bending over us,
On the same day that plighted thee my bride!
SVANHILD.
Just therefore must we part. Our joy's torch fire
Will from this moment wane till it expire!
And when at last our worldly days are spent,
And face to face with our great Judge we stand,
And, as righteous God, he shall demand
Of us the earthly treasure that he lent--
Then, Falk, we cry--past power of Grace to save--
"O Lord, we lost it going to the grave!"
FALK [with strong resolve].
Pluck off the ring!
SVANHILD [with fire].
Wilt thou?
FALK.
Now I divine!
Thus and no otherwise canst thou be mine!
As the grave opens into life's Dawn-fire,
So Love with Life may not espoused be
Till, loosed from longing and from wild desire,
Pluck off the ring, Svanhild!
SVANHILD [in rapture].
My task is done!
Now I have filled thy soul with song and sun.
Forth! Now thou soarest on triumphant wings,--
Forth! Now thy Svanhild is the swan that sings!
[Takes off the ring and presses a kiss upon it.
To the abysmal ooze of ocean bed
Descend, my dream!--I fling thee in its stead!
[Goes a few steps back, throws the ring into the
fjord, and approaches FALK with a transfigured
expression.
Now for this earthly life I have foregone thee,--
But for the life eternal I have won thee!
FALK [firmly].
And now to the day's duties, each, alone.
Our paths no more will mingle. Each must wage
His warfare single-handed, without moan.
We caught the fevered frenzy of the age,
Fain without fighting to secure the spoil,
Win Sabbath ease, and shirk the six days' toil,
Tho' we are called to strive and to forego.
SVANHILD.
But not in sickness.
FALK.
Tho' quenched were all the light of earth and sky,--
The thought of light is God, and cannot die.
SVANHILD [withdrawing towards the background].
Farewell! [Goes further.
FALK.
Farewell--gladly I cry again--
[Waves his hat.
Hurrah for love, God's glorious gift to men!
[The door opens. FALK withdraws to the right; the
younger guests come out with merry laughter.
THE YOUNG GIRLS.
A lawn dance!
A YOUNG GIRL.
Dancing's life!
ANOTHER.
A garland spread
With dewy blossoms fresh on every head!
SEVERAL.
Yes, to the dance, the dance!
ALL.
And ne'er to bed!
[STIVER comes out with STRAWMAN arm in arm. MRS.
STRAWMAN and the children follow.
STIVER.
Yes, you and I henceforward are fast friends.
STRAWMAN.
Allied in battle for our common ends.
STIVER.
When the twin forces of the State agree--
STRAWMAN.
They add to all men's--
STIVER [hastily].
Gains!
STRAWMAN.
And gaiety.
[MRS. HALM, LIND, ANNA, GULDSTAD, and MISS JAY,
with the other guests, come out. All eyes are
turned upon FALK and SVANHILD. General amazement
when they are seen standing apart.
MISS JAY [among the AUNTS, clasping her hands].
What! Am I awake or dreaming, pray?
LIND [who has noticed nothing].
I have a brother's compliments to pay.
[He, with the other guests, approaches FALK, but
starts involuntarily and steps back on looking
at him.
What is the matter with you? You're a Janus
With double face!
FALK [smiling].
I cry, like old Montanus,(6)
The earth is flat, Messieurs;--by optics lied;
Flat as a pancake--are you satisfied?
[Goes quickly out to the right.
MISS JAY.
Refused!
THE AUNTS.
Refused!
MRS. HALM.
Hush, ladies, if you please!
[Goes across to SVANHILD.
MRS. STRAWMAN [to STRAWMAN].
Fancy, refused!
STRAWMAN.
It cannot be!
MISS JAY.
It is!
THE LADIES [from mouth to mouth].
Refused! Refused! Refused!
[They gather in little groups about the garden.
STIVER [dumfounded].
He courting? How?
STRAWMAN.
Yes, think! He laugh'd at us, ha, ha--but now--
[They gaze at each other speechless.
ANNA [to LIND].
That's good! He was too horrid, to be sure!
LIND [embracing her].
Hurrah, now thou art mine, entire and whole.
[They go outside into the garden.
GULDSTAD [looking back towards SVANHILD].
Something is shattered in a certain soul;
But what is yet alive in it I'll cure.
STRAWMAN [recovering himself and embracing STIVER].
Now then, you can be very well contented
To have your dear _fiancee_ for a spouse.
STIVER.
And you complacently can see your house
With little Strawmans every year augmented.
STRAWMAN [Rubbing his hands with satisfaction and looking
after FALK].
Insolent fellow! Well, it served him right;--
Would all these knowing knaves were in his plight!
[They go across in conversation; MRS. HALM
approaches with SVANHILD.
MRS. HALM [aside eagerly].
And nothing binds you?
SVANHILD.
Nothing.
MRS. HALM.
Good, you know
A daughter's duty--
SVANHILD.
Guide me, I obey.
MRS. HALM.
Thanks, child. [Pointing to GULDSTAD.
He is rich and _comme il faut
Parti_; and since there's nothing in the way--
SVANHILD.
Yes, there is one condition I require!--
To leave this place.
MRS. HALM.
Precisely his desire.
SVANHILD.
And time--
MRS. HALM.
How long? Bethink you, fortune's calling!
SVANHILD [with a quiet smile].
Only a little; till the leaves are falling.
[She goes towards the verandah; MRS. HALM seeks
out GULDSTAD.
STRAWMAN [among the guests].
One lesson, friends, we learn from this example!
Tho' Doubt's beleaguering forces hem us in,
The Truth upon the Serpents's head shall trample,
The cause of Love shall win--
GUESTS.
Yes, Love shall win!
[They embrace and kiss, pair by pair. Outside to
the left are heard song and laughter.
MISS JAY.
What can this mean?
ANNA.
The students!
LIND.
The quartette,
Bound for the mountains;--and I quite forgot
To tell them--
[The STUDENTS come in to the left and remain
standing at the entrance.
A STUDENT [to LIND].
Here we are on the spot!
MRS. HALM.
It's Lind you seek, then?
MISS JAY.
That's unfortunate.
He's just engaged--
AN AUNT.
And so, you may be sure,
He cannot think of going on a tour.
THE STUDENTS.
Engaged!
ALL THE STUDENTS.
Congratulations!
LIND [to his comrades].
Thanks, my friends!
THE STUDENT [to his comrades].
There goes our whole fish-kettle in the fire!
Our tenor lost! No possible amends!
FALK [Coming from the right, in summer suit, with student's
cap, knapsack and stick.
_I'll_ sing the tenor in young Norway's choir!
THE STUDENTS.
You, Falk! hurrah!