GUSTAVUS VASA

CHARACTERS

GUSTAVUS I,King of SwedenMARGARET LEIJONHUFVUD(Lion-Head),his second QueenPRINCE ERIC,the only son of the King's first marriagePRINCE JOHAN,eldest son of the King's second marriageEBBA CARLSDAUGHTER,a nun at the convent of Vreta andmother-in-law of the KingMASTER OLAVUS PETRI,commonly known as Master OlofCHRISTINE,his wifeREGINALD,their sonHERMAN ISRAEL, acouncillor of the free city of LuebeckJACOB ISRAEL,his sonMONS NILSSON OF ASPEBODA}ANDERS PERSSON OF RANKHYTTAN}free miners of DalecarliaINGHEL HANSSON}NILS OF SÖDERBY}JORGHEN PERSSON,secretary toPRINCE ERICMASTER STIG,pastor at Copperberg (Falun), DalecarliaMONS NILSSON'S WIFEBARBRO,his daughterAGDA, abarmaidKARIN MONSDAUGHTER, aflower girlMARCUS}DAVID}Hanseatic clerksENGELBRECHT, afree miner who was one of the Dalecarlianski-runners that overtookGUSTAVUS VASAon his flight toNorway and brought him back to head the Dalecarlian revoltagainst King Christian II of DenmarkCAPTAIN OF THE GUARDA COURTIERA MESSENGERTWO BEGGARS

SCENARIO

ACT I. THE HOUSE OF MONS NILSSON AT COPPERBERGACT II. SCENE I. THE HANSEATIC OFFICE AT STOCKHOLMSCENE II. THE BLUE DOVE INNACT III. THE KING'S STUDYACT IV. SCENE I. SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE HANSEATIC OFFICESCENE II. THE STUDY OF MASTER OLAVUSACT V. THE GARDEN TERRACE IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL PALACEAT STOCKHOLM

The main living-room inMONS NILSSON'Shouse at Copperberg (which is the old name of the present city of Falun in Dalecarlia).There is a door in the rear, with a window on either side, through which are visible small city houses with snow-covered roofs and the flames belching from many blast-furnaces. A large open fireplace with mantelpiece occupies the center of the right wall. A fine log fire is going in the fireplace. On the same side, nearer the footlights, is a door.A long tablefills the middle of the floor. At its farther end stands an armchair with cushions on the seat and bright textiles draped over the back and the arm supports. Wooden benches run along the two long sides of the table.Wooden seats are placed along the left wall.Above the wainscotting of the walls appear large, simple frescoes depicting the adventures ofGUSTAVUS VASAin Dalecarlia (at the beginning of the war of liberation). The one at the left of the rear door shows him at the home of Master John at Svärdsjö; the one at the right pictures him threshing in the barn ofANDERS PERSSON OF RANKHYTTAN(while Danish soldiers are searching the place for him).The ringing of a church-bell is heard from the outside as the curtain rises.MONS NILSSONis seated at the table, writing. HisWIFEis arranging tankards and beakers of silver on the mantelshelf.

The main living-room inMONS NILSSON'Shouse at Copperberg (which is the old name of the present city of Falun in Dalecarlia).

There is a door in the rear, with a window on either side, through which are visible small city houses with snow-covered roofs and the flames belching from many blast-furnaces. A large open fireplace with mantelpiece occupies the center of the right wall. A fine log fire is going in the fireplace. On the same side, nearer the footlights, is a door.

A long tablefills the middle of the floor. At its farther end stands an armchair with cushions on the seat and bright textiles draped over the back and the arm supports. Wooden benches run along the two long sides of the table.

Wooden seats are placed along the left wall.

Above the wainscotting of the walls appear large, simple frescoes depicting the adventures ofGUSTAVUS VASAin Dalecarlia (at the beginning of the war of liberation). The one at the left of the rear door shows him at the home of Master John at Svärdsjö; the one at the right pictures him threshing in the barn ofANDERS PERSSON OF RANKHYTTAN(while Danish soldiers are searching the place for him).

The ringing of a church-bell is heard from the outside as the curtain rises.

MONS NILSSONis seated at the table, writing. HisWIFEis arranging tankards and beakers of silver on the mantelshelf.

MONS. That's four o'clock, is it not?

WIFE. Of course.

MONS. Sounds like fire.

WIFE. Is that any special sound?

MONS. Yes, it sounds like "help-help, help-help!"

WIFE. That's the way it has sounded ever since the King carried off our bells, it seems to me.

MONS. Be quiet! And don't talk behind anybody's back. The King will soon be here himself.

WIFE. Has the King sent word of his visit, as you have put everything in order to receive him?

MONS. Not exactly, but when he sends word that he is coming to Copperberg, it is not to be expected that he will pass by his friend Mons Nilsson, who helped him in the days of trial, and who has stood by him both against Master Knut and Peder the Chancellor, not to speak of the False Sture.[1]And he acted as godfather for my girl besides.

WIFE. That was a good while ago; but when the King's bailiff came here to get the bells two years ago, you helped to kill him.

MONS. That was two years ago, and I guess he was set on having our heads at that time. But just then King Christian broke into the country from Norway. Our own King turned meek as a lamb at once, and when he asked us for help, we Dalecarlians stood by him like one man, and gave him all the help he wanted. So I think we can call it even.

WIFE. Soyouthink, but the King never calls it even except when it is to his own advantage.

MONS. Perhaps not. But as long as Christian still is free, he will not dare to break with us.

WIFE. Well, is Christian still free?

MONS. I have heard nothing to the contrary. Anyhow, the King owes us such a lot of money that, leaving old friendship aside....

WIFE. God bless you! And I hope He will protect you from the friend that is always breaking his word and safe-conduct!

MONS. Don't open the old wounds, but let bygones be bygones.

WIFE. If you do that, and he won't, you can hardly call it a reconciliation. Take care!

MONS. The sound of that bell is really dreadful!

WIFE. So it is to my ears, because it always reminds me of the big Mary, which the bailiff took away. Do you remember when the Mary was cast out of the best refined copper and the whole town brought milk and cream to give the clay of the form more firmness—and then, when the melt was ready, we threw in one-half of our table silver to improve the tone? It was baptised at Candlemas and rung for the first time at the burial of my father.... And then it went to Herman Israel at Luebeck, who made coin out of it.

MONS. All that is perfectly true, but now itmustbe forgotten—or we shall never have peace.

BARBRO,their daughter, enters with a basket full of finely chopped spruce branches; she is dressed in black and white, and so are several younger children who follow her, also carrying baskets. All of them begin to spread the chopped spruce over the floor.

WIFE. [ToMONS] Is there to be a funeral?

MONS. No, but not being the season, we couldn't get any leaves.

WIFE. I think the children might put off their mourning at least.

MONS. No, that's just what they should not do, because when the King asks whom they are mourning—well, what are you to answer, Barbro?

BARBRO. "We mourn our beloved teacher, Pastor John at Svärdsjö."

MONS. And what are you to say, if the King asks you why?

BARBRO. "Because he was an early friend of King Gustavus and saved his precious life for our country."

MONS. What year was that?

BARBRO. "The very year when Christian the Tyrant cut the head off the Swedish nobility."[2]

MONS. That's right, children. And over there you see the picture of Master John when he is holding the towel for the outlaw who has been threshing in the barn. [To hisWIFE] On the other hand, it is not necessary to tell the children that the King took his friend's head two years ago.

WIFE. Have you really that much sense left?—Do you think the King likes any reminder of a deed that has brought him so little honour?

MONS. Let him like it or dislike it, he'll have to swallow it. It was an ugly deed, and Master John was a saint and a martyr, who died for his faith—the faith of his childhood, which he would not forswear.

BARBRO. [Standing by the armchair at the end of the table] Is the King to sit here?

MONS. Yes, child, that's where the marvellous man of God is to sit when he visits his friend Mons Nilsson of Aspeboda. His whole life is like a miracle story, children: how the Lord guided him out of a Danish prison up to Dalecarlia, and how, after many hardships, he finally freed his country from oppression. Those pictures on the walls tell you the whole story, down to the moment when the ski-runner overtook him at Sälen, close by the Norwegian border-line.

BARBRO. [Looking at the picture just indicated] Is it true, father, that the ski-runner was named Engelbrecht, like the great chieftain we had in the past century?

MONS. Yes, it's true, child, and we used to speak of it as "the finger of God," but now we call it mere superstition.

WIFE. Don't put that sort of thing into the children's heads!

MONS. Oh, keep quiet! I teach the children nothing but what is right and proper.—And bear in mind, little girls, that, no matter what you may hear, you must never believe or say anything bad of the King. Earth bears no heavier burden than a thankless man. And for that reason you must sing the ballad of King Gustav when he comes here. Do you still remember it?

BARBRO. Oh, yes!

MONS. Let me hear you read it then.

BARBRO. [Reciting],

"King Gustav, he rode his trusty steedAcross the battle-field;Have thanks, my brave Dalecarlians,For your true loyalty."

CHILDREN. [In chorus],

"Have thanks, my brave Dalecarlians,For your true loyalty!"

BARBRO.

"You have by my side been fightingLike faithful Swedish men.If God will spare my life-blood,I'll do you good in stead."

CHILDREN.

"If God will spare my life-blood,I'll do you good in stead!"

MONS. That's good, children. Go back to your own room now, and be ready when the time comes.

BARBROand theCHILDREN. [As they start to go out to the right] But won't the King frighten us?

MONS. Oh, he is not at all dangerous, and he is very fond of children. Besides, he is your godfather, Barbro.

BARBROand theCHILDRENleave the room.

WIFE. Do you know what you are doing?

MONS. Hope so! Of course, I know what you mean?

WIFE. What do I mean?

MONS. That I should take your advice. So I have done in the past, and it has ended badly every time.

WIFE. Try it once more!

MONS. No!

WIFE. Then—may the will of God be done! [Pause,

MONS. That's the longest afternoon I have ever lived through!—And my friends don't seem to be coming.

WIFE. Yes, I think I hear them outside.

MONS. Well, you were right that time!

The stamping of feet is heard from the hallway outside.Then enter:ANDERS PERSSON OF RANKHYTTAN,NILS SÖDERBY,INGHEL HANSSON,andMASTER STIG[in clerical costume].Each one says as he comes into the room: "Good evening, everybody!"

MONS. [Shaking hands with them] God be with you, Anders Persson! God be with you, Nils Söderby! God be with you, Inghel Hansson! God be with you, Master Stig! Come forward and be seated.

All seat themselves at the long table.

ANDERS. You are getting ready, I see.

MONS. So we are.—And where's the King?

ANDERS. The other side of the hill, says the ski-runner that just returned.

MONS. As near as that?—And what errand is supposed to bring him here?

ANDERS. Ask Nils of Söderby.

NILS. They say he is headed for Norway to fight Christian.

Inghel. There are others who think that he is coming to thank us Dalecarlians for the good help rendered in his last fight.

STIG. That would not be like him.

ANDERS. To thank anybody—no, indeed!

MONS. Do you think there is any cause for fear?

NILS. Not while Christian is still free.

INGHEL. It's queer that we should have to look to Christian for safety.

STIG. We knew what we had, but not what we might get. Christian took the heads of the noble lords and left the people alone. This one leaves the lords alone and rides roughshod over the people. Who should be called a tyrant?

MONS. Be quiet now!

ANDERS. In other words, the last war of liberation was foughtagainstour liberator. Did we know at all what we were doing at that time?

INGHEL. We were to clear the country of the Danes; and the first man to raise his hand for the King against the Danes in our parts was Rasmus Dane, who killed Nils Westgoth. That was a strange beginning....

NILS. A strange beginning, indeed, but just like the ending. [ToMONS'SWIFE] Look out for the silver, goodwife!

She turns and looks inquiringly at him.

NILS. The King is coming.

MONS. In the name of the Lord, be quiet! That kind of talk will bring no peace.—All that you say is true, of course, but what has happened was the will of Providence—

STIG. Which let the children have their will in order that they should see their own folly.

ANDERS. Are you quite sure that the King will visit you, Mons Nilsson?

MONS. What a question!

ANDERS. Remember Master John!

MONS. Let us forget! Everything must be forgotten.

ANDERS. No wonder if you andNILSwant to forget that you burned the King's house at Hedemora and looted Räfvelstad two years ago! Buthewill never forget it.

The roll of muffled drums is heard from the outside.

ALL. [Leaping to their feet] What's that?

MONS. Don't you know the hornet that buzzes before it stings?

ANDERS. That's the kind of noise he made that Ash Wednesday at Tuna Flat.

INGHEL. Don't mention that blood-bath, or I can't control myself. [Passionately] Don't talk of it!

NILS. Hear him spinning, spinning like a cat! No, don't trust him!

The roll of the drums comes nearer.

STIG. Might it not be wise for you, as personal friends of the King, to meet him and bid the stem master welcome?

MONS. I wonder. Then he might not come here afterward....

WIFE. Stay, Mons! Stay where you are!

MONS. Oh, the place smells of spruce, and the drums are flattened as for a funeral. [Somebody raps three times at the door from the outside] Who's that?

[He goes to the door and opens it.

WIFE. [ToMASTER STIGas she leaves the room by the door at the right] Pray for us!

MASTER OLAVUSandHERMAN ISRAELenter.

MONS. Who is doing me the honour?

OLAVUS. I am the acting secretary of his Highness, the King. And this is the venerable representative of the free city of Luebeck.

MONS. Come in, my good sirs, and—let us hear the news!

OLAVUS. The King is here and has pitched his camp on Falu Flat. Personally he has taken his abode at the Gildhall of Saint Jorghen.

MONS. What is the errand that has made the King cross Långhed Forest and Brunbeck Ford without permission and safe-conduct?[3]

OLAVUS. He hasn't told.

MONS. Then I had better go and ask him.

OLAVUS. With your leave, this is the message our gracious lord, the King, sends you through us: "Greetings to the goodly miners of the Copperberg, and let every man stay in his own house." If he desires speech with any one, that one will be called.

MONS. What is the meaning of it?

OLAVUS. [Seating himself] I don't know. [Pause.

ANDERS. Has the Danish war come to an end, sir?

OLAVUS. I don't know.

ANDERS. Do you know with whom you are talking?

OLAVUS. No, I don't.

ANDERS. I am Anders Persson of Rankhyttan. Have you ever heard that name before?

OLAVUS. Yes—it's a good name.

HERMAN ISRAELhas in the meantime been studying the wall paintings and the silver on the mantelpiece. He wears a pair of large, horn-rimmed eye-glasses. At last he seats himself in the armchair at the end of the table.

MONS. [IndicatingISRAELtoOLAVUS] Is that chap from Luebeck a royal person, too?

OLAVUS. [In a low voice] No, he is not, but he is in charge of the national debt, and we must never forget that our gracious King was able to free our country of the Danesonlywith the help of Luebeck.

MONS. With the help of Luebeckonly? And how about the Dalecarlians?

OLAVUS. Oh, of course, they helped, too.

MONS. Does he speak Swedish?

OLAVUS. I don't think so, but I am not sure of it.

MONS. Is that so?

OLAVUS. We happened to arrive together, but I have not yet spoken to him.

MONS. Very strange! I suppose the King has sent him?

OLAVUS. Probably.

MONS. Perhaps he is the fellow who buys up the bells?

OLAVUS. Perhaps.

MONS. And the church silver?

OLAVUS. And the church silver, too!

MONS. What was his name again?

OLAVUS. Herman Israel.

MONS. Oh, Israel!

He whispers toANDERS PERSSON,who in turn whispers to the rest.A rap at the door is heard.MASTER OLAVUSgets up quickly and opens the door.AMESSENGERin full armour enters, whispers something toMASTER OLAVUS,and leaves again.

He whispers toANDERS PERSSON,who in turn whispers to the rest.

A rap at the door is heard.MASTER OLAVUSgets up quickly and opens the door.

AMESSENGERin full armour enters, whispers something toMASTER OLAVUS,and leaves again.

OLAVUS. Our gracious lord, the King, requests Inghel Hansson to meet him at Saint Jorghen's Gild.

INGHEL. [Rising] Well, well, am I to be the first?

NILS. The oldest first.

MONS. Stand up for yourself, Inghel, and tell the truth. The King is a gracious gentleman who won't mind a plain word in proper time.

INGHEL. Don't you worry. I have said my say to kings before now. [He goes out.

OLAVUS. Well, Nils, how is the mining nowadays?

NILS. Not bad, thank you. The last fall flood left a little water in the mine, but otherwise we have nothing to complain of.

OLAVUS. Times are good, then?

NILS. Well, you might say so.... Hm! Good times will mean better taxes, I suppose?

OLAVUS. I know nothing about the taxes. [Pause; then toANDERS PERSSON] And how about the crops? I hear you have plenty of tilled ground, too.

ANDERS. Oh, yes, and plenty of cattle in the pastures, too.

OLAVUS. Old Dalecarlia is a pretty good country, is it not?

MONS. [GivingANDERSa poke with his elbow] Yes, everything is fat here—dripping with fat, so that one can eat the bark off the trees even.

OLAVUS. Yes, they have told me that you have to eat bark and chew resin now and then. Is that a common thing or does it happen only once in a while?

NILS. When the famine comes, you have to eat what you can get.

OLAVUS. [ToMASTER STIG,who has been keeping in the background] There is something you should know, Master Stig. How was it during the last famine, when the King sent grain to be distributed here: did it go to those who needed it?

STIG. Yes, it did, although there was not enough of it.

OLAVUS. [ToANDERS] Was there not enough of it?

ANDERS. That depends on what you mean by "enough."

OLAVUS. [ToMONS] Do you know what is meant by "enough," Mons Nilsson?

MONS. Oh, well, everybody knows that.

OLAVUS. [ToStig] As we now know what is meant by "enough," I ask you, Master Stig Larsson, if anybody perished from hunger during the last famine?

STIG. Man doth not live by bread only....

OLAVUS. There you spoke a true word, Master Stig, but....

A rap on the door is heard.MASTER OLAVUSopens. The sameMESSENGERappears, whispers to him, and leaves again.

OLAVUS. The King requests Nils Söderby to meet him at Saint Jorghen's Gildhall.

NILS. Won't Inghel Hansson come back first?

OLAVUS. I don't know.

NILS. Well, nobody is afraid here, and....

OLAVUS. What have you to be afraid of?

NILS. Nothing! [To his friends] The big bell at Mora has not been taken out of Siljan valley yet, Anders Persson and Mons Nilsson. That's a devil of a bell, and when it begins to tinkle, they can hear it way over in Norway, and fourteen thousand men stand like one!

OLAVUS. I don't understand what you mean.

NILS. [Shaking hands withANDERSandMONS] But you two understand! God bless you and defend you!

MONS. What do you mean?

ANDERS. What are you thinking of, Nils?

NILS. Oh, my thoughts are running so fast that I can't keep up with them. But one thing I am sure of: that it's going hard with Inghel Hansson. [He goes out.

OLAVUS. Is this sulphur smoke always hanging over the place?

MONS. Mostly when the wind is in the east.

MONSandANDERSwithdraw to the left corner of the room and sit down there. Master Stig shows plainly that he is much alarmed.

OLAVUS. Is it the quartz or the pyrites that make the worst smoke?

ANDERS. Why do you ask?

OLAVUS. That's a poor answer!

MONS. May I ask you in return whether King Christian still is free?

OLAVUS. [Looking hard at him] Do you put your trust in the enemy? [Pause] What kind of a man is Nils of Söderby?

MONS. His friends think him better and his enemies worse than anybody else.

OLAVUS. What kind of a bell in the Siljan valley was that you spoke of?

MONS. It's the largest one in all Dalecarlia.

OLAVUS. Have you many bells of that kind?

ANDERS. Of the kind that calls the people to arms we have still a lot.

MONSpokes him warningly.

OLAVUS. I am glad to hear it, and I am sure it will please his Highness still more.—Are the people attending church diligently, Master Stig?

STIG. I can't say that they are.

OLAVUS. Are the priests bad, or is the pure word of God not preached here?

STIG. There are no bad priests here, and nothing but the pure word of God is preached!

OLAVUS. That's the best thing I have heard yet! Nothing but the pure word of God, you say! [Pause] Nils intimated a while ago that fourteen thousand men will take up arms when you ring the big bell at Mora. That was mere boasting, I suppose?

MONS. Oh, if you ring it the right way, I think sixteen thousand will come. What do you say, Anders Persson?

ANDERS. Sixteen, you say? I should say eighteen!

OLAVUS. Fine! Then we shall ring it the right way when the Dane comes next time. Only seven thousand answered the last call—to fight theenemiesof our country.

MONS. [ToANDERS] That fellow is dangerous. We had better keep quiet after this.

STIG. [ToOLAVUS] Why has Inghel Hansson not come back?

OLAVUS. I don't know.

STIG. Then I'll go and find out.

He goes to the door and opens it, but is stopped by theMESSENGER,who is now accompanied by several pike-men.MASTER OLAVUSmeets theMESSENGER,who whispers to him.

He goes to the door and opens it, but is stopped by theMESSENGER,who is now accompanied by several pike-men.

MASTER OLAVUSmeets theMESSENGER,who whispers to him.

OLAVUS. Master Stig Larsson is commanded before the King at once!

STIG. Commanded? Who commands here?

OLAVUS. The King.

MONS. [Leaping to his feet] Treachery!

OLAVUS. Exactly: treachery and traitors!—If you don't go at once, Master Stig, you'll ride bareback!

STIG. To hell!

OLAVUS. Yes,tohell!—Away!

MONSandANDERSrise and start for the door.

MONS. Do you know who I am—that I am a free miner and a friend of the King?

OLAVUS. Be seated then, and keep your peace. If you are a friend of the King, there has been a mistake. Sit down, Anders Persson and Mons Nilsson! No harm will befall you or anybody else who is innocent. Let Master Stig go, and don't get excited. Where does the thought of violence come from, if not from your own bad conscience?

STIG. That's true. We have done nothing wrong, and no one has threatened us.—Be quiet, friends. I shall soon be back. [He goes out.

MONS. That's right!

OLAVUS. Throw a stick at the pack, and the one that is hit will yelp.

ANDERS. [ToMONS] That was stupid of us! Let us keep calm! [Aloud] You see, doctor, one gets suspicious as one grows old, particularly after having seen so many broken words and promises....

OLAVUS. I understand. In these days, when people change masters as the snake changes its skin, a certain instability of mind is easily produced. In young men it may be pardonable, but it is absolutely unpardonable in old and experienced persons.

MONS. As far as age is concerned, there is nothing to say about the King, who still is in his best years....

OLAVUS. And for that reason pardonable....

MONS. [ToANDERS] I think he must be the devil himself!

ANDERS. [ToOLAVUS] How long are we to wait here? And what are we to wait for?

OLAVUS. The King's commands, as you ought to know.

MONS. Are we regarded as prisoners, then?

OLAVUS. By no means, but it is not wise to venture out for a while yet.

MONSandANDERSmove from one chair to another and give other evidence of agitation.

MONS. Some great evil is afoot. I can feel it within me.

ANDERS. It must be very hot in here.... I am sweating. Would you like a glass of beer, doctor?

OLAVUS. No, thank you.

ANDERS. Or a glass of wine?

OLAVUS. Not for me, thanks!

MONS. But it's real hock.

MASTER OLAVUSshakes his head. At that moment drum-beats are heard outside.

ANDERS. [Beyond himself] In the name of Christ, will this never come to an end?

OLAVUS. [Rising] Yes, this is the end!

He goes to the door and opens it.TheMESSENGERenters and throws on the table the bloodstained coats ofINGHEL HANSSON,NILS OF SÖDERBY,andMASTER STIG.

He goes to the door and opens it.

TheMESSENGERenters and throws on the table the bloodstained coats ofINGHEL HANSSON,NILS OF SÖDERBY,andMASTER STIG.

OLAVUS. Look!

MONSandANDERS. Another blood-bath!

MONS. Without trial or hearing!

OLAVUS. The trial took place two years age, and sentence was passed. But the King put mercy above justice and let the traitors remain at large to see whether their repentance was seriously meant. When he learned that they remained incorrigible and went on with their rebellious talk as before, he decided to execute the sentences. That's how the matter looks when presented truthfully.

MONS. And yet there was a lot of talk about everything being forgiven and forgotten....

OLAVUS. So it was, provided the same offence was not repeated. But it was repeated, and what might have been forgotten was again remembered. All that is clear as logic. [ToHERMAN ISRAEL] These two trustworthy men.... [ToMONSandANDERS] You are trustworthy, are you not?

MONSandANDERS. Hope so!

OLAVUS. Answer yes or no! Are you trustworthy?

MONSandANDERS. Yes!

OLAVUS. [ToISRAEL] In the presence of you as my witness, syndic, these two trustworthy men have given a true report of conditions in Dalecarlia. They have unanimously assured us that the mines are being worked profitably; that agriculture and cattle-breeding prosper no less than the mining; that famines occur but rarely, and that, during the last one, our gracious King distributed grain in quantities not insufficient, which went to those that really were in need. These trustworthy and upright miners have also confirmed the following facts: that bells to summon the congregations still remain in all the churches; that no bad priests are spreading devices of men, and that nothing is preached here but the pure word of God. You have likewise heard them say, syndic, that the province of Dalecarlia can raise from sixteen to eighteen thousand men capable of bearing arms—the figures vary as their courage falls or rises. Being in charge of the current debt, and for that reason entitled to know the actualstatusof the country, you have now heard the people declare with their own lips, that all the Dalecarlian grievances are unwarranted, and that those who have spread reports to the contrary are traitors and liars.

MONS.Veto!

ANDERS. I deny it!

OLAVUS. If you deny your own words, then you are liars twice over!

MONS. He is drawing the noose tighter! Better keep silent!

ANDERS. No, I most speak. [ToOLAVUS] I want to know what our fate is to be.

OLAVUS. So you shall. Your fate is in your own hands. You are invited to Stockholm and given full safe-conduct. You can travel freely by yourselves. This is granted you as old friends of the King, to whom he acknowledges a great debt of gratitude.

MONS. More guile!

OLAVUS. No guile at all. Here is the King's safe-conduct, signed by his own hand.

ANDERS. We know all about his safe-conducts!

MONS. [ToANDERS] We must consent and submit in order to gain time! [ToOLAVUS] Will you let us go into the next room and talk the matter over?

OLAVUS. You can now go wherever you want—except to the King.

MONSandANDERSgo toward the left.

MONS. [As he opens the door] We'll bring you an answer shortly.

OLAVUS. As you please, and when you please.

MONSandANDERSgo out.

OLAVUS. [ToISRAEL] A stiff-necked people, true as gold, but full of distrust.

ISRAEL. A very fine people.

OLAVUS. Rather stupid, however. Did you notice how I trapped them?

ISRAEL. That was good work. How did you learn to do it?

OLAVUS. By long observation of innumerable human beings I have been led to conclude at last that vanity the primal sin and mother of all the vices. To get the truth out of criminals, I have merely to set them boasting.

ISRAEL. What wisdom! What wisdom! And you are not yet an old man!—But there are modest people, too, and out of these you cannot get the truth, according to what you have just said.

OLAVUS. Modest people boast of their modesty, so that is all one.

ISRAEL. [Looking attentively at him] If you'll pardon me—Master Olavus was your name, I think? You cannot be Olavus Petri?

OLAVUS. I am.

ISRAEL. [Surprised] Who carried out the Reformation?

OLAVUS. I am that man.

ISRAEL. And who was subsequently tried for high treason on suspicion of having known about a plot against the King's life?

OLAVUS. Confidences given me under the seal of confession, so that I had no right to betray them.

ISRAEL. [Gazing curiously atOLAVUS] Hm-hm! [Pause] A mysterious story it was, nevertheless.

OLAVUS. No, I don't think so. Gorius Holst and Hans Bökman were found guilty. And it was so little of a secret, that the people of Hamburg heard of the King's murder as an accomplished fact long before the plot was exposed at Stockholm.

ISRAEL. That is just what I call mysterious, especially as we knew nothing about it at Luebeck.

OLAVUS. Yes, I call that mysterious, too, because the road to Hamburg goes through Luebeck as a rule. [ISRAELmakes no reply] And it was rumoured at the time, that Marcus Meyer and Juerghen Wollenweber were no strangers to the plot.

ISRAEL. I have never heard of it, and I don't believe it. [Pause; then, pointing to the blood-stained coats] Must those things stay here?

OLAVUS. Yes, for the present.

ISRAEL. It seems to me that these royal visits are rather sanguinary affairs.

OLAVUS. I don't allow myself to pass judgment on the actions of my King, partly because I am not capable of doing so, and partly because I know there is a judge above too, who guides his destiny.

ISRAEL. That is beautifully said and thought. Have you always been equally wise?

OLAVUS. No, but what you have not been you frequently become. [Pause.

ISRAEL. Won't those people in there try to get away?

OLAVUS. That, too, has been foreseen, just as their desire to discuss the matter had been reckoned with. Do you know what they are talking of?

ISRAEL. No, I have not the slightest idea.

OLAVUS. They still imagine that King Christian is free, and they are planning to seek help from him.

ISRAEL. What a senseless thought!

OLAVUS. Especially as Christian is a prisoner.

ISRAEL. It sounds like madness, but when you hear how devoted these good men of the mining districts are to their King, it cannot surprise you that they may have in mind the oath binding them to their only lawful sovereign....

OLAVUS. Now, with your pardon, Iamsurprised....

ISRAEL. Oh, mercy, I am merely putting myself in their place.

OLAVUS. It is always dangerous to put oneself in the place of traitors. [Pause.

BARBRO. [Entering from the right, followed by the smaller children] Is father here? [She looks around and discoversISRAELseated in the armchair prepared for the King] Goodness, here is the King!

[She kneels, the other children following her example.

ISRAEL. No, no, dear children, I am not the King. I am only a poor merchant from Luebeck.

OLAVUS. A noble answer! [To the children] This is Herman Israel, the far-famed and influential councillor, who, with Cord König and Nils Bröms, saved our King out of Danish captivity and enabled him to carry out the war of liberation. You will find him on the picture in Saint Jorghen's Gildhall which represents Gustavus Vasa appearing before the City Council of Luebeck. Honour to the man who has honour deserved. Give homage to the friend of your country and your King.

BARBROand theCHILDRENclap their hands.

ISRAEL. [Rises, evidently touched] My dear little friends.... All I can do is to thank you.... I have really not deserved this.... You see, a merchant does nothing except for payment, and I have been richly paid.

OLAVUS. Don't believe him! But bear in mind that there are services that can never be paid, and beautiful deeds that can never be wiped out by ingratitude or forgetfulness.—Go back to your own room now. Your father will come in a moment.

BARBROand theCHILDRENgo out to the right.

ISRAEL. I had never expected such a thing of you, doctor.

OLAVUS. I think I understand why. However, my dear syndic, don't ever compel us to become ungrateful. Ingratitude is such a heavy burden to carry.

ISRAEL. What is the use of talking of it? There is nothing of that kind to be feared.

MONS NILSSONandANDERS PERSSONenter from the left.

MONS. After talking it over, we have decided to go to Stockholm with the King's good word and safe-conduct, so that we can quietly discuss the matter with him and the lords of the realm.

OLAVUS. Then my errand here is done, and both of us can leave. I wish you, Mons Nilsson, and you, Anders Persson, welcome to the capital.

MONS. Thank you, doctor.

MASTER OLAVUSandHERMAN ISRAELgo out.

MONS. [Picking up the bloodstained coats as soon as they are out of sight] These shall be our blood-stained banners! King Christian will furnish the staffs, and then—on to Stockholm!

ANDERS. And down with it!

OLAVUS. [Returning unexpectedly] There was one thing I forgot to tell you. Do you hear?

ANDERS. [Angrily] Well!

OLAVUS. King Christian has been captured and made a prisoner at Sonderborg Castle, in the island of Als.

MONSandANDERSshow how deeply the news hits them; neither one has a word to say.

OLAVUS. You understand, don't you?—Stinderborg Castle, in the island of Als?

Curtain.

Back to Index Next