Chapter 14

Fieldbo.

But the daughter?

Ringdal.

Sh! The daughter is here.

Fieldbo.

Here?

Ringdal.

The tutor brought her and the two little ones here this morning. Miss Bratsberg is looking after them, quietly you know.

Fieldbo.

And how does she bear it?

Ringdal.

Oh, pretty well, I fancy. You may guess, after the treatment she has met with at home——And, besides, I may tell you she is——Ah, here’s the Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain.

[From the left.] So you are there, my dear Doctor?

Fieldbo.

Yes, I am pretty early astir. Let me wish you many happy returns of the day, Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain.

Oh, as for happiness——! But thank you, all the same; I know you mean it kindly.

Fieldbo.

And may I ask, Chamberlain——?

The Chamberlain.

One word: be good enough to drop thattitle.title.

Fieldbo.

What do you mean?

The Chamberlain.

I am an ironmaster, and nothing more.

Fieldbo.

Why, what strange notion is this?

The Chamberlain.

I have renounced my post and my title. I am sending in my resignation to-day.

Fieldbo.

You should sleep upon that.

The Chamberlain.

When his Majesty was graciously pleased to assign me a place in his immediate circle, he did so because of the unblemished honour of my family through long generations.

Fieldbo.

Well, what then?

The Chamberlain.

My family is disgraced, just as much as Mr. Monsen’s. Of course you have heard about Monsen?

Fieldbo.

Yes, I have.

The Chamberlain.

[ToRingdal.] Any further news about him?

Ringdal.

Only that he brings down with him a good many of the younger men.

The Chamberlain.

And my son?

Ringdal.

Your son has sent me his balance-sheet. He will be able to pay in full; but there will be nothing over.

The Chamberlain.

H’m. Then will you get my resignation copied?

Ringdal.

I’ll see to it.

[Goes out by the foremost door on the right.

Fieldbo.

Have you reflected what you are doing? Things can be arranged without any one being a bit the wiser.

The Chamberlain.

Indeed! Can I make myself ignorant of what has happened?

Fieldbo.

Oh, after all, what has happened? Has not he written to you, acknowledged his fault, and begged for your forgiveness? This is the only time he has done anything of the sort; why not simply blot it out?

The Chamberlain.

Would you do what my son has done?

Fieldbo.

He won’t repeat it; that is the main point.

The Chamberlain.

How do you know he will not repeat it?

Fieldbo.

If for no other reason, because of what you yourself told me—the scene with your daughter-in-law.Whatever else comes of it, that will steady him.

The Chamberlain.

[Pacing the room.] My poor Selma! Our peace and happiness gone!

Fieldbo.

There are higher things than peace and happiness. Your happiness has been an illusion. Yes, I must speak frankly to you: in that, as in many other things, you have built on a hollow foundation. You have been shortsighted and overweening, Chamberlain!

The Chamberlain.

[Stops short.] I?

Fieldbo.

Yes, you! You have plumed yourself on your family honour; but when has that honour been tried? Are you sure it would have stood the test?

The Chamberlain.

You can spare your sermons, Doctor. Do you think I have not learnt a lesson from the events of these days?

Fieldbo.

I daresay you have; but prove it, by showing greater tolerance and clearer insight. You reproach your son; but what have you done for him? You have taken care to develop his faculties, but not to form his character. You have lectured him on what he owed to the honour of his family; but you have not guided and moulded him so that honour became to him an irresistible instinct.

The Chamberlain.

Do you think so?

Fieldbo.

I not only think, I know it. But that is generally the way here: people are bent on learning, not on living. And you see what comes of it; you see hundreds of men with great gifts, who never seem to be more than half ripe; who are one thing in their ideas and feelings, and something quite different in their habits and acts. Just look at Stensgård——

The Chamberlain.

Ah, Stensgård now! What do you make of Stensgård?

Fieldbo.

A patchwork. I have known him from childhood. His father was a mere rag of a man, a withered weed, a nobody. He kept a little huckster’s shop, and eked things out with pawn-broking; or rather his wife did for him. She was a coarse-grained woman, the most unwomanly I ever knew. She had her husband declared incapable;[21]she had not an ounce of heart in her. And in that home Stensgård passed his childhood. Then he went to the grammar-school. “He shall go to college,” said his mother; “I’ll make a smart solicitor of him.” Squalor at home, high-pressure at school; soul, temperament, will, talents, all pulling in different ways—what could it lead to but disintegration of character?

The Chamberlain.

What could it lead to, eh? I should like to know what is good enough for you. We are to expect nothing of Stensgård; nothing of my son; but we may look to you, I suppose—to you——?

Fieldbo.

Yes, to me—precisely. Oh, you needn’t laugh; I take no credit to myself; but my lot has been one that begets equilibrium and firmness of character. I was brought up amid the peace and harmony of a modest middle-class home. My mother is a woman of the finest type; in our home we had no desires that outstripped our opportunities, no cravings that were wrecked on the rocks of circumstance; and death did not break in upon our circle, leaving emptiness and longing behind it. We were brought up in the love of beauty, but it informed our whole view of life, instead of being a side-interest, a thing apart. We were taught to shun excesses, whether of the intellect or of the feelings——

The Chamberlain.

Bless me! So that accounts for your being the pink of perfection?

Fieldbo.

I am far from thinking so. I only say that fate had been infinitely kind to me, and that I regard its favours in the light of obligations.

The Chamberlain.

Very well; but if Stensgård is under no such obligations, it is all the more to his credit that he——

Fieldbo.

What? What is to his credit?

The Chamberlain.

You have misjudged him, my good Doctor. Look here. What do you say to this?

Fieldbo.

Your son’s bill!

The Chamberlain.

Yes; he has sent it to me.

Fieldbo.

Of his own accord?

The Chamberlain.

Of his own accord, and unconditionally. It is fine; it is noble. From this day forth, my house is open to him.

Fieldbo.

Think again! For your own sake, for your daughter’s——

The Chamberlain.

Oh, let me alone! He is better than you in many ways. At any rate he is straightforward, while you are underhand in your dealings.

Fieldbo.

The Chamberlain.

Yes, you! You have made yourself the master of this house; you come and go as you please; I consult you about everything—and yet——

Fieldbo.

Well?—And yet?

The Chamberlain.

And yet there’s always something confoundedly close about you; yes, and something—something uppish that I cannot endure!

Fieldbo.

Please explain yourself!

The Chamberlain.

I? No, it is you that ought to explain yourself! But now you must take the consequences.

Fieldbo.

We don’t understand each other, Chamberlain. I have no bill to give up to you; yet, who knows but I may be making a greater sacrifice for your sake?

The Chamberlain.

Indeed! How so?

Fieldbo.

By holding my tongue.

The Chamberlain.

Holding your tongue, indeed! Shall I tell you what I am tempted to do? To forget my manners, use bad language, and join the League of Youth. You are a stiff-necked Pharisee, my good Doctor; and that sort of thing is out of place in our free society. Look at Stensgård; he is not like that; so he shall come here whenever he likes; he shall—he shall——! Oh, what’s the use of talking——! You must take the consequences; as you make your bed, so you must lie.

Lundestad.

[Enters from the back.] My congratulations, Chamberlain! May you long enjoy the respect and——

The Chamberlain.

Oh, go to the devil—I’m almost inclined to say! That’s all humbug, my dear Lundestad. There’s nothing but humbug in this world.

Lundestad.

That is what Mr. Monsen’s creditors are saying.

The Chamberlain.

Ah, about Monsen—didn’t it come upon you like a thunderbolt?

Lundestad.

Oh, you have often prophesied it, Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain.

H’m, h’m;—yes, to be sure I have. I prophesied it only the day before yesterday; he came here trying to get money out of me——

Fieldbo.

It might have saved him.

Lundestad.

Impossible; he was too deep in the mire; and whatever is, is for the best.

The Chamberlain.

That is your opinion? Was it for the best, then, that you were beaten at the poll yesterday?

Lundestad.

I wasn’t beaten; everything went just as I wanted. Stensgård is not a man to make an enemy of; he has got what we others have to whistle for.

The Chamberlain.

I don’t quite understand what you mean——?

Lundestad.

He has the power of carrying people away with him. And then he has the luck to be unhampered by either character, or conviction, or social position; so that Liberalism is the easiest thing in the world to him.

The Chamberlain.

Well, really, I should have thought we were all Liberals.

Lundestad.

Yes, of course we are Liberals, Chamberlain; not a doubt of it. But the thing is that we are Liberal only on our own behalf, whereas Stensgård’s Liberalism extends to other people. That’s the novelty of the thing.

The Chamberlain.

And you are going over to these subversive ideas?

Lundestad.

I’ve read in old story-books about people who could summon up spirits, but could not lay them again.

The Chamberlain.

Why, my dear Lundestad, how can a man of your enlightenment——?

Lundestad.

I know it’s mere popish superstition, Chamberlain. But new ideas are like those spirits: it’s not so easy to lay them; the best plan is to compromise with them as best you can.

The Chamberlain.

But now that Monsen has fallen, and no doubt his crew of agitators with him——

Lundestad.

If Monsen’s fall had come two or three days ago, things would have been very different.

The Chamberlain.

Yes, unfortunately. You have been too hasty.

Lundestad.

Partly out of consideration for you, Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain.

For me?

Lundestad.

Our party must keep up its reputation in the eyes of the people. We represent the old, deep-rooted Norse sense of honour. If I had deserted Stensgård, you know he holds a paper——

The Chamberlain.

Not now.

Lundestad.

What?

The Chamberlain.

Here it is.

Lundestad.

He has given it up to you?

The Chamberlain.

Yes. Personally, he is a gentleman; so much I must say for him.

Lundestad.

[Thoughtfully.] Mr. Stensgård has rare abilities.

Stensgård.

[At the back, standing in the doorway.] May I come in?

The Chamberlain.

[Going to meet him.] I am delighted to see you.

Stensgård.

And you will accept my congratulations?

The Chamberlain.

With all my heart.

Stensgård.

Then with all my heart I wish you happiness; And you must forget all the stupid things I have written.

The Chamberlain.

I go by deeds, not words, Mr. Stensgård.

Stensgård.

How good of you to say so!

The Chamberlain.

And henceforth—since you wish it—you must consider yourself at home here.

Stensgård.

May I? May I really?[A knock at the door.

The Chamberlain.

Come in.

SeveralLeading Menof the neighbourhood,Town Councillors,etc., enter.The Chamberlaingoes to receive them, accepts their congratulations, and converses with them.

Thora.

[Who has meantime entered by the second door on the left.] Mr. Stensgård, let me thank you.

Stensgård.

You, Miss Bratsberg!

Thora.

My father has told me how nobly you have acted.

Stensgård.

But——?

Thora.

Oh, how we have misjudged you!

Stensgård.

Have you——?

Thora.

It was your own fault—— No, no; it was ours. Oh, what would I not do to atone for our error.

Stensgård.

Would you? You yourself? Would you really——?

Thora.

All of us would; if we only knew——

The Chamberlain.

Refreshments for these gentlemen, my child.

Thora.

They are just coming.

[She retires towards the door again, where aServantat the same moment appears with cake and wine, which are handed round.

Stensgård.

Oh, my dear Lundestad! I feel like a conquering god.

Lundestad.

So you must have felt yesterday, I suppose.

Stensgård.

Pooh! This is something quite different; the final triumph; the crown of all! There is a glory, a halo, over my life.

Lundestad.

Oho; dreams of love!

Stensgård.

Not dreams! Realities, glorious realities!

Lundestad.

So brother Bastian has brought you the answer?

Stensgård.

Bastian——?

Lundestad.

Yes, he gave me a hint yesterday; he had promised to plead your cause with a certain young lady.

Stensgård.

Oh, what nonsense——

Lundestad.

Why make a mystery of it? If you haven’t heard already, I can give you the news. You have won the day, Mr. Stensgård; I have it from Ringdal.

Stensgård.

What have you from Ringdal?

Lundestad.

Miss Monsen has accepted you.

Stensgård.

What?

Lundestad.

Accepted you, I say.

Stensgård.

Accepted me! And the father has bolted!

Lundestad.

But the daughter hasn’t.

Stensgård.

Accepted me! In the midst of all this family trouble! How unwomanly! How repellant to any man with the least delicacy of feeling! But the whole thing is a misunderstanding. I never commissioned Bastian—— How could that idiot——? However, it doesn’t matter to me; he must answer for his follies himself.

Daniel Heire.

[Enters from the back.] Hee-hee! Quite a gathering! Of course, of course! We are paying our respects, propitiating the powers that be, as the saying goes. May I, too——

The Chamberlain.

Thanks, thanks, old friend!

Heire.

Oh, I protest, my dear sir? That is too much condescension. [NewGuestsarrive.] Ah, here we have the myrmidons of justice—the executive—— I say no more. [Goes over toStensgård.] Ah, my dear fortunate youth, are you there? Your hand! Accept the assurance of an old man’s unfeigned rejoicing.

Stensgård.

At what?

Heire.

You asked me yesterday to run you down a little to her—you know——

Stensgård.

Yes, yes; what then?

Heire.

It was a heartfelt pleasure to me to oblige you——

Stensgård.

Well—and what happened then? How did she take it?

Heire.

Like a loving woman, of course—burst into tears; locked herself into her room; would neither answer nor show herself——

Stensgård.

Ah, thank goodness!

Heire.

It’s barbarous to subject a widow’s heart to such cruel tests, to go and gloat over her jealous agonies! But love has cat’s eyes—— I say no more! For to-day, as I drove past, there stood Madam Rundholmen, brisk and buxom, at her open window, combing her hair. She looked like a mermaid, if you’ll allow me to say so. Oh, she’s a fine woman!

Stensgård.

Well, and then?

Heire.

Why, she laughed like one possessed, sir, and waved a letter in the air, and called out “A proposal, Mr. Heire! I’m engaged to be married.”

Stensgård.

What! Engaged?

Heire.

My hearty congratulations, young man; I’m inexpressibly pleased to be the first to announce to you——

Stensgård.

It’s all rubbish! It’s nonsense!

Heire.

What is nonsense?

Stensgård.

You have misunderstood her; or else she has misunderstood——Engaged! Preposterous! Now that Monsen’s down, she’ll probably——

Heire.

Not at all, sir, not at all! Madam Rundholmen has solid legs to stand on.

Stensgård.

No matter! I have quite other intentions. All that about the letter was only a joke—a wager, as I told you. My dear Mr. Heire, do oblige me by not saying a word to any one of this silly affair.

Heire.

I see, I see! It’s to be kept secret; it’s to be a romance. Ah, youth, youth! it’s nothing if not poetical.

Stensgård.

Yes, yes; mum’s the word. You shan’t regret it—I’ll take up your cases——Sh! I rely upon you.

[He retires.

The Chamberlain.

[Who has meanwhile been talking toLundestad.] No, Lundestad—thatI really cannot believe!

Lundestad.

I assure you, Chamberlain—Daniel Heire told me so himself.

Heire.

What did I tell you, may I inquire?

The Chamberlain.

Did Mr. Stensgård show you a bill yesterday?

Heire.

Yes, by-the-bye——! What on earth was the meaning of all that?

The Chamberlain.

I’ll tell you afterwards. And you told him——

Lundestad.

You persuaded him it was a forgery?

Heire.

Pooh, a mere innocent jest, to bewilder him a little in the hour of triumph.

Lundestad.

And you told him both signatures were forged?

Heire.

Oh yes; why not both while I was about it?

The Chamberlain.

So that was it!

Lundestad.

[To theChamberlain.] And when he heardthat——

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