Chapter 5

[Goes.

Chamberlain Bratsberg,his daughterThora,andDoctor Fieldboenter from the left.

Lundestad.

[Strikes the bell on the rostrum.] Silence for Mr. Ringdal’s speech!

Stensgård.

[Shouts.] Mr. Lundestad, I demand to be heard!

Lundestad.

Afterwards.

Stensgård.

No, now! at once!

Lundestad.

You can’t speak just now. Silence for Mr. Ringdal!

Ringdal.

[On the rostrum.] Ladies and gentlemen! We have at this moment the honour of seeing in our midst the man with the warm heart and the open hand—the man we have all looked up to for many a year, as to a father—the man who is always ready to help us, both in word and deed—the man whose door is never closed to any reputable citizen—theman who—who—ladies and gentlemen, our honoured guest is no lover of long speeches; so, without more words, I call for three cheers for Chamberlain Bratsberg and his family! Long life to them! Hurrah!

The Crowd.

Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!

[Great enthusiasm; people press around theChamberlain,who thanks them and shakes hands with those nearest him.

Stensgård.

Now may I speak?

Lundestad.

By all means. The platform is at your service.

Stensgård.

[Jumps upon the table.] I shall choose my own platform!

The Young Men.

[Crowding around him.] Hurrah!

The Chamberlain.

[To theDoctor.] Who is this obstreperous personage?

Fieldbo.

Mr. Stensgård.

The Chamberlain.

Oh, it’s he, is it?

Stensgård.

Listen to me, my glad-hearted brothers and sisters! Hear me, all you who have in your souls—though it may not reach your lips—the exultant song of the day, the day of our freedom! I am a stranger among you——

Aslaksen.

No!

Stensgård.

Thanks for that “No!” I take it as the utterance of a longing, an aspiration. A stranger I am, however; but this I swear, that I come among you with a great and open-hearted sympathy for your sorrows and your joys, your victories and defeats. If it lay in my power——

Aslaksen.

It does, it does!

Lundestad.

No interruptions! You have no right to speak.

Stensgård.

You still less! I abolish the Committee! Freedom on the day of freedom, boys!

The Young Men.

Hurrah for freedom!

Stensgård.

They deny you the right of speech! You hear it—they want to gag you! Away with this tyranny! I won’t stand here declaiming to a flock of dumb animals. I will talk; but you shall talk too. We will talk to each other, from the heart!

The Crowd.

[With growing enthusiasm.] Hurrah!

Stensgård.

We will have no more of these barren, white-chokered festivities! A golden harvest of deeds shall hereafter shoot up from each Seventeenth of May. May! Is it not the season of bud and blossom, the blushing maiden-month of the year? On the first of June I shall have been just two months among you; and in that time what greatness and littleness, what beauty and deformity, have I not seen?

The Chamberlain.

What on earth is he talking about, Doctor?

Fieldbo.

Aslaksen says it’s the local situation.

Stensgård.

I have seen great and brilliant possibilities among the masses; but I have seen, too, a spirit of corruption brooding over the germs of promise and bringing them to nought. I have seen ardent and trustful youth rush yearning forth—and I have seen the door shut in its face.

Thora.

Oh, Heaven!

The Chamberlain.

What does he mean by that?

Stensgård.

Yes, my brothers and sisters in rejoicing! There hovers in the air an Influence, a Spectrefrom the dead and rotten past, which spreads darkness and oppression where there should be nothing but buoyancy and light. We must lay that Spectre; down with it!

The Crowd.

Hurrah! Hurrah for the Seventeenth of May!

Thora.

Come away, father——!

The Chamberlain.

What the deuce does he mean by a spectre? Who is he talking about, Doctor?

Fieldbo.

[Quickly.] Oh, it’s about——

[Whispers a word or two.

The Chamberlain.

Aha! So that’s it!

Thora.

[Softly toFieldbo.] Thanks!

Stensgård.

If no one else will crush the dragon, I will! But we must hold together, boys!

Many Voices.

Yes! yes!

Stensgård.

We are young! The time belongs to us; but we also belong to the time. Our right is our duty! Elbow-room for faculty, for will, for power! Listen to me! We must form a League. The money-bag has ceased to rule among us!

The Chamberlain.

Bravo! [To theDoctor.] He said the money-bag; so no doubt you’re right——

Stensgård.

Yes, boys; we, we are the wealth of the country, if only there’s metal in us. Our will is the ringing gold that shall pass from man to man. War to the knife against whoever shall deny its currency!

The Crowd.

Hurrah!

Stensgård.

A scornful “bravo” has been flung in my teeth——

The Chamberlain.

No, no!

Stensgård.

What care I! Thanks and threats alike are powerless over the perfect will. And now, God be with us! For we are going about His work, with youth and faith to help us. Come, then, into the refreshment-tent—our League shall be baptized this very hour.

The Crowd.

Hurrah! Carry him! Shoulder high with him!

[He is lifted shoulder high.

Voices.

Speak on! More! More!

Stensgård.

Let us hold together, I say! Providence is on the side of the League of Youth. It lies with us to rule the world—here in the district!

[He is carried into the tent amid wild enthusiasm.

Madam Rundholmen.

[Wiping her eyes.] Oh, Lord, how beautifully he does speak! Don’t you feel as if you could kiss him, Mr. Heire?

Heire.

Thank you, I’d rather not.

Madam Rundholmen.

Oh, you! I daresay not.

Heire.

Perhaps you would like to kiss him, Madam Rundholmen.

Madam Rundholmen.

Ugh, how horrid you are!

[She goes into the tent;Heirefollows her.

The Chamberlain.

Spectre—and dragon—and money-bag! It was horribly rude—but well deserved!

Lundestad.

[Approaching.] I’m heartily sorry, Chamberlain——

The Chamberlain.

Yes, where was your knowledge of character, Lundestad? Well, well; we are none of usinfallible. Good-night, and thanks for a pleasant evening. [Turns toThoraand theDoctor.] But bless me, I’ve been positively rude to that fine young fellow!

Fieldbo.

How so?

Thora.

His call, you mean——?

The Chamberlain.

He called twice. It’s really Lundestad’s fault. He told me he was an adventurer and—and I forget what else. Fortunately I can make up for it.

Thora.

How?

The Chamberlain.

Come, Thora; let us see to it at once——

Fieldbo.

Oh, do you think it’s worth while, Chamberlain——?

Thora.

[Softly.] Hush!

The Chamberlain.

When one has done an injustice one should lose no time in undoing it; that’s a plain matter of duty. Good-night, Doctor. After all, I’ve spent an amusing hour; and that’s more than I have to thankyoufor to-day.

Fieldbo.

Me,Me,Chamberlain?

The Chamberlain.

Yes, yes, yes—you and others.

Fieldbo.

May I ask what I——?

The Chamberlain.

Don’t be curious, Doctor. I am never curious. Come, come—-no offence—good-night!

[The ChamberlainandThorago out to the left;Fieldbogazes thoughtfully after them.

Aslaksen.

[From the tent.] Hei, waiter! Pen and ink! Things are getting lively, Doctor!

Fieldbo.

What things?

Aslaksen.

He’s founding the League. It’s nearly founded.

Lundestad.

[Who has quietly drawn near.] Are many putting down their names?

Aslaksen.

We’ve enrolled about seven-and-thirty, not counting widows and so forth. Pen and ink, I say! No waiters to be found!—that’s the fault of the local situation.

[Goes off behind the tent.

Lundestad.

Puh! It has been hot to-day.

Fieldbo.

I’m afraid we have hotter days to come.

Lundestad.

Do you think the Chamberlain was very angry?

Fieldbo.

Oh, not in the least; you could see that, couldn’t you? But what do you say to the new League?

Lundestad.

H’m; I say nothing. What is there to be said?

Fieldbo.

It’s the beginning of a struggle for power here in the district.

Lundestad.

Well, well; no harm in a fight. He has great gifts, that Stensgård.

Fieldbo.

He is determined to make his way.

Lundestad.

Youth is always determined to make its way. I was, when I was young; no one can object to that. But mightn’t we look in and see——

Heire.

[From the tent.] Well, Mr. Lundestad, are you going to move the previous question, eh? To head the opposition? Hee-hee! You must make haste!

Lundestad.

Oh, I daresay I shall be in time.

Heire.

Too late, sir! Unless you want to stand godfather. [Cheering from the tent.] There, they’re chanting Amen; the baptism is over.

Lundestad.

I suppose one may be permitted to listen; I shall keep quiet.

[Enters the tent.

Heire.

There goes one of the falling trees! There will be a rare uprooting, I can tell you! The place will soon look like a wood after a tornado. Won’t I chuckle over it!

Fieldbo.

Tell me, Mr. Heire, what interest have you in the matter?

Heire.

Interest? I am entirely disinterested, Doctor! If I chuckle, it is on behalf of my fellow citizens. There will be life, spirit, go, in things. For my own part—good Lord, it’s all the same to me; I say, as the Grand Turk said of the Emperor of Austria and the King of France—I don’t care whether the pig eats the dog or the dog the pig.

[Goes out towards the back on the right.

The Crowd.

[In the tent.] Long live Stensgård! Hurrah! Hurrah for the League of Youth! Wine! Punch! Hei, hei! Beer! Hurrah!

Bastian.

[Comes from the tent.] God bless you and every one! [With tears in his voice.] Oh, Doctor, I feel so strong this evening; I must do something.

Fieldbo.

Don’t mind me. What would you like to do?

Bastian.

I think I’ll go down to the dancing-room and fight one or two fellows.

[Goes out behind the tent.

Stensgård.

[Comes from the tent without his hat, and greatly excited.] My dear Fieldbo, is that you?

Fieldbo.

At your service, Tribune of the People! For I suppose you’ve been elected——?

Stensgård.

Of course; but——

Fieldbo.

And what is to come of it all? What nice little post are you to have? The management of the Bank? Or perhaps——

Stensgård.

Oh, don’t talk to me like that! I know you don’t mean it. You are not so empty and wooden as you like to appear.

Fieldbo.

Empty and wooden, eh?

Stensgård.

Fieldbo! Be my friend as you used to be! We have not understood each other of late. You have wounded and repelled me with your ridicule and irony. Believe me, it was wrong of you. [Embraces him.] Oh, my great God! how happy I am!

Fieldbo.

You too? So am I, so am I!

Stensgård.

Yes, I should be the meanest hound on earth if all heaven’s bounty didn’t make me good and true. How have I deserved it, Fieldbo? What have I, sinner that I am, done to be so richly blessed?

Fieldbo.

There is my hand! This evening I am your friend indeed!

Stensgård.

Thanks! Be faithful and true, as I shall be!—Oh, isn’t it an unspeakable joy to carry all that multitude away and along with you? How can you help becoming good from mere thankfulness? And how it makes you love all your fellow creatures! I feel as if I could clasp them all in one embrace, and weep, and beg their forgiveness because God has been so partial as to give me more than them.

Fieldbo.

[Quietly.] Yes, treasures without price may fall to one man’s lot. This evening I would not crush an insect, not a green leaf upon my path.

Stensgård.

You?

Fieldbo.

Never mind. That’s apart from the question. I only mean that I understand you.

Stensgård.

What a lovely night! Listen to the music and merriment floating out over the meadows. Andhow still it is in the valley! I tell you the man whose life is not reconsecrated in such an hour, does not deserve to live on God’s earth!

Fieldbo.

Yes; but tell me now: what do you mean to build up out of it—to-morrow, and through the working-days to come?

Stensgård.

To build up? We have to tear down first.— Fieldbo, I had once a dream—or did I see it? No; it was a dream, but such a vivid one! I thought the Day of Judgment was come upon the world. I could see the whole curve of the hemisphere. There was no sun, only a livid storm-light. A tempest arose; it came rushing from the west and swept everything before it: first withered leaves, then men; but they kept on their feet all the time, and their garments clung fast to them, so that they seemed to be hurried along sitting. At first they looked like townspeople running after their hats in a wind; but when they came nearer they were emperors and kings; and it was their crowns and orbs they were chasing and catching at, and seemed always on the point of grasping, but never grasped. Oh, there were hundreds and hundreds of them, and none of them understood in the least what was happening; but many bewailed themselves, and asked: “Whence can it come, this terriblestorm?”storm?”Then there came the answer: “One Voice spoke, and the storm is the echo of that one Voice.”

Fieldbo.

When did you dream that?

Stensgård.

Oh, I don’t remember when; several yearsago.ago.

Fieldbo.

There were probably disturbances somewhere in Europe, and you had been reading the newspapers after a heavy supper.

Stensgård.

The same shiver, the same thrill, that then ran down my back, I felt again to-night. Yes, Iwillgive my whole soul utterance. I will be the Voice——

Fieldbo.

Come, my dear Stensgård, pause and reflect. You will be the Voice, you say. Good! But where will you be the Voice? Here in the parish? Or at most here in the county! And who will echo you and raise the storm? Why, people like Monsen and Aslaksen, and that fat-headed genius, Mr. Bastian. And instead of the flying emperors and kings, we shall see old Lundestad rushing about after his lost seat in Parliament. Then what will it all amount to? Just what you at first saw in your dreamf—townsfolk in a wind.

Stensgård.

In the beginning, yes. But who knows how far the storm may sweep?

Fieldbo.

Fiddlesticks with you and your storm: And the first thing you go and do, hoodwinked and blinded and gulled as you are, is to turn your weapons precisely against all that is worthy and capable among us——

Stensgård.

That is not true.

Fieldbo.

Itistrue! Monsen and the Stonelee gang got hold of you the moment you came here; and if you don’t shake him off it will be your ruin. Chamberlain Bratsberg is a man of honour; that you may rely on. Do you know why the great Monsen hates him? Why, because——

Stensgård.

Not a word more! I won’t hear a word against my friends!

Fieldbo.

Look into yourself, Stensgård! Is Mr. Mons Monsen really your friend?

Stensgård.

Mr. Monsen has most kindly opened his doors to me——

Fieldbo.

To people of the better sort he opens his doors in vain.

Stensgård.

Oh, whom do you call the better sort? A few stuck-up officials! I know all about it. As for me, I have been received at Stonelee with so much cordiality and appreciation——

Fieldbo.

Appreciation? Yes, unfortunately—there we are at the root of the matter.

Stensgård.

Not at all! I can see with unprejudiced eyes. Mr. Monsen has abilities, he has reading, he has a keen sense for public affairs.

Fieldbo.

Abilities? Oh, yes, in a way. Reading too: he takes in the papers, and has read your speeches and articles. And his sense for public affairs he has of course proved by applauding the said articles and speeches.

Stensgård.

Now, Fieldbo, up come the dregs of your nature again. Can you never shake off that polluting habit of thought? Why must you always assume mean or ridiculous motives for everything? Oh, you are not serious! Now you look good and true again. I’ll tell you the real root of the matter. Do you know Ragna?

Fieldbo.

Ragna Monsen? Oh, after a fashion—at second hand.

Stensgård.

Yes, I know she is sometimes at the Chamberlain’s.

Fieldbo.

In a quiet way, yes. She and Miss Bratsberg are old schoolfellows.

Stensgård.

And what do you think of her?

Fieldbo.

Why, from all I have heard she seems to be a very good girl.

Stensgård.

Oh, you should see her in her home! She thinks of nothing but her two little sisters. And how devotedly she must have nursed her mother! You know the mother was out of her mind for some years before she died.

Fieldbo.

Yes; I was their doctor at one time. But surely, my dear fellow, you don’t mean that——

Stensgård.

Yes, Fieldbo, I love her truly; to you I can confess it. Oh, I know what you are surprised at. You think it strange that so soon after—of course you know that I was engaged in Christiania?

Fieldbo.

Yes, so I was told.

Stensgård.

The whole thing was a disappointment. Ihadto break it off; it was best for all parties. Oh, how I suffered in that affair! The torture, the sense of oppression I endured——! Now, thank heaven, I am out of it all. That was my reason for leaving town.

Fieldbo.

And with regard to Ragna Monsen, are you quite sure of yourself?

Stensgård.

Yes, I am indeed. There’s no mistake possible in this case.

Fieldbo.

Well, then, in heaven’s name, go in and win! It means your life’s happiness! Oh, there’s so much I could say to you——

Stensgård.

Really? Has she said anything? Has she confided in Miss Bratsberg?

Fieldbo.

No; that’s not what I mean. But how can you, in the midst of your happiness, go and fuddle yourself in these political orgies?Howcan town tattle take any hold upon a mind that is——

Stensgård.

Why not? Man is a complex machine—I am, at any rate. Besides, my way to her lies through these very party turmoils.

Fieldbo.

A terribly prosaic way.

Stensgård.

Fieldbo, I am ambitious; you know I am. I must make my way in the world. When I remember that I’m thirty, and am still on the first round of the ladder, I feel my conscience gnawing at me.

Fieldbo.

Not with its wisdom teeth.

Stensgård.

It’s of no use talking to you. You have never felt the spur of ambition. You have dawdled and drifted all your days—first at college, then abroad, now here.

Fieldbo.

Perhaps; but at least it has beendelightful.delightful.And no reaction follows, like what you feel when you get down from the table after——

Stensgård.

Stop that! I can bear anything but that. You are doing a bad action—you are damping my ardour.

Fieldbo.

Oh, come! If your ardour is so easily damped——

Back to Index Next