Falk.
[With a gvdden oiUburgt.]
You fallen Adam! There a heart was cleft
With longing for the Eden it has left I
Acxn] LOVE'S COMEDY 413
LiXD.
What stuff!
Mks. Haij^.
[OJ^nd/^, to Falk. n\v{ng.]
'Tis not a verr friendlv act
To stir a quarrel where we've made a peace.
As for vour friend's j^xhI fortune, be at ease —
Some Ladies.
Nay that's assured —
Others.
A very certain fact.
Mrs. Halm.
The cooking-class at school. I must confess.
She did not take; but she shall learn it still.
Miss Jay.
With her own hands she's trimming hex own dre>ss.
Ax ArxT.
[Patting Anna's ^<i.nJ.]
And growing exquisitely sensible.
Faix.
[Lamghirig ahuii.]
O parody of sense, that ri>'Te'S and ivnds
In maniac dance upon tlie lips of friends!
Was it gootl sense he wanted .- Or a she-
Professor of tlie lore of Cookerv ^
414 LOVE'S COMEDY [act n
A joyous son of springtime he came here,
For the wild rosebud on the bush he burned.
You reared the rosebud for him; he returned—
And for his rose found what ? The hip !
Miss Jay.
[Offended.]
You jeer!
Falk.
A useful household condiment, heaven knows!
But yet the hip was not his bridal rose.
Mrs. Halm.
0, if it is a ball-room queen he wants,
I'm very sorry; these are not their haunts.
Falk.
O yes, I know the pretty coquetry
They carry on with "Domesticity."
It is a suckling of the mighty Lie
That, like hop-tendrils, spreads itself on high.
1, madam, reverently bare my head
To the ball queen; a child of beauty she—
And the ideal's golden woof is spread
In ball-rooms, hardly in the nursery.
Mrs. Halm.
[With suppressed bitterness.]
Your conduct, sir, is easily explained;
A plighted lover cannot be a friend;
That is the kernel of the whole affair;
I have a very large experience there.
ACT II] LOVE'S COMEDY 415
Falk.
No doubt, — with seven nieces, each a wife —
Mrs. Halm.
And each a happy wife —
Falk.
[With emphasis.]
Ah, do we know ?
How!
guldstad.
Miss Jay.
Mr. Falk!
LiND.
Are you resolved to sow
Dissension ?
Falk.
[Vehemently.]
Yes, war, discord, turmoil, strife!
Stiver.
What you, a lay, profane outsider here!
Falk.
No matter, still the battle-flag I'll rear!
Yes, it is war I mean with nail and tooth
Against the Lie with the tenacious root,
The lie that you have fostered into fruit,
For all its strutting in the guise of truth!
416 ' LOVE'S COMEDY [actii
Stiver.
Against these groundless charges I protest,
Reserving right of action —
Miss Jay.
Do be still!
Falk.
So then it is Love's ever-running rill
That tells the widow what she once possess'd, —
That very Love that, in the days gone by,
Out of her language blotted "moan" and "sigh"!
So then it is Love's brimming tide that rolls
Along the placid veins of wedded souls, —
That very Love that faced the iron sleet,
Trampling inane Convention under feet.
And scoffing at the impotent discreet!
So then it is Love's beauty-kindled flame
That keeps the plighted from the taint of time
Year after year! Ah yes, the very same
That made our young bureaucrat blaze in ryhme!
So it is Love's young bliss that will not brave
The voyage over vaulted Ocean's wave.
But asks a sacrifice when, like the sun.
Its face should fill with glory, making one !
Ah no, you vulgar prophets of the Lie,
Give things the names we ought to know them by;
Call widows' passion— wanting what they miss,
And wedlock's habit — call it what it is !
Strawman.
Young man, this insolence has gone too far!
In every word there's scoffing and defiance.
[Goes close up to Falk.
ACT II] LOVE'S COMEDY 417
Now I'll gird up my aged loins to war
For hallowed custom against modern science!
Falk.
I go to battle as it were a feast!
Strawman.
Good ! For your bullets I will be a beacon : —
[Nearer.
A wedded pair is holy, like a priest —
Stiver.
[At Falk's other side.]
And a betrothed —
Falk.
Half-holy, like the deacon.
Strawman.
Behold these children; — see, — this little throng!
lo triumphe may for them be sung!
How was it possible — how practicable — ;
The words of truth are strong, inexorable; —
He has no hearing whom they cannot move.
See, — every one of them's a child of Love — !
[Stops in confusion.
That is — you understand — I would have said — !
Miss Jay.
[Fanning herself loith her handkerchief.]
This is a very mystical oration!
418 LOVE'S COMEDY [act ii
Falk.
There you yourself provide the demonstration, —
A good old Norse one, sound, true-born, home-bred.
You draw distinction between wedded pledges
And those of Love: your Logic's without flaw.
They are distinguished just as roast from raw.
As hothouse bloom from wilding of the hedges!
Love is with us a science and an art;
It long since ceased to animate the heart.
Love is with us a trade, a special line
Of business, with its union, code and sign;
It is a guild of married folks and plighted.
Past-masters with apprentices united;
For they cohere compact as jelly-fishes,
A singing-club their single want and wish is —
And a gazette!
GULDSTAD.
Falk.
A good suggestion, yes!
We too must have our organ in the press.
Like ladies, athletes, boys, and devotees.
Don't ask the price at present, if you please.
There I'll parade each amatory fetter
That John and Thomas to our town unites,
There publish every pink and perfumed letter
That William to his tender Jane indites;
There you shall read, among "Distressing Scenes" —
Instead of murders and burnt crinolines.
The broken matches that the week's afforded;
There under "goods for sale" you'll find what firms
Will furnish cast-off rings on easy terms;
There double, treble births will be recorded;
ACTii] LOVE'S COMEDY
419
No wedding, but our rallying rub-a-dub
Shall drum to the performance all the club;
No suit rejected, but we'll set it down.
In letters large, with other news of weight
Thus: "Amor-Moloch, we regret to state.
Has claimed another victim in our town."
You'll see, we'll catch subscribers: once in sight
Of the propitious season when they bite.
By way of throwing them the bait they'll brook
I'll stick a nice young man upon my hook.
Yes, you will see me battle for our cause.
With tiger's, nay with editorial, claws
Rending them —
GULDSTAD.
And the paper's name will be— ?
Falk.
Amor's Norse Chronicle of Archery.
Stiver.
[Going nearer.]
You're not in earnest, you will never stake
Your name and fame for such a fancv's sake'
Falk.
I'm in grim earnest. We are often told
Men cannot live on love; I'll show that this
Is an untenable hypothesis;
For Love will prove to be a mine of gold :
Particularly if Miss Jay, perhaps.
Will Mr. Strawman's "Life's Romance" unfold,
As appetising feuilleton, in scraps.
420 LOVE'S COMEDY [actii
Strawman.
[In terror.]
Merciful heaven! My "life's romance"! What,
what !
When was my life romantic, if you please ?
Miss Jay.
I never said so.
Stiver.
Witness disagrees.
Strawman.
That I have ever swerved a single jot
From social prescript, — is a monstrous lie.
Falk.
Good.
[Clapping Stiver on the shoulder.
Here's a friend who will not be put by.
We'll start with Stiver's lyric ecstasies.
Stiver.
[After a glance of horror at Strawman.]
Are you quite mad! Nay then I must be heard!
You dare accuse me for a poet —
Miss Jay.
How—!
Falk.
Your office has averred it anyhow.
ACT II] LOVE'S COMEDY 421
Stiver.
[In towering anger.]
Sir, by our office nothing is averred.
Falk.
Well, leave me then, you also: I have by me
One comrade yet whose loyalty will last.
"A true heart's story" Lind will not deny me.
Whose troth's too tender for the ocean blast,
Who for his mistress makes surrender of
His fellow-men — pure quintessence of Love!
Mrs. Halm.
My patience, Mr. Falk, is now worn out.
The same abode no longer can receive us: —
I beg of you this very day to leave us —
Falk.
[With a how as Mrs. Halm and the company withdraw. 1
That this would come I never had a doubt!
Strawman.
Between us two there's battle to the death;
You've slandered me, my wife, my little flock.
From Mollie down to Millie, in one breath.
Crow on, crow on — Emancipation's cock, —
[Goes in, followed hy his wife and children.
Falk.
And go you on observing Peter's faith
To Love your lord — who, thanks to your advice.
Was thrice denied before the cock crew thrice!
422 LOVE'S COMEDY [act ii
Miss Jay.
[ Turning faint.]
Attend me, Stiver! help me get unlaced
My corset — this way, this way — do make haste!
Stiver.
[To Falk, as he withdraws with Miss Jay on his arm.]
I here renounce your friendship.
I likewise.
LiND.
Falk.
[Seriously.]
You too, my Lind ?
LiND.
Farewell.
Falk.
You were my nearest one —
Lind.
No help, it is the pleasure of my dearest one.
[He goes in: Svanhild has remained standing
on the verandah steps.
Falk.
So, now I've made a clearance, have free course
In all directions!
Svanhild.
Falk, one word with you!
ACTiiJ LOVE'S COMEDY 423
Falk.
[Pointing politely to the house.]
That way, Miss Halm; — that way, with all the force
Of aunts and inmates, Mrs. Halm withdrew.
SVANHILD.
[Nearer to him.]
Let them withdraw; their ways and mine divide;
I will not swell the number of their band.
Falk.
You'll stay ?
SVANHILD.
If you make war on lies, I stand
A trusty armour-bearer by your side,
Falk.
You, Svanhild, you who —
SVANHILD.
I, who — yesterday — ?
Were you yourself, Falk, yesterday the same ?
You bade me be a sallow, for your play,
Falk.
And a sweet sallow sang me into shame.
No, you are right; I was a child to ask;
But you have fired me to a nobler task.
Right in the midst of men the Church is founded
424 LOVE'S COMEDY [act ii
Where Truth's appealing clarion must be sounded
We are not called, like demigods, to gaze on
The battle from the far-off mountain's crest,
But in our hearts to bear our fiery blazon.
An Olaf's cross upon a mailed breast, —
To look afar across the fields of flight,
Tho' pent within the mazes of its might, —
Beyond the mirk descry one glimmer still
Of glory — that's the Call we must fulfil.
SVANHILD.
And you'll fulfil it when you break from men,
Stand free, alone, —
Falk.
Did I frequent them then?
And there lies duty. No, that time's gone by, —
My solitary compact with the sky.
My four- wall-chamber poetry is done;
My verse shall live in forest and in field,
I'll fight under the splendour of the sun; —
I or the Lie — one of us two must yield!
SVANHILD.
Then forth with God from Verse to Derringdoe!
I did you wrong: you have a feeling heart;
Forgive me, — and as good friends let us part —
Falk.
Nay, in my future there is room for two!
We part not. Svanhild, if you dare decide,
We'll battle on together side by side.
ACT II] LOVE'S COMEDY 425
SVANHILD.
We battle?
Falk.
See, I have no friend, no mate.
By all abandoned, I make war on all:
At me they aim the piercing shafts of hate;
Say, do you dare with me to stand or fall ?
Henceforth along the beaten walks I'll move
Heedful of each constraining etiquette;
Spread, like the rest of men, my board, and set
The ring upon the finger of my love!
[Takes a ring from his finger and holds it up.
SVANHILD.
[In breathless suspense.]
You mean that ?
Falk.
Yes, by us the world shall see,
Love has an everlasting energy.
That suffers not its splendour to take hurt
From the day's dust, the common highway's dirt.
Last night I showed you the ideal flame,
Beaconing from a dizzy mountain's brow.
You shuddered, for you were a woman, — now
I show you woman's veritable aim; —
A soul like yours, what it has vowed, will keep.
You see the abyss before you. — Svanhild, leap!
SVANHILD.
[Almost inaudibly.]
If we should fail — !
426 LOVE'S COMEDY [act ii
Falk.
[Exidting .]
No, in your eyes I see
A gleam that surely prophesies our winning!
SVANHILD.
Then take me as I am, take all of me!
Now buds the young leaf; now my spring's begin-
ning!
[She flings herself boldly into his arms as the
curtain falls.
ACT THIRD
Evening. Bright moonlight. Coloured lanterns are hung
about the trees, hi the background are covered tables
li'ith bottles, glasses, biscuits, etc. From the house,
ichich is lighted wp from top to bottom, subdued
music and singing are heard during the following
scene. Svaxhild stands on the verandah. Falk
comes from the right with some books and a portfolio
under his arm. The Porter follows ivith a port-
manteau a?id a knapsack.
Falk.
That's all, then ?
Porter.
Yes, sir, all is in the pack.
But just a satchel, and the paletot.
Falk.
Good; when I go, I'll take them on my back.
Now off. See, this is the portfolio.
Porter.
It's locked, I see.
Falk.
Locked, Peter.
427
428 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
Porter,
Talk.
Make haste and burn it.
Good, sir.
Pray,
Porter.
Burn it?
Falk.
Yes, to ash —
[Smilitig.
With every draft upon poetic cash;
As for the books, you're welcome to them.
Porter.
Nay,
Such payment is above a poor man's earning.
But, sir, I'm thinking, if you can bestow
Your books, you must have done with all your
learning ?
Falk.
Whatever can be learnt from books I know.
And rather more.
Porter.
More ? Nay, that's hard, I doubt!
Falk.
W^ell, now be off; the carriers wait without.
Just help them load the barrow ere you go.
[The Porter goes out to tJie left.
ACT III] LOVE'S COMEDY 429
Falk.
[Approaching Svanhild, ivho comes to meet him.]
One moment's ours, my Svanhild, in the Hght
Of God and of the lustrous summer night.
How the stars glitter thro' the leafage, see,
Like bright fruit hanging on the great world-tree.
Now slavery's last manacle I slip.
Now for the last time feel the weaHng whip;
Like Israel at the Passover I stand.
Loins girded for the desert, staff in hand.
Dull generation, from whose sight is hid
The Promised Land beyond that desert flight.
Thrall tricked with knighthood, never the more
knight.
Tomb thyself kinglike in the Pyramid, —
I cross the barren desert to be free.
My ship strides on despite an ebbing sea;
But there the Legion Lie shall find its doom.
And glut one deep, dark, hollow-vaulted tomb.
[A short pause; lie looks at Jier aiid takes Jier hand.
You are so still!
Svanhild,
So happy! Suffer me,
O suffer me in silence still to dream.
Speak you for me; my budding thoughts, grown
strong,
One after one will burgeon into song.
Like lilies in the bosom of the stream.
Falk.
O say it once again, in truth's pure tone
Beyond the fear of doubt, that thou art mine!
O say it, Svanhild, say —
430 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
SVANHILD.
[Throwing herself on his neck.]
Yes, I am thine!
Falk.
Thou singing-bird God sent me for my own!
SVANHILD.
Homeless within my mother's house I dwelt,
Lonely in all I thought, in all I felt,
A guest unbidden at the feast of mirth, —
Accounted nothing — less than nothing — worth.
Then you appeared ! For the first time I heard
My own thought uttered in another's word;
To my lame visions you gave wings and feet —
You young unmasker of the Obsolete!
Half with your caustic keenness you alarmed me.
Half with your radiant eloquence you charmed me,
As sea-girt forests summon with their spell
The sea their flinty beaches still repel.
Now I have read the bottom of your soul,
Now you have won me, undivided, whole;
Dear forest, where my tossing billows beat.
My tide's at flood and never will retreat!
Falk.
And I thank God that in the bath of Pain
He purged my love. What strong compulsion drew
Me on I knew not, till I saw in you
The treasure I had blindly sought in vain.
I praise Him, who our love has lifted thus
To noble rank by sorrow, — licensed us
ACT III] LOVE'S COMEDY 431
To a triumphal progress, bade us sweep
Thro' fen and forest to our castle-keep,
A noble pair, astride on Pegasus!
SVANHILD.
[Pointing to the house.]
The whole house, see, is making feast to-night.
There, in their honour, every room's alight.
There cheerful talk and joyous song ring out;
On the highroad no passer-by will doubt
That men are happy where they are so gay.
[With compassion.
Poor sister! — happy in the great world's way!
Falk.
"Poor" sister, sav you.''
SVANHILD.
Has she not divided
With kith and kin the treasure of her soul.
Her capital to fifty hands confided.
So that not one is debtor for the whole?
From no one has she a 1 1 things to receive.
For no one has she utterly to live.
beside m y wealth hers is little worth;
1 have but one possession upon earth.
My heart was lordless when with trumpet blare
And multitudinous song you came, its king.
The banners of my thought your ensign bear.
You fill my soul with glory, like the spring.
Yes, I must needs thank God, when it is past.
That I was lonely till I found out thee, —
That I lay dead until the trumpet blast
Waken'd me from the world's frivolity.
432 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
Falk.
Yes we, who have no friends on earth, we twain
Own the true wealth, the golden fortune, — we
Who stand without, beside the starlit sea.
And watch the indoor revel thro' the pane.
Let the lamp glitter and the song resound.
Let the dance madly eddy round and round; —
Look up, my Svanhild, into yon deep blue, —
There glitter little lamps in thousands, too —
Svanhild,
And hark, beloved, thro' the limes there floats
This balmy eve a chorus of sweet notes —
Falk.
It is for us that fretted vault's aglow —
Svanhild.
It is for us the vale is loud below!
Falk.
I feel myself like God's lost prodigal;
I left Him for the world's delusive charms.
With mild reproof He wooed me to His arms;
And when I come. He lights the vaulted hall,
Prepares a banquet for the son restored.
And makes His noblest creature my reward.
From this time forth I'll never leave that Light, —
But stand its armed defender in the fight;
Nothing shall part us, and our life shall prove
A song of glory to triumphant love !
ACT III] LOVE'S COMEDY 433
SVANHILD.
And see how easy triumph is for two,
When he's a man —
Falk.
She, woman thro' and thro'; —
It is impossible for such to fall !
SVANHILD.
Then up, and to the war with want and sorrow;
This very hour I will declare it all!
[Pointing to Falk's ring on herfiiiger
Falk.
[Hastily.']
No, Svanhild, not to-night, wait till to-morrow!
To-night we gather our young love's red rose;
'Twere sacrilege to smirch it with the prose
Of common day.
[The door into the garden-room opens.
Your mother's coming! Hide!
No eye this night shall see thee as my bride !
[Theij go out among the trees hy the summer-
house. Mrs. Halm and Guldstad come out
on tJie balcony.
Mrs. Halm.
He's really going }
Guldstad.
Seems so, I admit.
434 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
Stiver.
[Coming.]
He's going, madam !
Mrs. Halm.
We're aware of it!
Stiver.
A most unfortunate punctilio.
He'll keep his word; his stubbornness I know.
In the Gazette he'll put us all by name;
]My love will figure under leaded headings,
\Yith jilts, and twins, and countermanded wed-
dings.
Listen; I tell you, if it weren't for shame,
I would propose an armistice, a truce —
Mrs. Halm.
You think he would be willing ?
Stiver.
I deduce
The fact from certain signs, which indicate
That his tall talk about his Amor's News
Was uttered in a far from sober state.
One proof especially, if not transcendent,
Yet tells most heavily against defendant:
It has been clearly proved that after dinner
To his and Lind's joint chamber he withdrew.
And there displayed such singular demeanour
As leaves no question —
ACT III] LOVE'S COMEDY 435
GULDSTAD.
[Sees a glimpse of Falk and Svanhild, who separate,
Falk going to the background; Svanhild remains
standing hidden by the summer-house.]
Hold, we have the clue!
Madam, one word!— Falk does not mean to go.
Or if he does, he means it as a friend.
Stiver.
How, you believe then — ?
Mrs. Halm.
What do you intend ?
GuLDSTAD.
With the least possible delay I'll show
That matters move precisely as you would.
Merely a word in private —
Mrs. Halm.
Very good.
[They go together into the garden and are seen
from time to time in lively conversation.
Stiver.
[Descending into the garden discovers Falk, who is
standing by the water and gazing over it.]
These poets are mere men of vengeance, we
State servants understand diplomacy.
I need to labour for myself —
[Seeing Strawman, who enters from the garden-
room.
Well met!
436 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
Strawman.
[On tJie verandah.]
He's really leaving!
[Going down to Stiver.
Ah, my dear sir, let
Me beg you just a moment to go in
And hold my wife —
Stiver.
I — hold her, sir?
Strawman.
I mean
In talk. The little ones and we are so
Unused to be divided, there is no
Escaping —
[His wife and children appear in the door.
Ha! already on my trail.
Mrs. Strawman.
Where are you, Strawman ?
Strawman.
[^Aside to Stiver.]
Do invent some tale.
Something amusing — something to beguile!
Stiver.
[Going on to the verandali.]
Pray, madam, have you read the official charge?
A masterpiece of literary style.
[Takes a book from his pocket.
ACTiii] LOVE'S COMEDY 437
Which I shall now proceed to cite at large.
[Ushers her politely into the room, and folloivs
himself. Falk comes forward; he and Straw-
man meet; they regard one another a moment
in silence.
Well?
Well?
Strawman.
Falk.
Strawman.
Falk!
Falk.
Pastor!
Strawman.
Are you less
Intractable than when we parted ?
Falk
Nay,
I go my own inexorable way —
Strawman.
Even tho' you crush another's happiness ?
Falk.
I plant the flower of knowledge in its place.
[Smiling.
If, by the way, you have not ceased to think
Of the Gazette —
438 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iii
Strawman.
Ah, that was all a joke ?
Falk.
Yes, pluck up courage, that will turn to smoke;
I break the ice in action, not in ink.
Strawman.
But even though you spare me, sure enough
There's one who won't so lightly let me off;
He has the advantage, and he won't forego it,
That lawyer's clerk — and 'tis to you I owe it;
You raked the ashes of our faded flames.
And you may take your oath he won't be still
If once I mutter but a syllable
Against the brazen bluster of his claims.
These civil-service gentlemen, they say.
Are very potent in the press to-day.
A trumpery paragraph can lay me low.
Once printed in that Samson-like Gazette
That with the jaw of asses fells its foe,
And runs away with tackle and with net.
Especially towards the quarter day — â–
Falk.
[Acquiescing.]
Ah, were there scandal in the case, indeed —
Strawman.
[Despondently.]
No matter. Read its columns with good heed,
You'll see me offered up to Vengeance.
ACT III] LOVE'S COMEDY 439
Falk.
[Whimsically.]
Nay,
To retribution— well-earned punishment.
Thro' all our life there runs a Nemesis,
Which may delay, but never will relent,
And grants to none exception or release.
Who wrongs the Ideal ? Straight there rushes in
The Press, its guardian with the Argus eye.
And the offender suffers for his sin.
Strawman.
But in the name of heaven, what pledge have I
Given this "Ideal" that's ever on your tongue?
I'm married, have a family, twelve young
And helpless innocents to clothe and keep;
I have my daily calls on every side,
Churches remote and glebe and pasture wide,
Great herds of breeding cattle, ghostly sheep —
All to be watched and cared for, dipt and fed.
Grain to be winnowed, compost to be spread; —
Wanted all day in shippon and in stall.
What time have / to serve the "Ideal" withal.?
Falk.
Then get you home with what dispatch you may.
Creep snugly in before the winter-cold;
Look, in young Norway dawns at last the day.
Thousand brave hearts are in its ranks enroll'd.
Its banners in the morning breezes play!
Strawman.
And if, young man, I were to take my way
With bag and baggage home, with everything
440 LOVE'S COMEDY [act iir
That made me yesterday a little king,
Were mine the only volte face to-day?
Think you I carry back the wealth I brought ?
\As Falk is about to answer.
Nay, listen, let me first explain my thought.
\Coming nearer.
Time was when I was young, like you, and played
Like you, the unconquerable Titan's part;
Year after year I toiled and moiled for bread,
Which hardens a man's hand, but not his heart.