SCENE II
[ARNE of Guldvik appears with his relatives, men and women, minstrels, etc., in the background to the right on the other side of the river; they are all in festive attire. Shortly afterwards HEMMING from the same side.]
ONE OF THE RETINUE. See, here goes the way.
ANOTHER. No, here!
A THIRD. Not at all, it must be here.
ARNE OF GULDVIK. Well, well, are we now astray again!
ARNE OF GULDVIK. [Calls.] Hemming! Where is Hemming?
HEMMING. [Enters.] Here!
ARNE. Have I not told you to keep yourself close so as to be of some service to me?
HEMMING. It was Mistress Ingeborg--she wanted,--and so--
ARNE. [Annoyed.] Mistress Ingeborg! Mistress Ingeborg! Are you Mistress Ingeborg"s maid? You are my page; it is me you shall serve. Do you not get your keep and wage therefor? Come, tell us where the way goes,--we are stuck.
HEMMING. [Uncertain.] The way? Well now, I am little acquainted up here, but--
ARNE. I might have known it,--that is always the service you give me! Well, we shall have to spend the night in the wilderness, as sure as I am Arne of Guldvik.
HEMMING. [Who has in the meantime spied the remnants of the bridge.] Aha, no need of that; here we can get across.
ARNE. Why didn"t you tell us so in the first place?
[All cross the river and come forward on the stage.]
ARNE. [Looks about.] Yes, now I have my bearings again. The river there is the boundary between Lady Kirsten"s dominions and mine.
ARNE. [Points to the left.] Down there lies her estate; in another hour or two we can sit cozily in the bridal house, but then we must hurry along.
ARNE. [Calls.] Ingeborg!--Hemming! Now where"s Ingeborg?
HEMMING. In the rear, up on the hillside.
HEMMING. [Points to the right.] She is playing with her bridesmaids; they gather green twigs from the cherry trees and run about with joy and laughter.
ARNE. [Bitterly but in subdued voice.] Hemming! this wedding makes me sick; there are so many vexations about it.
ARNE. [Gazes out to the right.] There they run,--just look at them! It was she who hit upon the idea of going over the mountain instead of following the highway; we should reach our goal the sooner, she thought;--and yet notwithstanding--hm! I could go mad over it; tomorrow is she to go to the altar. Are these the decorous customs she ought to observe! What will Lady Kirsten say when she finds my daughter so ill disciplined?
ARNE. [As HEMMING starts to speak.] Yes, for that she is; she is ill disciplined, I say.
HEMMING. Master! You should never have married your daughter into Lady Kirsten"s family; Lady Kirsten and her kinsmen are high-born people--
ARNE. You art stupid, Hemming! High-born, high-born! Much good that will do,--it neither feeds nor enriches a man. If Lady Kirsten is high-born, then I am rich; I have gold in my chests and silver in my coffers.
HEMMING. Yes, but your neighbors make merry over the agreement you have concluded with her.
ARNE. Ah, let them, let them; it is all because they wish me ill.
HEMMING. They say that you have surrendered your legal right in order to have Ingeborg married to Olaf Liljekrans; I shouldn"t mention it, I suppose,--but a lampoon about you is going the rounds, master!
ARNE. You lie in your throat; there is no one dares make a lampoon about Arne of Guldvik. I have power; I can oust him from house and home whenever I please. Lampoon! And what do you know about lampoons!--If they have composed any songs, it is to the honor of the bride and her father!
ARNE. [Flaring up.] But it is a wretched bit of verse nevertheless, really a wretched bit of verse, I tell you. It is no man skilled in the art of poetry who has put it together, and if I once get hold of him, then--
HEMMING. Aha, master! then you know it too? Is there some one who has dared sing it to you?
ARNE. Sing, sing! Now don"t stand there and delay me with your twaddle.
ARNE. [To the others.] Away, my kinsmen; little must we delay if we are to reach the bridal house before midnight. You should have heard what Hemming is telling. He says there is a rumor around that Lady Kirsten has baked and brewed for five whole days in honor of our coming. Is it not so, Hemming?
HEMMING. Aye, master!
ARNE. He says she owns not the beaker of silver so costly but she places it on the table shining and polished; so splendid a feast she has not prepared since the king came to visit her blessed lord twenty years ago. Is it not true, Hemming?
HEMMING. Aye, master!
HEMMING. [Whispering.] But, master, it is ill-thought to say such things; Lady Kirsten is proud of her birth; she thinks this marriage is somewhat of an honor to you; little you know how she intends to show herself to her guests.
ARNE. [Softly.] Ah, what nonsense!
ARNE. [To the others.] He says Lady Kirsten gives herself no rest; both day and night she is busy in pantry and cellar. Is it not--?
ARNE. [Startled as he looks out to the right.] Hemming! what is that? See here, who is that coming?
HEMMING. [With a cry.] Lady Kirsten Liljekrans!
ALL. [Astonished.] Lady Kirsten!
SCENE III
[The Preceding. LADY KIRSTEN comes with her HOUSE CARLS from the left.]
LADY KIRSTEN. [To her followers, without noticing the others.]
Now just a little farther and I am sure we shall find him.