cultural resources in henrik ibsen's early environment - Ibsen.net

CULTURAL RESOURCES IN HENRIK IBSEN’S EARLY ENVIRONMENT. 

A database compiled by Philip E. Larson 

The materials on this website are copyrighted, and are for the use of individuals and 

educational institutions only. Any commercial use requires the permission of the author. 

The website can be used independently, but it also supports a book: Philip E. Larson. 

Ibsen in Skien and Grimstad: his education, reading, and early works. Grimstad, 

Norway: Ibsenhuset og Grimstad Bymuseum, 1999. 

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Contents 

Each of the following entries can be accessed easily by clicking on its heading. A link 

will take the user to the beginning of the chapter. 

A. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 3 

B. SKIEN............................................................................................................................. 4 

I. From Terje Christensen. Gjerpen Bygds Historie. Vol. 2: Bygdehistorie. Fra 

Omkring 1700 til 1964. Skien: Utgitt av Skien kommune, 1978. ................................. 4 

II. Textbooks used in Skien’s Latin school in 1840. .................................................... 29 

III. The book collection of the Løvenskiold family as of 1843. ................................... 39 

IV. Plays advertised for performance in the newspapers of Skien between 1832 and 

1843, when Ibsen lived there. ........................................................................................ 96 

V. Erik Bøgh. A travelling theatre company. .............................................................. 121 

VI. Elverhøj (“Elves’ Hill”), by Johan Ludvig Heiberg (1828). ................................ 133 

VII. “Donna Clara, en Natscene.” .............................................................................. 256 

VIII. Indqvarteringen (“The Billetting”), by Henrik Hertz. ........................................ 294 

IX. Review Articles about the Performance of Carl Petersen’s Company in Skien in 

the Summer of 1943. From Skiensposten. ................................................................. 379 

X. Ferdinand and Isabella. .......................................................................................... 386 

C. GRIMSTAD. .............................................................................................................. 389 

I. A Memoir of Ibsen in Grimstad. Christopher Due’s Recollections of Ibsen’s 

Youthful Years. ........................................................................................................... 389 

II. The Grimstad Reading Society. ............................................................................. 413 

III. Ibsen’s Practice Essays in Norwegian Composition. ............................................ 430 

IV. “Den Skandinaviske Idé” (“The Scandinavian Idea”), by Marcus J. Monrad....... 437 

V. Plays Advertised in Christianssand and Arendal, for performance in Sørlandet, 

1844-48). ..................................................................................................................... 457 

VI. Jørgen Moe. "Indledning." Samling af Sange, Folkeviser og Stev. Norske 

Almuedialekter. Christiania: P. T. Mallings Forlag, 1840. ....................................... 467 

VII. Translations of the Poems Ibsen Wrote in Grimstad. ......................................... 476 

D. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HENRIK IBSEN, 1828-50. .................................................... 502 

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A. INTRODUCTION 

In his early years, Henrik Ibsen lived in two small towns in southeastern Norway. 

He was born in 1828 in Skien, where he lived until the turn of the year 1843-44, when he 

was 15 years old. At that time he left his family and moved about 75 miles down the 

coast to Grimstad, where he lived until 1850, when he was 22 years old. 

The early years of a poet’s life are important for his or her education, and for 

establishing the form and direction his or her talent will take. Therefore it would be 

valuable to know as much as possible about Ibsen’s early years, especially as regards the 

character and quality of his surroundings. It is unlikely that he could have reached the 

heights of intellectual and artistic achievement that he attained in his maturity unless his 

surroundings in his early years had offered him significant cultural resources. What were 

these resources? 

This database provides at least a partial answer to that question. It contains lists 

of plays that were performed in his area by travelling Danish theatre companies, and lists 

of books that were available in collections to which he possibly, probably, or certainly 

had access. English translations of several Danish and Norwegian plays that were 

performed in his area are included, plus a few examples of contemporary journalistic 

writing, excerpts from a history of Gjerpen parish by Terje Christiansen, and most of a 

memoir published in 1909 by Christopher Due, who had been a friend of Ibsen’s in 

Grimstad. Some of Ibsen’s earliest writings in poetry and prose that have never before 

been translated into English are also included. A bibliography of Ibsen scholarship 

(updated July, 1997) that covers the years 1828-1850 is also supplied. 

The user is invited to read the samples provided of any or all of the files. The full 

contents of any file can be downloaded, either to store on disk or to print. Simply click 

on the highlighted and underlined word or phrase in each title. Questions or comments 

may be addressed to Philip E. Larson, at pelarson@earthlink.net. 

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B. SKIEN. 

I. From Terje Christensen. Gjerpen Bygds Historie. Vol. 2: Bygdehistorie. 

Fra Omkring 1700 til 1964. Skien: Utgitt av Skien kommune, 1978. 

A Norwegian historian, Terje Christensen, wrote a three-volume history of 

Gjerpen parish, where Ibsen lived between the ages of 7 and 15, where he received his 

elementary education, and in whose Lutheran church he was confirmed. Following are 

translations of several selections from Christensen's work: 

PP. 562 ff. "The preaching of the word -- in and outside the state church." 

Hans Nielsen Hauge's preaching around 1800 had a lasting effect in Gjerpen. For 

a few people the encounter with Hauge was decisive for their lives. The strong inner life 

of faith which was awakened in a few prepared the ground for religious trends which 

would seize many more later in the century. 

Those who carried the flame forward more than anyone else were Erik Eriksen 

and his wife Ingeborg in Bøle. Hauge had stayed at their farm when he visited the 

district, and he also exchanged letters with the family there. Here lay the center of the 

movement, which had initially acquired its members at Uthaugen. Other friends of 

Hauge's were Jacob Hansen at Nærum, who was married to Ragnhild Eriksdatter Bøhle, 

and Lars Larsen Aabye at Meen. But there were also parish people in other parts who 

wanted to hear Hauge's message and were willing to open their homes to him. After 

many years in prison he was feeble and broken and could not resume his earlier travelling 

activity again. But in any case he was on a visit here as late as 1818, and held prayer 

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meetings then in a place at Opphaugen. The occasion for the trip this time was surely of a 

private nature, since Hauge had been married the year before to Ingeborg Maria Olsdatter 1 

from Bø in Gjerpen. Her parents were the tenant farmers Ole Heljesen and Marthe 

Østensdatter. 

Hauge's friends, like the master-teacher himself, were law-abiding and pious 

people, who wanted to effect the transformation of the minds of individuals by the power 

of the word and by good example. They were far from breaking with the church, and 

neither Blom nor the following pastors in Gjerpen appear to have had any conflict with 

these oldest Haugianists. They wanted to act as a leavening within the existing church, 

and the "readers," as they were derisively called, had a message to those who did not feel 

themselves content with the preaching and the life which the church had to offer. 

The rationalistic concept of Christianity and its often moralizing and learned 

preaching style had been prevalent among pastors for a long time, and it would take time 

before a decisive change in this would take place. Accordingly Edvard Munch (1813-34), 

who assumed the position of parish minister after Blom, was from the rationalistic school. 

However, Munch's exceptional competence, and the conscientious manner in which he 

took care of his parish, must have commanded respect even among those who otherwise 

took a critical position towards his preaching. He was recommended as Number One for 

the position by the church owner, the then chief county administrative officer Severin 

Løvenskiold, who in addition to the best marks and recommendations had his personal 

knowledge to depend upon. Munch had been employed for four or five years as private 

tutor by the county officer's father, chamberlain Severin Løvenskiold, "and in that time 

1 Ingeborg Maria Olsdatter, Hauge’s second wife, baptized in Gerpen 5.4.1790, died at Tynstet 13.7.1872. 

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earned the respect and devotion of my parents and myself, of which I wish to give him 

evidence . . .". Since at that time, even though he was the family provider, Munch did not 

have any livelihood, his gratitude for getting the call to Gjerpen parish was great, 

something he gave expression to in the pastor's book: "Woe is me also, if I did not devote 

the best powers the Lord has entrusted to me to the congregation's welfare, if I did not 

faithfully strive to nourish and maintain the great good which is found in the Gjerpen 

congregation, and which assuredly, next to God's assistance, can and should be attributed 

to my worthy chairman's straightforward and tireless endeavors." In addition to the 

appointment at Gjerpen parish, after 1827 Munch was entrusted with the deanship of 

Telemark and Bamble. 

Munch, who was deeply involved in the educational system and achieved a great 

deal in this area, was also strongly taken up with the educational side of the pastoral 

mission. The great celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Reformation, October 

31st, 1817, "the happiest and most remarkable, our generation has experienced," was 

observed in Gjerpen by hour-long ringing of church bells, and by instrumental music 

commissioned for the occasion, and in his sermon Munch dwelt among other things on 

the contemplation of human destiny if Christianity had not conquered and given "the 

God-ordained word for our correction, chastisement and discipline in righteousness --." 

Both this sermon and one on Sunday, the second of November, allowed Munch to 

advocate "as far as possible the preservation of the memory of this important and 

beautiful celebration of my congregation --," and the printed sermons were distributed to 

"good and respectable members of the congregation and to certain of my candidates for 

After Hauge’s death she was married to Christen Dahler. 

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confirmation who distinguished themselves by reflection, diligence and good conduct." 

In 1819, when the harvest was so overwhelmingly rich that people had difficulty finding a 

place for the crop, Munch found a reason to hold a thanksgiving celebration, "and 

assuredly a good and useful impression was made on everybody there, since almost every 

eye shimmered with tears." The same year the confirmation candidates from the three 

preceding years and those who were inscribed in the Spring were called upon to take a 

test in knowledge of Christianity, and when the result surpassed all expectations, he felt 

that the Lord had blessed his work. "One of the most laborious parts of the pastor's 

vocation is indeed to prepare the children of the common people for confirmation. Since, 

ah, many are so terribly neglected, many if not actually neglected are still so improperly 

educated, so little accustomed to think, to understand what they read." Also at the dean's 

visit two years later the young people showed "beautiful proof of their knowledge of 

God." Munch then preached on the self-chosen text: "How shall a young person keep his 

path pure?" in which the main idea was that the best parents could do for their children 

was "to rear them to religion." 

Munch introduced the change to the (Sunday) worship service that communion 

was discontinued from July 1st to Michaelmas, and instead he held communion most 

Wednesdays during this period. In this way after the sermon he could "catechise" that 

much longer with the young people who were in the habit of attending in large numbers, 

school children as well as confirmation candidates from the two last years. "I have 

always derived great satisfaction from this practice, and the elders of the congregation 

have always been present at it with noticeable participation." 

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One matter which naturally was much on Munch's mind was the effort to 

disseminate the Bible to as many people as possible. The activity acquired an organized 

form with the founding of the Bible Society in 1816. Under a central committee in 

Christiania branches were established around in the country, including in Bratsberg, with 

the purpose of collecting money for the purchase of Bibles which were then distributed to 

the poor. The business for a time had good success in Gjerpen, but Munch complained 

that the zeal for this good purpose had diminished in the latter part of his tenure, and that 

many had resigned from the local branch. The contributions for 1830 were not sent in 

until 1833 (the sum was 16 specie-dollars 3 ort 2 ), and the New Testaments they had 

received for the amount were distributed free to the poor, as well as to the confirmation 

candidates who had distinguished themselves by diligence and good behavior. Before he 

left Gjerpen, Munch recommended most warmly "this concern to my successor's care and 

attention." 

At the end of his 21-year tenure Munch made up a kind of balance sheet for the 

parish incumbent. There is much to be happy about, but there are also a good many 

problems. Not the least of these pertains to the dense buildup of population near Skien 

and Porsgrunn, where the population is less homogeneous and stable and the total number 

of poor people is large, and furthermore that the towns do not exert the most beneficial 

influence with respect to morality. Munch also had much to object to in the 

congregation's behavior during the worship service. For a long time after his appointment 

he had to put up with people standing outside the church long after the start of the 

worship service "in order to talk and make deals with each other about all kinds of 

2 A spesiedaler was worth about a dollar; an ort was 1/5 of a spesiedaler. 

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things;" in church one could often hear whispering, yes even "audible talking" during the 

sermon, and as soon as it was over both young and old streamed out, so that few or none 

remained for "the collection at the end of the mass." All this got better in Munch's time, 

but he complains that there continue to be many people who leave the church before the 

worship service is finished; some do not even wait until the minister has read the 

benediction from the altar. 

In the pastor's book we find some confidences by Munch with reference to his 

leaving his "beloved Gjerpen." It is with a bleeding heart that he applies for a transfer, 

but hard necessity compels him. The bad times have reduced the incumbent's income to 

an unsettling degree, at the same time as his family has gotten bigger. He now has a wife 

and not fewer than ten children to support, of which three sons are at the university and 

one at Skien's Latin school. He indicates his efforts not to sink into debt, accordingly he 

has roomers living in the parish house "for training, principally foreigners," but despite all 

his efforts and the utmost thrift in order to get by, he had steadily greater economic 

difficulties. In his new appointment as dean and parish pastor in Christiania Munch could 

look forward to a brighter future. 

Munch's successor, Frederik Rode (1834-54) was born in Copenhagen in 1800, 

but came to Norway as a young child. Rode experienced the harshest circumstances 

which the country then could offer a young pastor, since before his arrival in Gjerpen he 

had lived for six years in Finnmark and had had responsibility for several of the different 

widely scattered parishes there. It was therefore not a spoiled Copenhagener that the 

people of the parish got as pastor. With authority and strength Rode took hold of all the 

duties for which a priest then had responsibility. Not least he invested a large effort in the 

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educational system. Still more remarkable, perhaps, is his contribution in agriculture: 

even if he was a town-boy, he was to become a pioneer in the parish, and as an insightful 

and practical farmer he has scarcely had his equal among any of Gjerpen's pastors. 

With Rode rationalism is on its way out, and an authentic Lutheran preaching was 

heard again from the pulpit. His position was far from the austerity of pietism, however, 

and his often unorthodox positions offended many in the congregation. It is said that one 

Sunday he stood in the pulpit and thanked God for the year's rich crop. "The best we can 

do now is to go home and see to getting it into the house," he added. And when he came 

home from church he actually gave the people his orders to cart in the grain. 

Of literary works from Rode's hand two editions of Luther's catechism can be 

mentioned, and his Impressions from Finnmark," which was published in 1842. He was 

soon well-known for his unusual competence. From 1843 on he was entrusted with the 

deanship, and when he left Gjerpen, it was to take over the deanship and parish minister 

appointment in Christiania, the same that Munch had earlier had. Already while he was 

in Gjerpen Rode had received several votes for the open bishopric in Tromsø, but he 

declined these, just as when later he was elected bishop in Bergen. 

The last years in Gjerpen were a difficult time for Rode on account of religious 

strife and unrest which broke out in his district. From the pulpit he had advised against 

the oncoming sectarianism as the beginning of dissension and fanaticism. In reprisal he 

was ridiculed and condemned by his most extreme opponents as a heretic, and what was 

even worse, a heathen minister. He even got a personal communication with a summons 

to be converted and become receptive to the true Christianity. More and more people 

sought their edification elsewhere than in Gjerpen church, and the same day as Rode, 

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deeply moved, bid farewell to the congregation to which he had been minister for 20 

years, the ardent separatists flocked by headed for their meeting place in Skien. At the 

departure itself many followed Rode from the parish to Lillegården in Eidanger. Among 

those who wanted to pay their respects to the pastor were several of the members of the 

town board, and according to the report in the Correspondent, Mayor Borchsenius 

thanked him in a few heartfelt words "for what he had been and done for Gjerpen for 20 

years, and how with moved hearts everyone bids him and his family a last farewell." 

Pastor Rode was not less moved when he answered this farewell greeting. He 

remembered that he had not always stood in such a friendly relationship to the town as 

now; he ascribed the former opposition from the town board mainly to youthful zeal and 

too little understanding and thoughtfulness on both sides. Later, however, there had 

arisen a more real and significant opposition between the pastor and one part of the 

congregation. But he did not see these discords as dangerous, either; it was his conviction 

that with God's help they would lead to something positive, even if one must anticipate 

that the period of unrest could be long and entail many bitter experiences. 

As early as around 1840 a stronger religious activity can be traced in the district. 

We have mentioned in another connection how an organization was launched for the 

cause of temperance in 1839, when the painter Fredrik T. Knudsen from Lista visited 

Skien together with his son Hans Christian Knudsen. The father had been strongly seized 

by the cause of missions at a time when it was still scarcely known in Norway, and the 

son had recently returned home from the Rhein Missions Institute. During his stay in 

Germany he got the idea to found a Norwegian missions society, and a year later he 

himself went out as the first Norwegian missionary of recent times. They were received 

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with warmth, not least among Hauge's friends, accordingly in Gjerpen they visited both 

Erik Bøhle and Lars Aabye. Dean Bull in Skien promised to write about the mission in 

the newspaper and collect subscribers to a society. The first one here in the district was 

founded in 1844 at the home of the newly awakened Hans Mikkelsen at Klosterorinden in 

Solum. In addition to this parish the missions society included Gjerpen, Skien and 

Porsgrunn. Among the members of the first board was the well-known Christen Eriksen 

from Gjerpen, teacher at the working-class school (almueskole) in Skien. 

The same year that the missions society was founded, construction was also 

started on the children's home "Hans Cappelen's Memorial," which for a long time into 

the future was one of the most-used meeting places for missions societies, the temperance 

cause, etc. The founders were Hans Mikkelsen and his wife Anne Marie Johnsdatter. 

The restraints that were placed on layman-preaching and "devotional prayer meetings" 

were removed by the annullment of konventikkelplakaten 3 in 1842, something which 

together with the new "Dissenter Law" of 1845 contributed to the circumstance that 

religious activity assumed freer forms. One of the preachers who left traces of himself in 

this time was Hauge's collaborator and follower, Anders Nielsen Haave, who in 1845 and 

several times later visited the district, and it is said that he awakened Christian life 

everywhere he went. Soon, however, an awakening far more intense and more extensive 

would make its entry into the district. The instigator was the Skien priest Gustav Adolph 

Lammers, and it was the movement he set in motion which created the opposition 

between Rode and one part of Gjerpen's congregation. 

3 An ordinance from 1741 governing religious observances. 

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Lammers also came from Denmark, and he was married to Dean Rode's sister. 

His talents ranged over a wide register; in him great power of intellect was combined with 

a strong emotional life and a creative imagination. He had a trained musical sensibility, 

was a competent painter and sketcher, and his abilities in the field of architecture also 

came to expression: as parish pastor in Bamble, before he came to Skien, he had designed 

the new church there and directed the construction himself. We have earlier mentioned 

that Lammers also was chosen as architect for the wooden church which was planned to 

replace the old Gjerpen church. In addition to these rich talents came qualities which 

more than any others made him into the powerful personality he was: an unbending, steel 

will, a manly seriousness and a strong inner glow. After having worked in Bamble for 14 

years, he became parish pastor in Skien in 1849. It was in the following period that he 

displayed the behavior which would make him into one of the models of Ibsen's Brand: 

the priest with the absolute demand on himself and on others, and the preacher of the 

message that the spirit of compromise is Satan. From the torch Lammers lighted, the fire 

spread, not just to Gjerpen and the neighboring parishes, but widely over the country, and 

at one time it almost looked as though the state church itself was threatened. 

An impression of how many people paid attention to Lammers and his preaching 

is given by Mrs. Bodenhoff of Jønnevall in a written meditation from 1852: "Half of 

Skien's inhabitants are simply crazy and despise all the others, who do not share their 

views. Lammers believes that he can read in people's faces, when they receive the 

sacrament, if they are true believers or not, and is angry because he must not turn them 

away according to his pleasure; but then he thunders away in retribution, and consoles 

them with the promise of the hottest hell, etc. Everyone who dances or plays whist is 

13

simply lost, he preaches, and that conviction is now shared by half of Skien." That 

Lammers strongly disagreed with card-playing, dancing and acting was one thing; what 

was worse, he gradually began to re-introduce the old church discipline and make the 

confession into a condition for absolution and communion. In addition to the pulpit that 

he used, and according to the opinion of many misused to promote his ideas, he also 

made use of personal influence and paid calls at the homes of high and low. He 

enthroned layman's Christianity in the seat of honor and maintained that lay people at all 

times had been the main source of renewal in religious life. He soon came into the most 

irreconcilable opposition to his brother-in-law Dean Rode in Gjerpen, and it was in order 

to hear Lammers that a large part of the congregation here migrated down to Skien. In his 

demand for evidence of conversion Lammers was wholly in keeping with the Haugianist 

tradition, just as in his condemnation of worldly pleasures. The meeting house which 

Lammers took charge of constructing from collected funds, the first in Bratsberg, 

accordingly received the name "Hauge's Memorial," and from this meeting place and 

from Skien's church went out a preaching in these years which would shake up many 

people from indifference and routine Christianity. 

Lammers and his movement came into steadly stronger opposition to the state 

church until it actually came to a break in 1856, when Lammers resigned from the church 

and was followed by a great number of his adherents. The decisive issue was his view of 

the sacraments, especially infant baptism, which Lammers rejected. He then authored a 

new confession and established "The free apostolic-Christian congregation," which would 

be governed by the elders. The statutes were adopted by nearly 40 people, of which about 

one-third were residents of Gjerpen, among them the ship's captain Eckstorm's family in 

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Grini and the former teacher Søren Pedersen Tufte. The first resignations from the state 

church in Gjerpen took place on July 2nd 1856, and among these was Søren Tufte, 

entered in the church book as # 1. In the course of the year, according to the same source, 

the number of the resigned increased to 14, and up to 1860 we find a total of 35 resigned 

adults who had joined Lammers' movement. The following therefore appears to be rather 

modest, but the numbers do not give a correct picture of the movement's extent, far less of 

its significance in the parish. In the first place one part of those most active in the 

Lammers congregation is lacking in the catalog of the resigned, among them the 11 

members of the Eckstorm family. With their zeal and fervor, Lammers' adherents exerted 

an influence which had no relation to their numbers. For that matter, part of those who 

were seized by the movement went over to other movements and church assemblies. Not 

the least significance the Lammers movement had was as a preparation of the ground for 

religious activity in later periods . . . . 

Pp. 578 ff. "The school and the teachers." 

The pastor (of the Gjerpen parish church) acquired new and significant duties as 

the chief administrator of schools and poor relief in the parish. It was initially by efforts 

from the pastor's side that these systems were put into effect about 1740, and he had 

charge of the continuing activity and the main responsibility for getting necessary 

organizational changes accomplished. As far as the school and its instruction were 

concerned, he had the duty of supervision, and he was also the one who would approve 

aspirants to the teaching profession. A prospective teacher (of an ambulatory school), in 

15

addition to the usual training, the preparation for confirmation and perhaps a little extra 

instruction for an interested teacher, received guidance and in individual cases also some 

private lessons from the pastor. Around 1800 there were individuals from the parish who 

went out and acquired a "seminary" (i.e., teachers' college) education, but this was purely 

exceptional. In a report about the schools from 1818 it says about Gjerpen: "Except for 

the teacher at Osebakken's permanent school, Wold, who is seminary-educated, the rest of 

the teachers are simple farmhands, who by being teachers (in the ambulatory schools) are 

exempted from being soldiers." Just at this time, however, a change occurred in these 

circumstances, when they began the systematic education of teachers in the parish itself. 

The one who took the initiative in this was Edvard Munch, a short time after he assumed 

the position of Gjerpen parish pastor in 1813. 

In Munch's time the Gjerpen parish farm became, to a greater extent than before, a 

center for education and enlightenment. In addition to being a thoroughly schooled 

theologian Munch was also a remarkable linguist, and had a command of both written 

and spoken German and French. For a number of years he conducted private instruction, 

and among the young men who received in his house a foundation for further education 

and studies were prime minister Løvenskiold's sons Otto and Severin, Hans E. Møller the 

younger, from Åkre, Paul Hofgaard and Knud O. Knudsen (both of the two last-named 

later became parish pastors) the Frenchman Dublicat, together with Munch's own sons. 

We know about Peter Andreas Munch that when as a 13-year-old in 1823 he started at the 

newly-established Latin school in Skien with the outstanding rector Ørn as teacher, he 

was well prepared by his father both when it came to Greek and Latin as well as living 

languages. Both the instruction at home and in the milieu he grew up in must have 

16

contributed to arousing the boy's historical interests. The time was marked by the 

Constitution and the work of liberation, and during the susceptible years of childhood and 

youth he received strong impressions of the events of 1814. Not far from home he could 

investigate the ruined church at Dag Eilifsson's and Gregorius Dagsson's Bratsberg. He 

experienced the jubilee in 1817, the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the 

Reformation, when hour-long uninterrupted ringing of all the church bells introduced the 

thanksgiving service, and a chorale with clarinets was played from the tower during the 

congregation's departure from the church. The following year was also marked by great 

events: King Carl XIII's death and Carl Johan's coronation. Moreover, during the 

prolonged pealing on this occasion one of the two bells in Gjerpen church with runic 

inscriptions from the Middle Ages, which could still be seen, shattered in pieces. There 

were enough impulses here to draw from for one who as an adult would make a 

pioneering contribution as a historian and become the inspiring focal point in our work of 

national reconstruction. 

Another form of educational activity at the parish farm was, however, of greater 

significance on the local level than the preparatory instruction with a view to admission 

into Latin schools. Shortly after his arrival at the parish, in 1814 or 1815, Munch had 

taken up the work of educating teachers, and in 1816 he reports that he already has "a 

little nursery of that kind." But when his office and other duties did not allow him to give 

the time which is needed in this work, he received a little help from Christen Lund, an 

assistance with which he was very satisfied. After three years' education at the 

Brahetrolleborg teachers' college in Denmark and seven years' activity at Fossum, partly 

as a teacher at the ironworks' school, partly as private tutor at the Løvenskiolds' house, 

17

Lund was very well qualified for this task. Lund was to assume the position of sexton, 

which church-owner Løvenskiold had the right to fill, when it became available after 

Gjert Monrad, and Løvenskiold had borne the costs of the young farmer's son's education 

with the idea of combining the job of sexton with a teaching job. However, it appeared 

that in the long run Lund could with difficulty manage the instruction in an ordinary 

school (almueskole) on the grounds of a weak chest. 

It was with this background that in 1816, when at Monrad's death it became 

feasible to appoint a new sexton or church-singer as it was now called, in an 

understanding with prime minister Løvenskiold, Munch proposed that Lund be excused 

from instructing in one of the ordinary schools, and in return join the pastor in educating 

prospective teachers. They referred to Lund's well-known proficiency in instructing 

young people, as Munch especially emphasized that he not merely sang well, but that he 

also could teach singing, and thereby be helpful to the pastor in his efforts to improve the 

singing in church. The idea was supported in the diocese administration, and thereby the 

institution received its official sanction. Regular instruction began at the start of the year 

1818, with a firmly fixed schedule. The record of "Gjerpen parish's school-teachers' 

college" is also preserved from this year. Here we find the plan for "the scheme of 

education." It would be divided into two classes or sections, with one year of standard 

time in each class. The subjects were reading, writing, practical accounting, religion, 

biblical and church history, biblical interpretation, catechizing (instruction by question 

and answer), and learning by rote combined with practical exercises, grammar and 

spelling, practice in writing essays, elementary mathematics and mathematical geography, 

general history, but especially Norway's, geography with special emphasis on Norwegian 

18

and biblical geography, and finally singing (choral practice). To begin with instruction 

would be according to the following schedule: 

Mon., 1st sect. Wed., both sects. Sat., 2nd sect. 

9-10 Religion Bible history and Mathematics 

geography 

10-11 Grammar and Grammar and Bible interpretation 

spelling spelling 

11-12 Accounting Accounting Rote learning and 

catechization 

exercises 

12-1 (in the head) (in the head) 

2-3 Geography Mathematics Geography 

3-4 General history Religion and Bible- History 

reading 

4-5 Bible history Catechization Bible and church 

history 

5-6 Reading practice Reading practice Singing practice 

and analysis and analysis 

(Scripture-reading) 

9 different textbooks were used in 28 copies, besides several maps of the parts of 

the world, everything "generously given by cabinet minister Aall from Brække." It is 

evident that they tried to keep pace with developments in the different areas from the fact 

that all the books in the original collection were changed for later editions in the course of 

20-30 years. They had, then, in all, the use of 45 copies of 16 works which covered the 

subjects theology, mathematics, logic, geography and history (of Norwegian history 

besides Faye's, P. A. Munch's Norway's History in Brief Extract was used). When Rode 

19

ecame pastor in 1834, like his predecessor he took upon himself one part of the 

instruction, and continued with this for 10-12 years. But the mainstay in the teachers' 

college from the time it was founded until it ceased its activity in the beginning of the 

1850's was Christen Lund; most of the instruction rested with him, and at the end it 

appears that he was in charge of the teachers' college alone. According to Rode there 

could be up to 6-8 students each year. 

The founding of the teachers' college at Gjerpen parish farm was to all 

appearances the most important new element in the areas of enlightenment and education 

in Gjerpen in the first half of the 19th century. Until then teachers' education was a rare 

exception, and teachers with that kind of qualifications were solitary birds who were not 

satisfied with the teachers' conditions at the ambulatory school, even the permanent 

schools in the parish with the best reputations, Fossum Works and Osebakken's school, 

had only for short periods made use of teaching talents with such an education. Now a 

radical transformation came about. Instead of the rather random training which had 

hitherto been usual, the new teachers got a rather solid foundation for their work by 

undergoing a systematic as well as well-rounded two-year course. In comparison to their 

older colleagues they were well educated people who in due course assumed the teaching 

positions in the parish. The change did not take long; in 1834 Munch reports that all the 

teachers in the parish were graduates of the parish farm's teachers' college. Rode says 

later that Gjerpen had the satisfaction "not alone of having trained all its own 

schoolteachers itself, but also of having furnished several of the neighboring parishes, 

namely Skien and Porsgrund, with some of their most competent teachers." We have set 

20

up the following alphabetical list of the candidates who with certainty appear to have 

taken part in the teachers' college during the ca. 35 years the instruction continued: 

Students accepted by Gjerpen parish farm's teacher's college ca. (1816-1851): 

NB: f.=born, d.=baptized 

Abrahamsen, Halvor A. Hoppestad, from Bestul, f. 18/6 1815 

Andersen, Isak A. Grini, f. 1/10 1827 

Andersen, Niels A. Krageto, f. 12/8 1830 

Andersen, Østen A. Venstøp, d. 8/1 1804 

Andersen, Niels A., from Løberg, f. 18/9 1816 

Arnesen, Gunder A. Augestad, d. 23/2 1806 

Christensen, Andreas C. Steensaasen, f. 11/6 1819 

Danielsen, Gregorius D. Lund, from Jønnevall, d. 17/10, 1790 

Engebretsen, Mathias E. Øvrum, f. 12/9 1821 

Eriksen, Lars E. Ballestad, f. 15/10 1825 

Gundersen, Ole G. Gulset, d. 21/2 1800 

Helgesen, Erik H. Foss, from northern Bø, f. 9/11 1813 

Isaksen, Aslak I. Grini, d. 15/9 1805 

Isaksen, Christian I. Foss, d. 7/6 1801 

Isaksen, Hans I. Grini, d. 8/2 1801 

Isaksen, Lars I. Follaug, from Kolkinn, f. 16/4 1824 

Isaksen, Ole I. Holm, d. 21/1 1798 

Jacobsen, John J. Ballestad (later Bøhle), d. 28/6 1807 

Jensen, Anders J. Lien, from Lia below Fossum, f. 15/2 1812 

Johnsen, Svenke J. Froger, d. 29/7 1798 

Jørgensen, Ole J. Hobæk, f. 9/8 1826 

Kittelsen, Ole K. Riis, d. 9/10 1803 

Larsen, Elling L. Høimyr, f. 21/1 1827 

Larsen, Hans L. Aas, d. 15/1 1797 

Mikkelsen, Christen M. Doxrød, d. 24/11 1793 

Nielsen, Carl Daniel N. Holt, from Bratsbergkleiva, f. 7/8 1816 

Nielsen, Christian N. Kleven, from the Kleiva farm in Gjerpen f. 8/9 1816 

Nielsen, Halvor N. Lysa, from Sokka, d. 1/11 1812 

Nielsen, Hans N. Bøe, f. 27/7 1833 

Nielsen, Jacob N. Strømdal, d. 14/10 1804 

Nielsen, Johannes N. Gromstul (Opphaugen), d. 9/10 1796 

Nielsen, Ole N. Aas, f. 21/10 1832 

Olsen, Even O. Bugot, f. 12/5 1811 

Olsen, Niels O. Ballestad, f. 12/8 1815 

Olsen, Torgrim O. Ballestad, f. 14/7 1811 

Pedersen, Søren P. Tufte, f. 19/11 1820 

21

Rasmusen, Peder R. Øvrum, f. 7/8 1826 

Sivertsen, Hans Riis, from Nærum, f. 25/9 1812 

Solvesen, Johan Erboe S. Grinie, f. 23/9 1812 

Thorbjørnsen, Halvor T. Puttehaasen (also called himself Putten), d. 19/2 1804 

Not all of these 42 students completed teacher training. Several stopped after a 

time, for example Erik Helgesen Foss, who went to America with the first large 

contingent of emigrants from the parish in 1843. Some took their exam and afterwards 

went into another line of work. But for by far the most the teacher's college became the 

preparation for the teaching profession. A changed attitude to the profession is also 

detected at the time when the teachers embarked on a genuine education. Steadily more 

had a wider influence in the schools' service during the ten years which were required to 

escape military service, and not a few continued as teachers as long as their strength 

lasted. There was less movement and greater stability in the profession. While the 

average age of the teachers in 1810 was 23 years, in 1850 it had increased to 36 years. 

The recruiting took place from all levels in the parish society, and among the teachers we 

find people from sizable farms as well as from the most impoverished ranks. Of the 

above-named 42 aspirants there is one whose social background we have not been able to 

determine; of the rest 28 came from agriculture, as far as we can see with a division of 17 

self-owned and 11 rented farms, while 13 were sons of tenant farmers, craftsmen and 

laborers. For the last group the training and teaching profession became an economic and 

social lever, and the same thing applied to that part of the sons of farmers who also had 

grown up in meagre circumstances. Among more well-fixed farm boys there were partly 

younger sons, partly freeholders to farms that it would take a long time to take over. 

Even if the teachers' salary was not large (in the 1830's and 1840's it was around 20 

22

speciedalers plus expenses in the ambulatory schools, and in the permanent schools it 

could rise to 100 dalers and more), it was in any case a secure income, also the exemption 

from continual military service was a factor that counted . . . . 

Pp. 588 ff.: 

Hans Isaksen began his school activity a short time after he was confirmed, first in 

Bø district around 1820, later in Grini school district. In 1835 he was appointed to 

Fossum Ironworks school, and he had this position for a number of years. He was one of 

the teachers who was given a prize for his effort and competence; in Dean Rode's 

recommendation from 1837 it says that he distinguished himself by "capability and zeal 

for his vocation, as well as by a worthy character and conduct," and a couple of years later 

he is designated as the most capable and most respectable of the professionally active 

teachers in Gjerpen. The school at Fossum, which had only one teacher, must therefore 

have been very good in Hans Isaksen's time, probably the best in the parish, and 

represented under the circumstances a good educational offering for the children of the 

ironworks. 

We should, however, be aware that neither the school at the ironworks nor the 

ambulatory schools in the parish were folkeskoler in our understanding of the term. Not 

everyone went there: they were almueskoler, the designation poor-schools was also used. 

Those who stood higher on the social scale, like civil servants and landowners, partly 

instructed their children themselves, especially at the elementary level, partly they paid 

for private instruction, preferably by a private tutor such as we have seen in older times. 

23

The private tutor was generally a university student, or a so-called "clerk;" at the home of 

Sheriff Pedersen in Limi, where we know that the children were educated at home, there 

was in the 1830's a clerk by the name of Jørgen Johan Ibsen, who was certainly in charge 

of private instruction. Also the wealthiest farmers, or other parish people who were 

ambitious enough on their children's behalf and saw a way to do it, made provision for 

special instruction, either in place of the usual school, or in addition to it. Private tutors 

were usually university students. (sic) The most respected teachers in the "almueskole" 

were often engaged in instruction in their free time, or after they had stopped teaching in 

the public school. To the last-named category belonged Mikkel Evensen, who had been 

sexton and teacher in Bø, but moved to Gjerpen in 1820 and settled down at Eikåsen, for 

that matter as the first self-owner we have knowledge of at this farm. We have intact his 

detailed journal notes over several years, where we get quite familiar with his many tasks 

as a farmer, but he discusses also his instructional activity. He never had any connection 

to the public school system in the parish, apart from that at one time he was school 

superintendent in his district. In one place it is noted that he has had "Hansen's three 

children the whole week," on another page it is reported that "at Kløker's I shall get daily 

12 (shillings) for three hours' instruction, also 6 ort" every month. The payment was 

therefore 4 shillings per hour. At times Eversen had many private students, both from 

estates and tenant farms. 

Among those who spent his childhood in Gjerpen and received his basic education 

while he lived here, besides P. A. Munch, was another who later in life would attain the 

summit of fame: Henrik Ibsen. After his father, Knud Ibsen, who was a businessman in 

Skien, had lost his money, he moved with his family in 1835 to the farm Erland's 

24

Venstøp, a property he had bought in 1833. Henrik therefore had his home here in the 

important years of childhood and youth from the age of 7 years until he was about 15. It 

was not an unhappy time, despite the clouds which the economic shipwreck cast over the 

family. His father was a respected man in Gjerpen, among other things he was elected as 

a deputy in the parish executive committee and sat sometimes in court marshal Ernst 

Løvenskiold's absence. He also had the means to be a host at festive gatherings both for 

the parish association and Skien's shooting club, where he pursued his interest in hunting. 

And for an aspiring poet the beautiful farm, nature and the whole parish milieu must have 

been a well of valuable impressions, and from here also are drawn many of the themes in 

his later writing: the dark loft with the maimed wild duck, the mill-race where the wife in 

Rosmersholm drowns herself, the manor and its master, the chamberlain, and the miner 

who breaks through down in the depths with his heavy hammer-blow. 

Much has been explained where it concerns Henrik Ibsen's youth, but we have no 

certain information about one important aspect of the poet's childhood, his first 

attendance at school. It has therefore been an open field for speculation. It has been 

maintained as a possibility, even as the most likely, that his father placed him in Fossum 

Ironworks school. We can safely disregard this, however. This school as we know was 

established for the children of the ironworks' people, although students from the 

neighboring district also had access by exception when they lived in the vicinity of 

Fossum. But what can otherwise be said positively about it, was that it was and remained 

an almueskole; the children of the district's laborers and artisans, tenant farmers and 

painters went here, but we find very few farmers among the parents, let alone wealthy 

self-owned farmers. And still it was a good step up from there to the cultured class Knud 

25

Ibsen was at home in, notwithstanding his economic misfortune. The social division was 

deep and indisputable; in those days one did not place "children from better families" on 

the school bench together with children of poor people. The ironworks school therefore 

did not represent an educational opportunity for the upper classes in the surrounding area, 

and the Schaaning family in northern Hyni, Cudrio in southern Venstøp and Gasmann in 

northern Foss must like Ibsen arrange for elementary education for their children in 

another way. Where it concerns the last-named, they have thought that Henrik possibly 

received instruction at Hans Isaksen's, and that can well be imagined. This teacher as we 

have seen had fully adequate qualifications for instructing in that period's folkeskole. If it 

is correct that court marshal (Ernst) Løvenskiold used him as a private teacher for his 

children, as it has been claimed, that serves as complete confirmation of Isaksen's 

competence. Another possibility is that the instruction took place at the home of chapel- 

singer Lund in Århus. With three years' training from the Brahetrolleborgske teachers' 

college in Fyn, one of the best in Scandinavia, he was without equal the best educated of 

all the teachers in the parish, and the close collaboration over many years with learned 

men like Munch and Rode had doubtlessly enriched the apt college graduate and 

promoted his further development. We know that Lund kept school at Århus and that it 

was sometimes attended by young people from Skien. To secure his son instruction there 

must probably have suited Knud Ibsen well, with the ambitions he had, not least when it 

concerned Henrik. He and his siblings were for that matter a good deal together with 

Sexton Lund's children and well known there at the farm. It suggests that Lund himself 

must have had considerably more than a purely superficial contact with the young Henrik 

Ibsen, when he could give utterance to a prediction like this: "Henrik will be a great 

26

man!" As the statement of an outstanding teacher about one unusually gifted student, this 

prophecy loses the character of a pure vision, even if it is astonishing enough in-and-of 

itself. Taking everything into consideration, we shall consider it as probable that Henrik 

Ibsen received his first regular instruction at the home of Christen Lund, so that his walk 

to school was about 1 1/2 kilometers long stretching between Venstøp and Århus. 

The last couple of years of his time in Gjerpen, from 13 to 15 years of age, Henrik 

Ibsen walked to school in Skien, first to the earlier discussed private middelstandsskole 

("middle-class school") which was conducted by Hansen and Stockfleth, afterwards at 

Skien's borgerskole. He was accompanied by his brother Johan, Peder Christian Lund 

Pedersen, son of Sheriff Pedersen of Limi, and Gottfried Christian Gasmann; the last- 

named had the longest walk to school, he walked all the way from northern Foss. Others 

with whom Henrik Ibsen was together part of the time and who also received an 

education beyond the elementary, were the contemporary Ole Paulsen from Gulset, son of 

mine captain Andreas Paulsen, and the older Christen Vilhelm Lund, son of Christen 

Lund. 

In 1843 the Ibsens' farm Venstøp was sold at auction and the family moved back 

to town. But the connection to Gjerpen was underscored by among other things that in 

the autumn the 15-year-old Henrik stood for confirmation in Gjerpen church. He was 

placed third on the church platform, after Captain Eckstorm's son Theodor from Grini and 

Peder Chr. Lund Pedersen, something Knud Ibsen was deeply disappointed about: he 

declared that his son answered in such a way during the oral examination as if it had been 

a complete declamation. It was even hinted that gifts to the priest had decided the places, 

27

and that Henrik actually should have stood first, a contention that according to our 

knowledge of Dean Rode we find no reason to take seriously. 

We do not know much about what impression Rode received of the young Henrik 

Ibsen, but he was without a doubt aware that he had here a student out of the ordinary. In 

the record where Henrik Ibsen's name was inscribed in June 1843, certainly in connection 

with the preparation for confirmation, it usually says about the best students that they read 

"really well" or "very well," that they have good knowledge of Christianity and the like. 

Against the background of the plainness which characterizes Rode's giving of grades, it is 

evidence that he gives the aspiring poet a rare distinction: "Reads remarkably well in the 

Book, and displays thoughtfulness." Henrik Ibsen's grade at the confirmation was: "Very 

good knowledge of Christianity." 

28

II. Textbooks used in Skien’s Latin school in 1840. 

Following is a list of the textbooks used in Skien's Latin school (Lærde skole) in 

1840. The source of the references is a report published in Norske Universitets- og Skole- 

Annaler. Udgivne af H[enning] J[unghans] Thue. Anden Række. Første Bind. 

Christiania, Forlagt av J. Chr. Adelsted, 1842. “Underviisningens Omfang samt de 

Skolebøger, der benyttes ved Underviisningen.” 212-15. Items in quotation marks are 

the references as listed in the report. Underneath these items are the references to books, 

as listed in publication indexes. At the end of each item are initials in parentheses, 

indicating the index from which the listing has been taken: BD = Bibliotheca Danica; 

NB = Norsk Bogfortegnelse. 

Henrik Ibsen did not attend the Latin school, but the teachers of the school he did attend, 

W. F. Stockfleth and Johan Hansen, placed an ad in the Skien newspaper in January of 

1840 inviting students to come “bringing with them the books they had used before.” 

This suggests that the teachers were able to work with students who used a variety of 

textbooks; besides, schoolbooks at that time were fairly standardized. History was one of 

Ibsen’s favorite subjects, and there is evidence that indicates he was familiar with 

Kofod’s world history and P. A. Munch’s Scandinavian history, both of which are on this 

list. He also studied Latin in Skien, and both Sallust’s history of the Catilinarian 

conspiracy, and Cicero’s 4 orations against Catiline, which he said he used later to 

prepare for the university entrance exams, are on this list. 

MODERSMAALET: 

1ste class: "D.S. Birchs Udtog af Sproglæren" 

Birch, Dav. Seidelin, Udtog af den danske Sproglære, med kort Methodelære for 

Sprogundervisningen i de danske Skoler; til Veiledning for Almueskolelærere. Kbh. 

1810. 2. og forøgede Udg. Sst. 1812. 3. Udg. Sst. 1817. 4. Udg. Sst. 1825. (BD IV, 63) 

2den class: "M.C. Hansens Grammatik" 

Hansen, Maurice Cph., Forsøg til en Grammatik i Modersmaalet. Chra. 1822. 

2det forbedrede Oplag. Chra. 1826. 110 S. 3die Opl. (Grammatik i det norske og danske 

Sprog). Chra. 1828. 4de Opl. Chra. 1833. 118 S. 4de Opl. Paa ny aftr. m. Forfatterens 

Samtykke. Chra. 1838. 118 S. 4de Opl. 2dengang aftrykt med Forfatterens Samtykke. 

Chra. 1840. 118 S. (NB 61) 

3de class: "M. C. Hansens Syntaxis" 

[This is a section of Hansen’s grammar.] 

29

LATIN: 

1ste class: "Chr. Gott. Brøders Mindre Latinske Grammatik" 

Brøder, Chr. Gottlob, Mindre latinske Grammatik for Begyndere. Udgiven af 

M.C. Hansen. Chra. 1827. 198 pg. 28 S. (NB) 

"Brøders Lectioner" 

Brøder, Chr. Gottl., Latinske Lectioner indeholdende Naturhistorie, Samtaler, 

Fortællinger og Fabler, indrettede for Begyndere. Udgivne ved Georg Sverdrup. Kbh. 

1799. Andet Oplag. Sst. 1814. (U.B.) 3. Opl. Kbh. 1825. (BD IV) 

2den class: "Brøders Større Grammatik" 

[Possibly] Brøder, Chr. Gottl., Praktisk latinsk Grammatick eller Anviisning til at 

lære sig self det latinske Sprog. [1787] Oversat efter det tredie Opl. ved Georg Sverdrup. 

Kbh. 1801. 3. Opl. med Forandringer og Tillæg af Fr. Chr. Olsen. Kbh. 1827. (BD IV) 

LATIN AUTHORS: 

"Cornelius Nepos" 

[Possibly] Cornelii Nepotis vitae excellentium imperatorum. Grammaticam 

annotationem perpetuam subjecit M. C. Hansen. Chra. 1829. IV og 134 S. (NB, 32) 

"Sallustii bellum Jugurthinum & Catilinarium" 

Sallusti Crispi, C., Catilina et Jugurtha. Edit. E[rnst] F[red.] C[hr.] Bojesen. 

Hauniæ. 1837. 

"Ovid, Forvandlinger, 2de Bøger" 

[Possibly] [Sahl, Laur.], P. Ovid Nasons Forvandlinger oversatte i danske Vers. 

[Med latinsk Text.] 4. [Udkom som Programmer fra Kbh. lærde Skole fra 1773-75, med 

en meget lang Titel tillige indeholdende Indbydelsen: P.O. Nasonis Metamorphoses, ex 

Latinis in Danicos Versos transferendas curat.... Laur. Sahl.] (BD IV) 

[or] Benzon, Jens, P. Ovidius Nasos Forvandlingers første Deel, indeholdende de 

fem første Bøger, fordansket. Odense 1816. (BD IV) 

30

[or] Grønlund, J[ohs.], Tvende af Ovids Forvandlinger oversatte i Originalens 

Versemaal. Kbh. 1830. Vordingborg. (BD IV) 

[or] Ovidius Naso, Publius, Forvandlinger. Oversat af S[imon Sørensen] 

Meisling. Kbh. 1831. 

"Terentii, Andria" 

Terentii, P., Comoediæ. Ed. Carol Guil. Elberling. Hauniæ. 1834. 

"Cæsar's Galliske Krig" 

(BD IV, 120) 

"Ciceros 4 Taler mod Catilina, Tale pro lege Manilia, de senectute & de amicitia, een bog 

af Ciceros de officiis" 

Bloch, Sev. Nic. Joann., M. Tullii Ciceronis orationes selectæ. Textum 

recognovit et perpetua annotatione illustravit. Acc. excursus critici. Vol. I. Orationes 

contin. pro S. Roscio Amer., pro lege Manilia, et IV in Catilinam. Hafn. [1828.] [O. m. 

T: M. Tullii Ciceronis orationes pro S. Roscio Amer..... illustr. S.N.J. Bloch. Hafn.] (BD 

IV) 

Olshausenus, Guilielm., M. T. Ciceronis de oficiis libri ad optimorum librorum 

fidem editi c. brevi notatione critica. Slesvici 1823. (BD IV) 

"Taciti, Germania" 

C. Cornelii Taciti de situ, moribus et populis Germaniæ libellum in usum 

schoolarum edidit et notis illustravit. A[nd.] Winding Brorson. Havn. 1804. (BD IV) 

"Virgils Æneid, 1ste, 2den og 6te bog" 

Meisling, S[imon] S., Æneiden, et Heltedigt af Publius Virgilius Maro. Oversat i 

Originalens Versemaal. 1. Bd. Slagelse 1824. 2. Bd. Kbh. 1826 (BD IV, 139) 

[or] Munthe, E[jler Cph. Kaasbøl], De sex første Bøger af Virgilius's Æneid. 

Oversatte i ubunden Stiil, tilligemed et Indhold og en forklarende Indledning til hver 

Bkog. Kbh. 1811. (BD IV, 140) 

"Livius, 1ste og 2den bog (hvoraf som oftest de 3 øvrige boger af den 1ste Pentade læses 

utenom)" 

31

Møller, Rasm., Forsøg til en Oversættelse af T. Livius's romerske Historie med de 

allernødvendigste Anmærkninger, især for Ustuderede. 1-7. Pentade. Kbh. 1800-1818. 

(BD IV, 125) 

"Horatss, Oder, 2de Boger, sammes Breve, samt ars poetica." 

"Meiers Romerske Oldsager" 

Meyer, Jo. Leonh., Lærebog i de romerske Oldsager, til Brug for den studerende 

Ungdom. Oversat af det Tydske. Med 5 Kobbere. Kbh. 1799. Sst. 1820. Nyt efter d.5. 

Udg. igjennemseet og rettet Opl. [Besørg. af Gerh. Bonnier.] Med 5 Kobbere. Sst. 1823. 

(BD II, 451) 

GREEK 

1ste class: "Langes Grammatik Begyndelsesgrundens" 

Lange, Fred. [Olaus], Det græske Sprogs Grammatik til Skolernes Brug 

udarbeidet. Kbh. 1826. 2. forbedrede og tildeels omarbeidede Udg. Kbh. 1830. (BD IV, 

10) 

"Blochs Lærebog" 

Bloch, Sør. Nic. Joh., Græsk Læsebog for Underviisningens to første Aar, en 

Omarbeidelse af den forhen udgivne Jacobses græske Elementarbog. Kbh. 1823. 

2den class: "Langes Gram., Syntaxen" 

3die class: "samme gram." 

GREEK AUTHORS: 

"Homers Iliade, de 5 første boger" 

Fibiger, P[ed.] G[rib], Homers Iliade. Oversat i den græske Originals Versemaal. 

Første Hefte. I-VI. Sang. Kbh. 1827. (BD IV, 101) 

"Xenophons Cyropædi" 

Baden, Jac., Xenophons Cyropædie oversat efter det Grædske. Kbh. 1766 (BD 

IV, 108) 

4de class: "Herodots Klio" 

32

"Bions og Moschuss Idyller" 

Gundelach, Fr. Cph., Bions og Moschus's Smaadiget, oversatte og med Anm. 

ledsagede. Kbh. 1807. [Med den græske Text.] 

"Plutarch, 1 & 2 biographier" 

Nissen, N[ic.] Lang, Plutarchs sammenlignende Levnetsbeskrivelser af 

Themistocles og Camillus, Alexander og Cæsar. Efter den Reiske Huttenske Text med 

critiske og oplysende Anm. Kbh. 1809. 2. forb. Udg. Kbh. 1826. (BD IV, 105) 

"Platos Krito" 

Platons Dialog Crito udgiven af W. Thrane. Chra. 1835. 8. 24 S. (Guldberg & 

Dxwonkowski, 20 Sh.) Hartmann. 12 Sh. 

"Hesiodus Theogoni" 

Sverdrup, Georg., Hesiodi Theogonia et Scutum Herculis. In usum Prælectionum. 

Havn 1806. (BD IV, 99) 

HEBREW: 

"Lindbergs Gram." 

Lindberg, Jac. Chr., Hebraisk Grammatik. Kbh. 1822. [Med kobberst. Tavle, og 

kobberst. Vignet paa Titelbladet.] 2. forøgede Oplag. Kbh. 1828. [Med kobberst. 

Tavle.] (BD IV, 79) 

"Gesenius, Hebraiske Lærebog" 

RELIGION: 

1ste class: "Balles Lærebog" 

Balle, Nik. C., Lærebog i den evangelisk-christelige Religion, indrettet til Brug i 

de norske Skoler. Chrsand. Moe. (Date?) (NB 10) 

"Luthers Katekismus, 6te Capitel" 

33

Luther, Martin, Større Katechismus, oversat og med Anmærkninger ledsaget af 

W. A. Wexels. Chra. 1828. 196 S. 2det uforandrede Opl. Chra. 1829. 196 S. 3die Opl. 

Chra. 1843. 184 S. Grøndahl. (NB 92) 

"Herslevs Mindre Bibelhistorie" 

Herslev, Svend Borchmand, Kort udsigt over Bibelhistorien. Kbh. 1813. 2den 

Udg. Chra. 1824. 3die Udg. 1826. 4de Udg. 1829. 5te Udg. 1831. (NB 67) 

2den class: "Det Gamle Testamente i Herslevs Større Bibel historie." 

Herslev, S.B., Lærebog i Bibelhistorien, udarbeidet til Brug i Almueskolerne. 

Chra. 1832. 2det, 3die og 4de Opl. 1833. 5te Opl. 1834. 6te og 7de Opl. 1835. (NB 67) 

"Holmboes bibelske Geografi, begyndes" 

Holmboe, Cph. Andr., Bibelsk Geographie i Udtog, til Brug i Almueskoler. Med 

et Kart over Jødeland. Chra. 1838. XI og 55 S. (NB 71) 

3die class: "Stenersens Lærebog" 

Stenersen, Stener Johannes, Forsøg til en Lærebog i Religionen til Brug for de 

lærde Skolers høiere Classer. Chra. 1827. 279 S. Anden, efter Forfatterens Død (ved 

Prof. J.F. Dietrichson) besørgede Udgave. Chra. 1839. 247 S. Dahl. (NB 141) 

"Herslevs Større Bibelhistorie" 

"Matthæ og Johannes Evangelier" 

(Johannes.) Evangeliet efter Johannes tilligemed de otte første Capitler af Pauli 

Brev til de romerske Christne i en forklarende Oversættelse med Anmærkninger som 

Bilage til Bogen om Christendommends Aand af N. Treschow. Chra. 1829. 8. 244 S. 

Hartmann. n. Pr. 60 Sh. 

Matthæi Evangelium, udlagt og forklaret af H[ans] Chr. Rørdam. Kbh. 1838. 

"Holmboe, væsentlig" 

GERMAN: 

1ste class: "Hallagers Lærebog" 

Hallager, Morten, Ny tydsk Lærebog for Begyndere. Omarbeidet af P.T. Hanson. 

Chra. 1828. 319 S. 2det Opl. Chra. 1835. 3die Opl. Chra. 1840. 319 S. (NB 60) 

34

"Begyndelsesgrundette av Hjorths Gram." 

Hjort, Peder, Den tydske Grammatik for Dansktalende. Til Brug ved al 

Underviisning. Kbh. 1824. Indrettet til Brug saavel i Skoler som ved fortsat eget 

Studium. 2. omarbeidede Opl. Kbh. 1827. (BD IV, 47) 

2den class: "L. Hansons Thuiskon" 

Hanson, Peter Treschow, Thuiskon eller Tydsk Læsebog. Chra. 1817. 340 S. 

2det Opl. Chra. 1820. 3die forbedrede Opl. Chra. 1836. VIII og 378 S. Grøndahl. (NB 

63) 

3die class: "Behrmanns Haandbog" 

Haandbog i det tydsk sprog og den tydske skjønne Literatur. Ved Hans Henr. 

Behrmann og Ludw. Meyer. 1-2. deel. Kbh. 1809-23. [O. m. særsk. Tittler, 1: 

Haandbog i den tydske prosaiske Literatur indeholdende Prøver af Tydsklands klassiske 

Prosaikere tilligemed biographiske og literære Efterretninger, ved Hendr. Behrmann. 

Kbh. 1809; 2: Haandbog i den tydske poetiske Literatur, osv., ved Ludw. Meyer. Sst. 

1823.] 

4de class: "resten av samme samt Hjorths Gram." 

FRENCH: 

1ste class: "Gedikes Læsebog og Grammatiken" 

Gedike, Fried., Fransk Læsebog for Begyndere, tilligemed en kort Grammatik. 2. 

forbedrede Oplag. Udgiven efter den 6. i Berlin undkomne tydske Udgave ved Laur. 

Hallager. Kbh. 1800. Udgiven efter nyeste tydske Udgave ved P. Thonboe. 3. 

omarbejdede og forbedrede Oplag. Sst. 1804. (U.B.) 4., efter tredie omarbejdede og 

forbedrede Oplag. Kbh. 1809. 6. giennemseete og rettede Oplag. Sst. 1817. (U.B.) 7., 

paany giennemseete og rettede, Oplag. Kbh. 1824. 8., paany gjennemseete og rettede, 

Oplag. Kbh. 1829. (BD IV 39) 

2den class: "Begyndelse af Hagerups Gram." 

Hagerup, M[atth.], Resonneret theoretisk-praktisk Sproglære over det franske 

Sprog, nærmest for Danske, efter Dictionnaire de l'Académie francoise, Wally, 

Domergue, Lévizac, Mozin Caminade, Dolnoy, og fl. etc. Kbh. 1806. (BD IV 34) 

- - - -. Kortfattet Fransk Sproglære, indeholdende i nøyagtig metodisk 

Fremstillelse, alt hvad der kan henrøres til Hoved-Grundsætninger i dette Sprog, 

35

tydeliggjorte ved Exempler. 1. Deel, indbefattende den egentlige Skproglære. Kbh. 

1808. 2. Deel, indeholdende den egentlige Sprogøvelse. Kbh. 1809. 

- - - -. Raisonneret theor.-pract. fransk Skproglære. 3. Deel. Kbh. 1811. 

[O.m.T.: Danske og franske Samtaler for Viderekomne med specielt Hensyn paa 

Danismer med det franske Sprog. 1. Deel. Kbh. 1811.] (BD IV 35) 

3die class: "Halvparten af Gedikes Chrestomati" 

Fransk Chrestomathie til Brug i de høiere Classer. Samlet af de bedste nyere 

Forfatteres Skrifter af Friedr. Gedike, og udgivet efter Originalens 3. Oplag med dansk 

Oversættelse af de vanskeligste Ord og Talemaader, af Peter Thonboe. Kbh. 1808. 2. 

Oplag. Odense 1818. 2. (!) Oplag. Kbh. 1820. (BD IV 40) 

"Hagerups Gram., helt igjennom" 

4de class: "hele Gedikes Chrestomati, samt repetition af førmeldte Gram.' 

HISTORY: 

1st class: "Kofods fragmentariske Fremstilling af historiens vigtigste Begivenheder indtil 

det vestlige Romerriges Undergang 

Kofod, Hans Anch., Historiens vigtigste Begivenheder, fragmentarisk fremstillede 

for Begyndere. Kbh. 1808. [Defekt; kompl. Exempl. i (U.B.)] 2. Opl. Sst. 1810. 3. 

Opl. Sst. 1814. (U.B.) 4. Opl. Sst. 1817. 5. Opl. Sst. 1823. (BD II 474) 

"Halvparten af Munchs Udtog af Skandinaviens Historie" 

Munch, Peter Andr., Norges, Sveriges og Danmarks historie til Skolebrug. Chra. 

1838. 488 S. Dahl. (NB 102) 

- - - -. Norges, Sveriges og Danmarks historie. I fortsattet Udtog. Chra. 1839. 63 

S. Dahl. (NB 102) 

2den class: (above continued) 

3die class: "første deel af Kofods nyere historie gjennemgaaes 

Kofod, Hans Anch., Nyere Historie. 1-2. D. Kbh. 1811-12. [Med Tabeller.] -- 2. 

Opl. 1-2. D. Sst. 1815-16. --3. Opl. 1-2. D. Sst. 1825-28. 

4de class: "Plums historiske Tabeller" (Plum was an instructor at the Skien lærde skole.) 

36

GEOGRAPHY: 

1ste class: "C.L. Platous Udtog af Geographien" 

Platou, Ludvig Stoud, Udtog af Geographien for Begyndere. Chra. 1810. 3die 

Opl. Chra. 1816. 4de Opl. Chra. 1818. 5te Opl. Chra. 1821. 6te Opl. Chra. 1824. 7de 

Opl. Chra. 1827. 8de Opl. 1834. 10de Opl. Chra. 1837..... (NB 114) 

2den class: "Platous Større Geographi med berigtigelser fra Norge til Tydskland excl." 

Platou, Carl Nicolai Stoud. Lærebog i Geographien. Chra. 1840. 8. VI og 1040 

S. Hviids Enke. 2 Spd. 72 Sh. Udk. 

- - - -. Udtog af Geographien for Mellemklasserne. 2den forøgede Udgave. Chra. 

1844. 8. 254 S. C. A. Wulfsberg. Indb. 66 Sh. 

3die class: "fra Norge til Arabien excl." 

4de Class: "repetition af alt." 

MYTHOLOGI: 

"Moritz Græske og romerske Mythologi" 

Den græske og romerske Mythologie. Efter de nyeste Udgaver af Damms og 

Moriz's Haandböger. Oversat af M(althe) Möller. 2. Opl. KBH. 1811. 8. 3. Opl. Med 

29 Kobbere. Kbh. 1831. 8. 

ARITHMETIC: 

1ste class: "Bjørns Arithmetic" 

Bjørn, Hans Outzen, Lærebog i Arithmetiken med hosføjede Exempler. 1-3. 

Cursus. Odense. 1806-10. -- 2. forbedr. Oplag. Sst. 1812-13. -- 1. Cursus. 3. Opl. Sst. 

1820 (U.B.) -- 2-3. Cursus. 3. Opl. Sst. 1822-23. 1. Cursus. 4. Opl. Sst. 1835. 

2den class: "samme" 

3die class: "Holmboes Arithmetik;" 

37

Holmboe, Bernt Michael, Lærebog i Mathematiken. D. 1. Indeholdende 

Indledning til Mathematiken samt Begyndelsesgrundene til Arithmetiken. Chra. 1825. 8. 

VIII og 274 S. (Lehmanns Enke). Dybwald. Indb. 1 Spd. 

"Grøndahl Lærebog i Arithmetiken" (Grøndahl & Son was a bookseller in Christiania.) 

4de class: "hele Holmboes Arithmetikk og opgaverne til hans Lærebog i Arithmetiken" 

Holmboe, Bernt Michael, Lærebog i Mathematiken. D. 2. Indeholdende 

Begyndelsesgrundene til Geometrien. Chra. 1827. 8. 155 S. M. 10 Tabeller i Stentr. 

Kom. H. Adelsted og Dybwad. Indb. 1 Spd. 12 Sh. 

GEOMETRY: 

"Holmboes Geometri og Stereometri" 

Holmboe, B., Lærebog i Mathematiken. D. 2. (see above.) 

Holmboe, B., Stereometrie. Chra. 1833. 8. 121 S. m. 4. stentr. Tab. Kom. h. 

Adelsted, Cappelen og Feilberg & Landmark. 96 Sh. 

38

III. The book collection of the Løvenskiold family as of 1843. 

Following is a list of titles published before 1844 in the book collection of the 

Løvenskiold family of Skien. There are more than 900 titles, some representing more 

than one volume. The list is organized by the last name of the author, and is based on a 

bibliography made by Anne Grete Holm Olsen in 1961. 

The fact that the publication date of a book is earlier than 1844 does not prove it was in 

the collection at that time. However, normal practice is to buy a book when it is new and 

in print. Especially for books published well before 1844, the likelihood is great that they 

were in the collection. 

The estate of the Løvenskiold family, Fossum, was less than two kilometers from the 

Ibsens’ farm at Venstøp. Knud Ibsen at times worked in the main house at Fossum as an 

accountant, so it is physically possible that he borrowed books from the collection, 

although we have no anecdotal evidence that he did so. Still, the existence of the 

collection is evidence of the cultural environment in which Henrik Ibsen grew up, not 

least because his elementary school teachers, who are believed to have been Hans 

Isachsen and Christen Lund, were also teachers at Fossum. As a young man, Lund was a 

tutor of the Løvenskiold children, and was later the director of a teacher’s college 

operated at the Gjerpen parish farm. Isachsen was also a tutor of the family’s children, as 

well as a teacher at a school on the estate, which in the 1830s, when Henrik started 

school, had 90 students, according to Halvdan Koht. We do not know whether Henrik 

attended this school, but he probably did, since he learned both German and French while 

he lived in Skien. Even if he did not learn these languages at the school on the Fossum 

estate, but rather had private instruction, Lund and Isachsen were probably his teachers, 

and they certainly had access to the Løvenskiolds’ book collection. 

Abhandlungen und Beobachtungen durch die ökonomisch Gesellschaft zu Bern 

gesammelt. Bern, 1762-73. 

Abraham a S. Clara, Augustiner Barfüsser [pseud. for Hans Ubrich Megerle]. Heilsames 

Gemisch-Gemasch. Würtzburg, 1704. 

Abrantes, Laure Junot d'. Memoires. Souvenirs historiques sur Napoléon, la révolution, 

le directoire, le consulat, l'empire et la restauration. Vols. 1-10. Paris, 1831-33. 

Acerbi, Joseph. Reich durch Schweden und Finnland, bis an die äussersten Gränzen von 

Lappland, in den Jahren 1789 und 1799. Aus dem Englischen übers. von Ch. Weyland. 

Berlin, 1803. 

39

Achenwall, Gottfried. Staatsverfassung der heutigen vornehmsten Europäischen Reiche 

im Grundrisse. 4. verb. Ausg. Göttingen, 1762. 

[Adelaide Caroline Cornelie, grevinne Baudissin, f. comtesse Schimmelmann.] Die 

Dorfgesellschaft. 2. Aufl., vols. 1-2. Kiel, 1792. 

Aeschylos. Vier Tragödien des Aeschylos. Übers. von Friedrich Leopold, Grafen zu 

Stolberg. Vienna, 1817. 

Alers, Christian Wilhelm. Gedichte der Religion, dem Vaterlande und der Freundschaft. 

Vol. 1. Hamburg, 1786. 

Algreen-Ussing, T. Anmerkninger til Tingsretten til Brug for den lovstuderende 

Ungdom. Vol. 2. Kbh., 1825. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Vols. 72-79. Berlin, 1787-88. 

Allgemeines Gesangbuch, auf Königlichen allergnädigsten Befehl ... herausgebeben. 

Kiel, 1789. 

Almanach des dames 1816. 

Almindeligt norsk Maanedsskrivt. No. 6. Christiania, March 6, 1831. 

- - - -. Vol. 2. April-September, 1831. 

Ancher, Peder Kofod. Samlede juridiske Skrifter. Udg. af J.F.W. Schlegel og R. Nyerup. 

Vols. 1-2. Kbh., 1807-08. 

- - - -. Anviisning for en dansk Jurist angaaende Lovkyndigheds adskillige Deele, Nytte 

og Hielpemidler. Kbh., 1777. 

- - - -. En dansk Lov-Historie fra Kong Harald Blaatands Tid til Kong Christian V. Vols. 

1-2. Kbh., 1769-76. 

[Anchersen, Hans Ped.] Herthedal ved Leyre i Siæland, og Det gamle Dannemark 150 

Aar for og efter Christi Fødsel. Kbh., 1745. 

- - - -. Nomen augustum orbi et sacrum Friderici regi celsitudinis principis hæreditarii 

Dani et Norvegi. Hafni, n.d.. 

Ancillon, Frederic. Essais de philosophie, de politique et de litterature. Vols. 1-4. Paris, 

1832. 

- - - -. Om souverainitet og Statsforfatninger. Overs. af H.L. Bernhoft. Chra., 1820. 

40

Anckarsvärd, M.G. Allwastra ruin. Lithographierad. Stockholm, 1828. 

- - - -. Bohus ruin. Lithographierad. Sth., 1828. 

- - - -. Stegeborgs ruin. Lithographierad. Sth., 1828. 

Andre, Christian Carol, and Johann Marrhäus Bechstein. Almeennyttige 

Underholdninger i Physik, Naturhistorie, Technologie og Landvæsenet, til Brug for 

Fædre, Hofmestere, Ungdomslærere og Opdragere. Vols. 1-3. Kbh., 1796-98. 

Anecdotes inédites de la fin du 18e siécle pour servir de suit aux anecdotes françaises. 

Paris, 1801. 

Aperçu sur la liaison politique entre les Duchés de Slesvig et de Holstein. Kbh., 1816. 

Aphelen, H. von. Grand dictionnaire royal françois et danois. Pt. 1. Kbh., 1759. 

[Arblay, Frances Burney d'.] Cecilia or Memoirs of an heiress. 5th ed., 4 vols. London, 

1786. 

[- - - -.] Evelina oder Eines jungen Frauenzimmers Eintritt in die Welt. Vols. 1-3, aus 

dem Englischen. Lpz., 1779. 

Archenholts, I.W. von. England und Italien. Vols. 1, 2, 4, 5. Lpz., 1787. 

Archiv for Historie og Geographie. Saml. og udg. af J. Chr. Riise. Kbh., 1820-36. 16 

vols. 

Areboe, A.C. Hexaemeron rhythmico-danicum. Kbh., 1661. 

Argens, J.B. de Boyer d'. Les caprices de l'amour et de la fortune. La Haye, 1737. 

Ariosto, Lodovico. Opere. Vols. 1-2. Veneziae, 1730. Folio. 

Aristotle. The works of Aristotle in 4 parts, a new edition. London, 1806. 

Arlincourt, [Victor] d'. Bryggerkongen. Kbh., 1840. 

Authentischer Berich von dem an der Französischen Friedensgesandschaft bei ihrer 

Rükreise von dem Congress in der Nähe von Rastadt verübten Meuchelmord. Nebst 

einigen weiteren Actenstüken und Zusäzen des Herausgebers. N.p., 1799. 

Bacallar y Sanna, Vicente, marquis of San Felipe. Comentarios de la Guerra de Espana e 

historia de su Rey Phelipe V. Genoa, 1721. 

41

Baden, Gustav Ludvig. Det norske Riges Historie. En Haandbok. Kbh., 1804. 

Baden, Jacob. Dansk-latinsk Ordbog. Kbh., 1810. 

- - - -. Dansk-latinsk Ordbog. 3. Opl. Kbh., 1831. 

- - - -. Latinsk-dansk Lexikon eller Ordbog. 2. Opl. besørget ved Torkel Baden. Vols. 1- 

2. Kbh., 1815. 

Baggesen, Jens. Nye blandede Digte. Kbh., 1807. 

- - - -. Parthenäis oder Die Alpenreise. Ein idyllisches Epos in neun Gesängen. 

Hamburg, n.d. 

Bahrdt, Johann Friedrich. Sammlung einiger Erbauungsreden, Über auserlesene 

Wahrheiten der Religion Jesu. Lpz., 1767. 

Bailleul, J. Ch. Réponse de L.N.M. Carnot ... au rapport fair sur la conjuration du 18 

fructidor an V, au conseil des cinq-cents. Londres, 1799. 

Balle, Nic. Edinger. Den augsburgske Troesbekjendelse. Paa ny fordansket, udg. ved 

Jens Möller. Kbh., 1817. 

Bang, Christen Staphenson. Descriptio civitatis Christianensis. Ded er Christianiæ Stads 

Beskrifuelse, som er Hofued Stad i Norrige. Chra., 1651. 

Barba, Alvare-Alfonse. Traite de l'art métallique. Paris, 1736. 

Barruel, [Augustin.] Histoire du clergé pendant la révolution françoise. 2. éd. Londres, 

1794. 

[Barthelemy, Jean Jacques]. Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce dans le milieu du 

quatrième siècle avant l'ère vulgaire. 2. ‚d. Vols. 2, 4-7. Paris, 1789. 

- - - -. Recueil de cartes geographiques, plans, vues et medailles. Paris, 1789. 

Bartholin, Thomas Eichel. Taxt-Bog eller systematisk Efterretning om de til denne Tid 

gjeldende og paabudne Skatter, Afgivter og Paalg i Danmark og Norge, samt øvrige 

Danske Besiddelser, tilligemed Udtog af de Anordninger, som dermed staae i 

Forbindelse. Kbh., 1805. 

Bastholm, Christian. Moralske Tanker af Stoikerne, bragte i systematisk Orden. Kbh., 

1808. 

42

- - - -. Aandelige Taler over alle Evangelierne. Vols. 1-2. Kbh., 1779. 

- - - -. Aandelige Taler, samt en Skrift- og Fornuftmssig Forklaring over de dødes 

Opstandelse. Kbh., 1777. 

Bastholm, E. Kort Udsigt over den aabenbarede Religions Historie. Kbh., 1789. 

Bayle, Peter. The dictionary historical and critical. 2nd ed. Vols. 1-5. London: 1734- 

38. Folio. 

Bech, Fredrik Julius. Veiledning til at opdrage en sund, fornuftig, dydig og lykkelig 

Afkom. Kbh., 1796. 

Becker, Karl Friedrich. Die Weltgeschichte für die Jugend. Vols. 1-10. Berlin, 1804-09. 

Beckmann, Johann. Anleitung zur Technologie, oder zur Kentniss der Handwerke, 

Fabriken und Manufacturen. Göttingen: 1780. 

Beiträge zur geheimen Geschichte des menschlichen Verstandes und Herzens. Aus den 

Archiven der Natur gezogen. Vol. 1, bks. 1-5. Lpz., 1770. 

Belloc, Louise Sw. Lord Byron. Vols. 1-2. Paris, 1824. 

Bembo, Pietro. Delle historia Vinitiana di M. Pietro Bembo card. volgarmente scritta. 12 

vols. Venegia, 1552. 

[Benoist, Élie.] Histoire de l'edit de Nantes, contenenant ... principalement les 

contraventions, inexecutions, chicanes, artifices, violences et autre injustices, que les 

Reformez se plaignant jusques a l'edit de revocation en octobre 1685. Vols. 1-2, vol. 3, 

pts. 1-3. Delft, 1693-95. 

Berlin und seine Umgebungen in neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Eine Samlung im Stahl 

gestochener Ansichten. Berlin: 1833. 

Bernhoft, Hans Lassenius. Smaadigte. Christiansand, 1815. 

Berquin, [Arnaud.] L'ami des enfants. Seconde année. Vols. 7, 8. Paris, 1784. 

Béthune, Maximilien de, duke of Sully. Mémoires de ... Principal Ministre de Henry le 

Grand. Nouv. éd., rev. corr. et augm. Vols. 1-2. Londres, 1768. 

[Bible. Danish.] Kbh., 1749). (Starts on p. 5.) 

43

Biblia, det er den gandske Hellige Skriftes Bøger, ved Hs. Kongelige Majestæts vor 

allernaadigste Arve-Herres Kong Christian den Syvendes christelige Omsorg. 5. Opl. 

Kbh., 1806. 

[Bible, French.] La sainte Bible du Vieus et du Nouveau Testament. Enrichie de trÜs 

belles figures. Bienne, 1760. 

[Bible, German.] Biblia, das ist Die gantze Heilige Schrifft Alten und Neuen Testaments. 

Verteutschet durch Martin Luther. Hamburg, 1690. 

- - - -. Ulm, 1716. 

- - - -. Biblia, das ist: Die gantze Heil. Schrift Altes und Neues Testaments, nach der 

teutschen übersetzung mit kurzen Anmerkungen. Vol. 3 (N.T.) Frankfurt-am-Main, 

1819. 

- - - -. Die Bibel oder die ganze Heilige Schrift der göttlichen Offenbahrung des Alten 

und Neuen Testaments, nach der deutschen übersetzung Martin Luthers. Mit einer 

Vorrede Gottfried Schützens. 2. Aufl. Altona, 1773. 

- - - -. Die Heilige Schrift in berichtigter übersetzung mit kurzen Anmerkungen. Vol. 3: 

Neues Testament. Frankfurt-am-Main, 1819. 

[Bible, New Testament, Greek.] Novum testamentum graece. Ex recensione Jo. Jac. 

Griesbachii cum selecta lectionum varietate. Lpz., 1825. 

Bibliothek der schönen Wissenschaften und der freien Künste. Vols. 1-12, plus Reg. 

Lpz., 1757-67. 

Bibliotheque des anciens philosophes. Vols. 1-5. Paris, 1771. 

Bibliotheque Britannique, ou Histoire des ouvrages des savans de la Grande-Bretagne. 

Vols. 1-2, 4-25. La Haye, 1733-47. 

Biblisches Spruch- und Schatz-Kästlein, worinn 500 Sprüche der heil. Schrift mit den 

geistreichesten nachdrücklichsten Worten des seligen Lutheri erkläret ... worden. 

Wernigerode, 1769. 

[Bilderbeck, Ludwig Franz, Freiherr von.] Der Todtengräber. Vols. 1-2. Lpz., 1801. 

- - - -. Die Urne im einsamen Thale. Vols. 1-4. Lpz., 1799. 

[Bion of Smyrna.] Bionis Smyrnaei et Moschi Syracusani quae supersunt cum notis 

Ioannis Heskin integris alliorumque selectus graece et latine. Erlangae, 1780. 

44

- - - -. Bion fra Smyrna. Idylliske Digte. Udg., overs., og oplyste med en Udvikling af 

Adonismythen ledsagede ved S. Meisling. Kbh., 1824. 

Birch, Hans Jörgen. En kort genealogisk Tabel over de stormægtigste Monarcher af det 

kongelige Oldenborgiske Huus. Kbh., 1766. 

Blair, Hugh. Geistliche Reden. Aus. dem Englischen. Lpz., 1777. 

- - - -. Sermons. 10th ed., Vol. 1. London, 1781. 

Blom, Gustav Peter. Bemærkninger paa en Reise i Nordlandene og igjennem Lapland til 

Stockholm i Aaret 1827. Vols. 1-2. Chra., 1830. 

- - - -. Bergverkernes Forhold til Staten her og i andre Lande, med særdeles Hensyn paa 

en ny Bergverks-Lov. Drammen, 1833. 

- - - -. Das Königreich Norwegen. Statistisch beschrieben. Mit einem Vorwort von Carl 

Ritter. Vols. 1-2. Lpz., 1842. 

Bode, Johann Joachim Christoph. Oden. Hamburg, 1771. 

Boileau-Despreaux, Nicolas. Oeuvres. Vols. 2-4. Dresde, 1767. 

- - - -. Satyres et oeuvres diverses. Nouv. éd. Paris, 1765. 

Boisen, P.O. Plan til Forbedring ved den offentlige Gudsdyrkelse. Kbh., 1806. 

Bouilly, J.N. Conseils … ma fille. 2. éd. Vols. 1-2. Paris, 1814. 

Bourgoing, J.F. Tableau de l'Espagne moderne. 3. éd. Vols. 1-3. Paris, 1803. 

Boye, Johannes. Statens Ven. Vols. 1-2. Kbh., 1796-97. 

[Brandt, Enevold.] Dom afsagt af den anordnede Inquisitions-Commission paa 

Christiansborg Slot, den 25. Aprilis 1772 over Enevold Brandt. Med den paafulgte Kgl. 

Approbation af 27. Aprilis 1772. 

Bredsdorff, Peder Mortensen. Tanker til højere og nærmere Eftertanke angaaende Norges 

Jern-Verker. Kbh., 1784. 

Briève relation de la vie de Christine, reyne de Suède. N.p., 1655. 

Bring, Sven. Svea Rikes historia ifrån de äldsta tider til de närvarande. Vols. 1-3. Sth., 

1769-76. 

45

Brissot, J.P. Nouveau voyage dans les états-unis de l'Amerique septentrionale, fait en 

1788. Vols. 1-3. Paris, 1791. 

Brorson, Christian. Forsøg til den første (til sjette) Bogs Fortolkning i Christian V.s 

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90

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91

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92

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Tragoedie. Berlin, 1807. 

93

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94

Zeitung für die elegante Welt 1817-1818. 

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95

IV. Plays advertised for performance in the newspapers of Skien between 

1832 and 1843, when Ibsen lived there. 

Skien's first newspaper, Ugeblad for Skien og Omegn, was founded in 1830. It 

ceased publication in 1839, but the following year the same editor, Peter Feilberg, started 

another paper, under the name Bratsberg Amtstidende. 

Upcoming performances of plays were advertised in these newspapers by 

theatrical companies that visited Skien. The personnel of these companies were part of a 

network of mostly Danish actors, directors, designers and musicians that criss-crossed 

Norway in the first half of the nineteenth century. They could hope to be employed by 

dramatic societies in Christiania, Drammen, Christianssand, Stavanger, Bergen, and 

Trondheim, where they would select and perform seasons of plays in repertory. 

Enterprising theatre directors in these companies would assemble touring companies in 

the off-seasons, and travel to provincial towns, including those on the southeastern coast 

of Norway. 

The companies that visited Skien performed for from a week to six weeks, and 

offered a season of between four and nineteen plays. The players were lodged in people's 

homes, since there were no hotels. The companies as a rule did not have enough actors to 

perform all of the roles in all of the plays, so local players took supporting roles. 

Sometimes the players allowed people who would not have had the money for a ticket, 

like servants and children, to attend dress rehearsals. 

What follows is a chronological list of the plays advertised for performance in 

Skien between 1832, when Ibsen was four years old, and 1843, when he was about to 

leave for Grimstad. The plays are cited under the names of the leaders of the companies, 

who normally placed the ads, and whose names appear in them. 

The ads give a play's title, and usually its author. In the following list that information, 

which is in quotation marks, is followed by publication information. If a play was not 

published, any further information we do have is included. The translations referred to 

are of plays into Danish from other languages, usually French or German. Some plays 

were translated more than once. It is not always possible to determine which version was 

performed on a given occasion. 

96

At end of the list are some observations, bibliographical information, and the key 

to bibliographical symbols. 

1832-- JOHANN CONRAD HUUSHER’S COMPANY. 

Aug. 21-- 

"Christen og Christine," dramatisk Idyl af Professor Heiberg. 

Christen og Christine. Dramatisk Idyl i 1 Act. Efter Scribes og [Jean Henri] 

Dupins "Michel et Christine", ved J. L. Heiberg. Udgivet af Ferd. Printzlau. 

København 1830. 

"Seer Jer i Speil," versisiseret Lystspil i een Act af Tøpfer. 

Seer jer i Speil! Lystspil i een Act, paa rimede Vers. Efter [Karl] Tøpfers 

Manuscript: Nehmt ein Exempel d'ran! ed J. L. Heiberg. Udgivet af Ferdinand 

Printzlau. København 1830. 

"Skuespillerinden paa Prøve," Lystspil i een Act af Radet. 

Skuespillerinden paa Prøve eller Den Sidstankomne. Comedie i 1 Act; oversat 

(from the French of Jean Baptiste Radet) ved N. T. Bruun. København 1814. 

Sept. 2-- 

"Efterskriften," Lystspil i een Act af Holbein. 

Holbein, Franz v., Efterskriften, Lystspil i 1 Act [oversat af Geo. Julius Liebe]. 

København 1829. 4 Bl. (Freely adapted from Heigel's "Der Perrückenstock.") 

"Kjærlighed under Maske," Comedie i een Act af Dubois. 

Dubois, Jean Bapt., Kjærlighed under Maske. Comedie i 1 Act. Frit oversat ved 

N. T. Bruun. København 1808. 

Landstedet ved Kongeveien," Lystspil i een Act af Kotzebue. 

Kotzebue, A. v., Landstedet ved Kongevejen, et Lystspil I 1 Optog, oversat og 

forandret af G. T. Bang. Maribo 1809. (Original title: "Das Landhaus an der 

Heerstrasse.") 

97

Sept. 6-- 

"Skriftemalet eller Ægtemanden som Eremit," Lystspil i een Act af Kotzebue. 

Kotzebue, A. v., Skriftemalet eller Ægtemanden som Eremit. Comedie i 1 Act 

frit oversat efter Die Beichte af Kotzebue og den franske Bearbeidelse af samme 

Stykke 

le mari hermite ved N. T. Bruun. København 1813. 

"De to Sedler," Lystspil i een Act af Florian. 

Nyeste Samling af Skuespil. [Schultzes Samling.] 1-5. Bd. København 1792-94. 

[Hvert Stykke har særsk. Paginering og Signatur. 1. og 3. Bd. mangle i st. Kgl. 

Bibl., men findes i U.B. Af 4. Bd. findes kun Titelbl. og Indeholdsangivelse. 

Complet i U.B. 2. Bd., København 1792, indeholder: Florian, De to Sedler. Et 

Lystspil i 1 Optog. Oversat af [Ditl. Flindt] Staal. (Original title: "Les deux 

billets.") 

"Søster og Brøder i een Person, eller Den snurrige Frier," Lystspil i een Act af 

Kotzebue. 

(No listing.) 

Sept. 9-- 

"Anecdotsamlingen," Lystspil i 2 Acter af Scribe. 

Comedy in one act by Scribe and Delavigne (original title, "La vieille"), tr. from 

Castelli's German translation by Liebe. A manuscript of this play is in the archive 

of the Royal Theatre, København. 

"De tre Feil, eller Kortspil, Piger og Viin," Lystspil I een Act af Hoffmann. 

De tre Feil eller Kortspil, Piger og Viin. Comedie i 1 Act, efter [Ludv.] Schrøders 

Omarbeidelse af (Francois Benoit Hoffmann's) Jerôme Pointu ved N. T. Bruun. 


Sept. 16-- 

"Gevinsten i Classelotteriet," Comedie i 1 Act af Hagemeister. 

Hagemeister, [Joh. Gottfr.], Gevinsten i Classelotteriet. Comedie i 1 Akt. Frit 

oversat af N. T. Bruun. København 1802. (Original title: "Das grosse Loos.") 

98

"Brudgommen fra Holland," Lystspil i 2 Acter af Kotzebue. 

KBS: Casino 29 4. 

Sept. 18-- 

"Frimureren," versisiseret Lystspil i 1 Act af Kotzebue. 

"Frimureren," Comedie i een Act af Kotzebue, oversat af T. Thorsen. København 

1818. (Original title: "Die freimaurer.") 

"Elskovsdrikken," Lystspil i 2 Acter af Scribe. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., Elskovsdrikken. Komisk Syngestykke i 2 Acter. Musikken 

af Auber. Overs. og indrettet for den danske Skueplads af Th. Overskou. 

København 1832. (DKTR, Nr. 42). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Le philtre.") 

1833-- NILS CHRISTIAN SIMONSEN’S COMPANY. 

Feb. 1-- 

"Bedsteforældrene eller Det snurrige Frieri," Lystspil i 2 Acter. 

[Bang, Balth.], Bedsteforældrene eller det snurrige Frierie. Et originalt Lystspil i 

2 Acter. København 1814. 

"List imod List eller: Hendrik og Pernille," Lystspil I 1 Act af Dubois. 

List imod List eller Hendrik og Pernille. Comedie i 1 Act af [Jean Baptiste] 

Dubois [og André René Polydore Alissan de Chazet], frit oversat og localisert ved 

N. T. Bruun. København 1807. (Original title: "Martin et Frontin, ou: Assaut de 

valets.") 

Feb. 10-- 

"Kjærligheds Kamp eller Brødrene," Skuespil i 2 Acter af Rambach. 

Rampach, Fr. Eberh., Kjærligheds Kamp eller Brødrene. Skuespil i 1 Act, oversat 

ved N. T. Bruun. København 1813. (Original title: "De feindlichen bruder, od.: 

Homòopath u. Allopath.") 

"Portraitet eller Misforstaaelserne," Comedie i 1 Act efter Arresto. 

99

Arresto, [Christlieb Geo. Heinr.],Portraitet eller Misforstaaelsen. Comedie i een 

Akt, oversat ved N. T. Bruun. København 1814. 

Feb. 18-- 

“Jeppe paa Bjerget, eller Den forvandlede Bonde," Comedie i 5 Acter af Baron 

Holberg. 

[Holberg, Ludv.,], Jeppe paa Bierget eller den forvandlede Bonde. En Comoedie i 

5 Acter. København 1802. (First published 1722.) 

Feb. 24-- 

"Brud og Brudgom i een Person," Lystspil i 4 Afdelinger af Aug. v. Kotzebue. 

Theaterstykker. Første--Tredie Samling . . . . København 1815. [Hvert Stykke 

har særsk. Paginering og Signatur.] 3. Samling Indeholder: Kotzebue, [Aug. v.], 

Brud og Brudgom i een Person. Comedie i 2 Akter. Oversat ved N.T. Bruun. 

Mar. 4-- 

"Fætteren i Lissabon," Skuespil i 3 Acter ved Schrøder. 

Schrøder, Fred. Ludv., Fætteren i Lissabon. Et Lystspil i 3 Handlinger, oversat af 

D[itl.] F[lindt] Staal. U. St. o. A. [1790.] (Original title: "Der Vetter von 

Lissabon.") 

1834-- OLE JULIUS OLSEN’S COMPANY. 

July 10-- 

“Brödrene eller Kjærlighedskampen", Skuespil i 2 Acter af Kotzebue. (see Feb. 

10, 1833.) 

"Amalie og Henriette, en Scene af Hverdagslivet." 


July 15-- 

"Den förste Kjærlighed," Lystspil i 1 Act af Scribe. 

July 2l-- 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., Den første Kjærlighed. Overs. af J[oh.] L[udv.] Heiberg. 

(København 1832). (DKTR, Nr. 44). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Les premières 

amours.") 

100

"Den 28de Januar," Syngestykke i 2 Acter. 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., Den otte og tyvende Januar. Vaudeville. Udgiven af Ferd. 

Ant. Chr. Printzlau. København 1826. 

"Selvmordersken," Sørgespil i 2 Acter. 

Selvmorderne eller det adopterede Barn. Dansk original Skuespil i 3 Akter. 


July 25-- 

"Hendrik den Femtes Ungdom," Lystspil i 3 Acter. 

Duval, Alex. [Alex. Vinc. Pineux], Henrik den Femtes Ungdom. Lystspil i 3 

Acter; frit oversat ved N. T. Bruun. København 1808. (Original title: "La 

jeunesse d'Henri V.") 

July 30-- 

"Hvor Fanden blev navnet af, eller: Den verdenskloge Procurator," nyt originalt 

Lystspil i 2 Acter, af en unævnt norsk Forfatter. 

By Pavels Hielm, a local dramatist. Unpublished. A later advertisement revised 

the title to: "Hvor Satan blev navnet af...".) 

1835-- JACOB MAYSON’S COMPANY. 

Sept. 25-- 

“De Uadskillelige,” Vaudeville af Professor Heiberg. 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., De Uadskillelige. Vaudeville. Med et Kobber, efter Tegning 

af [Chr. Wilh.] Eckersberg. Udgiven af Ferd. Printzlau. København 1827. 

Sept. 30-- 

"Misforstaaelse paa Misforstaaelse," Lystspil i 1 Act af Th. Overskou. 

DKTR. 1-2. Deel. [København 1828-30.] 1. Deel indeholder: [Overskou, 

Thom.], Misforstaaelse paa Misforstaaelse. Originalt Lystspil i 1 Act. 


"Hvilken er den Rette eller De to Lærker," Vaudeville af Th. Overskou. 

101

DKTR. 1. Deel indeholder: [Overskou, Thom.], Hvilken er den Rette? 

Vaudeville i 1 Act. København 1829. 

Oct. 7-- 

."Brud og Brudgom i een Person" (see Feb. 24, 1833). 

Oct. 11-- 

"Kostgjængeren," Lystspil i 1 Act af Scribe. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., (Dupin, Jean Henri, and Dumersan (ie., Théophile Marion)), 

Kostgængeren. Overs. af J[oh.] L[udv.] Heiberg. København 1832. (DKTR, Nr. 

44). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "La pension bourgeoise.") 

"Yelva," nyt Melodrama i 2 Afdelinger af Scribe, Devilleneuve og Desverges. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og [Theod. Ferd. Vallou Devilleneuve og Desvergers 

[Chapeau]], Yelva. Overs. af Th[om.] Overskou. (København 1835). (DKTR, 

Nr. 70). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Yelva, ou: L'orpheline russe.") 

Oct. 16-- 

"Brødrene foster," Lystspil i 5 Acter af Töpfer ved Heiberg. 

[Rowley, William], Brödrene Foster. Efter (Karl Friedrich Gustav) Töpfers 

Bearbeidelse af en engelsk Original omarbeidet af J[ohan] L[udv.] Heiberg. 

København 1833. (DKTR, Nr. 50). U. Titelbl. (Original title: ("A new wonder a 

woman never vexed.") 

Oct. 18-- 

"Røvercapitainen, eller Jeg tager aldri Feil," Lystspil i 1 Act. 

Comedy in one act by Saintine (i.e., Joseph Xavier Boniface), Lauzanne (i.e., 

Augustine Théodore Lauzanne de Vaux Roussel), and (Frédéric August) Duvert, 

tr. by H. L. Bernhoft. TS ark A2, #22. KBS: Dagmarteatret 383 C8. (Original 

title: "La capitaine des voleurs.") 

"Kunstnerliv, eller Den ene Arbeidet, den Anden Lønnen," Vaudeville af Th. 

Overskou. 

Overskou, Th[omas], Kunstnerliv eller den Ene Arbeidet, den Annen Lønnen. 


Den fortrædelige Formiddag," Lystspil i 1 Act ved J.L. Heiberg. 

102

[Duvert, Félix Auguste, Desverges (ie., Chapeau, Armin), og Victor (ie., Varin, 

Charles Victor)], Den fortrædelige Formiddag. Lystspil i 1 Act. Omarbeidet 

efter: La matinée aux contretemps, og indrettet for den danske Skueplads ved J.L. 

Heiberg. København 1829. 

"Supplicanten, eller: Fastelavens Mandag," Vaudeville-Monologue af Heiberg. 

J. L. Heiberg's Poetiske Skrifter, Syvende Bind. Vaudeviller. Tredje Avdeling. 


Oct. 21-- 

“De Uadskillelige" (see Sept. 23); 

“De Danske i Paris," Vaudeville i 2 Acter af Heiberg. 

Heiberg, J[oh.] L[udv.], De Danske i Paris. Vaudeville. København 1833. 

Oct 26-- 

"Amors Geniestreger," Lystspil i 2 Acter af Heiberg. 

1836-- 

Hertz, Henr., Amors Geniestreger, versifiseret Lystspil i to Acter af Forfatteren til 

Lystspillet Hr. Burchardt og hans Familie etc. Udgivet af Fred. Printzlau. 


"Et Eventyr i Rosenberg Have," Vaudeville af Heiberg. 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., Et Eventyr i Rosenborg Have. Operette. Musiken 

componert af [Cph. Ernst Fried.] Weyse. Udgiven af Ferd. Printzlau. 


May 13-- 

"Den ung hidsige Mand, eller Raad til de unge Koner," Lystspil i 1 Act af 

Pixerécourt. 

Pixérécourt, [René Charles] Guilbert [de], Den unge hidsige Mand eller Raad til 

de unge Koner. Comedie i 1 Act oversat ved N.T. Bruun. København 1810. 

(Original title: "Avis aux femmes, ou: le Mari Colère.") 

103

"Skatten, eller: Staae ikke paa Luur," Syngestykke i 1 Act af Hoffman, Musiken 

af Mehul. 

Hofman, [François Benoit], Skatten eller Staae ikke paa Luur. Syngestykke i 1 

Act, frit oversat til [Etienne Henri] Mehuls Musik af N. T. Bruun. København 

1804. (Original title: "Le trésor supposé, ou: Le danger d'ecouter aux portes.") 

May 15-- 

"Wellington's Uniform, eller Slaget ved Marseilles," Lystspil i 1 Act. 

Kotzebue, A., v., Wellingtons Uniform. Lystspil i 1 Act. Oversat af A[dolph] 

F[r.] Elmquist. Aarhuus 1816. 

"En Fødselsdag i Slutteriet," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Overskou. 

Overskou, Th[omas], En Fødselsdag i Slutteriet. København 1834. 

May 18-- 

"Preciosa," lyrisk drama i 4 Avdelinger af Wulff, Musiken af C. M. v. Weber. 

Wolff, [Pius Alexander], Preciosa. Lyrisk Drama. Med Musik af C[arl] M[aria] 

v. Weber. Oversat af C[asp.] J[ohs.] Boye. København 1822. 

May 23-- 

"En Hytte og hans Hjerte," Lystspil i 3 Acter af Scribe og Alphons. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og Alphonse [Rob. Alphonse Gautier], En Hytte og hans 

Hjerte. Overs. af Carl Pt. Borgaard. København 1836. (DKTR, Nr. 78). U. 

Titelbl. 

"De to smaae Savoyarder," Syngestykke i 1 Act, Musiken af D'Alayrac. 

[Marsollier des Vivetières, Benoit Jos.], De to smaa Savoyarder. Et Syngestykke i 

1 Act med Musik af Mr. [Nicolas] D'Aleyrac, oversat af Adam Gottlob Thoroup 

til Brug for det Kongelig Danske Theater. [København 1792]. (Original title: 

"Les deux petits savoyards.") 

May 27-- 

"De to Ægtemand," nyt Lystspil i 1 Act af Scribe. 

104

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og [Ant. François] Varner, De to Ægtemænd. [Overs. af 

Chr. N. Rosenkilde]. København 1835. (DKTR, 68). U. Titelbl. (Original title: 

"Les deux maris, ou La pensionnaire mariée.") 

"Gulkorset," nyt Lystspil i 2 Acter med Sang og Chor af Heiberg. 

Mélesville, [Anne Honoré Joseph Duveyrier], og Nic. Brazier, Guldkorset. Ved 

Joh. Ludv. Heiberg. København 1836. (DKTR, Nr. 79). U. Titelbl. (Original 

title: "Cathérine, ou: le croix d'or.") 

May 29-- 

Jean," Lystspil i 3 Acter af Signol og Théaulon. 

Théaulon de Lambert [Marie Emanuel Guillaume Marguérite], og [Alph.] Signol, 

Jean. [Overs. af Niels Vinding Dorph]. København 1835. (DKTR, Nr. 74). U. 

Titelbl. 

"Et Eventyr i Rosenberg Have" (see Oct. 26, 1835). 

June 2-- 

"Elverhöi," Ridderskuespil i 5 Acter, med Sang og Chor, af Professor Heiberg, 

Musiken componeret af F. Kuhlau. 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., Elverhøi. Skuespil i 5 Acter. Udgivet af Ferd. Printzlau. 


June 3-- 

“Brødrene foster" (see Oct. 16, 1835). 

June 8-- 

“Tordenskjold," Drama i 4 Acter, af Oehlenschläger. 

Oehlenschläger, Adam, Tordenskiold. Syngespil. København 1821. 

*June 10-- 

*(N.B.: The listing for June 10 did not appear in the newspaper, but rather in G. 

W. Selmer's handwritten journal, whose entries otherwise correspond exactly to 

the plays advertised. Selmer (see under 1840) was an actor in Mayson's company 

at the time he kept the journal, which is now in the state archive in Trondheim.) 

"Kom!" 

105

Elsholtz, [Franz v.], Kom! Dramatisk Opgave i een Act. Frit oversat af C[arl Pt.] 

Borgaard. U. Titelbl. St. o. A. København 1834. (DKTR, Nr. 57). (Original 

title: "Komm hier!") 

"De to Galeislaver." 

Nyeste Samling af Skuespil, til Brug for den Kongelige Danske Skueplads og for 

Privat-Theatre. 1-2 Deel. København1824-25. 2. Deel Indeholder:] 

[Carmouche, Pierre Franc. Adolphe, Poujol d. Æ. og Boirié, [Jean Bernh. Eugène 

Cantiran de], De to Galieslaver eller Møllen ved St. Aldervon. Drama i 3 Acter 

med Chor og Dands. Oversat [af Julius Liebe] efter Theodor Hells Bearbeidelse 

("Die beiden galeisclaven") af den franske Original ("Les deux forçats, ou: La 

meunière du Puy-de-Dome").] 

June 12-- 

"Hvilken er den Rette, eller De to Lærker" (see Sept. 30, 1835). 

"Aprilsnarrene," eller: "Intriguen i Skolen." 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., Aprilsnarrene eller Intriguen i Skolen. Vaudeville. Udgiven 

af F. A. C. Printzlau. København 1826. 

June 15-- 

"Intriguen ved Morskabstheatret," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Arnesen. 

"Intriguen ved Morskabstheatret," Original Vaudeville i en Akt af A.L. Arnesen. 


"De Danske i Paris" (see Oct. 21, 1835). 

June 19-- 

"Letsindigheds Fölger," eller: "Fader og Datter," Skuespil i 2 Acter efter Bayard. 

TS ark A2, #76. 

LJ: "Fader og Datter." Skuesp. i 2 a. av (Jean François Alfred) Bayard. "La 

lectrice", fritt overs. av G. Carstensen. 

"Guldbryllupsfrierne," Vaudeville i 1 Act. 

[Hald, Pet. Tetens], Guldbryllupsfrierne, original Vaudeville. Udg. af Ferd. 


106

June 22-- 

"Moden," eller: "Alpehyrderne," nyt Lystspil, i 4 Acter, af B. Bang. 

[Bang, Balth.], Privattheater. København 1828. [Indeholder: Moden eller 

Alpehyrderne. Et Lystspil i 4 Acter. 

"De to smaae Savoyarder" (see May 23). 

June 26-- 

"Seer Jer i et Speil!" (see August 21, 1832). 

"Rataplan," eller: "Den lille Tambour," Vaudeville i 1 Act. 

"Rataplan, eller Den Lille Tambour," Vaudeville i 1 Act, [af Sevrin [ie., Charl. 

Augustin Bassompierre] og A.V.Vizentini], overs. efter (Louis) Angely af H.P. 

Holst. København 1834. (Original title: "Rataplan, ou: Le petit tambour.") 

1838-- OLSEN AND MILLER’S COMPANY (Ole Julius Olsen and Jens Peter Miller). 

Oct. 21-- 

"Den Unge Ægtemand," Lystspil 1 3 Acter, af Scribe. 

Mazères, [Edouard Josephe Ennemond], Den Unge Ægtemand. [Oversat af Thom. 

Overskou]. København 1831. (DKTR, Nr. 33). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Le 

jeune mari.") 

"Hans Sörens Frierie," Vaudeville af (Christen) Rosenkilde. 

Rosenkilde has a longer play with a character in it by this name. 

Oct. 24-- 

"Jovial, eller Underfoged og Poet," Lystspil i 2 Acter, med Sang. 

EA: "Jovial, Bytjener og Poet," vaud. i 2 a., `efter det franske', Théaulon og 

Choquart. 

LJ: "Jovial, eller: Underfogeden som Poet," Lystsp. i 2 a. med sang, av Théaulon 

og Choquart. 

107

Théaulon (ie., de Lambert, Marie Emanuel Guillaume Marguérite) and (Adolphe) 

Choquart). (Original title: "M. Jovial," ou: "L'Huissier Chansonnier.") CTR. 

"List imod List..." (see Feb. 1, 1833). 

Oct. 29-- 

"Hvedebrödsdagene,"Lystspil i 2 Acter af Scribe. 

Scribe, Aug. Eug., Mélesville (i.e., Duveyrier, Anne Honoré Joseph, baron) og 

Carmouches, (Pierre François Adolphe). Hvedebrødsdagene, Lystspil i 2 Acter, 

oversat 

efter La lune de miel, af J.E. Beck. Arendal 1833. 

"De Sandseslöse," Lystspil med Sang i 1 Act. 

Kotzebue, A. v., De Sandsesløse, Lystspil i 1 Act. Oversat af P[et. Thun.] 

Foersom. København 1810. (Original title: "Die Zerstreuten.") 

Oct. 31-- 

"Hvilken er den Rette?" (see Sept. 30, 1835). 

Nov. 1-- 

"Gouverneuren fra India," (Jünger). 

Jünger, Joh. Fr., Gouverneuren fra India. Skuespil i 5 Akter. Efter: Verstand und 

Leichtsinn. Af P.D. Faber. København 1806. 

Nov. 4-- 

"Napoleon's Död paa St. Helena," historisk Drama i 3 Acter. 

1839-- 

Napoleon. Historisk Drama i to Deler. Første Deel: Napoleon i Schönbrunn, i 4 

Malerier. Anden Deel: Napoleon paa St. Helena, i 3 Malerier. Oversat og 

omarbeidet af Th[om.] Overskou efter [Désiré] Ch[arles]Dupeuty og [François 

Joseph] Regnier [de la Brière]. Udg. af Ferd. Printzlau. København 1832. 

Jan. 10-- 

"Valeur & Compagnie," Lystspil i 1 Act af Bayard. 

108

Bayard, [Jean François Alfr.], og Devorme [ie., Augustin Jules de Vailly], Valeur 

& Compagnie. Komedie i een Act. [Oversat af Niels Vinding Dorph]. 

(København 1838). (DKTR, Nr. 95). U. Titelbl. 

"Fruentimmerhaderen," Syngestykke i 2 Acter, efter det Franske. 

Fruentimmerhaderen. Syngestykke i 1 Act efter en Vaudeville af (Jean Nicolas) 

Bouilly. Lyrisk omarbeidet til Musik af forskiellige Componister ved N.T. Bruun. 

København 1811. (Original title: "Haine aux femmes.") 

Jan. 14-- 

"Den Gjerriges Datter," Comedie i 2 Acter, efter det Franske. 

"Den Gjæerriges Datter," Skuespil i 2 Acter af (Jean François Alfred) Bayard og 

Poul Duport, oversat af C. Borgaard. KTR, Tiende Deel. (Also translated by 

Aaholm. 

Original title: "La fille de l'avare.") 

"Kunstnerpröven," Syngestykke i 1 Act. 

EA: "Vaud. i 1 a., (Joseph) Patrat." 

Jan. 16-- 

"Pariserdrengen," Lystspil 1 2 Acter af Bayard og Vanderburch, overs. ved N.M. 

Aalholm. 

Bayard, [Jean François Alfr.], og E[mile Louis] Vanderburch, Pariserdrengen. 

Lystspil i 2 Akter. [Overs. af Eug. Bidoulac]. Udg. og forlagt af C[arl] E[mil] 

Wiborg. København 1837. (Af "Lommebibliothek for Skuespilyndere", 

København 1836.) (Original title: "Le gamin de Paris.") 

"Nei," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Heiberg. 

Heiberg, J[oh.] L[udv.], Nei. Vaudeville. København 1836. 

Jan. 20-- 

"Paul Clifford," Vaudeville i 2 Acter af Mélesville og Duveyrier. 

Mélesville [Anne Honoré Joseph Duveyrier] og Charles Duveyrier, Paul Clifford. 

Skuespil i 2 Acter, overs. af Carl Pt. Borgaard. København 1836. (DKTR, Nr. 

86). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Clifford, le voleur.") 

109

"Rataplan, eller Den lille Tambour" (see June 26, 1836). 

Jan. 23-- 

"Den förste Kjærlighed" (see Sept. 23, 1835). 

"Aprilsnarrene, eller Intriguen i Skole" (see June 12, 1836). 

Jan. 28: 

"Et keiserligt Indfard," Lystspil i 2 Acter. 

Ancelot, [Jacques Arsene Polycarpe François], og [Nicolas] Paul Duport, Et 

Giftermaal under Keisertiden. Lystspil i 2 Acter. Oversat af Carl [Pt.] Borgaard. 

(København 1839). (KTR, Nr. 109). U. Titelbl. P. (Also translated by 

Aalholm.) 

"Mödes og Skilles eller Spanierne i Fyen," Vaudeville i 1 Act. 

Andersen, H.C., Skilles og Mødes. Original dramatisk Digtning i 2 Afdelinger. 

København 1836. (DKTR, 4. Deel.) 

Sept. 14-- 

"Strömpevæveren," Lystspil i 2 Acter. 


"Frieren fra Holland," Vaudeville i 1 Act. 

EA: "Vaud i 1 a., (Armod og Høimodighed, Kotzebue.) 

Kotzebue, [Aug.] v., Armod og Høimodighed. Et Lystspil i 3 Optog. Oversat af 

[Ditl. Flindt] Staal. København 1796. 

(In this play there is a character named "van der Husen" who is newly arrived 

from Holland, and appears in three scenes (pp. 67-77; 89-98; 104-117).) 

Sept. 18-- 

"Et ungt Ægtepars Huusholdning," Lystspil i 2 Acter. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og [Jean François Alfr.] Bayard, Et ungt Ægtepars 

Huusholdning. Lystspil i 1 Act; bearb. ved Carl Pt. Borgaard. København 1837. 

(DKTR, Nr. 89). U. Titelbl. 

(Original title: "Le budget d'un jeune ménage.") 

110

"Henriette og Amalia eller Skoledisciplene," dramatisk scene med sang. 


"En halv Time i Forligelses-Commissionen," Lystspil i een Act. 

"En halv Time i Forligelses-Commissionen," af P. N. Jørgensen. Smaadigte og 

Dramatiske Skizzer. (Udgivne som Manuscript for Venner.) Trykt hos 

Forfatteren. København 1837. Andet noget forandrede Udgave. København 

1842. 

Sept. 22-- 

"Enten elskes eller döe," Lystspil i 1 Akt af Scribe. 

Scribe, E., Enten elskes eller døe! Lystspil i een Act; oversat af J. L. Heiberg. 

København 1838. (DKTR, 5. Deel). (Original title: "Etre aimé ou mourir.") 

Vennernes Fest, eller: Testament," Vaudeville i 2 Akter, af Rosenkilde. 

Rosenkilde, C[hristen] N[ieman], Vennernes Fest eller Testamentet. Lystspil i 2 

Acter. Med Sange og Chor til bekjendte Melodier. Udg. af Theater-Directionen. 


Sept. 25-- 

"Louise de Lignerolles," Drama i 5 Acter, efter det Franske. 

Drama in five acts by Dinaux (i.e., Prosper Parfait Goubaux) and Legouvé, tr. by 

J. Balling. TS ark A2, #66. 

Sept. 29-- 

"Coliche," Lystspil i een Akt. 

[Duport, N.P., og P.H. Foucher], Coliche. Lystspil i een Act, efter det Franske 

ved J. L. Heiberg. København 1836. 

"To Ord, eller Natten i Skoven," Syngestykke i een Akt, af Marsollier, Musikken 

af Dalayrac. 

[Marsollier des Vivetières, Benoit Jos.], To Ord eller Natten i Skoven. 

Syngestykke i 1 Act; sat i Musik af Dalayrac. Oversat til Skuepladsens Brug ved 

111

N. T. Bruun. København 1818. (Original title: "Deux mots, ou: Une nuit dans 

la forêt.") 

Oct. 2-- 

"Brandskatten," Lystspil i een Akt, af Kotzebue. 

Kotzebue, A., Brandskatten. Comedie i 1 Act. Oversat af J[ens] Wille. 

København 1806. P. (Original title: "Die Brandschatzung.") 

"De Uadskillelige" (see Sept. 23, 1835). 

Oct. 9-- 

"Kjærlighed og Heltemod," romantisk Ridderskuespil i 4 Acter, af Thiele. 

Thiele, J[ust] M[atthias], "Kynast, eller Kjærlighed og Heltemod," Skuespil i 3 

Acter. København 1821. 

Oct. 13-- 

"Korsikanerne," Skuespil i 5 Akter, af Thiele. 

Kotzebue, Aug. v., Korsikanerne. Skuespil i 4 Akter. Oversat af Hans Georg. 

Gotfr. Schwarz. København 1800. (Original title: "Die Corsen.") 

1840-- GUSTAV WELHELM SELMER’S COMPANY. 

May 28-- 

"Et Feiltrin," Drama i 2 Acter af Scribe, oversat af J.L. Heiberg. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., Et Feiltrin. Drama i 2 Acter, overs. af J[oh.] L[udv.] 

Heiberg. København 1832. (Original title: "Une faute.") 

"Kjærlighed paa Flasker," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Mélesville. 

"Kjærlighed paa Flasker," by Mélesville (i.e., Anne Honoré Joseph, baron 

Duveyrier) og (Nicolas) Brazier, oversat af Borgaard. (Original title: "Le philtre 

champenois.") KBS: Skuespil 4. 

May 31-- 

"Elverhöi" (see June 1, 1836). 

112

June 2-- 

"Onkels Hemmelighed," Lystspil i 1 Act af Varin, oversat af Th. Overskou. 

Varin, [Charles Victor], Onkels Hemmelighed. Lystspil i een Act; oversat af 

Th[om.] Overskou. København 1839. (DKTR, Nr. 110). U. Titelbl. (Original 

title: "Le secret de mon oncle.") 

"Sörgetale over et tomt Glas," af Saphir. 

LJ: "scenisk Monolog av Peter Nicolai Jørgensen." 

"Rekruten," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Merle. 

Merle, [Jean Toussaint], [Antoine Jean Baptiste] Simonin og Ferdinand 

[Ferdinand Laloue], Rekruten. Vaudeville i een Act. Oversat og localiseret af 

Th[om.] Overskou. København 1834. (Original title: "Le conscrit.") 

June 5-- 

"Jeg er min Brøder," Lystspil i 1 Act af Contessa, oversat af Rosenkilde. 

Contessa, [Carl Wilh. Salice], Jeg er min Broder. Comedie i een Act, oversat ved 

N. T. Bruun. København 1820. (Original title: "Ich bin mein Bruder.") 

Förste Act af "Den Hvide Dame," Opera af Scribe, oversat til Boieldieus Musik af 

Overskou. 

Scribe, Den hvide Dame. Syngespil 1 3 Acter; oversat til Boieldieus Musik af 

Thomas Overskou. Udgivet af F[erd.] Printzlau. København 1826. (Original 

title: "La dame blanche.") 

June 11-- 

"Farinelli," Syngestykke i 3 Acter, af St. George og Leuven, oversat af J. L. 

Heiberg, Musikken af Halevy, Marschner, et al. 

Saint-Georges, de [i.e., Jules Henri de Vernoy], og de Leuven [i.e., Adolphe, grev 

Ribbing], Farinelli. Lystspil i 3 Acter med Sange og Chor til Musik af forskjellige 

Componister. Efter det Franske, og tildeels til Originals Musik, oversat af J[oh.] 

L[udv.] Heiberg. København 1837. DKTR Nr. 94. U. Titelbl. 

June 14-- 

"Feiltagersene," Komedie i 5 Acter af Goldsmith, oversat af N.V. Dorph. 

113

Goldsmith, Oliver, Feiltagelserne. Ved Neils Vinding Dorph. U. Titelblad, St. o. 

A. København 1838. DKTR, Nr. 98. P. (Original title: "She stoops to 

conquer.") 

June 18-- 

"Pariserdrengen" (see Jan. 16, 1839). 

"Kjærlighed paa Flasker" (see May 28). 

June 21-- 

"Den förste Kjærlighed" (see Sept. 23, 1835). 

"De Danske i Paris" (see Oct. 21, 1835). 

June 24-- 

"De to Ægtemænd" (see May 27, 1836). 

"Yelva" (see Oct. 11, 1835). 

June 26-- 

"De to Ætgemænd" (see May 27, 1836). 

"Kjærligheds Drømme eller Søvngjængersken," Vaudeville i 2 Acter efter "La 

Somnambule," af Scribe og Delavigne, oversat af J. L. Heiberg. 

Kjærligheds Drømme. Vaudeville, oversat efter La Somnambule, af E. Scribe og 

G[ermain] Delavigne, og indrettet for den danske Skueplads ved Joh. Ludv. 

Heiberg. Udgiven af Ferdinand Printzlau. København 1827. 

July 1-- 

"Preciosa" (see May 18, 1836). 

July 5-- 

"Axel og Valborg," Sörgespil i 5 Acter af Oehlenschläger. 

Oehlenschläger, Adam, Axel og Valborg. Et Sørgespil. København 1810. 

[Kobberst. Titelbl.] -- 2 forskjellige Eftertryk. København 1810. [Begge med 

kobberst Titelbl.] 

114

1843-- CARL JENS PETERSEN’S COMPANY 

July 17-- 

"Clermont, den blinde Maler eller Artistens Kone," Skuespil i 2 Acter af Scribe. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og [Emile Louis] Vanderburch, Clermont eller Kunstnerens 

Kone. Skuespill i 2 Acter. [Overs. af Hans Pt. Holst]. København 1839. (DKTR, 

112). U. Titelbl. (Original title: "Clermont, ou: Une femme d'artiste.") 

"Under Laas og Lukke (i.e., "Lykke")," ny Vaudeville i een Act efter det Franske. 

De Leuven (i.e., Adolphe, grev Ribbing), Deforges (i.e., Philippe Auguste Alfred 

Pittaud) and (Philippe François Pinel) Dumanoir, tr. by Borgaard (also by F. L. 

Hoedt). (Original title: "Sous Clef.") TS ark A2, #298. 

July 20-- 

"Et Glas Vand, eller Liden Tue vælter stort Læs," Comedie i 5 Acter af Scribe. 

Et Glas Vand, eller Lide Tue kan vælte stort Læs, Comedie i fem Acter af Eugene 

Scribe, oversat af Th. Overskou. DKTR, Sjette Deel, 1840-42. (Original title: 

"La verre d'eau...".) 

July 23-- 

"Mistress Siddons, den engelske Skuespillerinne," Skuespil i 2 Acter. 

EA: "Skuesp. 1 2 a. av Leuven og Lhérie...". 

De Leuven (i.e., Adolphe Grev Ribbing) and Lhérie, tr. by Peter Bloch. 

"List og Phlegma," Vaudeville i 1 Act af Angely. 

EA: "Vaud. i 1 a., Angely, overs. Aug. Werligh." 

LJ: "etter Patrat's kom. `La résolution inutile, ou: Les déguisements amoureux,' 

fritt overs. av Henrik Wergeland." 

J.B. Halvorsen: "fritt overs. av Henrik Wergeland, utrykt, opført på Kristiania 

Theater, 17 Juli, 1837." 

July 26-- 

"Möllen i Marly," nyt Lystspil i 1 Act. 

115

Comedie i 1 Act av Mélesville (i.e., Anne Honoré Joseph, baron Duveyrier) og 

(Charles) Duveyrier, ovs. av Carl Petersen. (Original title: "La meunière de 

Marly.") TS ark A2, #296. KBS: Casino 1049 4. 

"Den første Kjærlighed" (see Sept. 23, 1835). 

"Emilies Hjertebanken," Vaudeville-Monolog. 

Heiberg, J[oh.] Ludv., Emilies Hjertebanken. Vaudeville-Monolog. København 

1840. 

July 28-- 

"Den engelske Skuespiller Kean," Skuespil i 5 Acter. 

Dumas, Alexandre (père), Kean. Oversat af Carl Borgaard. U. Titelbl. 

København 1838. (DKTR, Nr. 103.) 

July 30-- 

"Indqvarteringen," nyt Lystspil i 1 Act. 

Hertz, Henrik, Indqvarteringen. Lystspil i 1 Act. København 1841. 

"Jovial eller Underfogden som Poet" (see Oct. 24, 1838). 

Aug. 1-- 

"Donna Clara," Natscene i 1 Act, af A. Munch. 

Munch, Andreas, Donna Clara. En Natscene. Chra. 1840. 

"Enten Elskes eller Döe," (see Sept. 22, 1839). 

"Fruentimmerhaderen," (see Jan. 10, 1839). 

Aug 4-- 

"Emilies Hjemkomst fra Ballet," Vaudeville-Monologue. 

"Valeur & Compagnie" (see Jan. 10, 1839). 

116

"Skorsteensfeierdrengene," Vaudeville i 2 Acter. 

By Théaulon (i.e., de Lambert, Marie Emanuel Guillaume Marguérite), Desforges 

(i.e., Choudard, Pierre Jean Baptiste), and Lurieu, (Gabriel de), tr. by Borgaard. 

(Original title: "Le ramoneur.") TS ark A2, #140. 

Aug. 6-- 

“Qvækeren og Dandserinden," af Scribe. 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og [Nic. Paul] Duport, Qvækeren og Dandserinden. Lystspil 

i 1 Act; overs. af J[oh.] L[udv.] Heiberg. København 1834. DKTR, Nr. 60). U. 

Titelbl. (Original title: "Le quaker et la danseuse.") 

"Nei" (see Jan. 16, 1839). 

JOACHIM WERNER WEISE’S COMPANY. 

Oct. 18-- 

"Kjærlighet formaaer Alt," Lystspil i 4 Acter. 

Holbein, Frantz von, "Kjærlighed formaar Alt," Lystspil i 4 Akter, oversat til 

Dansk. KBS: Folketeatret 4. 

"Hovmesteren i Knibe," Vaudeville i 1 Act. 

Melesville, [Anne Honoré Joseph Duveyrier], Hovmesteren i Knibe. Vaudeville. 

(After Giraudi's "L'ajo nell'imbarazzo.") Overs. af Th. Overskou. København 

1832. (Presumably unpublished. Original title: "Le précepteur dans l'embarras.") 

A manuscript of this play is in the archive of the Royal Theatre, København. 

Oct. 22-- 

"Valerie," Skuespill i 3 Acter." 

Oct. 25-- 

Scribe, [Aug.] Eug., og Mélesville [ie., Anne Honoré Joseph Duveyrier], Valérie. 

Comedie i 3 Acter. [Overs. af Joh. Adolph Gottlob Stage]. København 1839. 

(DKTR, Nr. 107). U Titelbl. 

"Rataplan, den lille Tambour" (see June 26, 1836). 

117

"Den förste Kjærlighed," (see Sept 25, 1835). 

"Frölich, eller Berlinerchoristen,” Musikalsk Qvodlibet i 2 Acter. (by L. 

Schneider.) 

Oct. 29-- 

"En Bryllupsdags Fataliteter," Lystspil i 2 Acter. 

Overskou, Th., En Bryllupsdags Fataliteter. Originalt Lystspil i 2 Acter. 

København 1840. (DKTR, 5. Deel.) 

"Tableau vivant indeholdende 'Röverne i Calabria'i 45 Billeder." 

OBSERVATIONS. 

In all, 148 plays (118 different plays) were advertised in Skien between 1832 and 

1843. The author performed most often was J. L. Heiberg, a Danish poet, critic, 

playwright and director at the Royal Theatre in København: 17 performances of his plays 

were given, and 17 performances of his translations of French plays by Eugene Scribe and 

others. Plays by Scribe alone received 11 performances; plays by Scribe in collaboration 

with others received an additional 13 performances. Next most popular was the German 

dramatist August von Kotzebue: 12 performances of his plays were given, although his 

plays received proportionately fewer performances as time went on. Thomas Overskou, 

also of the Royal Theatre, received 7 performances of his plays and 8 performances of his 

translations. 56 of the plays were originally French; 29 were Danish; 25 were German; 2 

were English. There were only 2 original plays by Norwegian authors, but there were 

several translations by Norwegians, and it is possible that one or more of the 4 

anonymous plays were by local or otherwise Norwegian authors. 

The Danish influence on theatrical activity in Skien during the period was very 

strong. Not only were almost all of the performers Danish, but about two-thirds of the 

plays came from the playwrights and translators on the staff of the Royal Theatre in 

København. The best-known Scandinavian dramatists before Ibsen, Holberg and 

118

Oehlenschläger, appear in the foregoing list, but for only one performance in the first 

case, and two in the second. 

The most popular genre by far was the one-act comedy or lystspil, which was 

often called a vaudeville. Comedie, lystspil, and "vaudeville" were loosely-applied terms, 

which could cover anything from a monologue or a short sketch, sometimes with singing 

and dancing, to a longer comedy in a realistic style. There were 71 of these among the 

118 titles. There were 18 longer comedies performed, leaving only 29 plays for all the 

other genres, which included skuespil (ie., dramas, or serious plays) of various lengths 

(15), music dramas (5), tragedies (2), melodrama (1), historical drama (1), and 

ridderskuespil (2). There were also several pieces that do not fall into any of the above 

categories: a "night-scene," a "musical Quodlibet," and a "tableau vivant." 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Reference works cited for publication information about plays: 

Bibliotheca Danica. Systematisk Fortegnelse over den danske Litteratur fra 1482 til 

1830. Bind IV (Sprogvidenskab. Literatur. Tidsskrifter . . .). Ved Dr. Phil. Chr. V. 

Bruun. København 1902 (1963). Bind V (Supplementer. ABC Register). Ved. Dr. Phil. 

Lauritz Nielsen. København 1914 (1963). 

Supplement til Bibliotheca Danica samt Bibliotheca Slesvico-Hosatica til 1840. 

Udarbejdet af H. Ehrencron-Muller. København 1948. 

Dansk Bogfortegnelse. for Aarene 1841-1858, samlet af F. Fabricius. København 1861. 

Norsk Bog-fortegnelse. 1814-1847. Med Anhang, indeholdende: I. Land- og Søkarter. 

II. Indbydelseskrifter. III. Politiske og Avertissements-Tidender. Samlet og udgiven af 

Mart. Nissen. Kra. 1848. 

Works about the travelling theatrical companies: 

Ansteinsson, Eli. Teater i Norge, Dansk scenekunst 1813-1863: Kristiansand - Arendal- 

Stavanger. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1968. 

Jensson, Liv. Biografisk Skuespillerleksikon. Norske, danske og svenske skuespillere på 

norske scener særlig på 1800-tallet. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1981. 

119

- - - -. Teater i Drammen inntil 1840. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1974. 

KEY TO BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS. 

CTR = plays for which no publication information has been found, but which were 

produced at the Christiania Theatre, and are cited in Christiania Theaters Repertoire 

1827-99. Øyvind Anker. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1956. 

EA = cited in Teater i Norge . . . . Eli Ansteinssen. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1968. 

DKTR = Det Kongelige Theaters Repertoire, in which plays produced at the royal Danish 

theatre were published, at first singly, and then in (various) bound volumes, starting in 

1828. 

LJ = cited in Teater i Drammen . . . . Liv Jensson. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1974. 

TS = the manuscript number in the theatre collection of the University Library, Oslo. 

KBS = the manuscript number in the drama collection of the Royal Library, København. 

120

V. Erik Bøgh. A travelling theatre company. 

This is a memoir by a Danish writer of a season he spent in Sweden in the 1840's as an 

actor in one of the travelling theatrical companies that in earlier years had visited Skien. 

Despite the fact that some readers might find several of the incidents offensive, the essay 

is included because it offers a rare glimpse of the production conditions in these 

companies. Several of the persons mentioned in the piece, especially the two directors, 

were well-known characters in Skien during Ibsen's boyhood, because their company was 

in residence at several different times. The wife of one of them reportedly once gave 

dancing lessons in Skien after the company had temporarily dissolved. 

"Et reisende skuespillerselskab," Erindringer fra mine unge Dage. Erik Bøgh 

(København: 1894): 303 ff. 

What especially attracted me to the company was its plan: to travel in Sweden. 

That gave me the hope that I could rid myself of the clumsiness which every novice 

usually brings to the theatre, without the Danish public's suffering from it, so that, 

perhaps as soon as the next year, I could appear on this side of the Sound (i.e., the Danish 

side) with the proper skill. 

After what I had heard about the company's management and talents, I had no 

reason to desire or expect any long-standing relationship with it. The fact that the season 

would be spent outside our own country aroused a suspicion that its personnel were not 

fit take part in a competition with the provincial companies who remained at home, but 

that did not worry me, since I fancied that the less well the others could perform, the 

greater prospects must there be for me. However, the information which I collected about 

its two directors did not sound especially comforting. It was said about the first, the 

rather well-known J.P. Miller, that he had been implicated in an affair, in its time 

much-discussed, but hushed up by persons in high places, concerning some degenerate 

social gatherings in a building adjoining the theatre. He had incurred from that a 

Consilium abeundi, with the consequence that he travelled to Norway. There he debuted 

at the Christiania Theatre, made a fiasco, took up journalism, and once again came into 

conflict with the police, partly on the grounds of a brawl, during which in self-defense he 

121

eat a driver to death with a yoke-tree, and partly because of another affair, which did not 

come fully to light, but still contributed to his being reluctant to go to Norway again. 

His partner Julius Olsen was a real old-fashioned provincial actor in the heroic 

tradition, a serious person who always appeared, both on the stage and in everyday life, in 

the very highest-heeled cothurni, as the knight without fear and without reproach, but 

who, when it came down to it, could not conceal that he was a very ordinary plebeian. He 

dropped out of his noble character all the time, pronounced all foreign words incorrectly 

and swore like a sailor. 

But what about the personnel? They were neither better nor worse than could be 

expected under two such directors, who into the bargain had booked their engagements 

after the most favored actors and actresses had been placed with better-established 

companies. Therefore I was not unprepared for having one thing or another happen to me 

in the coming season; why had I allowed myself to be engaged, if not to experience 

something, whatever it might be? 

I certainly achieved that. As soon as I entered the hotel over in Skåne, where I 

was to report for duty, the adventures began. I had scarcely set foot across the threshold 

before I saw a tall and husky man in summer clothes and shirtsleeves slip past the end of 

the long corridor into which I had stepped, and in a moment a candelabra flew through 

the air after him. I was surprised and came to a halt, but before I could interpret the 

significance of this phenomenon, another projectile, a carafe full of water, came travelling 

in the same direction, at the level of a man's height, and smashed against the wall. At the 

same time the fugitive, who had eluded the missile by running into a room at the 

intersection, came rather calmly out of a door right beside me. I took him for one of the 

servants of the house and asked him if this was where the theatre company lodged. 

"Yes indeed! And you presumably are our new actor? Well then, welcome. I am 

Director Miller...". 

"Ah," I burst out, with an expression which must have betrayed my astonishment 

at seeing a director treated in such a manner. 

122

Miller, who was a judge of character, instantly guessed my thoughts. "Do I 

perceive that you are frightened by these tricks?" he asked smilingly, with a little pat on 

the shoulder. 

I could not deny it, and so he reassured me with the assertion that it did not mean 

anything. "There is a young man here with the company, who sometimes expresses 

himself in that extravagant way. In other respects he is a splendid fellow, who does not 

mean any harm by the ruckus he makes," he continued explaining. 

This benign interpretation astonished me no less than the bombardment itself, 

since if the carafe had hit him it would have had the same effect whether it had been sent 

with good intentions or evil, and therefore I cannot deny that I got a marvellous 

impression of what was considered fun and what was taken seriously in this company. 

At the evening meal I met the rest of the actors and actresses, and here that 

impression was fully corroborated. Between these gentlemen and ladies a confidence and 

naturalness prevailed which I had never believed could develop between people who had 

seen each other for the first time fairly recently, and it was obvious that the few days in 

which the company had been gathered before my arrival must have been sufficient to 

eradicate every trace of shyness. Nobody thought to weigh his words; on the contrary, a 

tacit agreement had evidently been made: that every expression must be several degrees 

stronger than its significance. 

I was received immediately as a fellow conspirator, to whom by reason of the 

common shipwreck one could without hesitation show absolute confidence, and in the 

beginning they explained to me, in the adopted unreproduceable jargon, the matter of my 

first adventure. Miller was known always to favor (or, as his less gifted co-director called 

it: "favoritize") one or the other of the actors in a rather reckless fashion. The party in 

question was not merely showered with presents and invitations, but also from the 

moment he became the director's favorite he was named as the company's absolute 

juvenile lead, he got all the rewarding roles and had permission to reject all those which 

he did not like. In return for all these splendors the favorite had to endure the annoyances 

which were an accompaniment of the patron's peculiarities, and among these there was 

one which sometimes could be rather embarrassing for the favored hero and lover. The 

123

director, who was a bachelor by necessity and a woman-hater on principle, watched over 

his protégé with Argus-eyed jealousy, so that he should not fall into the hands of any of 

the "accursed defective creatures," his pet-name for the ladies! Now it had just occurred, 

that the watched-over young man had displayed, in a little-too-obvious a fashion, his 

interest in the company's youngest and prettiest female artist: a girl scarcely eighteen 

years old, who was present and enjoyed herself rather well during the critique. As for the 

matter in question, it was one of the rather frequent skirmishes between the director and 

his favorite, and the former's cynical scorn had as usual caused the latter to go berserk, 

and throw whatever he wanted at him, whereupon he had taken flight. 

"Think, how unlucky, that he (i.e., the writer) did not get hit in the neck by the 

carafe!" burst out one of the ladies. 

"But then I should have been doomed," I interjected. 

"Yes, surely a lucky break!" it sounded in a chorus, continuing in the jargon. 

"But where is the wild berserker now?" I asked. 

"Naturally, with his friend and patron," answered everyone. 

"Every time, after there has been a kind of scene between them, the director 

always gives an elegant supper with two place settings, and then the bagatelle is 

forgotten. 

friendship. 

I looked over astonished at the young girl who had interfered with the director's 

"Yes, just wait! It will not stay that way," she said with a triumphant smile. 

"Watch out, my girl!" The company's old prompter dropped into the conversation 

to warn her. "You cannot best the director, and he is capable of anything. If you fall out 

with him, then you will immediately get your return ticket, and you must not imagine that 

his friend will lift a finger to keep you!" 

to prevail. 

"I say: just wait!" continued the young girl, who no doubt counted on being able 

Probably she attempted to do just that, but not many nights later there was a 

confrontation in the lover's room between the director and her, and the next day she went 

home to Denmark, and without any carafes being broken over it. 

124

Despite the fact that this little event is far from being one of the most typical, I 

suppose it is sufficient to give an impression of the tone and the life of this artistic 

society, and therefore I believe that it might spare me from noting some of the more 

drastic ones. 

Similarly I hope I can spare my readers a description of the individual members of 

the company, since none of them had significance for my life's story. I can testify to this: 

that both on the male and on the female side they belonged to the true bohemia. They 

were good-natured, friendly, carefree and amazingly irresponsible children of the 

moment, who all together were more-or-less rebelling against their past and "let the violet 

see to their future." No great dramatic talent was being wasted in any of them, but even if 

there had been, it would have been almost impossible for it to manifest itself under the 

given circumstances. Even though with one exception we were all not much more than 

novices, there was nothing which resembled instruction, and the rehearsals, of which 

never more than three were held of even the most difficult pieces, limited themselves to a 

demonstration of entrances and exits and a reeling off of speeches without corrections or 

guidance. As far as the distribution of roles was concerned, it was almost unalterably 

predetermined. The aforementioned juvenile lead was the obvious choice for all the best 

younger roles. If there were two lovers or one serious lover and a bon-vivant in the same 

piece, the young actors never got any satisfaction from that, since the pathetic director 

took one, and then it was a matter of catch-as-catch-can how the uncle, servant, notary, 

walk-on, and similar small roles would be divided among them. 

The situation was the same with the female roles. The best role, whether it was a 

tragic heroine, an ingenue, a soubrette, a chaperone or a comic matron, was always 

destined for the director's wife, except that she was a little, insignificant person, who did 

not put herself out in the theatre at all. As a rule it was difficult enough with the few 

female talents to fill the few roles in a piece, but if there were for example a 

woman-friend too many, then they wrote down her speeches in a letter, and if the author 

required "a girl" where one could not be had, then without further ado they put down "a 

servant" on the program. When one played "Aprilsnarrene," it was completely impossible 

to get "Madam Rar's" role assigned, when neither the wife, the young woman, nor the two 

125

young girls could double it, and the company had only four actresses. But what 

difference did that make? Just as easily as one struck the four quartet- singers, one could 

let little Trine's father meet for the exam instead of her mother, and in that way I got the 

opportunity to portray: "Mr. Rar, fruit and wild-flower merchant." 

When we had come somewhat farther into the country, and as a corollary farther 

away from our homeland, so that it was likely that the personnel did not have the money 

to leave the directors and travel back to Denmark, they called a general meeting, in which 

they offered a kind of balance sheet of their income and expenses in the foregoing weeks, 

which showed that if the attendance did not get better, it would be impossible for them to 

meet the stipulated payroll. Therefore they offered us the same conditions that travelling 

companies usually had: "to play on shares." Miller would have an extra share before the 

reckoning, for directing and keeping the accounts, as would Olsen, who owned the 

wardrobe and the repertoire, but the rest of us would fraternally share the balance in equal 

parts. At this juncture there was not much point in objecting, since they could not keep to 

the contracts. Besides, these had been issued by the old ex-pastor on behalf of the 

directors, and both of them explained that they did not regard themselves as bound by the 

commitments he had imposed upon them, so there was "nothing written" which assured 

us the regular salaries. Besides, what could we do to them? "Where nothing is,..." etc. 

In any case this much was known: the manger was empty, and everybody knew 

what usually followed from that. ("When the manger is empty the horses bite.") It did 

not fail to happen here, either. The words that were exchanged were neither gentle nor 

elegant, and when, as they say, one thing led to another, it was not long before it came to 

hand-to-hand combat. The large, robust Miller had taken a firm grip on the chest of a 

slender young actor with his left hand, and his right was already lifted to strike a blow, 

when the actress who for the time being was engaged to the threatened youth suddenly 

yanked up one of the windows and with a tearing shriek shouted: "Help! Help!" 

That shriek changed the situation instantly. The tumult ceased, and Miller 

released his victim in order to yank the noisy lady away from the window. A little pause 

set in, and now our tragic second director took the opportunity to present a pathetic 

interlude. He stepped forward into the middle of the floor and let his head fall as deeply 

126

down on his breast as possible, while he let out three long, deep sighs, whereupon he 

suddenly heaved his face and hands up towards the ceiling and declaimed: 

"So at last it must come to this! For thirty years now I have been a 

Scandinavian artist and, if I may say so, a Scandinavian cavalier! Until 

this day there was not a blot on my name. Young lady! What I have 

fought for with honor and nobility for thirty years you have destroyed in an 

instant. Now, may the devil burn me, I would not give two shillings for 

my good name and reputation." 

This incomparable speech had an irresistibly comic effect. It was only the general 

mood of despondency which prevented it from being taken with deserved applause. I, 

who had been careful not to say a word during the whole proceedings, and possibly 

therefore was closest to being regarded as a representative of the absent well- intentioned 

public, did not have sufficient control over my facial expressions to be able completely to 

conceal a suppressed laugh over the director's correct appraisal of his name and 

reputation, and I should have had that (ie., self-control), since I saw clearly that my quiet 

amusement wounded him more than the others' horse laughs. I had now fallen out with 

one of the band's chiefs. 

The next day the threatened actor showed me an indescribably rude letter he 

wanted to send to Miller. I advised him against it as altogether unnecessary, but when 

that did not help, offered at least to edit or rewrite the most injurious phrases. The same 

thing could after all be intimated in a more careful form, which did not expose the letter 

writer to the unpleasantnesses which he otherwise would be able to expect. There was for 

example no risk in expressing himself thus and so.... In short: my warnings and advice 

were followed. 

In the evening, before the performance, as we were sitting in the dressing room 

and making ourselves up, Miller was in a good mood, as if nothing had happened. In the 

middle of a conversation with the theatre's tailor he suddenly turned around to my 

comrade with the words: 

"It is true: thanks for the letter: it has amused me. He writes well!" 

The letter writer made no answer to his question about what it meant, and I could 

not very well inject myself into the affair, but I understood immediately that the 

keen-minded director had guessed what other "he" had embellished the letter's style. I 

127

had now accordingly fallen into disfavor with both the chiefs, and my repertoire came to 

bear witness of that. 

It was always the smallest and least significant roles that fell to my lot. If ever I 

did get a larger role, it was always an unsympathetic character, like Lord Melville in Kean 

and similar gentlemen, who come on the stage merely in order to be abused. Even if I did 

get small roles, I still could not complain that they were too few, since it regularly 

happened that I got three or four in the same piece, for example an old servant in the first 

act, a young servant in the second and third acts, the old servant again in the fourth and a 

notary in the fifth. 

The presentation of Hagbarth og Signe (by Oehlenschlæger) was a typical 

production of that kind. Our leading lover had ordered this tragedy, which had not been 

presented by us earlier, for a benefit performance, and the role assignments were: that the 

half-century-old Olsen would play "Young Hagbarth;" his ugly little wife: beautiful 

Signe; the beneficiary: Alger; Miller: Hamund, etc. To me remained the yeomen of the 

guard Grim and Erik together with the prison guard combined into one character. 

When we played on shares, everyone had to furnish himself with the costume 

pieces which were not found in the wardrobe, and it owned only the remains of a suit of 

armor, which naturally Hagbarth had to have. The beneficiary, who in Alger's role 

appears suddenly "armed from head to toe in a new gleaming suit of armor, with helmet 

grating lowered," had to order his armor, which obviously was reduced to a helmet and 

coat of mail or rather storm-hat and breastplate. The words "arm-leathers and 

mail-stockings" were struck in the dialogue, and it was delegated to the town's tinsmith to 

equip him, Alf and Hamund. 

It was also ordered that I procure myself the helmet and armor for the scene in the 

second act where the yeoman enters from the battle; when I answered that I would create 

armor made out of cardboard, which I hoped would be strong enough to last for the few 

evenings in which the tragedy would be performed by us, Hagbarth's aforementioned 

prospective portrayer answered: 

"Just do not let it look as if everything is home-made!" 

"If anything it will be too fine rather than too simple," I maintained. 

128

"Don't be shy! By all means make it as beautiful as you can!" he continued 

scornfully, and I responded to his exhortation a trifle ironically with the promise that I 

would do my best to 

exceed his expectations. 

I had a hunch that a tinsmith who was accustomed to making only gutters and 

bathtubs would not be able to supply especially practical helmets, breastplates and 

shields, and the good small-town craftsman did not disappoint my expectation. It was not 

his fault that the helmets turned out to resemble a cross between storm-hats and baking 

tins, the coats of mail a kind of self-cooker, and the shields...; he had done his best and 

delivered sound tinsmith's- work. He was not a weaponsmith. I certainly was not either, 

but I had a concept of how a suit of armor was supposed to look, and had some skill in 

cardboard construction. Besides, I was offended that I had gotten the little yeoman-role 

and was being required to make my costume as attractive as possible; accordingly I made 

for myself a complete suit of shining armor, covered with light-blue bronzed paper with 

silver ornaments on the breastplate and silver borders on all the joints, a helmet with a 

silver crest and silver grating and a corresponding shield. 

Of course it was altogether unreasonable to equip a yeoman in such a fashion, 

when the king was so poorly armed, but in this company what was not unreasonable! The 

presentation of this play with the given talents was an insult to the public, and the order to 

procure costumes, for which we would never again have any use, was altogether 

inconsiderate towards the personnel, especially towards that part of it who were excluded 

from the rewarding roles. I for my part had now decided to make my yeoman into a 

rewarding role, and besides had nothing against meeting the management's chicanery with 

my own. 

The benefit performance drew a full house. Oehlenschlæger's name was on the 

program, after all, and in a tragedy by the great poet the audience expected fencing, 

processions and everything that belonged to "grand spectacle." Their expectations were 

in vain, however. The beneficiary, as the young Prince Alger, who had forged himself a 

costume of tempered steel, about which his character asserts: "Not even Thor in 

Thrudvang has a better suit of armor," had to appear in the horribly defective casing made 

129

y the tinsmith, and all the rest of the players were equipped with corresponding 

shabbiness, and there was no trace either of procession or of fencing either on horseback 

or on foot. 

Worse yet was the fact that the iambic dialogue, with its many archaisms and 

inversions, which in any case was delivered in less than correct Danish and partly with 

less than distinct voices, was practically incomprehensible to the Swedish provincial 

public. It was therefore not strange that the first act was presented in solemn silence, and 

that Director Hagbarth, when the curtain fell in utter silence, expressed his indignation 

that one "should play a masterpiece to such sleepyheads!" 

In the second act, when the skald Halloge, with Erik and the rest of the warriors 

who have taken part in the battle where Alf has fallen, come back from the duel, the 

management's tactic to make the strife appear to be as bloody as possible had been to 

leave all the warriors with the exception of Erik behind on the battlefield. Accordingly I 

entered alone with the old singer, who sang Alf's death-poem. Probably the shining 

armor, which I had not worn in the first act, and which put all the rest of the costumes to 

shame, had allowed the audience to be misled into taking me for a main character in the 

coming part of the unknown play, and when Erik suddenly appeared as the skald's noble 

defender against the queen's fury, and after reciting the pathetic speech about ingratitude 

towards poets, followed him out carrying his harp, a thunder of applause broke out, which 

was all the stronger in comparison with the whole foregoing silence. 

When I came offstage I was met by Director Olsen, who almost choked by 

bitterness paced back and forth like a lion in his cage and greeted me ironically with the 

complimentary words: "That is what I call a masterpiece. You are, the devil break me, a 

great artist, the greatest comic player I have ever seen. Just now I, who in thirty years 

have played Hagbarth to thunderous approval in all three Nordic kingdoms, have given 

one of my best scenes, without one hand having stirred for me; all the main characters 

have been onstage and gone off without applause; the public slept until it snored! But 

then you come on in a lousy little yeoman-role and speak a miserable exit speech of 10 

lines -- and immediately the house breaks out clapping, so that the theatre shakes! I 

130

eckon, the devil crush me, you are such a master at playing small roles, that you will 

never get a bigger one as long as I am director!" 

That was a compliment as well, even though it applied more to my armor-making 

than to my acting talent, and I must say that the directors with rare punctiliousness carried 

out the offer of exemption from all larger roles. It was only in the relatively few instances 

when the actors playing the main characters were sick, that I appeared as anything other 

than respondents, but in such emergencies there was no specialty in which they hesitated 

to allow me to double for the infirm, no matter how long the role was, or how short the 

time I had to learn it. 

When they would assign me to these roles as understudy, which they were obliged 

to let me play "on the grounds of not having anybody else," all the same I could not 

complain that my repertoire was too small, or even less that it was too monotonous. Not 

counting the regular roles, which boiled down to "making announcements and bringing 

letters in," I had the opportunity to test my abilities in approximately 30 roles, which 

included nearly all fields: older figures like dignified fathers, villainous userers and old 

comics, younger characters like the wild man Alaster (Ørkenens Søn) and one of the 

elegant lords in Kvækeren og Dandserinden -- seducers like Melville (Kean) and 

miserable creatures like Ernest in De Danske i Paris. In Jeppe paa Bjerget I played on the 

one hand Lakaj, on the other hand doctor, bailiff's wife and judge. Everything went 

according to the formula in En Komedie i det Grønne: 

We play large, we play small, 

And we play everything equally well! 

I scarcely need to mention, that at first I noticed most clearly the mistakes and 

flaws of others, but only later and with greater difficulty grasped what I myself expressed, 

since naturally it was the same with me as with all actors: I saw nothing of my own 

acting, but I was only conscious of the effort, while with cold criticism I could judge what 

the others achieved. Nevertheless I had a feeling that my self-criticism was not as myopic 

as it is in most theatre-folk. I soon became conscious that I had a rather good stage 

presence, spoke a pure Danish, had a flawless voice and understood how to make myself 

up. I also believed I had a more correct diction than most, and that I had a very quick 

apprehension and a reliable memory, but there my gifts for the stage ended. The most 

131

important ones escaped me. I lacked the confidence which is the precondition for one's 

being able to give himself away completely in the situation and express the passions with 

full power. I lacked the fertile wit, which fills out the exaggerated contours in the comic's 

speeches, expressions and movements, so that the character becomes natural and 

believable and the liveliness contagious. Finally, because of the small and restricted 

circumstances in which I had lived, I lacked the freedom and absence of shyness in 

behavior, which as a rule one acquires only by long practice, if one ever achieves it! 

Therefore the greatest hope I gave myself for a future in the theatre, was approximately 

that I could become a skilled and experienced actor in some years, and with the 

acquaintance I already had with the dark side of theatre-life, such a prospect was not 

especially tempting. Even before it drew towards the end of the season I was completely 

cured of my theatrical illusions and in agreement with myself that I must try my luck in 

another way, but which? Of that I had no inkling. 

The time passed, or rather ran quickly during constant travels and small 

adventures à la Bohême with the company. The matter of the shares dictated that the net 

income declined as the evenings grew lighter; soon the directors could no longer agree on 

the reckoning of the accounts, and Miller, who as he himself admitted was economically 

independent with the aid of an annual subsidy from Christian the Eighth, left the company 

first. Shortly afterward our second director followed his example and took with him the 

repertoire and the wardrobe. So there we were, up in Vestergötland, most of us without 

money for the journey home. 

There was now no choice but to give a benefit performance with a repertoire 

which we could play without a promptbook and in our own clothes. That brought in the 

necessary money. This was delivered in the evening to the travel fund and at 7 o'clock 

the next morning the departure would take place. 

----- ----- 

132

VI. Elverhøj (“Elves’ Hill”), by Johan Ludvig Heiberg (1828). 

Elverhøj is a "fairy-tale comedy" (eventyrcomedie), a type of musical comedy which 

mixes fantasy and reality. The play dramatizes the plight of an innocent young woman 

who has grown up in the Danish countryside, in the house of a peasant woman whom she 

believes is her mother. She is associated with nature, and with supernatural creatures. 

She is in love with a young man who also loves her, but who is destined for a marriage 

arranged for him by the king. The king, a character created as a compliment to the 

Danish king, recognizes her as a true aristocrat, and she is able to marry the man she 

loves. 

This play entered the repertoire of the Bergen theatre in 1854-55, when Ibsen may 

have directed it himself. He wrote several plays in the style of eventyrcomedie, including 

the fragment "Rypen i Justedal," Sancthansnatten, and Olaf Liljekrans. 

The following translation is based on the text in Elverhøi, Aprilsnarrene, De 

Uadskillelige, af Johan Ludvig Heiberg. Udgivet med noter ved Henning Fonsmark. 

København: Hans Reitzel, 1965, 5-82. 

“ELVES’ HILL” 

Drama in Five Acts by J. L. Heiberg 

Premiéred at the Royal Danish Theatre, November 6th, 1828. 

CHARACTERS 

Christian IV, king of Denmark. 

Erik Walkendorff, master of Høistrup in Stevns. 

Elisabeth Munk, his ward. 

Albert Ebbesen, the king's sheriff in Tryggevælde. 

Karen, a peasant woman in Tryggevælde. 

Paul Flemming, courtiers in the king's 

Henrik Rud, retinue. 

Agnete, Karen's daughter. 

Bjørn Olufson, chief steward at Høistrup. 

Mogens, a hunter. 

Peasants, courtiers, pages, knights and ladies. 

133

FIRST ACT. 

A region in Tryggevæld Township. In the background Stevns Township. The border 

between the two is a stream, which flows across the stage. A plain wooden bridge 

crosses the stream. On the other side of the stream a large thicket is visible. KAREN's 

farmhouse lies in the foreground to the right of the audience. A table and bench stand 

outside the house. It is early morning before sunrise; gradually the day dawns. 

MELODRAMA, 

during which KAREN opens the door to her house and steps out. She leaves the door 

standing open; a lively fire can be seen burning in the hearth. She carries out several 

kitchen utensils, while seeing to the fire, adding firewood and blowing on it. From the 

left in the background a hunter's horn is heard; in the distance, trumpets. A little later 

MOGENS enters from the background over the bridge. Then from the left side the KING 

and FLEMMING enter, both in travelling clothes. In the meanwhile KAREN has seated 

herself outside the house and begun to polish some kitchen utensils. MOGENS carries 

his collecting box on his back; he walks slowly across the bridge, turning often and 

looking back. After he has crossed the bridge, he notices KAREN, stands and listens to 

her sing the following ballad. The KING and FLEMMING do not especially notice the 

other characters. They can be seen in conversation, FLEMMING pointing in different 

directions in the background and to the sides, as if to inform the KING about the vicinity. 

SCENE ONE. 

The KING. FLEMMING. MOGENS. KAREN. 

KAREN (sings at her work). 

1. 

I went into the forest late one summer evening, 

And drank a beaker from a gushing spring. 

But beware, o my girl, for the elf-king sees you! 

2. 

The bubbling wave sprang up from a green hill; 

All-at-once it grew still; it flowed without a sound. 

Now beware, o my girl, for the elf-king sees you! 

3. 

Then the air echoed with songs and strings, 

134

Three white maidens danced in the dew. 


4. 

Like fleeting mist over the meadow, 

The three became one and the one three. 


5. 

The elf-king appeared in the midst of the dance; 

Then he drew a costly ring from his finger. 


6. 

I grabbed for the ring, but he seized my hand, 

The white maidens wove round us in a circle. 

Yes beware, o my girl, for the elf-king sees you! 

7. 

Now I live in the hill as the elf-king's bride, 

And I venture out only when the mist falls. 

Since beware, o my girl, for the elf-king sees you! 

(At the beginning of this ballad the KING and FLEMMING have left the stage in 

conversation. Towards the end of the song they come in again, and the KING becomes 

aware of KAREN.) 

FLEMMING (to the KING). 

I can assure your grace that this woman is a living archive for all our old superstitious 

songs: they still bloom on her lips, and are spread from there throughout the whole 

district. When she dies it will be the end of our folk-poetry. 

MOGENS (to KAREN). 

Karen! Good morning! You are up and about early. 

KAREN. 

I have to be, since there is to be a celebration here today. 

135

MOGENS. 

But why do you always sing such sorrowful songs? 

KAREN. 

I know plenty of merry ones; I shall sing you one immediately. 


If your grace will take note, you will hear what the woman considers "merry". 

KAREN (sings). 

1. 

I laid down my head on Elves’ Hill, 

My eyes feigned a trance; 

Then two young maidens came toward me, 

And enticed me with song and speech. 

Eia! what a strange dance! 

2. 

Then the rushing stream grew still, 

That was wont to race. 

The little fish swam in the river, 

They played with their fins. 


3. 

First they beckoned me and then they threatened me, 

I stood as though bound in chains. 

Then the cock crowed in a distant town, 

And the spell vanished. 


4. 

Since then I advise every Danish squire 

Who wants to ride into the forest, 

Not to ride to Elves’ Hill, 

And lie down there to sleep. 


136

MOGENS. 

Well, the tune is lively enough, but it deals with the same subject. 

KAREN. 

You know very well I do not sing about anything else. 

MOGENS. 

I can't blame you. Just this morning, a moment ago, I saw the elf-girl beyond the thicket 

at the foot of the hill. 

Quiet! 

KAREN. 

MOGENS. 

She disappeared between the trees as I approached. I walked no farther than that stone 

over there, since I had no desire to follow her tracks. 

KAREN. 

Quiet, I say! Don't you see there are strangers here? 

(They continue in conversation.) 


Your grace, don't you think it's a shame about these old songs of elves, brownies and 

trolls; they have outlived the time when one believed them literally; so when these people 

put on a long face one does not know whether to laugh or cry. 

KING. 

Certain songs and legends please me. 

137

(Softly and secretly.) 

A small coin, which is no longer in circulation, 

But which the peasantry still collects 

In the hope that it will again become valuable, 

Is a part of the national treasure. 

But who is the old woman, actually? 

FLEMMING. 

A cotter's widow, but still not poor; 

She receives her offerings just like the priest, 

Since around here she is considered an oracle; 

She does not merely sing about elves 

And the underworld; in Egnen they believe 

That she has converse with them. So powerful 

Is the esteem in which she is held, that 

If the cattle are sick, or if there is some evil afoot, 

They immediately seek Mother Karen's advice. 

She has a daughter who is very beautiful. 

KING. 

Well, well, Mr. Flemming! You are familiar 

With the local folklore, I see. 

You have profited from your stay here. 

FLEMMING. 

Why not, your grace? I visited 

My friend, Mr. Ebbesen, during the hunting season; 

But one cannot hunt all the time, 

There is still time to joke. 

KING. 

Have you charmed 

The pretty peasant girl as a joke, perhaps? 

138

(To KAREN.) 

FLEMMING. 

No, your grace! She is not one to be charmed. 

She is as virtuous and as culturally refined 

As ladies of the court. I almost believe 

That Mother Karen knows a little witchcraft, 

When I consider her daughter's bearing. 

KING. 

Do you want to provoke my curiosity? 

FLEMMING. 

Well, it is just as easy to assuage it. 

The old woman will certainly jump with joy 

When the king inquires after her daughter. 

Good morning, Karen! 

KAREN. 

Well, look here! 

Mr. Flemming! Have you come out 

To visit Tryggevælde again? 

FLEMMING. 

Yes, my good woman. 

KAREN. 

And brought such a handsome knight with you? 

KING (to FLEMMING): 

She does not recognize me. 

139

FLEMMING. 

Tell me, Karen, 

Isn't your lovely daughter at home? 

KAREN. 

My lovely daughter? Well, if she is lovely, 

It is neither her fault nor mine. 

FLEMMING. 

Well said!... But tell me, isn't she at home? 

KAREN. 

By the Rood! What's the hurry? Don't rush! 

She is not at home to you at this time; 

It is still early, the child is sleeping. 

FLEMMING. 

How is that? She is sleeping, and you are up? 

KAREN. 

Young blood needs more sleep. 

FLEMMING. 

But she should help you with your work; 

You must reap some benefit from your daughter. 

I shall go in and wake her. 

KAREN 

140

(placing herself in front of the door): 

Quiet, 

Sir Knight! This is no joking matter. 

KING. 

And it has been taken far enough already. 

I must agree with the old woman: 

She has a pretty daughter, and naturally 

She has to be clever at watching over her. 

KAREN. 

There speaks a sensible old man! 

Take your cue from him. 

FLEMMING. 

If I see correctly 

You are making preparations for a celebration. 

You are considered to be the best cook 

In the township; I'll bet the peasants 

Have ordered a dinner again. 

KAREN. 

You hit it right. This evening the sheriff 

Is marrying Miss Munk in Høistrup, 

So the peasants are celebrating 

All day long; this evening they will accompany him 

To the bride's house, twenty miles away. 

FLEMMING. 

This evening, you say? That is impossible! 

KAREN. 

141

It is? 

KING. 

The woman is right again, 

It is this evening. 

FLEMMING (aside). 

Heavens! What news! 

KAREN. 

Aren't the two gentlemen going to Høistrup? 

It will be jolly, you can count on that. 

MOGENS. 

And elegant. 

They say the king will be there. 

KAREN. 

Who says so? That is only rumor and gossip. 

MOGENS. 

That may well be. Still... the king is the 

Godfather of the bride; so it is reasonable that 

He would come to her wedding. 

KAREN. 

How you talk! 

I am telling you, the king is not coming. 

MOGENS. 

142

I don’t believe it, either; but they say... 

KAREN. 

They say! They say so many things. 

You gentlemen, who have just come from the city, 

You must know; am I right? 

(with a glance at the KING): 

(To the KING.) 

I don't know.... 

FLEMMING. 

KAREN (to the KING): 

Well, what do you say, Sir Knight? 

KING. 

I must agree with the woman for the third time, 

Since the king is not coming. 

You see? 

KAREN (to the OTHERS). 

But can you tell me the reason why he is not coming? 

KING. 

Well, he has other things to think about. 

He has been on a tour in Vordingborg, 

And is going all the way to Copenhagen. 

143

KAREN. 

No, sire! That is not the right reason. 

KING. 

Is that so! Then let me hear the right one! 

KAREN. 

Yes indeed, noble courtiers can learn something 

From peasants after all. 

KING. 

I have often experienced that. 

KAREN. 

Well, then listen: the real reason 

Why the king is not coming to Høistrup... 

Well? 

KING. 

KAREN. 

Is because he does not dare to come. 

KING. 

What? He does not dare? 

KAREN. 

That's it. 

144

KING. 

Well, what is he afraid of? 

KAREN. 

Has he ever at any time set foot 

In Stevns Township? 

KING. 

No, he hasn't; 

But still it could happen. 

KAREN. 

No, never! 

KING. 

KAREN. 

But, say.... 

Look at that stream that flows past here: 

It separates Stevns from Tryggevælde Township. 

I tell you: the king dares go no farther 

Than to the place where you stand; 

He does not dare to cross this bridge. 

FLEMMING. 

Now I have heard everything! 

KING (softly): 

Be quiet, Flemming! 

145

(To KAREN.) 

What danger threatens him in Stevns? 

KAREN. 

The king in Stevns will not tolerate his presence. 

KING. 

The king will not tolerate the king's presence? 

MOGENS. 

She means the elf-king. 

Ha ha ha ha! 

KING. 

The elf-king? 

FLEMMING. 

KING. 

She keeps coming back 

To her legends. 

(seriously and solemnly): 

FLEMMING. 

Ha ha ha! 

KAREN. 

146

(To FLEMMING.) 

Ever since the time of Arild an elf king has ruled 

From the stream here to Stevns' high sea-cliff. 

He tolerates no other king's presence. 

Our kings know that very well, 

And therefore none of them comes there. 

If you do not believe me, then ask whoever you like, 

Everyone in Egnen will agree with what I say. 

And you, my merry young knight! 

When I need anything to laugh at, 

I can look for it in your mirror, 

But not in the wise talk of old people. 

(In the meanwhile she has collected her kitchen utensils, goes into the house with them 

and slams the door after herself.) 

SCENE TWO. 

KING. FLEMMING. MOGENS. 

KING (to FLEMMING): 

Now you have made the old woman angry, 

And I shall not get to see her daughter. 

FLEMMING. 

It was impossible for me to contain my laughter, 

The whole conversation was so preposterous. 

MOGENS. 

The good gentlemen may find it rather peculiar, 

But still, that's how it is. 

FLEMMING. 

147

Look, now he 

Wants to convert people, and swears on a 

Stack of Bibles. 

KING. 

I wish I knew where Ebbesen was.... Perhaps he 

Rode to Høistrup to see his bride. 

FLEMMING. 

Possibly. 

MOGENS. 

You ask about Ebbesen? 

He is around here somewhere. 

KING. 

Where? 

MOGENS. 

I saw him 

Over in the elf-thicket;... I'll tell you, 

He was stealing slowly after the girl. 

KING. 

What? Which girl? 

The elf-girl. 

MOGENS. 

KING. 

148

What? You are starting in again about the elves? 

I believe the whole township is under a spell. 

MOGENS. 

As true as I am alive, I saw the girl myself, 

And Ebbesen was stealing after her, 

But both of them disappeared behind Elves’ Hill. 

KING. 

Now that is going almost too far! 

MOGENS. 

It is well-known 

That the sheriff often trails her 

In the evening at twilight and in the morning. 

As a hunter I have to be aware of it. I see him 

Very often wandering there in the elf-thicket. 

FLEMMING. 

Oh yes, sure he does! A man who is going to marry 

Miss Munk this evening has a rendezvous 

With a girl in a thicket. 

MOGENS. 

Oh, but he is clever! 

He does not allow himself to be captivated so easily. 

I think he has another purpose. 

KING. 

And what is that? 

149

(He leaves.) 

MOGENS. 

Well! I'll tell you: 

They believe that a treasure is buried yonder 

At the base of Elves’ Hill, since the girl sits 

There so often, as if she were guarding something. 

I think the treasure attracted him there. 

FLEMMING. 

I think the girl is enticing him. 

MOGENS. 

That could be. 

It is not easy to know what to believe about that. 

He will surely be here soon, since the cock crowed 

A long time ago; it is almost light, 

And then the elf-girl leaves. However, 

Will the gentlemen be good enough to keep quiet 

About what I have told them? Farewell, then! 

SCENE THREE. 

KING. FLEMMING. 

KING. 

What is one to think about these people? 

I do not know whether they fear God 

And honor the king, but their belief in 

Legends about elves is unshakable. 

FLEMMING. 

The culture here is primitive. 

I think your grace ought to 

150

Burn this whole thicket from here over. 

Perhaps the elf-king himself would come out 

In embarrassment, having no money to pay the rent. 

KING. 

There's something behind all this, believe it! 

Why does Ebbesen wander around on those hidden paths? 

FLEMMING. 

And so close to the wedding! Still, 

I can scarcely contain my puzzlement,... 

The old woman must inform me,... 

Why was the wedding decided on so quickly? 

KING. 

I could have told you that myself, Flemming! 

It is taking place on my orders. 

FLEMMING. 

And is that why 

Your grace travelled here to Tryggevæld? 

KING. 

In order to bring the sheriff my best wishes myself. 

FLEMMING. 

My liege! Have you lost your confidence in me? 

KING. 

Why do you ask that? 

151

FLEMMING. 

Since your grace 

Did not confide in me the reason for our 

Journey, on the whole way here. 

KING. 

I have my reasons, but calm down, 

An honorable mission awaits you: 

I shall depart this evening; you will stay, 

And continue on to Høistrup in my name, 

And bring Miss Munk my wedding present. 

FLEMMING (perplexed). 

That is too much... all-too-great an honor... 

KING. 

When I stood as godfather to Elisabeth, 

Your sainted father was the one who 

Represented me, who brought my godfather's gift 

To the child's cradle. Now you will 

Represent the king at her wedding. 

FLEMMING. 

My king! This favor.... 

KING. 

Hush! who is coming 

Across the bridge there! 

FLEMMING. 

It is Ebbesen. 

152

KING. 

Ah! Is he coming back at last, then? 

SCENE FOUR. 

KING. FLEMMING. EBBESEN comes across the bridge. 

FLEMMING. 

Hey, Albert! It's about time you arrived! 

Come over here and see! 

EBBESEN. 

Heavens! Is it possible? 

My exalted king! You have come to visit me, 

And I was not present when you arrived! 

But I had never imagined this favor.... 

KING. 

It is my custom to surprise people. 

EBBESEN. 

Oh! If only a premonition had told me.... 

I hope you have not had to wait long. 

Flemming, when did his exalted majesty arrive? 

About an hour ago.... 

FLEMMING. 

EBBESEN. 

153

An hour! 

A minute would be too long! 

Did his majesty stop by the castle? 

FLEMMING. 

Yes. 

But nobody knew where you were. At first 

They searched for you in the bedroom, but in vain. 

They were surprised that you had gone out 

So early, when they had assumed that you still 

Lay in the arms of sleep. 

EBBESEN. 

Heavens! 

Did your grace find a room and a bed, 

Attendants, breakfast?.... I shall hurry ahead 

To arrange everything.... 

KING. 

There is no hurry. 

Just stay; my retinue here is not large, 

And does not need many rooms. Besides, 

I am going to Copenhagen this afternoon; 

But Flemming will appear in my place at Høistrup. 

Are you satisfied with that? 

EBBESEN. 

My exalted king! 

Your will was ever mine. 

KING. 

Where have you been this morning? 

154

EBBESEN. 

I have been out walking. 

FLEMMING. 

Is that so? 

In the elf-thicket yonder? 

And solitary. 

EBBESEN. 

Yes, it is cool there! 

FLEMMING. 

EBBESEN. 

Certainly. 

KING. 

Afraid of the elves? 

EBBESEN. 

But aren't you 

I can see 

Your grace will have his joke. 

Egnen is full of all sorts of elf-legends. 

In the church-wall at Great-Heddinge 

There is an arch which is bricked up; 

It is called the elf-king's dark chamber. 

The simple folk believe he has his day-bed there; 

While at night he wanders here in the thicket 

In moonlight and gentle summer breezes. 

But if a storm rages, or if the sea grows wild, 

Then he sits on Stevns' white sea-cliff, 

155

As the king of the sea-cliff, with his spear in his hand, 

And watches with delight whenever ships run aground. 

KING. 

And isn't it true that he does not tolerate it 

If I cross over the bridge into his district? 

EBBESEN. 

Has your grace heard that already? 

Yes, there are a thousand stories about him! 

It is not worth taking such things to heart. 

KING. 

Certainly not! That does not trouble me any more 

Than the legend that is going around about you. 

About me? 

EBBESEN. 

KING. 

Well, they say that you 

Commune with the elf-girl in the thicket. 

EBBESEN. 

Oh, what foolishness! 

KING. 

It certainly is foolishness, 

Especially on your wedding day. 

156

EBBESEN. 

Who has been so bold as to say such things to you? 

KING. 

It was a hunter, one of your people. 

FLEMMING. 

Think, what a shameless hunter's lie! 

EBBESEN. 

Do they gossip about me, Paul? 

FLEMMING. 

By no means. But do not be angry 

With the hunter, if he has given you away, 

Since he has also provided you with a good excuse: 

He said it was not the girl you were looking for, 

But rather the treasure she was guarding. Yes indeed! 

She has a treasure, that is what you want. 

EBBESEN. 

But I do not understand.... 

KING. 

Is that so, Albert? 

Do you know that when a treasure is found, 

Half of it belongs to the King? 

You will not deprive me of my rights? 

EBBESEN. 

157

Good grief! I shall be as honest 

As Esau, when he bought Jacob's birthright. 

I cannot express how happy it makes me 

That your grace has such a merry humor. 

My humble self is happy to serve 

As the target for wit's keen arrow, 

When my exalted king amuses himself in this way. 

But permit me to lead you to the castle, 

And I shall entertain you as well as I can. 

KING. 

I accept your offer. 

EBBESEN. 

My king! 

This is the way, we must go to this side. 

FLEMMING. 

(to EBBESEN, as they are going): 

You got off that time, but do not celebrate just yet; 

I don't believe your confession is quite complete. 

(All three go out to the left.) 

SCENE FIVE. 

AGNETE comes across the bridge. She walks slowly, with soft steps, and looks off to 

the side, where the preceding characters went out. 

AGNETE. 

I wonder what that was about, those two gentlemen who waited for him and went off with 

him? Probably a couple of knights who are going to accompany him to the wedding in 

Høistrup.... Oh! The wedding, the wedding! It makes me more and more anxious. 

158

(She sits down in a meditative position outside the house.) 

SCENE SIX. 

(AGNETE. KAREN comes out with two large earthenware crocks in her hands.) 

KAREN. 

Are you here at last? Is it finally time to come home? 

AGNETE. 

Is it late?... My God! I see it is daylight, I had hardly noticed. 

KAREN (aside). 

Now she is in her dream-world again. (Aloud.) Agnete, when you go to Elves’ Hill, you 

must keep track of the time and not stay away for so long. Two strange knights were just 

here... 

I saw them. Who were they? 

You saw them? 

AGNETE (jumps up quickly). 

KAREN. 

AGNETE. 

I hid on the other side of the bridge until they were gone. 

KAREN. 

159

Good. I did not want them to see you. One was Mr. Flemming, he asked about you in his 

usual nosey way, but I said you were not up yet. Then Mogens came, and said that he had 

met the elf-girl. He was still rather frightened by it. Haven't you met the king in the 

thicket yet? 

AGNETE. 

No, Mother, I have never seen him.... But tell me, who was the other knight? 

KAREN. 

How do I know? He was a modest reasonable old man. 

AGNETE. 

They are probably both coming to the wedding, don't you think? 

I suppose so. 

KAREN. 

AGNETE. 

And are you having a celebration today also? The peasants want to drink to... 

KAREN. 

Well, why don't you say it? To Mr. Ebbesen's and Miss Munk's health. 

Yes, of course! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

160

Agnete! Wake up! It is as if you were sleepwalking. You sigh, you look around, you 

hardly hear anything I say. Come, child, there is plenty to do here today. Give a helping 

hand, and stop brooding. 

AGNETE. 

Yes, dear Mother! What do you want me to do? 

KAREN. 

Move all the plates and tankards out here onto the table, and look after the house as well; 

meanwhile I am going to the castle to fetch the mead. We already have enough beer and 

cider, but they must toast the bridal couple with mead. 

Oh, yes! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

Now, what do you have to sigh about? Go inside, my child, and be quick about it, then 

you will be in a better mood. 

(Agnete goes into the house.) 

SCENE SEVEN. 

KAREN alone. 

Poor child! She does not know herself what makes her so moody, and what draws her 

continually to Elves’ Hill. I hope she never finds out! 

(Goes out to the left.) 

SCENE EIGHT. 

161

EBBESEN and FLEMMING come in from the left side, but by another way than 

KAREN went out. A PAGE follows them. 

EBBESEN. 

My friend! The king has lain down to take a nap, to rest after the trip. If it is as important 

to you as you say it is to visit Mr. Rosenkrantz in Vemmeltofte, then do not waste a 

moment, but go there immediately so as to be back before the king wakes up. 

FLEMMING. 

I shall follow your advice; but in case I am delayed for a few minutes, I count on your 

making excuses for me. The king will not miss my company, as long as he has you. 

Today you are the object of all his thoughts, his favors, his fatherly affection.... 

EBBESEN. 

You are right. But still, see that you come back at the right time. I have saddled my 

fastest horse for you. Then wait on the other side of the bridge. My page will conduct 

you to the place. Hurry! Be off! 

FLEMMING. 

I can hardly get time to say two words to you in private. You lucky fellow! Do you 

realize that you received your bride from our noble king's own hand? 

EBBESEN. 

How can you ask that? Certainly I recognize his kindness. But hurry! Do not waste 

time! 

FLEMMING. 

And yet what is even such happiness compared to love, to the blessed thought of loving 

and knowing oneself loved? 

EBBESEN. 

162

Yes, that is true happiness. Oh, my friend, if you knew... 

What? How greatly you are loved? 

FLEMMING. 

EBBESEN. 

Yes, exactly, how greatly I am loved. If you knew, if you dreamed.... 


I must go at once to Høistrup. I must speak with her, I must have a settling of accounts.... 

What are you saying? 

That there is not a moment to lose. 

EBBESEN. 

FLEMMING. 

EBBESEN. 

No, that is just what I am saying. Hurry, hurry! 

Farewell! 

Farewell! 

FLEMMING. 

EBBESEN. 

(FLEMMING goes across the bridge, followed by the PAGE.) 

163

SCENE NINE. 

EBBESEN alone. 

He finally left. And now to Høistrup! 

There is not a moment to lose. 

I must make an end of this relationship; 

I shall go and get a refusal from Miss Munk, 

And bring it back to the king 

As honesty requires. 

He will be angry, I can foresee that; 

But it can't be helped! 

(He looks towards KAREN's house and kisses his fingers.) 

First a departing kiss 

To you, straw-thatched hut, simple dwelling, 

The goal of my longing, my desire's paradise!... 

The door is opening!... Oh, there she is! 

SCENE TEN. 

EBBESEN. AGNETE comes out of the house and sets a pile of tin plates on the table. 

EBBESEN. 

Good morning, Agnete! 

So busy so early? 

AGNETE. 

Nice to see you, Mr. Sheriff! 

EBBESEN. 

AGNETE. 

164

Yes, sir! 

And it is for your sake. 

EBBESEN. 

For mine, you say? 

AGNETE. 

There will be a banquet here today, and they will drink 

Your health. So you can easily see 

That my work is for your sake. 

EBBESEN. 

Agnete!... 

AGNETE. 

And there will be dancing here. You can well believe, Mr. Sheriff, 

That I shall dance. When you see me, 

You will think about the elf-girl's dance 

In the evening at twilight, and in the morning. 

EBBESEN. 

But Agnete! Just listen... 

AGNETE. 

But beware, your lordship, 

When I ride to your wedding, 

That I do not draw a circle around you, and lure 

You into it, and put a spell on you! 

EBBESEN. 

You cast that spell a long time ago! 

165

AGNETE. 

Am I a witch? I cannot cast a spell on you; 

You yourself are an overpowering sorcerer, 

Who cancelled my conjuration, 

And leaped out of the charmed circle. 

Agnete! 

Just listen to me... 

EBBESEN. 

AGNETE. 

I don't have time. There is 

So much to do here; as you must be aware, 

I shall serve you on your wedding day. 

EBBESEN. 

Is your mother there in the house? 

AGNETE. 

No, she is busy, she has gone out. 

EBBESEN. 

Is nobody else in the house? 

AGNETE. 

Nobody at all. 

EBBESEN. 

166

(rushes over and embraces her). 

(tears herself loose). 

My elf-girl! You, I love only you, 

And I believe I want to stay with you. 

AGNETE. 

Stop, stop, Mr. Sheriff! 

Yes, there are lots of people in there. 

EBBESEN. 

Are you making a fool of me? 

(He runs over and looks into the house and returns.) 

You witch, 

You are just making fun of me. 

(He runs after her, she runs away.) 

AGNETE. 

Hush, hush! Remember, 

This is not Elves’ Hill. 

EBBESEN. 

Oh, my Agnete! 

Wherever I see you is Elves’ Hill for me. 

When I am near you a blessed dream awakens in me; 

I am intoxicated by you, like the man 

Who has lain his head down on Elves’ Hill, 

And sees the moon over the meadow's mists. 

AGNETE. 

Oh! Do you want to remind me of that offense? 

167

EBBESEN. 

What offense? Have I not approached your 

Innocence modestly and piously, whenever you 

Met me in confidence by Elves’ Hill? 

Have I concealed that the King had decreed 

My union with Miss Munk long before 

I knew you, before you knew me? 

But still I never spoke of love 

To her, nor does she love me. 

As a knight it was not proper that I 

Throw over our engagement, but she, 

As a lady, can do it. 

I hoped to make everything right, 

When suddenly I received the news 

(It was only yesterday) 

That the marriage was set for this evening. 

But I am going right now to Høistrup; 

In two hours I shall return here again, 

And I shall bring back a refusal 

As good as an honorable suitor can desire. 

AGNETE. 

Now you are telling me what I want to hear. 

EBBESEN. 

I said the same thing this morning 

By Elves’ Hill. 

AGNETE. 

But when I came back, 

And saw these preparations, 

And saw two knights waiting for you, 

Who I thought were coming to your wedding, 

Then my uneasiness was aroused again. 

I know well enough, despite your promises, 

You cannot marry me, a peasant -girl; 

168

But I can still love you, my lord, 

In silent thoughts, modestly, as it ought to be; 

But to see you as another's bridegroom! No! 

I cannot do that. 

EBBESEN. 

Do not doubt my word! 

Did not a worthier knight than I, 

The noble Tycho Brahe, 

Marry a simple peasant-girl? 

What I have sworn, I swear again: 

I shall have no rest, no peace, until I 

Have led my elf-girl to the altar. 

Do not call me that! 

AGNETE. 

EBBESEN. 

That is what you should be called. 

AGNETE. 

It only reminds me again of my sin. 

EBBESEN. 

What sin? What offense? 

AGNETE. 

That I have concealed 

My love from my mother. I do not know 

What thoughts she has when she sees me 

Walking towards Elves’ Hill. She knows very well 

That many who have seen me yonder in the thicket 

Take me for an elf-girl. 

169

But she believes completely in the old legends, 

She believes I have converse with the elves. 

Therefore I have deceived her!... 

And if it were true, if these beings 

Truly exist, will they not 

Be angry at the brazen girl who plays 

Frivolously with their secret power? 

EBBESEN. 

Be calm, my Agnete! For a loving heart 

Nature is magic, and magic is nature. 

Agnete! You are the elf-girl herself: 

Your spirit animates the silent thicket there, 

The quiet hilltop; and when I see the white mists 

Glide vaguely over the meadow, 

Then I believe it is your handmaidens, girl, 

Who want to shape themselves into your noble image, 

But sink powerlessly back again. 

AGNETE. 

I do not understand you; but I feel 

Calm, since you have comforted me. 

(They hear music in the distance.) 

What is that? 

EBBESEN. 

AGNETE. 

Our guests are coming now. 

Then I must leave. 

EBBESEN. 

170

Farewell! 

AGNETE. 

EBBESEN. 

Farewell! My horse 

Will carry me to Høistrup as swift as lightning. 

AGNETE. 

Do not forget the refusal! 

EBBESEN. 

No, I shall fetch that. 

But tell me, Agnete. Do I dare exchange it 

Later for a kiss? You will not be angry, 

When I request the payment? 

AGNETE. 

First, my Lord, let us see if you bring it! 

(AGNETE runs into the house, EBBESEN walks quickly out on the opposite side.) 

SCENE ELEVEN. 

PEASANTS come over the bridge and from both sides. They are heard in the distance 

before they enter. 

CHORUS. 

1. 

Quickly to a gay party, 

Dancing and singing 

We all hurry. 

The peasant is the sheriff's guest, 

171

The flute's whistle 

Will call us 

To the wedding in the beech grove. 

2. 

The silent night 

Sinks over valley 

Fields and cottages; 

Yonder from his elf-thicket 

The king will 

Listen quietly 

To the party in the beech grove. 

3. 

Quickly to the banquet hall 

Young and old 

Walk with delight. 

Here by the sunny crossing 

The sound of happiness 

Will gather us 

To the wedding in the beech grove. 

(They go into the house.) 

- - - - - 

SECOND ACT. 

A salon at Høistrup. On the left side in the foreground is a window which opens onto 

the garden. On the same side in the background an entrance to a side room. 

SCENE ONE. 

BJØRN OLUFSON, alone, stands at the open window and speaks out into the garden. 

BJØRN. 

I beg your pardon? Hush! Hush! You do not need to talk so loud. The walls have 

ears.... Now you understand. Yes, Lord God! You must take the opportunity as it 

comes.... I beg your pardon?... Can I be quiet? Do not ask me that. I am a man who has 

172

grown gray in service. I have been chief steward here at Høistrup for 33 years; in that 

whole time I have had the confidence of everyone: the sainted wife, the lord, the young 

lady and many other noble lords and ladies. I am full of important secrets, which neither 

my words nor expressions have divulged or in any way shall divulge. If I were to tell you 

everything I know, your nose and mouth would drop off from astonishment. But see if I 

do.... What?... Am I shouting?... (Looking around.) There is nobody here.... Now, yes, 

yes, it will not be noticed now.... A letter?... Can it be be delivered?... Yes, let me 

see.... (Looking around again.) You can throw it in through the window; but it must be 

quick!... Listen, you must tie a stone to it.... You don't need to?... Take it easy, do not hit 

me in the face with it. (He jumps aside, a letter is thrown in through the window, he 

walks over and picks it up and walks over to the window again.) No signature! Yes, that 

is discreet, I can manage that. (He puts it in his pocket.) It will be taken care of, and you 

can count on my discretion. But now get out of here. Out of the way! Someone is 

coming. (He closes the window.) 

SCENE TWO. 

BJØRN. ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

Good morning, mistress! Up so early? 

It's not so early. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

For me and those like me, who have their hands full with the preparations for the 

wedding, it is certainly not early, but for the bride, for the noble bride, who from dancing 

and merriment will not close an eye tonight, for her it is early, much too early. 

ELISABETH. 

If I am causing any inconvenience, good Bjørn, then I shall gladly be on my way. 

BJØRN. 

173

Causing inconvenience? Good Bjørn? Well, I am a good Bjørn (Bjørn = bear), a gentle, 

domesticated good Bjørn, who has too much breeding to speak discourteously to my 

noble young mistress. 

ELISABETH. 

I do not consider it a discourtesy. But you are as secretive as the Sybil, and I cannot tell 

whether my arrival at this moment interrupts you in some plot, perhaps. 

BJØRN. 

Gracious mistress! I am secretive, but it is not my fault if I have been deemed worthy of 

being entrusted with secrets. I know my duty and the importance of my post; never will 

any rose sink down at having gotten me to run in fear ("løbe in fælden"). (?) 

ELISABETH. 

No, certainly not. Actually, to tell you the truth, you are simply an annoying person that 

one can never learn anything about. These days I see you and my guardian all the time 

putting your heads together, and talking in riddles about the king's presence at or 

absence from my wedding. You are afraid that either he will come or he will not come. I 

cannot be sensible about it while I am infuriated by watching your secretive gestures. 

BJØRN. 

But, gracious mistress! Do not take it amiss, but you are rather hotheaded. I have never 

dared to make gestures to Mr. Walkendorff, and he has never honored me by making 

gestures to me. We have talked about the king's coming here, that is true, and we have 

been anxious at not knowing whether his royal grace will enhance the party with his 

presence, or whether we dare expect this happiness. That is true, but that is all. 

ELISABETH. 

You are lying, you are deceiving me. Your anxiety betrays a more significant reason than 

you give. You are trying to hide some important secret from me, but you cannot control 

your face and your expressions. 

BJØRN. 

174

God help me! What are you saying, Miss! I cannot control my face, I, who since my 

earliest youth have committed myself to rule over every wrinkle in it? 

It does not obey your orders. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

Mistress! For heaven's sakes! You make me tremble all over! What does my face 

reveal? What kind of secret would it be? 

That is just what I insist you tell me. 

But if I have nothing to say? 

Liar! 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

If something were entrusted to me, should I tarnish my honor, which I have earned by 

silence, by revealing it? 

You see? You admit it. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

175

For heaven's sake! No! Stop teasing me!... What would you say if I revealed a secret, if 

you yourself had told it to me? 

Be quiet! 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

Yes, there we have it. You say "be quiet," and I am quiet, and that is just my merit. (He 

takes the letter out of his pocket.) What would you say if I delivered this letter to 

someone other than yourself? 

ELISABETH. 

Give it to me! Hurry up, in case somebody is coming! 

BJØRN. 

There we have it. Now you yourself recommend silence to me. 

There is no signature. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

But you can depend on it, it is for you. I am no more guilty of confusion, than of gossip. 

(ELISABETH has opened the letter and reads it to herself.) But to get to the point: Mr. 

Flemming is here; he says he positively must speak with you tête-à-tête, and that nobody 

must know he is here. He is down in the garden, hiding behind the trees, and he is 

waiting for your answer. 

ELISABETH. 

(who in the meanwhile has read the letter). 

I know all that, it is in the letter. 

176

BJØRN. 

Well, then I did not need to say it. But, noble mistress! You say that you cannot be 

sensible with me? It is I who cannot be sensible with you. Where will all this lead? 

What kind of unfortunate passion do you harbor for someone other than your proper 

bridegroom? How can you dare on the very day of the wedding to receive a letter from 

him, and grant him a rendezvous? Where will it all end? 

ELISABETH. 

I do not know that myself. But I must make a decision today. 

BJØRN. 

Certainly it cannot be postponed any longer. 

That is why I must speak with him. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

I shudder to imagine the outcome. If it had not been for coming into possession of one 

more secret, and in order to serve you, noble mistress, then I should not have taken upon 

myself so dangerous a mission as to be love's postman between you and your secret lover. 

ELISABETH. 

But, Bjørn, you will be loyal to me, and help me? 

BJØRN. 

My gracious mistress must command me. What fidelity requires.... 

ELISABETH. 

177

I know, I know! Listen, you must keep my guardian away. 

BJØRN. 

That is not difficult! I shall tell Mr. Walkendorff that I have a secret to discuss with him. 

ELISABETH. 

Yes, you can certainly say that without lying. 

BJØRN. 

Or take him down to see the outdoor preparations for the wedding, for example the 

torches in the great avenue. 

ELISABETH. 

Splendid! But first you must take a message to Flemming from me, and tell him that 

when my guardian is gone I shall give him a signal from the window. 

Very well. 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

But... I just want to write him a couple of words, and I shall bring them to you. 

BJØRN. 

Quiet! Here comes Mr. Walkendorff. 

SCENE THREE. 

The preceding. WALKENDORFF. 

178

How shall I give you the letter? 

Quiet! Don't let him notice anything! 

Just tell me! Hurry! 

Careful! Careful! 

ELISABETH (aside to BJØRN). 

BJØRN (aside to ELISABETH). 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

What is this? What kind of secrets do you two have together? You are hatching some 

plan or other, which I am not supposed to know about. I have observed for some time... 

BJØRN. 

How can my gracious lord believe... 

WALKENDORFF. 

I know what I believe. You, my dear Bjørn Olufson, are the most secretive person under 

the sun. You should never come out except at night, walking in felt stockings, and with 

your finger on your lips, as they depict the god of silence. 

BJØRN. 

Gracious lord! How can you reproach me with the silence for which you have always 

have praised me? If I had not been silent... 

179

Be quiet! 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

Now you yourself demand silence of me. 

WALKENDORFF. 

You will be silent with my secrets, but you will not have secrets with my ward. 

ELISABETH. 

You see, Bjørn, I am right? Now my guardian himself admits that you have secrets with 

each other. 

BJØRN. 

It is not my fault. I have never admitted it, and I shall never admit it. 

Be quiet! 

With pleasure. 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

It is not necessary, since I am leaving you, dear gentlemen, so you can speak loudly and 

freely about your secrets. 

(She goes.) 

180

Elisabeth! What do you mean? 

WALKENDORFF. 

SCENE FOUR. 

BJØRN. WALKENDORFF. 

WALKENDORFF. 

She is already gone. Bjørn! Bjørn! You have not let her notice anything? 

BJØRN. 

I, sire? Have I forgotten my 33 years' service? 

WALKENDORFF. 

She is an impetuous, headstrong girl. It is my desire to get her married today, and then 

my responsibility is finished! 

Yes, I wish it were finished! 

What did you say? 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

I have a premonition that it is not going to come off. 

Why is that? 

WALKENDORFF. 

181

BJØRN. 

I do not know myself. But I dreamed last night that the king came here to attend the 

wedding, and that he asked why the bride did not wear the jewel which he had given her 

as her godfather. 

WALKENDORFF. 

Be quiet! You should never mention that subject, even tête-à-tête with me. God be with 

my noble sainted wife, but she committed a black sin. 

Carelessness is not a sin. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

But carelessness which has such consequences? I loved her greatly, but I console myself 

for her death by remembering that now we two are the only ones in on the secret. 

BJØRN. 

In that case my gracious lord also wishes that I were dead and gone. 

WALKENDORFF. 

Certainly not, Bjørn! You have been faithful and devoted to me, but a woman's silence is 

nothing to depend upon. 

BJØRN. 

But, sire, what do you say then to my dream? 

Oh, that! A dream!... 

WALKENDORFF. 

182

BJØRN. 

But what if I tell you that it is already beginning to come true? 

What? 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

Well, it is a secret, but you shall hear it. The king is in Tryggevæld. 

What did you say! 

The truth, sire! 

But how do you know that? 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

It is a secret. It is enough that I know it. 

Damn your secrets! 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

183

He arrived there last night, but I shall confide to you that it is said he will not attend the 

wedding feast. 

I was sure of it! 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

Then why did you become so anxious, sire? 

WALKENDORFF. 

Because one never knows.... Still... one can know, there is no danger. The king is not 

coming. He has never been to Stevns, and there is an old legend that he does not dare to 

come. 

BJØRN. 

Do you mean that the king is afraid of the elves? 

WALKENDORFF. 

Certainly not! But there is a venerable old legend, which he will not openly defy. He 

knows and understands that one should not suddenly disturb the common people from 

their beneficial superstitions. No, I am calm about the situation. The king is not 

coming. 

Well then, I shall be calm also. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

He did not come to Elisabeth Munk's baptism either, but sent the sainted Mr. Flemming 

in his place. 

184

BJØRN. 

And this time he will send the young Mr. Flemming. 

Are you sure of that? 

Fairly sure. 

How do you know that? 

A secret, sire. 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

A secret! A secret! I always get that answer. Well, I shall not cross-examine you, one is 

usually able to depend on you, and the information is excellent, if it is true. 

Positively. 

BJØRN. 

WALKENDORFF. 

Well then, the danger is past. So let us be merry, and think only about the celebration! 

Have you invited all the guests on the list? 

BJØRN. 

(taking a paper out of his pocket). 

185

Everyone is invited. I have put an "X" next to the name of everyone that has permission 

to come. 

(looking at the paper). 

WALKENDORFF. 

Oh, that's fine! There will be plenty of guests, both invited and uninvited. Let me see 

now, you are arranging everything for the best. I must go into the dancing salon in order 

to see how everything is arranged, and then I shall go to the forest, where the peasants are 

having a feast. I must also see if they have supplied themselves generously. 

BJØRN. 

Gracious lord! I flatter myself that nothing is lacking. But you do well to look after it 

yourself. 

WALKENDORFF. 

In the meanwhile, do not forget what you have to do. 

BJØRN. 

No, you do not need to worry about that. 

(WALKENDORFF leaves.) 

SCENE FIVE. 

BJØRN alone. 

He is gone. If the young lady were here now, then this would be the most convenient 

time for her to pursue her intention. I do not know how all this will end, but I have a 

premonition that the whole wedding will end in an uproar, and in that case is it not good 

to 

have everything ready for a new one?... Ah, here is the young lady. 

186

SCENE SIX. 

BJØRN. ELISABETH. 

ELISABETH. 

See here, Bjørn, here is the letter. (She hands him the letter.) Hurry now! Away! 

BJØRN. 

I am hurrying, my lady, I am hurrying. You can be sure that your guardian is occupied 

with all kinds of arrangements for this evening. But just so you will not be taken by 

surprise by anyone else, let me first reconnoitre the terrain. 

Yes, you do that! 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

What signal have you arranged with Mr. Flemming? 

ELISABETH. 

I have written that when he hears me sing, he can come in. 

BJØRN. 

Very well, but then I must open the window, since otherwise he cannot hear it. 

I thought of that. 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

187

But do not sing before I come back and have informed you that everything is secure. 

ELISABETH. 

No, certainly not, but just hurry! You hurry! 

I am hurrying, I am flying! 

(Walks slowly out.) 

BJØRN. 

SCENE SEVEN. 

ELISABETH alone. 

Now I am alone, let me collect myself! 

My head is so confused that I scarcely 

Know where I am.... Still... let's see.... 

I have heard it often enough, it is like this: 

The king wants to marry me to Ebbesen; 

But why should the monarch choose for me? 

Does my heart not dare to choose for itself? Ah, no! 

Freedom is not compatible with the favor 

Which the king has shown the abandoned child, 

Whose mother died when she was born, 

Whose father soon followed her in death. 

I know, when my father was preparing 

To visit the North Pole for the second time, 

The king reproached him with angry words 

Over the outcome of his first voyage, 

And the loss of the ships and men. 

He answered rashly, one word provoked another, 

The embittered king struck him with his cane. 

There is an ancient legend, that he whom King Christian 

Has touched in anger cannot live; 

My father has confirmed that once again: 

Early in my tender childhood I was alone, 

All I inherited was his famous name. 

That awakened the king's mercy towards the weak, 

He gave me gold, stood godfather to me, 

188

(Pause.) 

(Goes to the window.) 

(Listens.) 

(Sings.) 

(Impatiently.) 

Entrusted me to Walkendorff at Høistrup 

And to his noble wife, whom I still remember 

With deep reverence. This evening 

He will take the last step in the effort 

Of providing for me.... But will his favor 

Then become coercion? Will my inclination 

Not be asked for its vote, where it matters? 

By now Bjørn must have brought the letter! 

He could have done it ten times over! 

I do not see him 

Anywhere yet. 

I do not hear him either. 

Ah, my patience is at an end!... Well then, 

I shall sing my song, then the time will pass, 

And he cannot hear me out there. 

1. 

Now the leafy-bower is shadowed 

And the day is long 

Where little birds nest 

In the blooming meadow. 

2. 

Only the god of love 

Is blind, poor fellow; 

He flutters towards the windowpane. 

They let him in. 

Yes, truly, if he flutters towards the window, 

Then I let him in! There is no end to it! 

Bjørn is not coming! How long shall I wait? 

189

(Sings with noticeable impatience.) 

(She opens the window.) 

1. 

A knight rambles among green trees, 

Roses and delightful flowers. 

A thrush sings, he stands so near it, 

It greets midsummer with its chirping. 

2. 

He listens with pleasure among green trees, 

Roses and delightful flowers, 

He muses and leans silently on his sword, 

While the bird welcomes midsummer. 

3. 

Now a maiden opens the window towards the trees, 


She sings like the bird, he stands near her, 

Then his breast feels it is summer. 

(Drawing away little-by-little from the window.) 

4. 

Then his hope sprouts like the green trees, 


He beholds the beloved, she is so dear to him, 

He greets his hope in midsummer. 

SCENE EIGHT. 

ELISABETH. FLEMMING. 

FLEMMING. 

I greet my hope, when I see you. 

But it is not midsummer for my hope. 

ELISABETH. 

190

Why not? 

FLEMMING. 

Can you ask that? 

Elisabeth! What am I to think? 

You know how long I have loved you, 

You know how often you have flattered my hope... 

Excuse my words, but the truth matters here... 

You have given me more than one proof 

Of your love; and now?... Do you know 

That the king has come to Tryggevæld? 

That I shall represent his royal person 

At your wedding? That he has suddenly 

Decided that this evening?... This evening!... 

What will you do, tell me, what is going to happen? 

Have you forgotten me, do you no longer love me? 

Is Ebbesen not merely the king's choice, 

But your heart's as well? Even he tells me 

That he loves you, that you love him. 

My God, what shall I believe, what shall I think? 

Oh, speak! Answer! Free me from my fear! 

ELISABETH. 

For heaven's sake! Do not ask so many questions! 

Where shall I start? Where shall I stop? 

FLEMMING. 

I am impetuous, I know that, but I would be 

A wretch, a villain, if I were calm now. 

I have fought with myself, I have dissembled 

With superhuman strength. Neither the king, 

Nor Ebbesen, nor anyone else has suspected 

That I worship you, that I have courted you 

For so long. Since to others I am disguised, 

Then in your house I must speak, I must 

Give my heart air, give rein to my bitter complaint, 

And gain strength for new dissembling. 

191

ELISABETH. 

You say I have flattered your hope, 

Have given you proofs of my love; 

Why then do you meet me with such violent doubt? 

FLEMMING. 

Because the time I fear approaches 

With swift steps. In a few hours I shall 

See you as the bride of another! Oh, heavens! 

And he has told me that you love him! 

ELISABETH. 

But are you more terrified than I myself 

By the news about this wedding, 

Which comes much sooner than I had expected? 

I had hoped that there was enough time, 

And had based my whole hope on time. 

FLEMMING. 

But you are wrong there; one must act, 

One must act oneself, and not depend on time. 

Why have you not let me step forward 

As your bridegroom before the eyes of the world? 

ELISABETH. 

That is impossible! What would the king say? 

FLEMMING. 

Why have you not let me ask 

The monarch about his will, tell him 

Without evasion how the matter stands; 

And beseech his favor for us both? 

Oh, he is good! He has a kindly heart! 

192

ELISABETH. 

But he is also firm in his decision; 

Believe me, it is not possible! 

FLEMMING (with bitterness). 

You know better! 

ELISABETH. 

My whole plan is to gain time. 

FLEMMING. 

Oh, what a bad plan! What use is time, 

When one does not take advantage of it?... Elisabeth! 

If time is all the hope you can give me, 

Then my hope has been finished for some time. 

Have patience... 

ELISABETH. 

FLEMMING. 

With what? With time, 

Which is almost passed? Oh, if I did not have 

So much faith in your word, 

I could be tempted by the bitter thought 

That Ebbesen is right in what he says; 

You love him... do not be angry.... Understand me.... 

I do not mean that you love him exactly, 

But he pleases you; you nearly 

Love him;... and I! Oh heavens! 

I believe you also love me only halfway! 

You are undecided, you do not know what you want, 

And stretch time out. 

193

ELISABETH. 

You insult me. 

FLEMMING. 

I would not do that for all the world. 

Forgive me! You are good, you love me, 

I know that. Oh! If I did not know it, 

It would be all over for me! But you are impetuous, 

Heedless, unpredictable, you would rather tease 

The poor bird which you hold by the wing; 

You know it is stuck fast, and cannot fly. 

ELISABETH. 

By heaven! I do not believe it, did you come here 

Only to speak discourteously to me? 

If I have as many faults as you say, 

Why do you want to court my hand? 

FLEMMING. 

Forgive me! I have no control over myself! 

Do not put any weight on what an impetuous lover 

Says in his despair! Let us 

Not waste time with useless complaining, 

But come to some resolution! 

ELISABETH. 

I have come to mine: 

I shall not hear anything more from your mouth. 

FLEMMING. 

Are you giving me a refusal? 

194

ELISABETH. 

Take it 

Any way you want, but go! 

FLEMMING. 

Now then! By heaven! 

You will be sorry that you teased me! 

SCENE NINE. 

The preceding. BJØRN. 

BJØRN. 

My young lady! Ah! What has been going on here! 

You have sung your song too early. 

Why so? 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

Why didn't you wait 

Until I had told you that it was time? 

What's the matter? 

ELISABETH. 

FLEMMING. 

What is going on? 

195

That is a secret. 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

Old fool! 

If it is a secret, then do not mention it. 

BJØRN. 

Yes, I must mention it, it cannot be kept quiet. 

Then speak! 

Yes, speak! 

ELISABETH. 

FLEMMING. 

BJØRN. 

A knight is standing outside, 

And demands to speak with you immediately. 

Who is it? 

ELISABETH. 

BJØRN. 

A secret, mistress! 

He has entrusted his name to me alone, 

He is incognito. 

ELISABETH. 

196

I believe secrets 

Rain down on you from heaven. 

BJØRN. 

And since I never use an umbrella against the rain, 

Then surely I must be drenched. 

FLEMMING. 

It couldn't be Holger Rosenkrantz 

From Vemmeltofte? 

BJØRN. 

If I said the name 

Of each and every person that it is not, you could 

Conclude from my manner who it is. 

ELISABETH (to FLEMMING). 

Why are you afraid to meet him in particular? 

FLEMMING. 

When I rode away from Tryggevæld, I told 

Ebbesen that I was going to see Rosenkrantz. 

If that is who is coming now, 

Then I must ask him not to 

Betray me to Ebbesen. 

ELISABETH. 

Mr. Flemming! 

You cannot go out through the door now; 

The stranger must not see you. 

Go into the side-room for the time being. 

197

FLEMMING. 

But make my suffering short, I beg you. 

I must hurry back, so that 

The king will not miss me. 

ELISABETH. 

Yes, just go, go! 

(FLEMMING goes into a side room on the left.) 

SCENE TEN. 

ELISABETH. BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

Now you can speak, Bjørn! Who is the knight? 

BJØRN. 

Ah, mistress! He who comes most inconveniently 

Of all the knights on earth. 

ELISABETH. 

Then it must be Death. 

BJØRN. 

Death, mistress, 

Is not a knight. 

ELISABETH. 

198

Well, then who is it? 

It is Mr. Ebbesen. 

Himself. 

(Aside, as he leaves.) 

(He goes.) 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

What's that? You say... 

BJØRN. 

ELISABETH. 

Splendid! He comes most conveniently. 

BJØRN. 

How do you mean? I do not understand you. 

Conveniently! Just now Mr. Flemming... 

ELISABETH. 

Relax! 

Go, good Bjørn, and let him enter immediately! 

I await him with impatience. 

BJØRN. 

Immediately! Immediately! 

There is a secret hidden here. 

199

SCENE ELEVEN. 

ELISABETH alone. 

Now I shall show Flemming I can act, 

And that I do not sit idle, 

And expect time to do everything. But as punishment 

For his impetuosity, he shall not know 

The plan I make. Ebbesen is the man! 

He is steady, I shall entrust myself to him; 

The other by his impulsiveness could 

Spoil the whole game.... Ah! There he is! 

SCENE TWELVE. 

ELISABETH. EBBESEN. 

EBBESEN. 

You are no doubt wondering, my noble young lady, 

Why I approach you so secretly; 

The king does not know of my errand, 

Nor should anyone else know of it. 

I heard terrified that your wedding 

To me, which is scarcely worthy of success, 

Was scheduled to be held already this evening. 

It weighed heavily on my conscience 

That I had not yet asked for your hand. 

Our marriage has been decided by the king; 

But it would be unchivalrous, unmanly of me 

To take advantage of that, when first I ought to 

Find out if your love is so inclined. 

You have never told me that you love me, 

And truly, when I consider it myself, 

Then it seems very reasonable 

That you can make many better choices. 

Therefore I swear to you, as an honest man; 

I should rather expose myself to the king's wrath, 

Than marry you against your will. 

200

ELISABETH. 

You speak as befits a knight. 

If your intention is half as good as your speech, 

I am content. 

EBBESEN. 

How is that, my young lady? 

Do you doubt the sincerity of my words? 

ELISABETH. 

I have not said that, or even thought it. 

But you seem somewhat reserved; 

And yet, if we are to act jointly, 

Then we should meet half-way. 

Now you are standing still, you do not move, 

But only signal to me. Do you expect 

Me to walk the whole way to you? 

You make the first step, I shall make the next. 

What do you mean? 

EBBESEN. 

ELISABETH. 

It appears to me 

You are courting a refusal. If I gave it, 

The thing would be most comfortable for you. 

Then on my responsibility alone, you could say: 

"Miss Munk has given me a refusal; I cannot 

Lead her to the altar by force; Heaven knows, 

How deeply the refusal grieves me!" 

EBBESEN. 

201

My noble young lady! Do not misunderstand me! 

That knight on whom you bestow your hand 

Is blissfully fortunate in the highest degree... 

If he loves me. 

ELISABETH. 

EBBESEN. 

Oh! He who resists your charm, 

He is made of stone... 

Elisabeth! 

ELISABETH. 

Ah! You yourself are stone. 

EBBESEN. 

ELISABETH. 

Hush, hush! Understand me rightly! 

I mean, you are as immovable 

As stone; you are standing completely still now, 

Instead of approaching me handsomely. 

What you were pleased to say to me 

Was flattery, and there is no time for that. 

My charm, as you have called it, 

Is easy to resist, doubly easy, 

When one already has another love. 

EBBESEN. 

What? You believe... 

ELISABETH. 

202

(Ironically.) 

I shall not inquire 

How well-founded is the story circulating, 

That you have conference with the elf-girl. 

I have often laughed at it when I have heard it. 

I do not ask about it, do not want to know about it; 

I do not require any confession, 

And you will not question me either, 

Whether my heart had already made a choice. 

In this we shall both keep silence. 

But there is one thing of which we must speak, 

Which we must be completely clear about! 

Do you dare to assure me that you love me? 

EBBESEN. 

My lady! I asked you first. 

ELISABETH. 

I see that one does not get anywhere with you. 

Do you believe I am so foolish 

As to think that every man should sigh for me? 

You are practicing a false gallantry here 

For which there is neither time nor place. 

Well then, I shall sing in your key: 

You love me, I do not doubt it.... 

To madness, it cannot be less. 

But if now I had decided not to reciprocate, 

If I gave you a refusal, or made 

The whole wedding go on the rocks.... 

Answer me candidly, would you then despair, 

Shoot, hang, drown yourself, and so forth? 

EBBESEN (in the same tone). 

This question deserves a straightforward answer: 

No, my young lady, no! It would not take me even a day; 

I believe I should then search for life, 

203

And see what comfort it could possibly bring. 

ELISABETH. 

Now, the Lord be praised! I had expected that, 

I see you are a reasonable man.... 

I believe we understand each other.... So 

Now joking aside! You will meet here 

At the wedding place this evening, taking part 

In all the festivities, as a bridegroom. 

You must dance with me, you must show me 

Great care and attention. 

Now... the matter will be easy for you, 

Who love me so much. But when the time approaches 

For the church to join our hands, 

I shall feel ill, falling in a faint. 

Once the celebration is upset, we gain time. 

But if you can also... 

EBBESEN. 

ELISABETH. 

Just be calm! 

I shall play my role; follow my plan; 

It is not the first time I have fainted. 

You are fascinating! 

EBBESEN. 

ELISABETH. 

Yes, of course!... But silence! 

So nobody notices... 

EBBESEN. 

204

You can count on me. 

ELISABETH. 

Then abide by the agreement. Farewell! 

Now hurry away, and do not let anyone see you! 

EBBESEN (as he kisses her hand). 

Your jest in earnest is most charming. 

(ELISABETH leaves.) 

SCENE THIRTEEN. 

EBBESEN alone. 

It is a good plan; now my heart is light. 

This evening the king will leave again. 

He who gains time, soon will win more. 

SCENE FOURTEEN. 

EBBESEN. FLEMMING enters from the side room. 


I was listening; they walked away, so I must go after! 

I must talk with her one more time, 

Whatever it costs! 

EBBESEN. 

What am I seeing? Flemming! 

FLEMMING. 

205

What! Albert! Ebbesen? You here? 

EBBESEN. 

You rode to Rosenkrantz at Vemmeltofte? 

FLEMMING. 

You stayed home, in the company of the king? 

EBBESEN. 

Time can seem long to a bridegroom, 

But what are you doing here? 

He loves her, 

He loves her! 

Might he be her lover? 

(To FLEMMING.) 


EBBESEN (aside). 

We must away! It is high time! 

FLEMMING. 

Away! Away! The soles of my feet are burning! (?) 

EBBESEN. 

What is wrong with you? What is the matter? Say something! 

FLEMMING. 

206

(They go out.) 

Leave me in peace! I am barely conscious from grief! 

EBBESEN. 

Be happy! You will dance at my wedding. 

- - - - - 

THIRD ACT. 

The meadow in Tryggevæld Township, outside KAREN's house, as in the first act. 

SCENE ONE. 

The PEASANTS who entered in the first act, are standing with tankards in their hands, 

and drinking. MOGENS is standing in their midst. KAREN pours for them. AGNETE 

allows herself sometimes to look among them. It is evening, yet before sunset. 

MOGENS (sings). 

1. 

Now the day wears on so even, so plump, 

Already the moon stands over Stevn's sea cliff. 

The beaker gleams, 

Happiness beckons us, 

While coolness waves from the trees' garland. 

The dew falls 

With lustre of pearls, 

The evening calls 

To song and dance. 

CHORUS. 

The beaker gleams, etc. 

207

2. 

Now the girl sits in the elf-thicket, 

And silently watches over the golden treasure, 

The king alone 

Peeps behind a branch, 

He glimpses our merriment, hears our song, 

Listens to the noise 

All by himself, 

Hears from the height 

Our beakers' ring. 

CHORUS. 

The king alone, etc. 

MOGENS. 

3. 

Soon the moon, no longer pale, will tend 

Its night-light high over beech and oak. 

The stars will glitter 

Soon in the darkness, 

When the evening is adorned for the festival. 

Freya will twine 

Her golden hair, 

We shall find the way 

To the wedding-garden. 

CHORUS. 

The stars will glitter, etc. 

MOGENS. 

Then let us now drink a toast to our sheriff! 

Long live him and his bride! 

PEASANTS. 

208

Hurrah! Long life! 

(They clink their tankards.) 

AGNETE (aside). 

Oh, what torment! Now it is wearing on towards evening, 

He is not coming! 

MOGENS. 

What is wrong with our Agnete! 

Why does she look out on the banquet so dejectedly? 

KAREN. 

Leave the girl in peace! What does it matter 

To you if she is dejected? 

MOGENS. 

Well said! I intend nothing bad. 

On such a day everybody should be merry. 

(He mixes among the PEASANTS.) 

KAREN (to AGNETE). 

Control yourself, do not let anybody notice anything. 

Why are you so distressed, child? 

It is early yet, soon the others will leave, 

You can still go to Elves’ Hill. 

AGNETE. 

No, mother, no! I shall not go there this evening. 

KAREN. 

209

Agnete! But how are you feeling? 

I hardly recognize you. Are you going to the wedding, 

Instead of to Elves’ Hill? Well then, 

Let us both accompany the others. 

AGNETE. 

To the wedding! No! I'd rather go to Elves’ Hill! 

But I shall stay here, in your house, Mother! 

SEVERAL. 

To dancing! To dancing! 

MOGENS. 

Let the dancing begin! 

KAREN (to AGNETE). 

Pull yourself together, child! We'll talk later. 

MOGENS. 

But if there is dancing, then Karen must sing. 

Sing, Karen, one of your old songs, 

And let our young people create a roundel. 

KAREN. 

Very well, but you must sing along. 

MOGENS. 

I'll be glad to. 

210

SEVERAL. 

To dancing! To dancing! 

MOGENS. 

Let the dancing begin! 

(The PEASANTS dance during the following song.) 

KAREN. 

1. 

Deep in the sea, which foams with strong waves 

Against Stevns' white mountain, 

A mermaid hides herself in the depths 

In the fresh, cool, blue world. 

KAREN and MOGENS. 

But when the pale moon hangs over mirror -clear river, 

She ascends, and softly plays the harp. 

KAREN. 

Hush! Hush! What a delicious sound! 

Far over the waves sounds the mermaid's song. 

BOTH. 

Far over the waves sounds the mermaid's song. 

KAREN. 

The sea-cliff king gazes out from 

His white throne, recalling vanished pleasure. 

"You who enrapture me with the harp's tone, 

Oh, my bride! Come to this breast!" 

211


But she blushes warmly through the clear wave, 

The harp's tone dies, she stammers out her answer: 

KAREN. 

"Hush! Hush! Hush! I am not your bride! 

The wave is cold, it quenches love." 

BOTH. 

The wave is cold, it quenches love. 

KAREN. 

3. 

Sorrowfully he wanders away from the mountain, 

He searches for peace in the elf-thicket, 

Wanders alone there by the spring-world, 

In the blue, moon-clear night. 


There he keeps watch silently, and weaves his nets, 

Wrapping so many innocent children in his embrace. 

KAREN. 

Hush! Hush! Hush! He is certainly near us! 

He has heard everything concealed behind his trees. 

BOTH. 

He has heard everything concealed behind his trees. 

(The dance comes to an end.) 

212

(as she pours for him). 

(after having drunk). 

MOGENS. 

I am left feeling strange, Karen, 

At these songs about our elf-king. 

Soon it will be evening, then it will get dark, 

And we shall pass close by Elves’ Hill. 

KAREN. 

Then you aren't afraid, when you stroll 

In such a company? 

MOGENS. 

It makes me shudder 

Every time I think about the golden treasure 

The elf-girl guards. 

KAREN. 

Are you crazy? 

Then you do not have the courage to dig it up? 

MOGENS. 

What? Courage? I shall show you I have courage. 

Hurry up! Fill my tankard! Courage comes later. 

KAREN 

You are drinking more than you can hold, Mogens! 

MOGENS 

And if I get drunk, what of it? 

213

It can happen today to the best of men. 

Fill the tankard again, it makes me brave. 

(She fills it, he holds it in his hand and drinks from it now and then.) 

(Aside.) 

(To MOGENS.) 

Tell me, Karen,... you understand it... 

Tell me again, what is it a man will do, 

When he wants to unearth a treasure yonder in Stevns? 

KAREN. 

I have often told you that. 

MOGENS. 

Tell me again. 

KAREN. 

Well, then... 

Perhaps it will frighten him. 

You know the church on Stevns' sea-cliff? 

Yes, Høierup. 

MOGENS. 

KAREN. 

A skipper built it 

Who had been in distress, about to be shipwrecked 

On Fælskov's reef; he promised heaven then 

That if his life was spared he would build 

A church on the sea-cliff. He was rescued, 

214

And built the church far out, near the edge of the cliff. 

Now the waves of the sea wash against its foot, 

And tear great pieces out of the cliff; 

Soon the church will topple down, if every 

Christmas Eve they do not move it inland, 

By as much as a handsbreadth. 

I know that! 

Now continue! 

MOGENS. 

KAREN. 

But the churchyard gives way 

Continually before the sea's power. 

The long knuckles of the buried dead 

Are exposed to the light on the cliffside, 

And many arms, as pale as mountain chalk, 

Point with withered fingers out over the sea. 

MOGENS. 

I know that! Continue! 

KAREN. 

If one goes there 

At midnight, one creeps up onto the cliff, 

But it is steep, and the sea is down below,... 

Mark this well! It can cost your life... 

MOGENS. 

I know that! Continue! 

KAREN. 

If then one unearths 

215

(Aside.) 

Three knuckles, and brings them down to the place 

Where the treasure is buried; one digs it up, 

And no witchcraft can then conceal it 

From the eye or the hand. 

MOGENS. 

That is right. 

That is how you told it to me before. 

I have supplied myself with what I shall need. 

KAREN. 

Why do you stare so wildly? 

MOGENS. 

Fill my tankard, 

And don't ask me! 

KAREN. 

The sheriff is coming! 

MOGENS. 

Then pour! Pour! Now we must really drink. 

(KAREN fills the beakers for him and the others.) 

SCENE TWO. 

The preceding. EBBESEN and FLEMMING, both in festive dress, come from the left 

side. Two pages follow them. 

216

(She runs out.) 

EBBESEN. 

Good evening, my friends! Have they 

Taken care of you, as I would have it? 

Have song and dance and clinking tankards delighted you? 

Yes, sire, yes! 

I am pleased. 

PEASANTS. 

EBBESEN. 

AGNETE (aside). 

It is he! 

In handsome wedding clothes! Oh, so he betrayed 

Agnete's trust! Now it is all over! 

SCENE THREE. 

The preceding, except AGNETE. 

EBBESEN. 

You pages! Come here! 

(The PAGES approach.) 

Do not forget 

What I have charged you: Pay no attention 

To these peasants while the king is here. 

I have told you, his grace will have it so. 

He is leaving here before midnight, 

And will not waste time receiving 

217

The greetings and good wishes of these people. 

You know his will, see to it! 

(The PAGES bow and step back.) 

KAREN (brings two tankards). 

Mr. Sheriff, you must drink a tankard handsomely 

With our peasants! You too, Mr. Flemming! 

FLEMMING. 

What? I? No, old woman, save your mead! 

KAREN. 

Why so? I believe you are still angry. 

You became angry this morning; do not let the sun 

Go down on it. 

FLEMMING. 

Old woman! Leave me alone! 

EBBESEN. 

Oh, do not bother about him! He is a little upset; 

It will pass, but he needs to 

Move his legs in the dancing salon. 

FLEMMING. 

Be quiet! Do not make fun of me. 

EBBESEN. 

Consider, my dear friend, 

You shall appear on our king's behalf, 

218

You do not resemble him at all with such a face. 

(KAREN meanwhile has poured for EBBESEN and the others.) 

MOGENS. 

Long live our sheriff! Long live his bride! 

(They empty the tankards.) 

EBBESEN. 

Yes, I shall empty this for my bride. 

(He empties the tankard. Aside.) 

(To the PEASANTS.) 

Where is she? I have been looking for her in vain!... 

I thank you, friends!... Is it true!... 

Will you accompany me to Høistrup this evening? 

Yes, sire, yes! 

PEASANTS. 

EBBESEN. 

I thank you all! 

I expected it, and therefore I ordered 

My carriage to drive some distance ahead, 

It waits on the other side of the bridge; 

I shall walk there with you on foot; 

Then I shall get in with Flemming, we shall drive 

In haste to the bride's house, and later 

We shall see you again at the celebration.... Now, away! 

PEASANTS. 

219

Away! Away! 

EBBESEN (aside). 

Where is Agnete? 

Oh, if I could only reassure the beloved 

With a friendly word before my departure! 

CHORUS of PEASANTS. 

1. 

Now when the sheriff departs, 

We accompany him to the bride's house. 

There we shall have new celebrations, 

Once more they shall fill our tankards. 

2. 

We shall know the way by the moon; 

The house itself has a starry radiance; 

The wedding lights and burning lamps 

Beckon so clearly to a nocturnal dance. 

3. 

Light streams through a distant window, 

Yonder is a proud knight's room. 

Hurrah for the bridegroom! Hurrah for the bride! 

Hurrahs will fill forest and valley! 

(During the latter part of the chorus, EBBESEN and FLEMMING cross the bridge, 

followed by the PAGES and all the PEASANTS.) 

SCENE FOUR. 

MOGENS. KAREN. 

KAREN. 

Why aren't you going with them? Hurry up; 

Consider, that if you are walking alone, 

The elf-girl can take you by the neck. 

220

(She fills it.) 

(Drinks.) 

MOGENS. 

I am going, but fill my tankard once more, 

So I can work up courage for my stroll. 

KAREN. 

What? Do you want to drink still more? 

Fill it! Fill it! 

Well! 

MOGENS (seizes the tankard). 

KAREN. 

MOGENS. 

Soon the night will fall. 

Hurrah for the elf-girl and for the treasure! 

(Walks quickly across the bridge.) 

SCENE FIVE. 

KAREN alone. 

How wild he is! He has drunk far too much.... 

Now I must speak with Agnete.... Poor thing! 

Every day she grows more preoccupied, 

And loses herself in deep dreaming.... 

221

Where did she go?... Here she comes. 

SCENE SIX. 

KAREN. AGNETE. 

In the meanwhile it has grown darker. In a little while it is evening, but the moon 

shines brightly. 

AGNETE. 

Mother! 

Has everyone gone? 

KAREN. 

Yes, they have gone! 

One can still hear their shouting in the distance.... 

AGNETE. 

Oh God! Then my last hope is gone. 

KAREN. 


AGNETE. 

I love Ebbesen! 

Now I have said it! Come what will! 

KAREN. 

Agnete! Are you crazy? But... 

222

AGNETE. 

Mother! 

I have often been about to confess it to you, 

But fear suppressed it. 

KAREN. 

Are you dreaming? 

Do you mean our sheriff, who is marrying 

Miss Munk this evening? 

AGNETE. 

Spare me, spare me! 

I feel my humiliation; but yet... 

Even though he has faithlessly betrayed his oath, 

I still believe that he loves me.... Believe it? 

No, no, I know it!... Even if he said to me: 

"I do not love you any more," I would answer boldly: 

"You lie, sire! I am still your beloved! 

KAREN. 

Agnete! Ah, I am trembling! Yet tell me, 

When have you talked with the sheriff, and how? 

AGNETE. 

In the evening at twilight, and in the morning, 

On Elves’ Hill. 

KAREN. 

On Elves’ Hill! Agnete! 

You terrify me!... Unlucky girl! 

You yourself do not recognize your offense! 

AGNETE. 

223

Mother! 

For heaven's sake! What do you mean? 

KAREN. 

Ah, do not call me 

Mother! I am no longer your mother. 

AGNETE. 

Is your anger so cruel? Am I not unfortunate 

Enough already? Shall I also be burdened 

With being cursed? 

KAREN. 

My child! 

Would I curse you? Come, Agnete! 

Come to my heart! It beats only for you. 

(throws herself into her arms). 

AGNETE. 

Let me gather faith at your breast! 

But what did your words mean? You said 

I must no longer call you Mother? 

KAREN. 

Ah, dear child! I am not your mother. 

How is that? 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

224

Unfortunate girl! You must know, 

As a child you were kidnapped by the elves, 

Your bridegroom is the elf-king. 

Oh, Mother! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

Oh, if only it could still remain hidden from you! 

But now you must know it. 

Oh, tell me! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

I had a child who was called Agnete, 

But in early infancy she died. 

One evening I walked away from the little dead one 

Out into the forest, grieving. Suddenly 

By Elves’ Hill I heard a child crying; 

I went over there; I found you lying 

In the grass, picked you up and carried you home, 

Buried the little corpse in silence, concealed 

The matter carefully and gave you out 

To be my Agnete. Child! You are a heathen, 

You have not received Christian baptism! 

Therefore the elf-king could steal you. 

Oh, heavens! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

225

You wore a chain around your throat, 

On which was a ring with large diamonds 

That sparkled like stars. This treasure 

Carried the elf-king's symbol; 

Since he is rich in diamonds and jewels. 

He entices the young by the sight of gold, 

And with a precious ring he betrothes himself 

Forever to the easily deceived child. 

AGNETE. 

Mother! You terrify me! 

KAREN. 

My cottage 

Was too humble for such a treasure, 

Which thieves could steal, or fire destroy. 

I put the ring in a jar, buried it 

In silence at the foot of Elves’ Hill, 

In the same place where I had found you, 

In the same place where an instinct, 

Which you yourself did not understand, so often 

Drew you in the twilight, while everyone 

Who saw you turned aside for fear of the elf-girl. 

AGNETE. 

No, Mother, no! The instinct which drew me 

Was love. I met Ebbesen there, 

Since the place is frightening, and therefore solitary. 

KAREN. 

You have committed a double sin, Agnete! 

Since Ebbesen is a bridegroom, you are a bride, 

The elf-king's bride!... Unfortunate! 

And by his hill, where he lurks concealed, 

There you have met your love!... Ah, Agnete! 

Has he not touched you with outstretched sceptre? 

Have you not heard his complaining sigh in the spring, 

226

His bitterness in the wind? Have the white mists 

Which weave on the meadow never 

Embraced you with a moist and clammy cold? 

AGNETE. 

No, Mother, no! I have never seen him. 

KAREN. 

(seizes a little stick, and extends it to AGNETE). 

Then go, go immediately to the place where he rules! 

But go alone! Then perhaps he will come. 

Take this stick; the sharp iron tip on it 

Was forged by witchcraft; dig up the treasure, 

It lies under the greensward, by the bank, 

On the right side, quite low down. Invoke him! 

Call him at the foot of the hill and at its top, 

In bush and thicket, by the spring and by the stream; 

And if he comes, give the ring back to him, 

Request your freedom; if he does not take the ring, 

Then throw it to him, turn quickly around, 

Take flight immediately, and do not look back! 

Oh, great God! 

AGNETE. 

KAREN. 

What? Do you not have the courage? 

AGNETE. 

Yes, I have courage for everything in order to be free. 

KAREN. 

227

(As she goes.) 

Then go! 

I am going! 

AGNETE. 

Now give me strength, o heaven! 

KAREN (shouting after her). 

Be brave! Be brave! I shall wait for you in the cottage. 

(AGNETE goes over the bridge. KAREN goes into her house.) 

SCENE SEVEN. 

The KING enters from the left side, followed by HENRIK RUD and a HUNTER. 

KING. 

Mr. Henrik Rud! Now you know my will. 

RUD. 

Yes, sire! Your courtiers are following you; they are 

Already on the way: they will be here in a little while. 

A hunt in moonlight is something rare. 

Yet the spoils will scarcely be large; 

Perhaps here and there a badger in the thicket. 

KING. 

Be that as it may! I need a pretext here, 

And a hunting party can serve well for that, 

Even if there were no moon in the sky. 

228

How quiet everything is! Already Ebbesen has gone 

To Høistrup with Paul Flemming; the peasants 

Are also gone, the time is convenient. 

RUD. 

Now certainly the elf-girl is losing herself in the thicket. 

KING. 

She is just the one I am looking for. Isn't it so, Henrik? 

Haven't you noticed it: this morning Flemming 

Was happy, but this evening completely dejected, 

And Ebbesen, who was dejected this morning 

Was happy this evening? 

RUD. 

That cannot be denied. 

KING. 

As they say, there is something hidden in it. The girl 

By Elves’ Hill is certainly part of the game. 

They want to deceive me; I do not trust them. 

But I shall follow the track. 

RUD. 

Your grace 

Is wont to see with your own eyes, hear 

With your own ears. 

KING. 

I shall still do that. 

They believe I do not dare cross the bridge? 

Who knows? Perhaps they depend upon that themselves? 

Well then, I shall show them. 

229

I hear 

Your hunters. 

RUD. 

KING. 

Then let us hurry, 

Before they have reached us. Do they know 

That I have gone ahead? 

Yes, sire! 

RUD. 

KING. 

Well then, away! I am not Cæsar, 

And these waves are not Rubicon; 

But yet I say: jacta est alea! 

(Goes quickly over the bridge, followed by RUD and the HUNTERS.) 

SCENE EIGHT. 

The COURTIERS of the king's retinue come in from the left side, all in hunting dress. 

CHORUS. 

1. 

Glorious, a summer night 

On the way to an elf-thicket, 

Rest by the cool spring! 

Luna's silver band 

Winds around Endymion, 

Spying in bush and in valley. 

230

2. 

If you meet a nymph, 

Leave her to herself! 

Hunter, o let her go! 

Remember that Actæon was 

Punished for a bold glance! 

Hunter, o you take care! 

3. 

Walk on the safe road, 

Do not get lost and lose yourself, 

Hunter, in case you are taken! 

But if you have lost our track, 

Listen to our hunter's chorus, 

That will call you back. 

(They cross the bridge.) 

- - - - - 

FOURTH ACT. 

A meadow in the thicket. A stream flows from a spring, and curves around the foot of 

the hill. It is a clear moonlit night. 

SCENE ONE. 

MOGENS with a spade in his hand. 

So now I have become a treasure-hunter. 

Be brave! This is the critical moment!... I have 

Never before been at this place so late. 

I always walked around it at a distance, 

And very often saw the elf-girl on the hill.... 

There she is!... No, it was only the moon, 

Playing upon a bush. Moonlight 

Is no good; I like the dark better, 

Real pitch-black gloom, 

In which one cannot distinguish anything. This light 

Confuses the eye with so many images. 

Here that is not possible; but on the other side, 

231

Where the elf-girl likes to sit, 

Where the treasure is buried.... Oh! I am shaking! 

What if she is sitting there when I arrive, 

And frightens me away from my work? 

Cheer up! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

(He goes behind the hill.) 

SCENE TWO. 

AGNETE. 

(comes in with the stick in her hand). 

You beings, who hover about these places! 

If your power is more than magic tricks, 

Then spare the unlucky one, who laments 

That she belonged to you from birth! 

You king, who rules this thicket, 

Show yourself to me, but in gentle beams, 

So that my eyes may endure the silver gleams 

As easily as the moon's radiance tonight! 

You mist-images, whose dance entertains 

The monarch who lives here in the hill! 

Will you regard me as your sister, 

And include me in your graceful chorus? 

Forgive me! Even if I am the cause: 

I have wandered here as elf-girl, 

Have approached your hidden riches, 

Have felt your threatening attraction pass by. 

Here, far from the mobs and the noise, 

I have met my beloved in this silent grove, 

Heard oaths of fidelity from his lying mouth. 

No, I shall not see this place again, 

Which was the graveyard of my young happiness, 

Where now I tread on the withered myrtle, 

Which was planted by a faithless friend! 

And yet... yet it is there the earth conceals 

My birth-ring in its hiding place. 

I must go there!... What is that I see? 

Yonder it sounded like the noise of a spade! 

Is this sound perhaps the elf-king's message? 

232

Will he imprison me with that ringing iron? 

But if I come, perhaps he will threaten me 

With an outstretched finger, and call me his bride. 

I am confused, let me seek rest! 

My thoughts swarm and my feet are weak. 

By these waves, which rush murmuring 

From the hill out through the dark thicket, 

I shall seek peace for my fear, for my sorrow. 

From the king's deep dwelling in the springs. 

O small waves, will you tell me 

A story from your ruler's castle! 

(She sits on a tree-stump at the foot of the hill, and falls asleep. Then the 

following dream, visible to the audience, is presented: The ELF-GIRLS dance in the 

meadow in the moonlight. They notice AGNETE, and draw the ELF-KING over to her. 

He moves 

quite close to her, shows her a sign of love, and extends to her a diamond ring. AGNETE 

awakens, gets up, and is about to take the ring, when the ELF-KING sinks into the earth, 

and the ELF-GIRLS disappear.) 

AGNETE. 

My God! Was that a dream? 

(She holds her hands in front of her eyes.) 

SCENE THREE. 

AGNETE. MOGENS comes in from behind the hill. He has a diamond ring in his 

hand; he looks at it attentively as he steps forward, so that he comes to stand quite near 

AGNETE without seeing her. 

MOGENS. 

A precious ring! 

Truly, a rare treasure! 

AGNETE. 

(taking her hands from her eyes). 

233

Yet... I saw 

The golden ring so clearly; it sparkled 

With large diamonds. 

(She turns and see MOGENS holding the ring in his hand.) 

Yes, that's it! 

(She reaches out her hand and takes the ring.) 

(He runs away.) 

MOGENS. 

Ah! It is the elf-girl! Heaven help me! 

SCENE FOUR. 

AGNETE (alone). 

Who was he who brought me the ring? 

Why did he run away? 

(Contemplates the ring.) 

How strange! Just like 

I saw it in the dream!... Now I have it! 

But the king? How shall I find him? 

And I wonder if he will take it back? 

In my dream he was so friendly towards me, 

He bowed to me, gave me the ring, 

As if he betrothed himself to me a second time.... 

Someone is coming! Where shall I hide? 

SCENE FIVE. 

AGNETE standing in the foreground to the left. The KING enters in the background, 

followed by RUD and the HUNTERS. 

234

It must be this place. 

KING (still in the background). 

RUD. 

I should say so! 

Will your grace observe that 

A girl is standing over there, lighted by the moon, 

So fine a creature, so bright, even transparent, 

That whoever saw her could boldly swear 

He has actually seen the elf-girl. 

KING. 

As true as I am alive!... Stay back, Rud! 

Be careful! Let us not alarm her; 

She could disappear like a mist, 

She looks so evanescent. Stay here, 

I shall leave the path by myself. 

(RUD and the HUNTERS remain in the background, the KING steps forward.) 

(She wants to hide.) 

AGNETE. 

They are approaching! 

KING. 

Good evening, lovely girl, 

Be calm! You have nothing to fear. 

I am a stranger who does not know the way. 

Will you give me directions? 

Yes, sire! 

AGNETE. 

235

What are you looking for? 

The elf-girl! 

KING. 

I am looking for the elf-girl. 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

Isn't it true that she rules 

In this hidden place, and shows herself 

In moonlight to the wanderer? 

Oh, sire! 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

Why are you so disturbed? Tell me, beautiful child, 

Am I already standing at the goal I am seeking? 

Aren't you yourself the elf-girl? 

AGNETE. 

Oh, do not mock me, sire! 

KING. 

Mock you? 

By heaven! No, I wish to pay homage to your beauty 

By this question. They have told me 

That the elf-girl often shows herself here, 

And you, you look so charming to me, 

As if you were made of snow and mountain air. 

236

AGNETE. 

No, sire, I am only a mortal, 

Not the elf-girl, I would not be that 

For all the gold and diamonds in the world! 

Oh God! I myself walk here with a frightened heart, 

For fear of the elf-girl, who perhaps 

Lies in wait for me unseen. 

KING. 

Is there 

Another elf-girl here, then? 

So they say. 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

What? Then I have not yet found the right one? 

AGNETE. 

No, it is not I! Not I. 

KING. 

My child, 

Who are you then, if not the one I am looking for? 

AGNETE. 

I am a poor peasant girl, sire! 

My mother's name is Karen, her cottage 

Stands by the river in Tryggevæld township. 

I am not lying, sire! If you inquire, 

237

(Aside.) 

(To AGNETE.) 

You will learn that I have told the truth. 

My mother is a cotter's widow, sire, 

But well-known. 

KING. 

My child! I do not doubt you. 

Ah! It is she of whom Flemming spoke. 

But tell me, child, what are you doing here so late? 

Have you made an assignation with your lover? 

AGNETE. 

My lover, sire! I have no lover! 

KING. 

Then what has attracted you so late 

To this hidden place? You say yourself 

You walk here with a frightened heart!... Girl, 

What are you looking for here? 

Oh God! 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

Speak boldly! 

You can entrust your thoughts to me calmly, 

Are you in trouble? Have faith in me, 

Perhaps I can help you to accomplish something. 

238

AGNETE. 

Yes, sire! You appear to be good and noble, 

You have a manly bearing, inspiring trust 

In the breast of the abandoned. And yet... 

There is something stern in your look.... 

No... not stern... I do not know what to call it, 

But I am almost shy before your glance; 

It gives me confidence, but it also fills me 

With fear... with veneration, I mean, 

With deep respect. See, there is the word! 

KING. 

In truth, this language is no peasant's. 

My child, where have you learned to speak so well? 

If I awaken fear and trust in you, 

Then forget the first, let the second prevail! 

By heaven! You are already precious to me! 

Speak out, what are you looking for? 

AGNETE. 

Ah, noble sire... 

But you will laugh at me. 

KING. 

No, dear child! 

Speak boldly! Tell me everything! 

AGNETE. 

I am looking for the king. 

KING. 

As true as I am alive! That answers itself, oddly enough: 

You are looking for the king, and you are standing in front of him. 

239

What? 

As I say. 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

AGNETE. 

No, sire! 

You have broken your promise, you are mocking me! 

KING. 

I am telling the truth; is that so incredible? 

AGNETE. 

You are like one of us, of flesh and blood. 

KING. 

My child! Is not a king of flesh and blood? 

AGNETE. 

No, sire, no! He is a fleeting mist, 

Who hovers for a whiff in the evening breeze; 

His heart has no blood, his bones have no marrow, 

He has no resemblance to you. 

KING. 

God's death! 

I call that a pretty conception of a king! 

240

AGNETE. 

You are getting angry! 

KING. 

No! No! Now I have it! 

Do you mean the elf-king? 

AGNETE. 

Yes, who else? 

KING. 

Who else?... Can you ask that, my child? 

Is there no other king known to you, 

Than the one your superstition has created? 

AGNETE. 

You will not lead me to believe, sire, 

That you are King Christian? 

KING. 

Lead you to believe? 

AGNETE. 

Since that would be even more incredible. 

And why is that? 

KING. 

241

AGNETE. 

King Christian does not dare come 

To Stevns; the elf-king will not tolerate him. 

KING. 

My child, your innocence makes me smile. 

Now you can see that the king is in Stevns, 

And that your elf-king must tolerate him. 

You can learn from this, that from now on 

The elf-king's authority is at an end, 

And you have nothing more to fear from him. 

AGNETE. 

No, sire, no! I dare not believe that! 

Since my early childhood I have heard 

That the king does not dare come to Stevns. 

KING. 

God's death! I am losing my patience. 

You do not recognize here any other king 

Than the one which your imagination has created. 

It is time I deposed him, 

And show you, you fool, who governs. 

You believe in something that is only a figment of the imagination; 

And I, who am standing visibly before your eyes, 

You dare to deny me life and truth? 

Let go of this ignorant thought! 

If something sorrowful weighs on your heart, 

If some desire lies in your bosom, 

Then turn to the king, before whose countenance 

You are placed here! Confide your sorrow to him, 

Express your hope, your fear to him! 

That was always the custom in Denmark; 

I can see the future in spirit: thus it shall be! 

AGNETE. 

242

(throws herself down before his feet). 

O God's anointed! I recognize you! 

How my eye was blind to your radiance! 

Now I feel it: The fire in the glance, 

Which inspires faith and trust in my bosom, 

While it also bows me in the dust 

Before your feet; even that noble wrath, 

Whose lightning flash blazes in your speech's thunder, 

Everything says to me that you are the monarch! 

KING (raising her up). 

Stand up, my daughter! Tell your errand 

To him you first named with the name of a king. 

AGNETE. 

Oh, he is powerless from this hour! 

Before the Skoldung* sun he and all the mists 

Recede, which suck nourishment from the moon. 

(*The name of the Danish royal family.) 

KING. 

What do you want with him, then? 

AGNETE. 

Oh God!... 

To give him back this ring. 

KING. 

Give it to me! 

(AGNETE gives him the ring.) 

What am I seeing! 

243

My gift as godfather to Elisabeth! 

How did you come by this ring? 

AGNETE. 

My liege! The woman yonder by Tryggevæld 

Is not my mother; she found me 

Here as an infant, and this ring 

Was on my necklace. 

KING. 

What am I hearing!... Follow me 

To Høistrup! There is no time to waste here. 

AGNETE. 

To Høistrup! O my liege! No, spare me.... 

KING. 

Why?... Listen, child! You love Ebbesen!... 

Are you silent? Answer truthfully! 

Yes! 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

Has he 

Sworn to be true to you? 

Yes! 

AGNETE. 

244

KING. 

Then come, my daughter! 

Now I shall be a guest at Høistrup! Quickly! 

If only we do not come too late! 

HUNTERS (back in the forest). 

If you meet a nymph, 

Leave her to herself! 

Hunter, o let her go! 

Remember that Actæon was 

Punished for a bold glance! 

Hunter, o take care! 

KING. 

(as soon as the first two lines are sung). 

(RUD steps forward.) 

Ah! The hunters are looking for me.... Henrik Rud! 

Send a hunter down 

To the farmhouse yonder by the bridge; let him 

Bring the old woman, she must accompany me 

To Høistrup at once and without delay. 

I shall wait for her at my carriage. 

(The HUNTER leaves.) 

(To AGNETE.) 

RUD. 

At once, sire! 

KING. 

And now, away! 

245

I am coming. 

AGNETE. 

KING. 

Give me your hand! 

What the darkness hides will come to light. 

(Walks with AGNETE by the hand, followed by RUD.) 

HUNTERS (back in the forest). 

Walk on the safe road, 

Do not get lost and lose yourself, 

Hunter, in case you are taken! 

But if you have lost our track, 

Listen to our hunter's chorus, 

That will call you back. 

- - - - - 

FIFTH ACT. 

An illuminated and festively decorated salon at Høistrup. 

SCENE ONE. 

WALKENDORFF. ELISABETH. EBBESEN. FLEMMING. KNIGHTS and 

LADIES. 

As the curtain goes up, a large magnificent ball is seen in full course. KNIGHTS and 

LADIES perform different dances. Then some YOUNG GIRLS step forward, and during 

an appropriate dance, formally present ELISABETH with the bridal wreath. She appears 

undecided whether to receive it. FLEMMING observes her closely; EBBESEN also 

has directed his attention towards her. Finally she takes the wreath, though with 

trembling hands. The YOUNG GIRLS step back. The ball begins again, as the 

246

KNIGHTS and LADIES, who were spectators of the YOUNG GIRLS' dance, again take 

up positions in 

new quadrilles. All the principal characters present stand meanwhile in the foreground in 

front of the dancers. FLEMMING, who has struggled with himself for a long time, steps 

forward, and takes the wreath out of ELISABETH's hand, which must happen a moment 

after she has received it. ELISABETH and EBBESEN stand surprised by that. 

WALKENDORFF appears astonished and annoyed at FLEMMING's audacity. 

FLEMMING and ELISABETH are seen to implore his forgiveness and protection for 

their love. WALKENDORFF expresses his fury, that he will not have anything to do 

with it. 

This whole action must be conducted in such a way as if the characters really spoke with 

each other, so that the audience can imagine that they cannot hear the words on account 

of the loud dance-music. Little-by-litte everything falls into disorder, the quadrilles are 

interrupted, the guests run amongst each other, all give signs of their confusion. 

Suddenly the HUNTERS' chorus from the third and fourth acts is heard, not singing, 

merely 

performing on the hunting horn outside. Everything grows quiet in the salon; they listen 

with tense expectation. 

SCENE TWO. 

The preceding. BJØRN enters quickly. 

BJØRN (to WALKENDORFF). 

O sire! I have important news to report: 

The king is here. 

The king! 

SEVERAL. 

OTHERS. 


OTHERS. 


247

WALKENDORFF (aside). 

May heaven have mercy on my sins! 

(Rushes towards the exit to receive the KING. Everyone flocks around him.) 

SCENE THREE. 

The preceding. The KING. RUD. FOLLOWERS. 

KING. 

Mr. Walkendorff! I salute you! I come 

Unexpectedly, I assume, but I beg you, 

Do not let my arrival disturb your celebration! 

WALKENDORFF (very embarrassed). 

Disturb!... Your majesty! This favor, 

So great, though it is unexpected, still must 

Infinitely enhance the celebration's joy, 

If it were not already disturbed. 

KING. 


WALKENDORFF (pointing to ELISABETH). 

She will not accept him, 

She has another. 

KING. 

Walkendorff! You are joking. 

248

WALKENDORFF. 

No, your grace! I assure you I am now 

In no mood to joke. 

(kneeling before the king). 

ELISABETH and FLEMMING. 

Hear us, noble King.... 

KING. 

What do I see? You, Mr. Flemming! Is it you 

Who have filled her head with fancies? 

You are supposed to appear to her on my behalf, 

As your sainted father represented me of old 

At the child's cradle. Know, my young gentleman, 

You represent the king most unworthily, 

And resemble your father not at all. 

Stand up, ungrateful one! Away with you! 

I shall have nothing further to do with you. 

You have both deceived my trust, 

You have concealed your love from me, 

Instead of confessing it at the right time. 

(ELISABETH and FLEMMING stand up.) 

Mr. Ebbesen! You stand so silent in the corner. 

Yet this sight cannot be welcome to you. 

Come here! As sure as I am the king, I promise, 

You shall receive compensation for all the injustice 

Which you received here. 

EBBESEN. 

Be lenient, your grace! 

I require no compensation. If you would favor me, 

Grant me a request: bestow on those two 

The favor of which you just now deprived them, 

And let them go to the altar. I swear: 

249

I should not, cannot marry Miss Munk. 

KING. 

I have not asked for your advice, Mr. Sheriff! 

What kind of words were those which escaped you? 

You do not require compensation? Is it possible? 

Perhaps you yourself have a part in their alliance? 

Perhaps you have already given someone else 

A promise of fidelity? 

(EBBESEN looks down embarrassed.) 

I shall show you 

The meaning of things!... You have sworn 

Not to marry Elisabeth? Well then, 

I believe my oath is just as good as yours: 

I swear by my royal word: 

You will lead Elisabeth to the altar, 

The same person I stood godfather to, and bestowed 

A rare diamond on as a cradle gift.... 

Elisabeth! Take the glove off your hand, 

Display the ring. 

WALKENDORFF (aside to BJØRN). 

Ah! I am perishing with terror! 

ELISABETH. 

Your majesty! I do not understand you. 

Do I have a rare diamond that you bestowed on me? 

KING. 

Can you ask that?.... Mr. Walkendorff, 

On a day when the bride is so festively adorned, 

Why is she not wearing the King's gift? 

Go, fetch it immediately. 

250

WALKENDORFF. 

Ah! Your grace.... 

KING. 

Well? 

What is the matter? 

How is that? 

WALKENDORFF. 

The ring... is gone. 

KING. 

WALKENDORFF. 

Sire! The fault is mine. 

I was abroad, my sainted wife 

Carelessly let the child go with the ring 

On a chain around her throat: it was stolen. 

KING. 

How easy to cast the blame on your wife, 

When she is dead, and cannot defend herself! 

I swear, your grace.... 

WALKENDORFF. 

KING. 

How do you know 

It was stolen? Who was the culprit? 

251

WALKENDORFF. 

A miserable hunter was suspected, noble sire! 

KING. 

What? Suspected? How do you know that? 

WALKENDORFF. 

They saw him 

Sneak it secretly out of the castle. 

At Tryggevælde he was later followed 

By hunters; they seized him there, 

But he had nothing that gave evidence against him. 

Presumably he had thrown the ring away 

From fear of his pursuers, had later wandered 

To the place again, found it, and sold it. 

KING. 

But wasn't the child stolen with it? 

WALKENDORFF. 

What? No, Elisabeth is standing here. 

BJØRN (aside). 

Now it pinches! 

KING. 

That seems to me incredible. 

They have told me that the chain was made of steel, 

And was fastened firmly to the child's throat, 

That it was not easy to get it loose. 

252

WALKENDORFF. 

Ah! How do you know that! 

KING. 

(gives a sign to his FOLLOWERS. To WALKENDORFF). 

Can you prove 

That this girl here is Miss Munk? 

Assurances are not enough. I maintain: 

The one who has the ring is Elisabeth. 

SCENE FOUR. 

The preceding. AGNETE enters fearfully, followed by KAREN. 

EBBESEN. 

Agnete! What am I seeing! 

KING (to AGNETE). 

Come, my child! 

Stretch out your hand! See, here is the diamond! 

This is Elisabeth, Munk's daughter! 

WALKENDORFF. 

Mercy! 

I concealed it out of fear, my lord! 

I have not spared time, nor labor, nor diligence, 

To trace the vanished child, 

But everything was in vain. 

KING. 

253

Who is the girl 

Who is given out to be Miss Munk! 

WALKENDORFF. 

My niece, sire! I came home 

From abroad with her, as a ward, 

My brother left her to me at his death, 

When he gave up the ghost in Strasborg. The girl 

Was newly left motherless, she was 

About the same age as the lost child, 

And called Elisabeth, like her. 

KING. 

Ah! You see, 

How the work of darkness seeks the light? 

I ought to punish you, punish you all, 

But I shall let mercy pass for justice.... 

Now, Ebbesen! Which of us swore the truth? 

Will you still not marry Miss Munk? 

EBBESEN. 

Forgive me, my liege! 

Be happy! 

(He unites FLEMMING and ELISABETH.) 

KING (unites EBBESEN and AGNETE). 

My wish applies also to Mr. Flemming 

And Miss Walkendorff. 

ALL. 

Long live the king! 

254

CHORUS. 

Protect our king, great God! 

Protect his family! 

Let the noble and exalted stock of Skjoldung 

Always grow fresh shoots! 

Protect our king, great God! 

Protect his family! 

With flowers in his silver hair, 

And strengthened year by year, 

He bears the weight of his crown, 

As easily as in his youth's Spring! 

- - - - - - - - - - 

- - - - - - - - - - 

255

VII. “Donna Clara, en Natscene.” 

This play is an experiment by an apprentice dramatist. Even though it may seem sentimental 

and artificial to modern tastes, Andreas Munch was no hack writer. He was the third most 

important poet in Norway in the 1840s, after Henrik Wergeland and Johan Sebastian Welhaven. 

Munch was one of Ibsen's models as he was learning to write lyric poetry. According to the 

editor of his works, the scholar and critic M.J. Monrad, he was the most purely lyrical of the 

three leading Norwegian poets of the time. 

"Donna Clara" was performed not only in Skien, but also in Bergen, where it 

entered the repertoire in 1855-56, the same season in which Gildet paa Solhoug 

premiered. Clara may be a model for Margit in that play. 

This translation is based on the text in the collected edition of Munch's works 

(Andreas Munch. Samlede Skrifter. M. J. Monrad og Hartvig Lassen, eds. 5 vols. 

København, 1887-90; vol. II, 287-325). The first edition of the play (1840) ended with 

Clara clawing at the wall behind which her former lover had been immured. It is the first 

version which was performed in Skien, according to the reviewer from Skiensposten (see 

file # IX). All the same, it has seemed appropriate to translate the final version of the 

play, since no doubt it represents Munch's mature intention for it. 

“DONNA CLARA. A Night-Play.” 

Characters. 

Count del Fuente. 

Clara, his wife. 

Don Fernando. 

Maja, Clara's chambermaid. 

A journeyman mason. 

A servant. 

A gothic room, with rich, heavy furnishings. In the background two deep arched 

windows, and midway between these a door into an alcove hollowed out in the thick wall. 

On the right side a door. In the foreground a table, on which is a light in a candelabrum. 

It is late afternoon. Clara is seen in the alcove, on her knees praying in front of a picture 

of the Virgin Mary. Maja sleeps in an armchair. After a lapse of some moments Clara 

stands up, and walks slowly forward into the room. 

Forgive me, Madonna! 

CLARA. 

256

I cannot pray any more: 

Fear and yearning, sorrow and yearning 

Sit watching in my breast, 

And when devotion wants to unfold 

Its big, bright wings, 

Cold seizes my heart, 

Whispers darkly in my ear, 

And I cannot pray any more. 

In my childhood, in my childhood 

They taught me to pray so nicely! 

They put my hands together, 

Had me kneel whole hours 

On the hard, cold stones 

In the dark prayer chamber. 

But I cried and cried, and longed 

For my playgrounds. 

For the child's prayer is like the bird's: 

Flight and play and happy songs, 

Green meadows, fresh forests, 

Heaven around its chaste head. 

Now I have no songs in me, 

I cannot see the green meadows, 

Or breathe the cool forests, 

I have no air, no flower, no freedom; 

Now I walk to the prayer chamber, 

Kneel on the hard stones, 

Sigh for consolation in prayer: 

But I cannot pray any more. 

Oh how sad and lonely it is 

Within these old walls! 

These dark, massive arches 

Erect a vault over the grave of my hope 

And my husband's evil eyes 

Look at me from all the corners. 

It is as if something sad 

Lurks here in the night! 

This stillness makes me anxious; 

Maja! Maja! She is sleeping! 

Sleep! Sleep! Those who could sleep, forget! 

This indolent body can sleep, 

This empty soul can repose 

257

In a dream of new dresses, 

Red ribbons and silken laces! 

I envy her ability to sleep. 

(She shakes her.) 

Maja! Maja Please wake up! 

MAJA (starts). 

Help me! What is it? Oh, forgive me, Madam, 

I didn't know, I believe I have been asleep. 

CLARA. 

How dare you sleep, when your mistress is awake? 

Don't stand there like a marble statue! 

Do something. 

Well, what shall I do? 

MAJA. 

CLARA. 

You are unbearable. Can't you at least 

Understand that I am bored this evening? 

It is so dead here, so empty. I want to be entertained. 

What are you made for other than to amuse? 

Invent something! You understand! Now, what will it be? 

MAJA. 

Mother of God! Help this poor girl! 

I cannot read, or sing, either, 

I have never learned the graceful arts 

To pass the time for a noble lady. 

I can only sew, curl hair and cook. 

Forgive me, Donna, but it is already late; 

What if you tried to go to bed? 

258

One is not bored when one is asleep. 

CLARA. 

You and your sleeping! I do not want to sleep. 

MAJA. 

Shall I tease your dark locks, then, 

And adorn you handsomely with gold and silk, 

Until the duke comes home from town tonight? 

CLARA. 

Terrible. That won't do. Something else. 

MAJA. 

What else shall I do? Let me see, I can 

Tell you a delightful story 

An old Moor taught me, when we 

Were still in your father's house in Seville. 

CLARA. 

Seville! That's it! Yes, Seville! 

Oh, how sweetly and easily it rests on the lips, 

When home is mentioned in a foreign prison! 

Talk to me about Seville, good Maja! 

It is so good to hear the names 

Of all my friends, and about 

The grove of trees on my father's estate! 

You are the only one who knows about them. 

Talk about Seville, do you hear? About home! 

MAJA. 

About your home? Is your home not here 

In this beautiful castle, the house of your husband, 

259

The rich, powerful, highborn duke? 

How can you still give a thought to 

That lowly house at Guadalquivir, 

Here in the midst of your royal splendor? 

CLARA. 

Peace rested on that lowly house! 

Peace, a child's peace! So gentle, so light, so easy 

Like the morning sky on the shining sea. 

The happy freedom I have left yonder 

On the river's fresh, blooming bank; 

Like a captive bird, on the wild seacoast, 

Now I only dream about that lost peace. 

There is a place deep in my father's garden, 

Where palm trees and acacias softly waved 

And the river glistened through the net of leaves. 

I hide my youthful memory 

In the shade under the palm tree's broad leaves, 

The wave whispers one name only. 

Say it, Maja! Let me hear the sound, 

So that the soul's most secret, silent thought 

Can quench its thirst for an encouraging word! 

MAJA. 

Isn't it the arbor, surely, where your father, 

Don Gusman, always sat in the cool evening, 

And where you brought him his wine and fruit? 

CLARA. 

Ah yes, the poor old man! Perhaps he is sitting 

There now and playing chess with Father Anton 

And thinking often about the distant Clara? 

But that is still not exactly right. 

There is another place in the garden, Maja! 

MAJA. 

Now I have it! Of course, you mean the place 

260

By the palm tree, where the chimpanzee 

Was tied, whom you were so fond of 

And whom you yourself fed from your white hand? 

CLARA. 

No, that is too crazy! You are a monkey! 

I am a fool, to want to talk with you. 

Get away from me, Maja, you are too stupid. 

Go back to sleep. Go! 

Thanks, Madonna! 

(She goes.) 

MAJA. 

CLARA (alone). 

Ascend from thought's deep, silent sea, 

You soft, nightly memory, 

You last remnant of my love! 

You borrow his love-dark eye 

His deep voice's sweet melody, 

And whisper to my soul, in this night, 

A soft echo of vanished pleasures. 

In Seville, in Seville, 

Under palms and plaintains 

My father's white villa stood 

Cheerful with its columns and balconies. 

Andalusia's soft sky 

Rested on white roofs, 

And the whole lovely picture 

Was reflected in the water's surface. 

Close by the door of the house I rested 

On many lovely southern evenings; 

I did not think about the birds' warbling, 

I did not see the flowers' golden leaves. 

261

I listened silently, quite silently 

To the distant bell, which softly 

Tinkled, like a fountain of love, 

In a dark corner of the garden. 

That was the sign he was there! 

And, when it had grown late, 

With joy and anxiety I stole 

To the place, which only two knew. 

Donna Clara! Donna Clara! 

It sounded from the dark hedges. 

Don Fernando! Don Fernando! 

Do you remember that Clara lives? 

While you were in distant lands 

She was compelled to marry 

This proud, dark grandee, 

This cunning gallego. 

He brought his young wife 

To his deserted fortress by the sea; 

He keeps her buried there, 

Jealous of every stone in the wall. 

But she wastes away and yearns, 

Yearns to go back to her home 

To her garden's dark hedges, 

To Seville, to Fernando! 

It is so hot and humid, so stifling in here. 

I'll open the window, so that the fresh sea-Beeze 

Can strengthen the heart from its salty chalice. 

(She opens the window and looks out.) 

How vast, how airy! It does the captive good 

To see the wide, dusky horizon, 

And the sea, which rolls with deep breaths 

Heavily toward the shore's black cliffs. 

I spy a ship yonder through the darkness! 

The white sails billow out ready to fly, 

And the night-signal gleams high on the mast 

And calls the passengers to get on board. 

262

If only that were me, who was sailing along 

To life, to freedom over transparent waves! 

But I am bound, bound here eternally 

And dare not escape, even if I could. 

(The sounds of a guitar outside.) 

Sh! Such sounds! Flattering, familiar, 

They whisper to me like old friends; 

They are like Don Fernando's evening signal! 

FERNANDO (softly under the window). 

Donna Clara! Donna Clara! 

CLARA. 

Jesus! Savior! Whose voice is that! 

FERNANDO. 

Answer me, answer me, Donna Clara! 

CLARA. 

It is he! Oh God! What do I do now? 

FERNANDO. 

Clara, have you learned to forget? 

CLARA (with overflowing feeling). 

Don Fernando! Don Fernando! 

Saint Clara be praised! 

FERNANDO. 

263

I recognize this sweet voice; 

Up to the wall, climb over it! 

CLARA. 

Are you mad? You're not going to do it? 

Help! For God's sake! Oh! He is already hanging 

On the wall like a swallow, 

Where it curves high over 

The sea and the jagged cliffs! 

Oh, it makes me dizzy just to watch. 

FERNANDO (approaching). 

Beloved girl, these stones, 

These crevices here in the wall, 

These dry ivy vines 

Are for me a ladder to heaven. 

CLARA. 

He is already near. Oh Fernando, 

I do not dare to receive you. 

FERNANDO. 

Then throw me down in the depths. 

CLARA. 

God! There he is; I am doomed! 

(She runs away from the window.) 

Clara, Clara, beloved maid! 

FERNANDO (leaps in). 

264

My Fernando! 

CLARA. 

(Stops suddenly and keeps him away from her.) 

Ah, what am I doing? 

Go away! For God's sake, before he comes, 

Before my cruel husband comes; 

Flee, oh flee, your life depends on it! 

FERNANDO (takes her hands). 

Yes, it is life itself I want to win! 

He is a fool who dares not act 

Forcefully, when destiny's blind 

Mask lies in his hand! 

Let him shape it with spirit, 

Seize happiness and change 

The life of your loved one! 

Do you believe, then, that I came here 

Without purpose and without a plan, like 

The wave cast up on the shore? 

I shall leave here with only one companion, 

Do you doubt that, Clara? 

Everything is decided, everything is ready, 

The ship waiting just below yonder 

Has everything ready, the anchor is weighed, 

And soon will fly like our thoughts 

To America. And when 

The morning hour finally strikes, 

And he comes home from town, 

This duke, this snake, 

Will find his beautiful captive 

Flown away with the morning mist! 

Don Fernando, I am his wife. 

CLARA (tears herself loose). 

FERNANDO. 

265

Yes, but forced, shamelessly forced! 

That decree means nothing: 

Why bear the yoke with fear, 

If you yourself did not choose? 

Clara, does my voice not swell, 

Clara, my eye not shine 

From a right which precedes his? 

Ask your own last thought, 

Ask the beating of your heart, which beats... 

Clara, can you deny it? 

CLARA. 

The church's high sacrament 

Binds me to the Count del Fuente; 

Go, Fernando! Do not tempt me, 

Death is in the look you give me. 

FERNANDO. 

Clara, Clara, have you no 

Better greeting for your lover, 

When, loving and faithful 

He returns to your embrace again? 

Fernando, if you knew 

What it costs me to answer: 

I have no better greeting! 

CLARA. 

FERNANDO. 

What it costs you, you say? 

Only whims and figments of the imagination, 

False duties fastened with screws, 

Such virtues are a horror. 

You build up a whole funeral chorus 

Over the heart's eager yearnings, 

You torture yourself to sit prettily 

Like a precious object in a cage, 

266

While the day streams about you 

With its life, its love! 

CLARA. 

Say what you will, but don't mock me, Fernando! 

FERNANDO. 

You drive me to it. 

See! I came here to this lovely encounter 

So happily, so boldly, 

Trembling from courage and desire. 

A thousand heavens, bright with love, 

A thousand yearnings, gentle, sweet, 

Rocked themselves deep in my breast; 

I greeted death and danger proudly: 

They were witness to my progress, 

And I brought you as a gift 

Everything beautiful that life can have: 

Freedom, hope and love! 

But you came towards me 

Armed with an imaginary fault, 

Thrust my life back coldly, 

Trod on my salvation. 

You have forgotten our days of love, 

The sweet laments of our nights 

By yonder river's green banks! 

I have not forgotten them, Clara! 

I still remember well what you said 

To me yonder that last evening, 

Before I was to go away from you: 

The summer night's warm sky 

Lay with its deep clouds 

Like an eye blinded with tears 

Over Andalusia's plains, 

And the pale, cold stars 

Reflected themselves with a smile in the river, 

As if they were making fun of it all. 

Then your words sounded in the night: 

267

See Fernando! These worlds 

Prance in heaven's ballroom 

Because they twinkle eternally, 

Eternally, without life and warmth. 

What is all this glitter worth 

Against the longing of the heart, 

Against a warm tear of ardor, 

Against a woman's silent fidelity? 

Now, pay heed to that, Clara! 

Now that you're changing your language... 

Now you choose the Count del Fuente, 

Choose the dead glitter of a star, 

Wrap yourself in its cold beams 

And, smiling with pity, look 

Down on love and fidelity! 

CLARA. 

I cannot take this any longer; 

Will you kill me, Fernando? 

Are you saying that I forget! 

I forget. I, who have nothing in this world 

Except the memory that remains 

Of my youthful love! 

This is my life, Fernando: 

Mornings without hope or pleasure, 

Nights without rest or sleep, 

Days, long, endlessly long 

Like days and nights in the Sahara desert. 

I do not see anyone except stupid, 

Insensitive, indolent slaves, 

I have nobody, from whose lips 

I can drink the balm of talk! 

Yes, I can be driven so far 

That I yearn, I can even yearn 

For my hated husband! 

But then when he comes 

With his cold snake-like gaze, 

With his scornful smile fixed on his lips, 

With his tongue's uncouth speech; 

Oh! Then the heart shrivels, 

The blood freezes in every vein 

268

And I flee into dead silence 

In order to escape from his sight. 

Can you understand me now, Fernando? 

That I suck memory dry 

As if from life's last spring? 

FERNANDO. 

If you love your memory 

When pale and still it sleeps 

On your eyelid in the night, 

Like an elf with folded wings; 

Then can you love it less 

When it takes living form, 

Has a cheek, where blood makes it blush, 

An eye, through which the soul speaks, 

A heart, which beats with your own 

Here in this moment of heated passion? 

Do you only kiss a flower 

When it closes its chalice of petals 

From the cold night air? 

And not when it freshly unfolds 

Its rich, light colors 

In the shining morning sun? 

CLARA. 

Never! Since memory's flower 

Is a night violet, Fernando. 

It can never breathe 

Out its fragrance in the sunlight, 

Since it only thrives and lives 

In the dark past. 

This flower is all we possess 

Of our past life, Fernando! 

We can watch over it, nurse it 

Tenderly and faithfully, separately. 

Our future ways go apart! 

You are free, you have battles and victories 

To deaden your sorrows; 

I have only a woman's honor, 

A Spanish woman's honor; 

To which I sacrifice everything. 

269

And, when some day my struggle is over, 

They will spread over the coffin 

The woman's white banner of honor, 

That for which I sacrificed everything. 

FERNANDO. 

No! I cannot yet release 

This beautiful dream of life, 

Cannot suddenly tear 

All my hope and all my future 

Bloodily out of the depths of the soul; 

I shall fight to the last. 

(He seizes Clara's hand and leads her to the window.) 

Clara, do you see the ship, 

Shaking its strong wings 

Impatient to fly 

With its beautiful, light burden 

Over the sea's warm billows, 

To the shore of the new world, 

To Brazil's enchanted land! 

There, where the heavens waft fragrance over 

Lush, erect palm trees, 

Where forest solitude praises 

God with its deep hymns, 

Where nature still sleeps, 

Lovely as a child in the cradle, 

Enlivening, fresh as the evening dew, 

Eternally young, the days of old. 

(On his knees.) 

Follow me, Clara, follow me there! 

There we would find a place, 

Where eternal peace breathes sweetly; 

We shall search for a beautiful alcove 

In the deep, dim forest, 

Where the world's footsteps do not tread, 

Where rumors and gossip cannot reach! 

CLARA. 

270

I know a rumor 

From which nobody can escape: 

Since it lives in one's own mind, 

Gnaws inwardly at the heart; 

I know of no consolation against it, 

Not even, not even love itself! 

Not this wild ardor 

In your eye now, Fernando! 

This is the last time I speak, 

Soon I shall be to you as if I were dead. 

We must part, my love! 

But let our parting be sweet 

Like the sun, as it drops 

Gently and quietly under the waves, 

Sends to the last forests catching its rays 

Its silent farewell! 

Let me think I have slept, 

Dreamed the love-song of my youth, 

Let me rest my weary head 

On your breast yet once more, 

My Fernando! 

Clara! Clara! 

FERNANDO. 

CLARA (starts). 

Sh! What is that? Spurs clatter 

Do you hear? In the corridor! 

Heaven, help! It is my husband; 

Great God! You are lost! 

Not as long as I have this. 

FERNANDO (draws his epée). 

271

CLARA. 

Oh, but what about me, Don Fernando! 

FERNANDO 

(lets his epée fall, covers his face with his hands and runs to the 

window to leap out). 

CLARA. 

Not there! Do you want to be smashed to pieces? 

Quickly, into my prayer chamber! 

My husband never goes in there, 

Quick, hurry up! 

Yes, for your sake. 

FERNANDO. 

(At the moment the door to the alcove closes behind Fernando, the Count 

del Fuente enters by the main door, notices it, and remains standing on the 

threshold. Meanwhile Clara has picked up Fernando's rapier, hidden it under the 

table and thrown herself into the armchair in front of it. All this happens in an 

instant.) 

Good evening, Clara! 

THE COUNT (walks slowly over to Clara). 

CLARA. 

Back so soon, my lord? 

THE COUNT. 

Have I come too early? What? How pale you are, 

And how you tremble, Clara. Are you afraid? 

272

I am not afraid of anything. 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT. 

Is that so? Well, we shall see. 

(Seizes her hand roughly.) 

Were you alone when I came, Clara? 

CLARA. 

What kind of question is that. Are you joking? 

THE COUNT. 

I am deadly serious. Why the sly glance 

At the door to the alcove yonder? 

Who is holding devotions in your prayer chamber? 

CLARA (is silent). 

THE COUNT. 

Well! Does your conscience strike you dumb? 

CLARA. 

That accusation does not deserve an answer. 

THE COUNT. 

Ha! Ha! It suits you very well, very nicely 

To play the offended one, the pure one! 

273

Be comforted, my dove! The bird is in a cage, 

He will not run from you; since you know, 

The alcove has been dug out of the building itself 

And has no other exit. Oh yes! We have him! 

Now I shall savor the experience 

Of this capture for a long time. 

(He draws his rapier.) 

See here the shining blade, 

How hot it blushes for revenge and blood! 

It will aid my search in the alcove. 

CLARA (on her knees). 

Mother of God, stand by me now! 

THE COUNT. 

That may well be necessary. Now, let my patience burst; 

You savage, sweet revenge, I greet you! 

(He runs toward the alcove with his sword raised.) 

CLARA 

(springs up and throws herself in his way). 

Stop! I insist; you shall not go there! 

THE COUNT. 

Get out of the way! Your turn will come soon enough. 

CLARA 

(holding him back with all her strength). 

Now you will listen to me, if only 

A spark of reason lives in your dark soul! 

274

You took me away from life, from love, 

You have killed my youth, locked up my hope, 

Hung lead on every hour of my day. 

Cunning as a snake you lie in wait, 

Your smile is poison, your embrace is death, 

And still, del Fuente, I remain true to you! 

By the light of the sun, which you have hidden from me, 

As God rules this world, I am true to you until death! 

Only one thing I demand as a humble return 

For all my fidelity, for my whole life; 

Only one thing, my husband: You shall not look 

In my alcove tonight. Since a woman 

Can endure anything, except such a dishonor. 

You have my word, I am eternally faithful to you! 

THE COUNT. 

A magnificent pledge! Only forgive me, beautiful lady, 

I prefer living proof. 

(He is about to open the door.) 

CLARA. 

Well then, do it. But mark this, once that door is opened, 

Whether you find anything or not, 

From that moment everything is over between us. 

THE COUNT (holding her under the chin). 

You little tart, how beautiful anger makes you! 

It would be a pity if we must be parted! 

I may well humor you, if all goes well. 

(Reflecting. Aside.) 

Revenge is good. So be it. 

Well, Clara, 

I give in, I shall trust your word, 

But pay heed, this is my condition. 

275

(He takes a crucifix which stands on the table, and shows it to her.) 

Do you believe in Him, who hangs here on the cross? 

Do not mock what is sacred. 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT. 

What do you believe in? 

The Inquisition believes it can find, 

Whoever swears falsely on this image. 

What do you mean by that? 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT. 

You will swear, Clara, 

You will swear on the crucifix, that 

In there will be found no witness against your fidelity. 

CLARA. 

And why should it take an oath, a heavy, costly oath, 

When plain truth comes from a simple word? 

THE COUNT. 

Swear, woman! Swear this instant! Or, 

By the fires of hell, I shall open the alcove door! 

I am ready. 

CLARA. 

276

THE COUNT. 

Then lay your hand on this. 

Dare you repeat on the body of your Saviour, 

That you are faithful to me? 

(Aside.) 

I am faithful to you! 

CLARA (confidently). 

I dare say it before your presence, Father! 

A word is empty, but saves life and honor. 

THE COUNT. 

What are you mumbling? Well then, I am satisfied; 

May a dark oblivion cover this scene. 

But yet I shall set a warning sign, 

A visible seal on our reconciliation. 

(He rings.) 

You look at me? No doubt there is a question 

Burning to get out from those dark, seductive eyes. 

What shall we wager? Can't you guess? 

Just wait! You will undoubtedly be surprised. 

(A servant, the previous.) 

THE COUNT. 

Is the mason still here in the castle, 

Whom I ordered to restore 

The old columns down in the entrance hall? 

SERVANT. 

277

Yes, your Grace. 

THE COUNT. 

Let him come up, 

And bring with him stone and mortar and tools, 

I have a job for him here in this chamber. 

In the hall! Tonight! 

SERVANT. 

THE COUNT. 

Why are you standing there? 

(The servant goes.) 

CLARA. 

God! What an idea! You are not going to . . . 

THE COUNT. 

Wall in the door to the alcove? Exactly. 

I hate this witness to my weakness, 

And no foot shall enter it again. 

Rejoice now, Clara! Could I give 

A better proof that I believe you? 

CLARA (forcing herself to smile). 

What kind of childish fancy is that? 

What has my poor prayer chamber done to you? 

Perhaps you are jealous of the old, 

Worm-eaten holy picture in there? 

Leave it in peace, I love this place, 

Remember what you promised: not to encroach on the alcove. 

278

THE COUNT. 

Remember what you swore, that's more important for you. 

All responsibility falls completely on you. 

As far as I am concerned, I am keeping my promise, 

I will not open the door myself. 

The mason can do so as much as he likes. 

CLARA. 

I cannot believe it. Tell me you are joking! 

THE COUNT. 

Call it a joke, a fancy, whatever you want; 

I am doing it. But consider, 

That this joke has a deep meaning: 

There is a reality behind its smile 

And something secret in these stones, 

Which tickles the mind like an old legend. 

You always complain about boredom; 

Well then, here come the night's silent spirits 

To set up a little scene for you. 

CLARA 

(aside while the count looks towards those entering). 

Where shall I get strength in this frightful hour, 

To avoid showing the count that I'm scared to death for myself 

and him! 

When the count is gone, I shall still save him! 

(A mason enters with his tools. Some servants follow him 

with a litter, on which are stone, mortar, etc., which at a 

sign from the duke they place by the alcove, and then go out.) 

279

THE COUNT (to the mason). 

Listen, man! This is my will and command, 

That you immediately wall up this door. 

You see that it is sunk into the wall, 

So there is exactly room for twenty stones. 

Hurry, get busy; your reward will be forthcoming. 

(The mason begins his work with the following song. 

Meanwhile the duke stands at his side with folded arms, and 

looks stiffly at Clara, who in the foreground leans against the table, with 

an intense effort at retaining her 

composure.) 

MASON (sings). 

A mason lays stone upon stone 

And thinks nothing of it, 

And calmly he lowers the marble 

Slab over the bones of kings. 

He laughs, when on his handiwork 

Salty tears fall in haste; 

For then the mortar sets doubly strong 

And never cracks over the years. 

He builds to make a mighty work 

With his simple hands, 

And when the fortress is displayed 

Nobody remembers the mason: 

Then he takes his walking stick 

To think about his next job. 

And finally he lays his bricks 

To make his very own tomb 

And wearily lays himself down to eternal peace. 

(He is finished.) 

THE COUNT. 

Take this gold; leave the castle immediately, 

Your work is not required here any longer. 

280

Say nothing of what you did tonight, 

If you hold your life dear: you understand me. 

(The mason bows deeply, puts his finger to his mouth and 

goes. The servants come and carry out his tools.) 

Now we are alone, Clara. The wall stands 

And strongly divides the past and the present. 

In there, in that dark, empty room, 

Which no eye can penetrate any more, 

I have deposited my fear, my jealousy, 

It sleeps there, forgotten and eternally mute. 

Here, on the other side of the partition, 

We stand, my wife, purified of everything 

That force and anger laid between us. 

Sit here beside me, Clara! I shall put 

My severity aside with my sword, and absorb 

Myself in bright, quiet domesticity. 

(He takes off his hat and his sword, sits in an armchair and invites Clara to take a 

place beside him. He seizes her hand.) 

The dark night, the cozy night 

Now spreads its soft cloak over us, 

And rocks the soul, full of love and bliss, 

Between those two: fear and hope. 

Do you not feel its warm, light dream 

Floating about your brow, beloved Clara? 

Does not the night's secret stream 

Flow like fire and oil through your veins? 

Even on my hard, steel-covered soul 

It sinks meltingly, like flute-sounds 

On the mountains' dark forest one summer evening. 

Why so mute? Why do you conceal your glance? 

Here is your hand -- note -- it is also mine, 

It lies ice-cold. Has it no pressure, 

No sign of life for its rightful owner? 

You do not answer. Is that your sign of fidelity then, 

That truth you just swore to me on the crucifix? 

In such a fashion a statue is true, 

Which stands awkwardly on its pedestal 

And gapes endlessly. 

No, a woman's fidelity is not cold and stiff: 

It overflows with the freshness of life, 

281

And hangs nicely in the man's strong arms, 

And trembles sweetly like the green rush, 

But bends, like it, before the storm's anger. 

Do you understand, Clara? Shall I beg for 

The favor which is my right, my possession? 

CLARA. 

Go away. I am tired, dead-tired. 

THE COUNT. 

Even this tiredness makes you more charming! 

Like an ethereal veil which rests over 

Pale features, where half-closed lips sleep 

And the eye dreams like a sigh of longing. 

Do you believe that I can part from you now? 

No! I have longed for this hour, 

Like the bedouin for the cistern of water. 

It is mine now, I have paid dearly for it! 

Only rest in peace, do not speak, I shall talk 

And I shall feed my eyes on you, 

And drink of the soothing reconciliation. 

It is a long time, dear wife, 

Since we sat so cosily like married folks, 

Here by our own hearth. This room 

Now smiles so familiarly on its lords, 

And the ceiling arches so faithfully over us. 

(He looks around.) 

What thoughts am I having? Yes, by Our Lady! 

Yet how strange, how very curious! 

In this same castle, within these walls, 

Several hundred years ago, they 

Played the same scene as tonight! 

And time, like its own apparition, 

Wanders through these noble halls 

And plays ever and again its old scenes; 

Only something was adjusted after the change, 

Which separates our time's stream from the source of 

ancient energy. 

282

Then the matter was crude and very serious, 

Then they walled in flesh and blood 

Now one only plays with mortar and stone, 

Walls up the door in front of empty air. 

Don't you know the story? You don't? 

Well then, it is just the time for a story, 

When the night listens with anxious silence, 

And the voice trembles at its own sound. 

I shall recite you the old legend. 

See, the parchment lies on the shelf; 

The castle chaplain has written it down. 

(He takes the parchment and sits down to read.) 

(He reads.) 

Oh! God, oh God! 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT. 

Hush! Listen calmly now. 

First I shall trim the light, so its shine 

Can kiss away the foul shadows, since 

The story is rather frightening, Clara. 

"Let the gate fly open! Blow the horn loudly! 

Alaric will ride out hunting. 

Already he rides at a gallop down through the cornfield. 

See the heron's plume, the purple-caped splendor! 

His band of knights follows him closely, 

The long lances gleam after prey, 

And over the peasants' fields the company roams 

Towards the edge of the distant, dark forest. 

There are the arched halls of oak tree, 

And the deer dashes over the green moss; 

A distant Halloo! resounds through the forest, 

The good dogs now run to the scent. 

Count Alaric eagerly pursues the prey 

And forgets everything in the hunt's wild delight 

Until the day wanes, the bird chorus grows mute, 

283

And the breath of night flows over the forest's breast. 

Now in the castle at home sits his wife 

The beautiful Ines, the same evening, 

In the chamber, where the last glow from the fire 

Shines mystically through the stained glass window. 

She half reclines on richly-embroidered pillows 

And plays softly with her luxurious hair. 

Pensively she lets her noble head sink, 

A brilliant tear forms in her eye. 

Now she raises her arm; it sinks again, 

And waves of anxiety wash over her breast. 

But now again she pulls the bell cord, 

It rings. Someone comes walking out in the hall: 

A soft finger knocks lightly on the door... 

It opens halfway . . . a page glides in, 

A page, fair and slender like a child's thoughts, 

With golden locks and rosy cheeks. 

The freshness of youth swims in his sea-blue eye, 

His carriage is erect, his chin still smooth, 

Around his fine limbs fits closely 

The white silk robe embossed with silver. 

In his hand he carries a golden tray 

On which there stands a sparkling chalice, 

He kneels down and bids her drink 

The noble wine, so fragrant, so cool. 

She leans toward him gracefully 

Bashfully her glance drops, 

And the gold's luster, and the wine's dark ripples 

Are reflected in her snow-white brow. 

The handsome page kisses her hands 

She tolerates it . . . she tolerates even more... 

Soon neither of them is conscious of the world any more: 

Only lips against lips, eyes to eyes. 

Then all at once the drawbridge thunders. 

Do they hear it, do they run away? Oh! No! 

The courtyard clatters loudly with horseshoes 

They notice nothing, they do not even wake. 

Loud footsteps are heard in the stairway . . . are they asleep? 

Now Ines leaps up with a shriek of terror, 

And the page conceals himself in an alcove 

Covered by a purple curtain. 

284

But yet before the last fold of the curtain conceals him, 

Alaric stands on the threshold, clad in steel. 

His eyes burn wildly in their sockets, 

He smiles bitterly, he marks his target. 

The squires bring lime and heavy stone blocks, 

Soon a wall is laid around the page's limbs! 

Ines lies unconscious. The duke bathes 

Himself in his revenge, and sits down to keep watch. 

And Ines wakes. She scratches her 

White fingers bloody on the hard stones, 

And rage's wild cry of distress reverberates 

Far over the castle and the free and open nature outside. 

But everything is dead . . . only Alaric she sees, 

His marble visage mocks, as she is tormented 

He only asks placidly, as he laughs: 

Do you wish the wall torn down, Donna Ines? 

And days and heavy nights pass 

Across this same scene of terror. 

In time Ines's locks turn gray, 

But Alaric is hard, like the wall's stones. 

And Ines's eyes cease to shine, 

Arms grow shrivelled that before were so round; 

Just listen! Listen! Deep, deep within the wall 

Sighs are heard, and a hollow, muffled sound" 

(Actual muffled noise is heard in the alcove. The count leaps up.) 

What was that? Does the page's dark spirit 

Still stalk around in the castle? 

CLARA (sliding down from her seat). 

Mercy! Mercy! 

THE COUNT. 

What is it you want? Spirits need no mercy. 

CLARA (embracing his knees). 

285

Yet human beings have mercy! 

THE COUNT. 

Remember your oath! 

Now all doors are closed to mercy! 

(He throws her aside and says aside, as he goes out:) 

You ripen now, you ripen, sweet revenge! 

CLARA. 

(remains a moment lying with her face toward the floor, then 

raises her head, looks around bewildered, and leaps up quickly). 

He is gone . . . he is gone . . . 

To the wall! These brief 

Moments are mine. 

Do not kill me, wild torment, 

Before the work is finished! 

(She takes Fernando's rapier.) 

God has sent me this steel! 

The mortar is still wet and soft, 

The stone yields to my thrust. 

I feel in these arms the strength of a man, 

The intense heat of the world! 

Help! I am coming, my Fernando! 

(She runs over to the wall and begins to work with the rapier to break it down. 

Immediately afterwards the count comes in from the other door, and watches her silently 

for some moments. Finally he says slowly): 

THE COUNT. 

Do you want to tear down the wall, Donna Clara? 

CLARA 

286

(half-collapses with a shriek: but leaps up suddenly again, and runs towards the 

count). 

Yes, del Fuente! These stones 

Must be torn down at once . . . 

Help me! Look! It is a matter of life and death! 

THE COUNT. 

Whose life? Behind this wall 

Is really only empty air... 

You have sworn it yourself, Clara. 

CLARA. 

I swore to you that I was faithful, 

And for this fidelity I have 

Sacrificed to you my love. 

Yes, there is a life behind the wall 

Indeed, a precious life, del Fuente! 

Away now, away you false shame 

Whereby I became a tigress! 

Come, oh come! You sweet dishonor, 

Make me once again a woman! 

Yes, del Fuente! Him, I love... 

Him, the only one I have loved, 

Don Fernando is in there! 

He is innocent! Oh, he came 

Here to lead me to freedom, 

And I led him to his death, 

Which he suffered in silence 

In order to rescue what I proudly 

And stupidly called my honor! 

Kill me, kill me now, del Fuente, 

Oh, but rescue him, save Fernando! 

THE COUNT. 

You talk wildly. Just bear in mind: 

There is nobody behind the wall, 

Everything was just an old legend. 

I will not kill anyone here, 

287

Least of all you. Now you shall live! 

CLARA. 

Every moment can kill! 

Save him, save him, del Fuente! 

Break down the wall at once, if not 

You will see me fill Spain 

With wild cries of revenge for this misdeed! 

THE COUNT. 

It is your deed, Donna Clara! 

I am clean, I know of nothing. 

Nobody will touch this wall. 

CLARA 

(runs despairingly to the door, crying): 

Help! Murder! Help me! 

THE COUNT (holds her back). 

You will stay here. Go ahead and shout! 

These walls are thick, 

Nobody hears, nobody answers, 

You will never leave this castle. 

CLARA (on her knees). 

If no human being can help me, 

Then you listen to me, Madonna! 

Mistress of heaven! Let me be the one you punish! 

Oh, but rescue him, save Fernando! 

(A servant comes in with a letter.) 

288

THE COUNT. 

What do you want? How dare you enter unannounced? 

SERVANT. 

Only a letter for the countess . . . 

A fisherman just now brought it here, 

Instructed that it be opened immediately. 

A letter for me? 

(She runs towards the servant.) 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT (grabs the letter). 

Give it here! Then go. 

Nobody must disturb us here, 

Nobody, if you value your life. 

CLARA (to the servant, as he goes). 

Call for some help here! For God's sake, do it! 

THE COUNT. 

(after having locked the door behind the servant). 

Silence, Clara! That is useless, 

The castle's people are my slaves. 

Let us just see now, from whom 

You can still get letters, Clara! 

(Opens the letter.) 

What's this? Hell and damnation! 

What is this? Don Fernando? 

Yes, here it says . . . he writes himself . . . 

289

(To Clara.) 

Can it be possible? Oho! 

The secret passage . . . Now I remember, 

There have been old rumors 

About the existence of such a thing here in the tower . . . 

But they could never find 

It again. And now he, 

He must have found it, just when 

I had him fast in the trap! 

Forces of hell, you have saved him! 

Oh I am a fool! Ten times a fool, 

Who did not think about this before, 

Who did not seize my captive alive! 

God, what does this mean? 

CLARA. 

THE COUNT. 

But still 

I shall not give up my revenge! 

He cannot be far away! 

After him, at once! 

After him, with horses and hounds, 

After him, with lights and torches! 

Sound the horn! Let the dogs loose! 

Open fire with muskets! Let every bullet count! -- 

Ha, it will be a merry hunt! 

Wait for me here, my dove, until I 

Come back again soon 

With your beloved, to a joyous 

and bloody night of merrymaking! 

(He dashes out.) 

CLARA (alone). 

Oh, what word was that I heard? 

Dare I hope? No, oh no! 

290

Such a thought were surely madness! 

Yet, his fury . . . 

(She sees the letter, which the duke in his rage has tossed away involuntarily.) 

Ha! See there . . . 

A paper, crumpled together, 

It is the letter! He has forgotten it, 

Thrown it away in his fury . . . 

It is mine! 

(After unfolding it.) 

(She reads.) 

Jesus! Mary! 

Is that not Fernando's handwriting? 

He is saved! Still, it could 

Have been written before he came here; 

Heaven! Give me the strength to read! 

"Donna Clara! God has taken 

Away a carnal sin from your head! 

Your Fernando is delivered, 

Even though he was prepared to suffer 

Silently for you the worst possible agony of death. 

The wall was all closed around me, 

The air already became stifling, and the darkness 

Dense like inside a coffin... 

I was buried alive! 

Then, while in prayer and sorrow 

I pressed myself against the madonna's 

Miniature statue . . . See! then it glided 

Easily aside, and I felt 

The night's fresh air breathe 

On me from an opening 

To a winding staircase, which 

I found hidden in the wall. 

Quickly, spontaneously I descended 

Down the dilapidated winding staircase in the wall, 

Until by the foot of the tower 

Towards the garden I found an exit, 

Hidden between underbrush and stones! 

I was free! As light as a bird 

I hurried over the outer fortifications, 

291

Down the cliffs, over crevices 

Down to the fishing harbor on the beach, 

Where I now in haste write down 

These farewell lines to you. 

When you read them, I shall 

Already be at sea on the ship out yonder, 

Which only waits for me, ready to 

Spread its wings towards the New World in the west, 

whither 

I have dreamed you would follow! 

You did not want to do that. 

I am going alone. Nevermore 

Will you see Fernando, Clara! 

But yet he wanted you to know 

That he still lives, 

Lives, and cannot forget you, 

Lives, and forgives you!" 

(She slowly repeats the last words.) 

Lives, and forgives you! 

Thanks, Fernando! I shall take 

These words with me to the grave, 

Where I am going now. 

Ah, Fernando! You have your revenge! 

Nobody in the whole world 

Is so alone, so miserable, 

As your poor, poor Clara! 

(Sinking on her knees.) 

Yet forgive me, o Madonna! 

I am eternally thankful to you! 

You have heard my prayer, have rescued him, 

Freed him, as if by a miracle! 

I led him cruelly to death 

Yet he is the one I shall always love. 

He is saved! Now may the righteous will of heaven 

Decide my fate! 

Shall I continue to be a martyr here 

With my terrible husband, 

Or will it be kindly granted to me 

To hide this poor, hot, 

Sin-heavy head 

Under the peace of the nun's veil, 

292

In a cloister, to honor you, 

Oh, Madonna! What is your will! 

I will endure everything, humbly, quietly, 

Since I know that he is alive, 

Alive, and cannot forget me, 

Alive, and forgives me! 

293

VIII. Indqvarteringen (“The Billetting”), by Henrik Hertz. 

Henrik Hertz was one of the best writers in the stable of playwrights at the Royal Theatre 

in Copenhagen. Indqvarteringen deals with a real social problem, the invasion of 

families caused by the billetting of troops in private homes during maneuvers, although it 

presents the problem in a comical, even farcical style. The play was performed not only 

in Skien in 1843, but also in Sørlandet a few years later, and it entered the repertoire of 

the Bergen theatre in the 1852-53 season. Ibsen probably directed it then himself, so he 

must have known it well. 

Ibsen profited by his contact with Hertz's plays, which include Kong Renes Datter 

and Svend Dyrings Hus. He was accused of imitating the latter play in composing Gildet 

paa Solhoug, a charge against which he defended himself in the preface to the second 

edition of that play. His defense was justified as far as the details of the two texts are 

concerned. However, the fact that he worked with Hertz's plays in the theatre as well as 

in the study during his apprenticeship is significant, and he must have learned from 

Hertz's theatrical expertise. 

In Indqvarteringen Hertz was able to create characters who are viewed satirically, 

but are still three-dimensional, that is, they have complexity and are not merely farcical 

puppets. It is possible that Hertz's method of characterization left its mark on some of 

Ibsen's best plays. The characters of Brandt and Louise in particular are similar to some 

of Ibsen's characters. Hjalmar Ekdal may owe something to Brandt, and Hedda Gabler 

may be a cousin of Louise. The marriage of a clever, spirited woman and a prosaic or 

foolish husband is also part of Ibsen's stock-in-trade. Of course, both Hertz and Ibsen 

were working in a comic tradition that had been influenced by the practice of the 

eighteenth century dramatist Ludvig Holberg. 

This translation is based on the text in Dramatiske Værker af Henrik Hertz. Vol. 

1. Kjøbenhavn: C. A. Reitzels Bo og Arvinger, 1854, 253-347. 

INDQVARTERINGEN 

("THE BILLETTING") 

by Henrik Hertz. 

CHARACTERS. 

BRANDT, a factory manager. 

LOUISE, his wife. 

HANNE, her sister. 

294

ADOLF HERMANSEN, a provincial officer. 

JOHAN, BRANDT's old SERVANT. 

A SERVANT. 

The action takes place in the town of Frederiksberg. 

Part of a garden beside BRANDT's farmhouse. To the left a wing of the building 

with a door to a garden room. Beyond this some trees, under which are two small tables 

and some garden chairs. Somewhat to the right a little patch of shrubbery, which is 

positioned in such a way that those who stand between it and the nearest sidewings can be 

seen by the spectators, but not by those who are on the other side of the stage. Two walks 

or paths go to the garden's exit, one nearest the house, and one between the thicket and 

the sidewings. 

FIRST SCENE. 

BRANDT, LOUISE and HANNE are siting beside the table, the first reading a 

newspaper, the others occupied with handwork. 

Is there anything new in the newspaper? 

Nothing that would interest you. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

You can't know that. When it is new, it always has the good and indisputable feature that 

it is not old. Let's hear what is there, if it really is new. 

BRANDT. 

295

Would it interest you that a man in Jylland has proven positively in front of a large group 

of people that he cannot walk on water? 

No. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Or that Madame Klatt's elephant has drunk so much brandy that it has acquired a red 

trunk? 

LOUISE. 

No, not that either . . . except that a drinker in such grand style inevitably inspires 

admiration. 

BRANDT. 

Or would it interest you that the regiments are summoned for Autumn maneuvers? 

LOUISE. 

Yes, . . . that is, I am obliged to take an interest in it. After all, you said that billetting is 

usually made here on the farm. 

BRANDT (jumps up). 

What? Billetting? Yes, God help us, that's true! And I have not thought about it at all . . 

. . No, that won't do! 

LOUISE. 

They do not ask us, certainly. We must tolerate billetting whether we like it or not. 

BRANDT. 

296

Yes, but there is billetting and then there is billetting. A couple of fellows can probably 

be put up on the farm. But with my luck an officer and his Servant usually stay here. 

And you think that would be a bother for us? 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT (quickly). 

Yes, of course. It will be an unbelievable bother, and for you especially. You can't 

imagine what demands such a gentleman makes and what attentions he asks for. 

LOUISE. 

Which regiment usually lodges here in the neighborhood? 

BRANDT. 

In our house almost invariably a provincial officer lodges. 

A provincial officer? 

HANNE (bursting out). 

BRANDT. 

Oh, well, my gentle lamb, is that so remarkable a curiosity? 

HANNE (confused). 

No . . . I didn't mean that. But . . . but, I thought, that we have a . . . (To LOUISE.) Don't 

we have a cousin who is with the provincial officers? 

Yes, Adolf Hermansen. 

LOUISE. 

297

BRANDT. 

Adolf Hermansen? God help us! Is he your cousin? Yes, he is with the provincial 

officers all right. But that is a terrible story! 

LOUISE. 

Ha ha ha! Why are you getting so upset? Is it such a great misfortune, that Adolf 

Hermansen is with the provincial officers? 

BRANDT. 

Oh no, not at all. But that he is your cousin, that is a misfortune. Don't I know Adolf 

Hermansen? We used to be inseparable. If he comes to town, and learns that I am 

married to a cousin of his, then nothing will do but he must look me up. 

LOUISE. 

But you don't need to worry about it. I understand well enough what you mean. You 

believe that I, like so many other wives, will insist that my husband break off all his 

youthful connections. But I am not so egotistical. On the contrary, since Adolf is your 

friend, he will also be mine; and I shall take great pains to obtain his good will. 

BRANDT (aside). 

Thanks! (Aloud.) Those are excellent principles. But you see, my friendship with Adolf 

was not exactly intense, so to speak. It was one of these fleeting acquaintances that youth 

establishes and irresponsibility continues. And in recent years all connection between us 

has been as good as broken off. 

LOUISE. 

Is that so? Well, that is another matter. But . . . it occurs to me now . . . you once told me 

about a young officer who nearly got involved in a duel on your behalf. Wasn't that 

Adolf? 

BRANDT (embarrassed). 

298

Yes, indeed it was. 

LOUISE. 

And, if I remember correctly, you told me six months ago, when you were in need of 

money for the new English loom, that a friend of your youth went out of his way to make 

you a very generous offer. Was that Adolf too, perhaps? 

Yes, indeed it was. 

BRANDT (embarrassed). 

LOUISE. 

Well . . . so the friendship has not been so very irresponsible. 

BRANDT. 

Yes . . . understand me rightly . . . he is brave and generous. But . . . but his 

irresponsibility . . . oh, when I tell you . . . 

LOUISE. 

Yes, I do not know him at all. As you know, his father and mine were at odds with one 

another. I myself have lived for a long time in Fyen, so I am not acquainted with my own 

family. I have never even seen Adolf. In the past he was of spoken of in my parents' 

house; but . . . with all due respect for your opinion about the friend of your youth . . . it 

seems to me that at home they judged him more gently. 

So? 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

They did speak now and then about how wild and unrestrained he was . . . . 

299

BRANDT. 

That is just what I'm saying. Oh, his wildness, his lack of restraint! A man should not act 

like that! 

LOUISE. 

You didn't let me finish . . . . But they also agreed that his lack of restraint was combined 

with many remarkable qualities; that there was a life and a warmth in his nature, which 

from time to time tended to express itself a little wildly, but that the foundation of his 

character was very solid. 

BRANDT. 

So? . . . (Aside.) I believe my wife is infatuated with him without even having met him. 

HANNE (timidly). 

I remember too, that they spoke very well of him at home. (To LOUISE.) Do you recall 

how taken Aunt was with him . . . . 

Will you just be quiet. 

Does he know that we are married? 

BRANDT (aside to HANNE). 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

By God, he should know. But I don't believe he does. We have been married for only 

two months. Our engagement, by your own desire, was secret almost until our wedding 

day; and for the last four or five months I have not heard anything from Adolf. 

LOUISE. 

Surely you mean in the last couple of years, as you said before. 

300

BRANDT. 

Yes, of course . . . yes, that is to say, we have come across each other once in the 

meantime. But one cannot count that. (Looks out to the side.) Now, there is the 

mailman. So I have no more time to chat with you. (Aside, as he goes.) Adolf here in 

my house and in my pretty young wife's company! I hope our Lord will let me escape 

that misfortune. 

Listen, Louise, I want to tell you something. 

Well? 

Oh, it probably doesn't matter. 

SECOND SCENE. 

LOUISE. HANNE. 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

Not to you perhaps, but it might to me. Now for once you have aroused my curiosity. 

Just tell me, my lamb, as Brandt calls you. 

HANNE. 

I only wanted to tell you that I know our cousin Adolf. 

You do? From where? 

LOUISE. 

301

HANNE. 

I do not actually know him. That is to say, I know him, but he does not know me. You 

see, last year I was at Fru Norager's house in Soro for a couple of days at the same time he 

was there. On one occasion there was a very large company of ladies and gentlemen from 

the district at dinner, and among them was Adolf. At that time he was living on a farm in 

the vicinity. 

LOUISE. 

Well, but didn't you take the opportunity to make his acquaintance then? 

HANNE. 

How can you imagine that he would notice me. I was so young then. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, that's true, you were exactly one year younger then, or about 16 years old. 

HANNE. 

And besides, he was always surrounded by so many people. At the table I sat far away 

from him, and later it was as though I was afraid to come near him. I didn't even have the 

courage to tell the others that I was related to him. 

What do you think of him? 

LOUISE. 

HANNE. 

Oh, he's handsome! And he is certainly a very charming person. Everything he said, and 

everything he did suited him so well. I cannot possibly believe that he is as abandoned as 

Brandt says. Besides, he was so restrained; everyone spoke so well of him. And 

302

you should see how proper he was. His linen shone. I think that all the other gentlemen 

were diminished in comparison with him. I stood in the window as he rode away. I have 

never seen anyone mount a horse like he did and dash off like that. 

LOUISE (laughing). 

You are well on the way to being infatuated with him. 

HANNE. 

Oh, how can you believe! . . . It just seems to me that it is my duty to defend him against 

Brandt's unreasonable suspicions of his character. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, but just be careful. It is sometimes dangerous to carry out one's duty with too much 

zeal. 

(with a letter in his hand). 

THIRD SCENE. 

The preceding. BRANDT. 

BRANDT 

Isn't that just what I expected! Isn't that just what I thought! 

What's happened? 

(gives her the letter). 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT 

303

There. Read it yourself . . . . It is a letter from Adolf. He writes that through a friend in 

Copenhagen he has arranged to come to stay here on the farm, and that he and his 

squadron are arriving early this morning. He could be here at any moment. 

(after having looked at the letter). 

LOUISE 

But it appears he is not lodging with us for our sakes at all. Just listen! (Reads.) "For a 

long time I have wished to spend some time in the vicinity of my beloved Aunt." . . . So 

he doesn't know that my mother has been taken over to Fyen. 

BRANDT. 

Or it seems like he doesn't know it. Do you believe that he is lodging with us for your 

mother's sake, he, who is otherwise such a great lover of the free-and-easy life? 

LOUISE. 

Well, in any case we must prepare for his arrival, and make a couple of rooms ready. 

We have no room. We cannot receive him. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

We have no room? We have two guest rooms, which you yourself have been busy 

furnishing. 

They can be made ready in a minute. 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

304

Indeed they can . . . . Listen, Hanne, you go up and see that the furnishings are attractive 

and tasteful. Let the girls put the chiffoniere in there that we have standing ready. He can 

sit and write there. 

Yes, I know. I'll take care of it right away. 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

Pretty it up however you can; put some flowers in a glass and some water. 

HANNE. 

Yes, I shall. You will see how attractively I shall decorate it. 

(Goes into the house.) 

Well, you women have been busy. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, I thought that we should relieve you of all the bother. Hanne and I shall take care of 

Adolf while he is here, as well as we can. 

BRANDT. 

Oh, the bother! That is the least of it. But our lovely morning and evening hours, which 

until now we spent out here in rural quietness . . . everything like that is spoiled and 

profaned by the presence of another man. 

LOUISE. 

But then remember the evenings, when it started to get so long and sad. You yourself 

have already wished for some company out here in the evenings. 

305

BRANDT. 

And our solitary, pleasant walks? I am telling you beforehand, when we go out in the 

morning, and he is at home, we are not taking him with us. 

He might be offended by that. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Offended? No, that is not at all in his character. He prefers it if people don't stand on 

ceremony with him. 

LOUISE. 

Well, we'll see . . . . But I forgot to tell you, there was a message for you from the factory. 

BRANDT. 

Say . . . that's right . . . I have . . . I have wanted to tell you this the whole time. I have 

been thinking, I shouldn't be leaning over the people at work the whole day. It looks so 

suspicious. 

Oh. You may be right about that. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Don't you think so? And Moller, our deputy administrator, is a clever man. It does him 

good to get training and gain self-confidence. The man must develop himself. 

LOUISE. 

But I thought you said before that you don't quite trust Moller. 

306

BRANDT. 

Moller? No, you are surely mistaken there. He is as good as gold. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, it seems to me this is a good idea. Then perhaps you will use the extra time to 

prepare the proposal you are going to make to the treasury concerning the factory. 

BRANDT. 

Exactly. It has been on my mind me for a long time. 

LOUISE. 

It is good that things are coming to a head there. Listen, you know what, I will fix up 

your old room in the other building for you, so that you can work while Adolf is here, far 

away from the rest of us, and completely undisturbed. 

BRANDT. 

Now why do you want to do that? That won't do at all. Adolf would be very offended if I 

were to isolate myself like that. 

LOUISE. 

Offended? But you just maintained that that is not in his character. That he prefers that 

no fuss is made over him. 

BRANDT. 

Yes . . . I did, didn't I. But remember, I am an old acquaintance of his and the man of the 

house. How would it look if I locked myself up. No, I shall sit and work in the little 

room beside our living room . . . or listen! I shall sit in with you others. It is so lovely 

and cozy, and then the work goes better. 

307

LOUISE. 

Is that what you want? (She looks at him and laughs.) Do you remember the old song 

that Uncle Holmer used to sing with his deep voice: "He, who has found a girl." 4 

I believe so. But why? 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

There is a verse in it, I can do a little of it. Just listen. 

(Sings.) 

What do you mean by that? 

A man should always take care of them, 

Like a miser of his treasure. 

Until along comes a dandy, 

Of the proper hunting-class, 

Then woman's fidelity good night! 

Trallalala 

BRANDT (at a loss). 

LOUISE. 

Nothing. Now I shall go into our living room and fix a table with paper and writing 

materials for you. Then you can begin at once on your proposal to the exchequer, while 

the rest of us eat breakfast. 

(She goes in.) 

FOURTH SCENE. 

BRANDT (alone). 

4 Osman’s aria in The Abduction from the Seraglio, by Mozart. 

308

She is making fun of me. But there is nothing to be done about it. An uneasy feeling has 

come over me since I received this annoying news . . . . My wife is an excellent wife, a 

model among women. But yet she has always been a worldly person . . . and . . . she is a 

woman. The attention of a young, attractive man flatters her . . . one step leads to 

another. One jokes, one inspects the area, one romances . . . that damned romance! I 

never have been able to get into it, and I am no good at it at all . . . . (He walks restlessly 

up and down.) It is a marvellous feeling, jealousy. I have no reason for it, I cannot 

account for it, and all the same . . . . Oh, it's really stupid of me. I won't think about it 

any more. I will . . . couldn't one arrange quite secretly for Adolf to be assigned to 

another billetting? I'll try that, and write a couple of words. 

(Just as he is going in, ADOLF entering calls to him.) 

FIFTH SCENE. 

BRANDT. ADOLF HERMANSEN. A SERVANT, who carries a cotton sack. 

Brandt! Wait . . . it is you, isn't it? 

ADOLF (as he enters). 


Now, upon my soul, there he is! (Aloud.) Is that you, Adolf? Is it really you? 

ADOLF. 

Of course it's me. Weren't you expecting me? 

BRANDT. 

Expecting you? No . . . yes . . . of course I was expecting you. 

ADOLF. 

309

I hope so. After all, I wrote to you, that I would be lodging with my aunt. Didn't you 

receive my letter? 

BRANDT. 

Uh, certainly I did, and you're very welcome. (Shakes his hand.) Come and put down 

your things and make yourself comfortable . . . . But you see . . . actually, it is a very 

unpleasant situation, but your aunt, whom you are longing to see, has just now been taken 

over to Fyen. So you can surely have no desire to lodge here. 

ADOLF. 

Has she been taken over to Fyen? How unfortunate. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, isn't that unfortunate? I have been really vexed about it while you were on your 

way. Because what use can there be now for you to stay here with us? But, if you like, I 

shall gladly take the trouble myself to get you quartered in another place, in a livelier 

house . . . even though, naturally, I would happily see you stay here. 

ADOLF. 

But has everyone from Aunt's house been taken over to Fyen? Her daughters too? 

Her daughters? No . . . they are at home. 

BRANDT (fumbling). 

ADOLF. 

Oh, what do you know! So that's all right then. (To the SERVANT.) Hans! Put down 

my bag. We're staying here. 

So you mean, that you nevertheless . . . 

BRANDT. 

310

ADOLF. 

Yes, naturally. My servant can simply go across to Fyen and bring my luggage over here. 

BRANDT. 

Your luggage? Well . . . . (To the SERVANT.) Yes, in the meantime you can bring it 

into the garden room. 

(The SERVANT goes into the house.) 

ADOLF. 

You see, my dear Brandt, as you can well imagine it is not my old aunt, as dear as she is 

to me, that attracts me here. No, the magnet is rather someone else. 

So . . . ? Dare I ask who? 

Her oldest daughter, my cousin Louise. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 


My wife! There we have it! (Aloud.) You're not serious? 

ADOLF. 

I most definitely am serious. You know that frankness is one of my foremost qualities. I 

shall not conceal from you that for a long time I have had my head full of this girl. Ever 

since I was a half-grown boy I have heard her talked about. Moreover, I believe 

that her mother and my mother had destined us for one another. 


311

Unfortunately, that is what my mother-in-law recently told me. 

ADOLF. 

However, for several years I have not thought about her at all. The unfriendliness that 

existed between my father and my aunt's husband excluded me from her vicinity, so until 

now I have not made her personal acquaintance, and perhaps once again shall not 

succeed. You know that I have lived somewhat giddily . . . . Six months ago for the first 

time it was as if all the old memories, everything that I had heard my mother say so often, 

suddenly awakened, and restored my cousin's picture in my soul, and endowed it once 

again with all the beauty and charm which in younger years I had attached to it. And you 

know who I can thank that these pleasant memories awoke in me again? 

No, how should I know . . . . 

You, my friend, and nobody else. 

Me? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

Don't you remember, that six months ago you wrote me a letter, in which among other 

things you mentioned a daughter of a factory owner who had recently died, from whose 

widow you intended to take over the management of the factory. This young girl was 

precisely the cousin I had already heard so much about. The warmth with which you 

mentioned her, a warmth I had never expected of you, had a contagious effect on me. 

Since then I have had no peace. More than once I resolved to ask permission to convince 

myself with my own eyes of my cousin's charms. Finally I made up my mind to have 

patience until the time of the maneuvers, and to secure myself a billetting in my aunt's 

house, in order to be able, quite without suspicion, to undertake my observations in the 

vicinity and now . . . here I am, and I have decided, if my cousin Louise corresponds to 

my conception of her, to fall in love with her and . . . to propose. 

312

BRANDT. 

Propose? Propose to Louise? Are you crazy? She is my wife, you know. 

ADOLF. 

Your wife! What are you saying! . . . But that's impossible. You have been engaged for 

quite some time now to the lovely Julie Kaufmann in Copenhagen. 

Certainly not . . . that was a stupid rumor. 

But one which you did not seriously deny. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

I let it alone. Just at that time I was secretly engaged to Louise, and I was just as glad if 

people were set on the wrong track. 

ADOLF. 

So you are married to Louise! That certainly is an unforeseen obstacle! But so what! 

That doesn't mean anything. 

That doesn't mean anything? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

No, because then I shall simply fall in love with her. 

BRANDT. 

313

No, that will not do at all. 

Shame on you! Are you jealous? 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

Jealous? I? . . . No, you misunderstand me. But . . . now listen, Adolf, let's discuss this 

seriously. You must recognize that with the feelings you have for my wife, you cannot 

live here in the house. 

What kind of talk is that? 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

If you take my advice, I shall secure you an excellent, a much more comfortable lodging 

here in the vicinity. Do it, my dear, good Adolf! It is in your own best interests, believe 

me. There are two charming daughters . . . 

ADOLF. 

Are there? Yes, I shall visit them. But I am staying here. There is my billetting-letter . . . 

look! 

BRANDT. 

Are you really serious, that you want to stay here? 

ADOLF. 

My friend! I can tell that you clearly do not understand the military. It would be contrary 

to my duty if I objected to the quarters assigned to me, simply because I have a charming 

cousin there. Such stubbornness would only discredit me with my superiors. It might 

have the most serious consequences. 

314

You are incorrigible. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

Therefore, my friend, show me to my room. The service calls, and I must change. 

BRANDT. 

Well, for God's sake! . . . You can go into the little room, right here by the garden room. 

Wait, I shall call one of the servants. 

ADOLF. 

That is not necessary. I have my servant with me. (Ironically.) You can be sure that my 

billetting will not cause you any more inconvenience than can be avoided. As for your 

wife, just remember that she is one of my closest relatives. I shall treat her with 

all the attention that a pretty young wife can ask for from one who is at once her cousin, 

her husband's friend and a lieutenant in His Majesty's provincial guards. 

(He goes into the garden room.) 

SIXTH SCENE. 

BRANDT (alone). 

Well, now the storm has broken over my head, and much worse than I had feared. And I 

myself wrote to him about Louise. Oh, what a fool I am! How can a man who is so 

clever act so stupidly? Adolf will fall in love with Louise ten times as much, simply 

because she 

is married. That's the way men are. But I cannot allow that. I have duties to myself. 

Something must be done . . . . But what? . . . If I were to send my wife to Copenhagen to 

my sister, and meanwhile kept Hanne here . . . . But what use is that? He would soon 

look up my wife, and then what is bad could become worse. But Hanne . . . what about 

her! Oh, that is a great idea, but risky. She is pretty and gentle, and how powerful is the 

315

first impression! It is magnificent, beautiful! . . . . The thing is, it is only a reprieve. The 

truth will come out some day. Well, let it! Just let it! He will first have paid court to 

Hanne and declared his preference for her, and then he will already have ruined it with 

my wife. Women never forgive it if a man prefers another to them . . . . Oh, it is a 

remarkable idea! If only my wife . . . . God knows what she will say to this remarkable 

idea. She has already got it into her head that I am jealous. Now she will laugh at me, 

naturally. But I must get her to listen to reason. 

SEVENTH SCENE. 

BRANDT. LOUISE (from the garden). 

LOUISE. 

Are you here, Brandt? Johan has just this moment told me that your friend has arrived 

and is in the little room. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, he has arrived, and it is just as well that I see you. We need to make some 

preparations. 

LOUISE. 

Oh, that is not necessary. Hanne and I have already made the two guest rooms ready. 

BRANDT. 

No, dear Louise, those are not the preparations I mean. It is something quite different, 

which in my opinion is of a very serious nature. 

LOUISE. 

What a remarkable expression you have on your face. What has caused it? 

BRANDT. 

316

Do you know why Adolf has sought so eagerly to be quartered here in the house? 

LOUISE. 

No, I know that as little as that he has sought it eagerly. 

BRANDT. 

The poor man did not know that you were married. 

The poor man! 

It was his intention to ask for your hand. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

For my . . . ? Oh, you are joking! He doesn't know me at all. 

BRANDT. 

He knows you from the comments of others. His mother has praised you inordinately. I 

also believe that it was her wish to see you as a couple. 

So? (Aside.) I believe he is right about that. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

When he learned that you were married he became very upset. I could clearly see that he 

has already given himself a fantasy-image, which he cannot let go of without a struggle. 

He wanted to leave immediately and find himself another lodging; only the thought of his 

317

duty to the service prevented him from rejecting an otherwise satisfactory quarters, that 

and my persuasions moved him to stay. 

As I said, you are joking. 

Every word I say is the simple truth. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

I don't believe you. Just come out with what you have up your sleeve. 

BRANDT. 

What if I tell you that his confession has made a great impression on me, and that I 

consider it a duty to my friend to remedy this unpleasant conflict. 

How will you remedy it? 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

You see . . . I know Adolf well, perhaps better than he knows himself. I know that the 

unfortunate circumstance, that you are married . . . 


The unfortunate circumstance that I am married! Yes, and to you in the bargain. 

BRANDT. 

318

That this circumstance, far from subduing his passion, will only increase it. When he 

meets you, he will perhaps fall in love with you incurably, simply because you are 

married. 

Do you think so? Just because of that? 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, that is the way he is, and that is perhaps how all human nature is constituted. He 

might overlook Hanne, even though she is a gentle and gracious young girl. He will have 

eyes and ears only for you; he will direct all his attentions only to you . . . as I said, 

precisely because you are married and because his love is hopeless. 

LOUISE. 

I must confess that I had not anticipated such eloquence in you. 

BRANDT. 

I think we should try to prevent such an unfortunate consequence in the life of my friend. 

Prevent? Do you want a divorce, perhaps? 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

No, but if you will concede the truth of what I have said, then you will also give your 

consent to a plan I have thought of, whereby nobody is harmed, and much misfortune can 

be prevented. 

Let me hear your plan. 

LOUISE. 

319

BRANDT. 

You see, Adolf does not know you. He only knows that you are his cousin, and that you 

are young, attractive and charming. 

LOUISE. 

Since he knows that, then I cannot ask for anything more. 

BRANDT. 

He does not know Hanne, either. She is also his cousin, and similarly young, attractive 

and charming. 

And she is three years younger than I am. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

If he were to meet Hanne as my wife, perhaps he will decide to fall in love with her and 

overlook you. 

But how will all this end? 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Well, you see, in my opinion, everything depends on the first impression. I propose, 

therefore, that we . . . if it really is your serious desire to avoid an unfortunate relationship 

. . . that we, naturally only for today . . . 

LOUISE. 

Shall let Hanne be your wife and I your sister-in-law. 

320

BRANDT. 

Exactly! It is a pleasure to talk with you. You have grasped my idea immediately. 


But Brandt, where is your jealousy taking you? 

BRANDT. 

Oh, how can you believe . . . What reason do I have to be jealous? Even if Adolf should 

go and act stupidly, in all fairness, can't I depend on you? 

LOUISE. 

Yes, it seems to me that is the least you can expect. But tell me one thing: hasn't it 

occurred to you that your plan is based on a slight abuse of my sister's honesty? 

BRANDT. 

Patience! Now I come to my main proposition. We have already spoken several times 

about an attractive and suitable match for Hanne. 

LOUISE. 

And now you are suggesting that Adolf is the right man for her? 

BRANDT. 

It would be an excellent match. He is wealthy and unattached . . . and with his splendid 

character! . . . 

LOUISE. 

Quite so, but now I come with my main proposition, as you say. It is precisely Adolf's 

character that I have doubts about . . . after what you have told us. 

321

About his character? Have I said . . . ? 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, his irresponsibility. A man should not be like that. Those were your very words. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, you are right; I have said that. But don't forget that that conversation was about 

youthful indiscretions, which nobody puts any stock in. I admitted myself that he had 

done me substantial services. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, I cannot contradict you, since I do not know him. But what will Adolf say about the 

fact that we have made a fool of him in this way? 

BRANDT. 

That kind of thing is just to his taste. He will be delighted at the joke. 

LOUISE. 

And one more thing: what if Hanne, deceived by his attentions to her, grows fond of him, 

and what if afterwards he withdraws? 

BRANDT. 

Yes, that would be bad. But one runs that risk every time a gentleman at a ball or in 

company pays court to a young girl. In all such cases one must reckon that, if the girl is 

sensible and well-bred, she can distinguish true love from common flirtation 

(Courmagerie). And Hanne is very sensible and well-bred. Besides, you must not 

overlook that in this case she will know what to make of his attentions, if they really 

should be based only on wantonness . . . . Dear Louise! Believe me, you can participate 

without hesitation in this altogether innocent plan, which at the most will give occasion 

for laughter and pleasure. 

322

LOUISE. 

No . . . to speak frankly . . . I cannot give my consent. One often gets mixed up in such 

dubious situations with a light heart, without considering that one does not dictate the 

outcome. We could realize too late that one should not use too many tricks with one's 

friends. 

BRANDT (takes her by the waist). 

Dearest Louise! Give in to me this once. I will take all the responsibility. If the matter 

turns out the way I reasonably expect, it will mean happiness for Hanne. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, if that is how it turns out. But still we ought not to let it happen in that way. 

Dear God! How can you be so obstinate! 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

I know very well that you consider me obstinate, and at home they sometimes accused me 

of the same thing. But, when we two argue, I very seldom get my way. You on the other 

hand always get your way, even though you are completely flexible. 

But that is a contradiction. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

It is not so great as it seems. I insist on my opinion, it is true, since I do not easily 

concede that I am wrong. But when nobody listens to my point of view, then I lose the 

desire to 

argue. You on the other hand concede immediately that I am right; but all the same you 

come with other reasons, or with persuasions, or . . . what is so dangerous for a young 

wife . . . with signs of love, and then it is not long before your wife gives in. 

323


How unfortunate when one's wife is so clever! 

LOUISE. 

However, since it seems that we could live very happily together in this way, this time I 

will insist on my opinion as always and . . . give in. 

I like that! You are my own, agreeable wife. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

Wait a bit. One thing we must agree upon. If the young gentleman does not seem to me 

suitable for Hanne, we must immediately make an end of this whole story. 

BRANDT. 

Naturally. But now we must separate. Adolf is inside getting dressed, and soon he will 

come out. First of all you must talk to Hanne and prepare her. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, I must instruct her and speak sensibly to her. 

BRANDT. 

Do that. You are just splendid at instructing people and talking sensibly to them. I shall 

go in and warn old Johan; you talk to the girls. 

To the girls? I am opposed to that. 

LOUISE. 

324

BRANDT. 

Why? It is only a joke, a bit of fun. Can't one relieve this prosaic life for once with a 

bold, poetic idea? . . . All that is required is that we all play our roles naturally. Hanne 

must be 

instructed really well. You must communicate the matter to her seriously. You can say 

that I wish it, that she can do me a service in that way. Or just say that you are afraid that 

I will become angry if she does not obey me. 

LOUISE. 

Certainly not. One must not make it so serious. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, upon my soul it is serious . . . that is to say, every deception requires art, and art 

requires seriousness. 


Ha ha ha! Adolf's arrival has awakened abilities in you which I had not dreamt of before. 

You instruct Johan, and leave my sister to me. 

BRANDT. 

Good . . . but there is still one more thing. Now you must . . . . I mean, you . . . . Yes, 

you must naturally also consider how you will play your sister. 

LOUISE. 

Well, I should hope that I shall succeed in that. 

BRANDT. 

Of course you will. You are in a fine mood for just such a little comedy. Yes, you have 

real talent . . . I do not say it at all to flatter you. I rather rely on your tact. 

325

You are a dear. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

It occurs to me, that as a young, unmarried, and inexperienced girl, you must be very 

retiring and unforthcoming, only respond a little and appear shy. I believe you can keep 

him at a distance. 

LOUISE. 

Oh, what kind of an idea is that! What kind of young girl acts like that? On the contrary, 

I must be cheerful and unrestrained. I can very possibly be a little coquettish. 

No, in no way can you be that. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

Oh yes, in a pretty way I can very well be a little coquettish. It has occurred to me that a 

young, unmarried girl would like to win favor, that Adolf is an attractive, charming man . 

. . so coquetterie happens by itself. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, there you are unfortunately correct; it happens by itself. But without wishing to 

contradict you, I still believe it would be best if it did not happen at all. 

LOUISE. 

There could be different opinions about that. But there can be only one opinion about the 

fact that now we must separate and warn Johan and the girls and Hanne. 

BRANDT. 

326

Yes, you are right, and therefore I shall go now. Just do not let him meet you here, before 

everything is ready. And talk with Hanne . . . and you yourself . . . yes, dear Louise, you 

should not act the coquette. 

LOUISE. 

Since I must not act according to my own imagination, then I shall not act at all. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, yes . . . as you wish. (Aside.) God help a man, when his young wife has her own 

imagination! 

(Goes out through the garden.) 

EIGHTH SCENE. 

LOUISE (alone). 

So my husband is jealous. That is nothing new. He was that the whole time we were 

engaged. They have told me so often that jealousy is a sign of love, that at last I have 

learned patience with it. I will comply with his moods this time as well. Perhaps 

it is for my sister's happiness; we shall see, when we get to know the young gentleman . . 

. . But I must warn our old Johan in time, since my poor husband is so confused today 

that he can scarcely give himself orderly instructions, let alone other people. 

(She is going out on the way to the house.) 

NINTH SCENE. 

LOUISE. HANNE. 

HANNE (comes running). 

327

Louise! Louise! Did you know that Adolf has arrived? 

LOUISE. 

Yes, but do not talk so loudly. He is in the little room. 

HANNE. 

Is he? Have you seen him? What do you think of him? 


I think well of him, but I have not seen him yet. I have something to talk with you about. 

Let us go up to your room together. 

(She is going, when Adolf is heard speaking in the house.) 

HANNE. 

God, Louise! That is definitely him, he is coming out. Let us run away. 

Stay. We can hide here. 

LOUISE. 

(They go behind the shrubbery, and stand so that during the following they are 

seen by all the spectators.) 

TENTH SCENE. 

ADOLF and JOHAN, who come out from the garden room. LOUISE and 

HANNE concealed. 

ADOLF (elegantly dressed). 

328

So, have you served for a long time with the family here? 

JOHAN. 

Yes, I have. But there is no wonder in that. Such gentry! The late agent was a saintly 

man. His wife, who has been taken over to Fyen for the summer, and both daughters . . . 

oh, they are all saintly people. 

ADOLF (aside). 

Both daughters . . . it's true, I have two cousins here in the house. I must see to it that I do 

not mix them up. (Aloud.) Does the young wife resemble her sister? 

Yes, they are both saintly young women. 

JOHAN. 


Then I shall be sensible about it! (Aloud.) I mean, do they resemble each other 

otherwise. Are they the same height? 

JOHAN. 

There can't be much difference, except the married one is a couple of years older. 

Do they dress the same? 

No, not always, as far as I can remember. 

ADOLF. 

JOHAN. 

LOUISE (aside to HANNE). 

329

Where is he going with these questions? 

HANNE (aside). 

For God's sake, don't let him notice we are standing here. 

ADOLF. 

What is the young wife wearing today? That is, what dress, what shawl? 

JOHAN. 

Today . . . let me see . . . she has a red shawl on and Miss Hanne a blue one. 

LOUISE. 

(without saying anything, quickly switches shawls with HANNE.) 

Why are we switching shawls? 

HANNE (aside to her). 


That is not a dependable sign of recognition. (Aloud.) And are they dressed the same 

besides that? 

JOHAN. 

No, they certainly aren't. But I have not paid such close attention . . . . Yes, the married 

one always wears a string of red coral pearls around her neck. She has it on today as well. 

LOUISE 

(quickly takes off her pearl band and puts it on HANNE). 

330

Louise, are you crazy? 

A string of red coral pearls? 


ADOLF. 

JOHAN. 

Yes . . . and today the married one has violet shoes on. I myself brought them in to her. 

(As JOHAN mentions the violet shoes, LOUISE bends over, as if to trade shoes, 

but hesitates . . . hindered in part by her sister.) 

Well . . . red shawl, red pearls, violet shoes. 

ADOLF. 

JOHAN. 

Yes, and I truly believe, since the young wife has gotten married, she always wears these 

beautiful caps. 

With a cap? Yes, now I cannot be mistaken. 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE (aside). 

Yes, Sir Cousin! You will be mistaken all the same. 

(Takes off her cap and sets it quickly and crookedly on HANNE's head.) 

What is the point of all these silly games? 


331

LOUISE. 

Hurry up and let's go, before he sees us. I shall explain everything to you. 

(She and HANNE run out quickly.) 5 

ADOLF. 

I shall not keep you any longer. I only wonder if you could tell your lord that I am 

waiting for him here. 

JOHAN. 

He will be here right away. He just ran over to the factory. 

(He goes.) 

ELEVENTH SCENE. 

ADOLF (alone). 

My pretty cousin is married then, and to Brandt . . . that is dumb, all things considered. 

What am I doing here then? In the last half hour I have thought more about her than I 

would care to admit to myself. I thought about her with all the charms that a young 

girl, whose heart is still free, can possess, and now . . . how different the relation one feels 

oneself in, to a young girl and to a young wife! A young girl has an odor of modesty and 

chastity, which no young wife can possess. Yes, all this is certain and true . . . and all the 

same, when I ask myself, if Louise now appears less attractive to my imagination, then I 

must be candid and answer no. On the way here I often had doubts. I expected to be 

disappointed this time as so often before. Now, however . . . I am on the point of 

believing that she in particular was meant for me . . . and that she in particular is lost for 

me. 

5 During the performance of this scene the ladies, if it is found desirable, could trade their silk aprons 

instead of shawls, and the dialog could be adjusted for it. 

332

TWELFTH SCENE. 

ADOLF. BRANDT (from the garden). 

BRANDT (aside, as he enters). 

Now if only my wife has talked seriously with Hanne! (Aloud.) So there you are . . . . 

My, how elegant you look! 

ADOLF. 

I am reporting to the commander this afternoon, so it was necessary to adorn myself a 

little. 

BRANDT. 

You have done right there. But, what I want to say is, have you met my wife? 

No, not yet. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

You haven't? Wait a bit, I'll fetch her. (Aside.) Then at the same time I can speak with 

Hanne. 

ADOLF. 

Yes, thanks . . . but . . . we can take some time until she comes. My billetting must not 

cause her any inconvenience. 

BRANDT. 

Oh, what . . . inconvenience! Just wait a bit, then I'll . . . 

333

Stay here, and let us talk together. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

As you wish. But I still cannot believe that you would be irritated, because I advised you 

earlier to take another lodging. You can well imagine, it was only my joke. An old friend 

like you . . .! If you also paid a little court to my wife, you know, would I be offended by 

that? A sensible husband must get used to that. One has an attractive wife, so the 

gentlemen pay court to her. 

ADOLF. 

That is a splendid maxim! . . . Dear Brandt, I really owe you an honorable explanation. 

To speak frankly, I had expected anxiety, jealousy or even suspicion from you, and 

halfway decided to tease you a little. 

BRANDT. 

No, jealousy is not part of in my character at all. Above all you must not by any means 

misunderstand my previous remarks. It was not at all for my sake, but for yours that I 

advised you against staying here. Since Louise is married now, I reasoned, to stay 

here in the house could perhaps be unpleasant for you. 

ADOLF. 

I hope not. I myself begin to see the foolishness of occupying my thoughts so much with 

a girl I have not yet seen. It was a remnant of my old recklessness, which I now struggle 

against as well as I can. Besides, if I ultimately want to part with my heart here in 

the house, then I still have good prospects. Your wife does have a sister, after all. 

What are you saying? 

BRANDT (terrified). 

ADOLF. 

334

I am saying your wife has a sister, after all, who is perhaps as charming as she. I can try 

my luck with her. 


Our Lord has decided to make him my tormenting angel! 

What is the sister like? 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

The sister? Well . . . she is a very beautiful girl. 

Surely she is not as pretty as Louise? 

As pretty? No, she isn't. 

Doesn't she resemble her at all? 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

Yes . . . naturally, as sisters usually do. That is, there is some external similarity, but not 

much. But inner or temperamental similarities . . . no, there are none at all. 

ADOLF. 

No? Well, that can't be helped! (Laughing.) I see well enough, that either I must not fall 

in love here in the house at all, or it must be with your wife. 

335

BRANDT. 

Yes, do that. I shall regard it as a triumph for my taste . . . . But if I am not mistaken, it is 

she who is coming. Wait here a little. 

(Goes toward HANNE, who enters from one of the garden paths.) 

THIRTEENTH SCENE. 

The previous. HANNE, with LOUISE's cap, red shawl and pearl necklace. 

HANNE 

(who does not at first notice ADOLF.) 

Brandt, you must speak sternly with Louise. Have you heard the idea she has? 


Sh! Not so loud! It is not her idea, it is mine. It is only a joke we have thought of. Be 

cooperative, and you will be my own gentle Hanne. 

HANNE. 

But how can I . . . ? I shall only make a fool of myself. Look how she has dressed me up. 

BRANDT. 

Just be natural. We'll help you, after all. Come now and let me introduce you. 

HANNE. 

My God! Is he here? . . . If only you knew how frightened I am! 

336

BRANDT. 

You'll get over it; that is only in the beginning. 

HANNE (irritated). 

But I have absolutely no desire to play a married woman. 

BRANDT. 

Come now. (To ADOLF, who in the meanwhile has kept at a distance.) Dear friend, 

allow me to present to you my wife. 

(approaches respectfully). 

ADOLF 

If I dare hope to be considered less foreign to you in the role of your cousin . . . . (Aside.) 

Oh, how pretty and charming she is! 

BRANDT. 

It is true, you are her cousin. So you must be looked on as an old friend around here. 

ADOLF. 

I now realize for the first time how fortunate it is for me that the disagreement which has 

existed formerly between our families has at last been discarded. 

You must answer him. 

BRANDT (aside to HANNE). 


Oh God, what shall I answer? I can hardly collect my thoughts. 

337

BRANDT. 

My wife says that she also is very sorry for this strained relationship. Oh, we have often 

talked about it. But now you can make up for lost time. 

ADOLF (to HANNE). 

Do I also have your approval to make up for lost time . . . 

BRANDT. 

But I believe you are saying De to my wife. That will not do. You are blood first 

cousins, so must you use Du. (To HANNE.) Am I not right? 

Yes . . . if our cousin is of the same opinion. 

HANNE (bashfully). 

ADOLF. 

Oh, you need have no doubt about that! I am only afraid that I am not bold enough to say 

Du. Our acquaintance is so new. From my childhood I heard my mother speak of my 

charming cousin, and often wished secretly to make her acquaintance. Over the years it 

feels so natural to say Du. The heart is inclined to familiar addresses. One does not 

dream that the familiarity can encounter an obstacle or that it can be inappropriate. Now, 

after the lapse of so many years, I see my beautiful cousin for the first time . . . and I do 

not have the courage to make use of the right of familiarity that my kinship with her gives 

me. 

He means my sister! 



Now he is embarked, thank God; so I can be on my way. (Aloud.) Yes, you must say Du 

to each other, that is settled. But please excuse me now. I must go over to the factory. 

You keep my wife company in the meantime. 

338

No, stay here. 

I'll be right back. 

Then at least let Louise come out here. 

HANNE (aside to him). 

BRANDT. 

HANNE. 

BRANDT. 

I shall go up and call her. (Aside.) The devil I will. I am leaving in order to keep my 

wife away. 

(He goes.) 

FOURTEENTH SCENE. 

ADOLF. HANNE. 

ADOLF. 

Help me, dear cousin, to get my mouth going to say Du. 

But I cannot very well properly begin. 

HANNE (timidly). 

ADOLF. 

339

No, that is true, it was unfair to ask. Then give me your hand, cousin, and let us seal our 

kinship with a handshake. (He takes her hand. Aside.) Her hand is trembling! (Aloud.) 

It is best that we act as if we had known one another a long time. We have after all 

known each other through our closest relatives. Has your mother often spoken of me? 

Yes, very often. 

HANNE. 

ADOLF. 

Has she? Did she speak well of me? She has certainly said that I was a wildcat, and 

frivolous and wanton. 

HANNE. 

No, she has positively not said anything other than good about you. 

ADOLF. 

No? Oh, that is infinitely precious to me! Yes, she is a magnificent woman. I certainly 

believe that you must resemble her. 

HANNE. 

Many people have said so, at least. But I am not as tall as she is. 

ADOLF. 

I do not mean the outer likeness; as far as that goes, I can see myself that you look like 

her. I was thinking about the inner likeness. 

HANNE. 

I dare not praise myself that I resemble her. She is so good, so pious and so clever! 

ADOLF. 

340

But all that applies also to you, dear cousin. 

HANNE. 

No, believe me, I am still lacking much to be like Mother. 

Does your sister resemble you? 

No, Louise favors my father. 

Louise? I thought your name was Louise. 

ADOLF. 

HANNE. 

ADOLF. 


Yes . . . that is my name, too. I . . . am thinking. (Aside.) I think that I shall go crazy 

from this. 

ADOLF. 

Tell me, Louise, did you imagine that I would look the way I do? 

HANNE. 

Yes . . . but anyway, I have seen you . . . seen you once before. 

Have you? But where? 

ADOLF. 

341

HANNE. 

In Mrs. Norager's house in Sorø, with a large company that was there last year. (Aside.) I 

should not have said that. 

ADOLF. 

And you were there and I did not know it? How did that happen? 

HANNE. 

I don't know . . . there were so many strangers, and you were only there for the dinner. 

ADOLF. 

But that was a great misfortune! Think, if I had made your acquaintance then, perhaps 

you would not now be . . . so . . . yes, so we would not now be so strange to one another. 

HANNE. 

No, that is true. I also have thought about that today. 

ADOLF. 

Really? Oh, what a pity it is that we have not known each other since childhood. I 

definitely believe I would have become better and more sensible if I had known you and 

your sister earlier. 

HANNE. 

Oh, no! It is rather we who would have benefitted by it. 

This is a pure child of nature! 


342

FIFTEENTH SCENE. 

The previous. BRANDT and LOUISE, who come in from one of the garden 

paths, the latter with uncovered hair and HANNE's blue shawl on. 

BRANDT. 

(who attempts to hold his wife back. Aside to her). 

Are you going to disturb them now? 

It is no disturbance . . . on the contrary! 

(aside, when she sees LOUISE). 

Thank goodness, there is my sister. 

(Hurries over to her.) 

(to BRANDT, who approaches). 

LOUISE. 

HANNE 

ADOLF. 

Oh, Brandt, your wife is an angel, a treasure, a pearl! 

Yes, do I not deserve credit for my choice? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

So charming! and shy and modest like a girl of 16. 

343

BRANDT. 

You are right about that. It is remarkable in a married woman. 

And she is so well-bred and interesting. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, she has had the benefit of a good upbringing. (Aside.) I am sure that Hanne has not 

said a word. 

(who walks over to them). 

But shall I not meet our cousin? 

Ah, presumably my other cousin. 

LOUISE 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, Cousin Hanne, if you please. But it appears I am superfluous here. My honorable 

cousin only has eyes for my sister. 

ADOLF. 

Oh, don't talk that way! But it is excusable, if I need time to collect myself. 

LOUISE. 

Well then, Sir Cousin! When you have collected yourself, then permit me to take a closer 

look at you. 

344

ADOLF (stands up straight). 

By all means! I am your Servant. But we must agree about one thing, it will not do to 

say De to me. I say Du with Louise. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, naturally we must say Du to each other. That goes without saying. 

Oh, that is not necessary. 

BRANDT (steps between them). 

ADOLF. 

What? Shall I say Du to your wife and De to your sister-in-law? 

LOUISE. 

That certainly brought a little variety into the conversation. But all the same the best 

thing is to say Du. So you are the cousin we have heard so much about? 

ADOLF. 

If what they have said about me is not too bad, then yes, it is I. 

LOUISE. 

It is not good to answer so definitely. We have heard so much about you. People are 

sometimes of the opinion that you are rather irresponsible, but then sometimes, that you 

have a very respectable character. (To BRANDT.) Isn't that true? 


She is teasing me. (Aloud.) The two qualities can very well go together, especially when 

one is young. 

345

Do you believe that I am irresponsible? 

I certainly have no reason to believe that. 

ADOLF 

(to HANNE, who is standing somewhat apart). 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, now leave my sister in peace. She is moreover a married woman, and does not have 

such a sharp eye for gentlemen's faults as we young girls. 


My wife lays claim to him, as it appears. (Aloud.) But shouldn't we go inside? What is 

the point of standing out here? 

LOUISE. 

Oh, no! Let's stay here. It's such a lovely morning. See how clear the sky is, and the 

trees are still fresh from the night's dew. I have ordered Johan to bring some refreshments 

out here. Now we shall all sit out here together. I shall sit here with my cousin, since I 

have not talked with him at all yet. And here (moving one little table over to the 

shrubbery), you can sit here with your wife. Johan is bringing paper and writing materials 

out to you, if you should have the desire to write to the treasury, as you spoke of doing. 

(To ADOLF.) I tell you, he has been married only two months; so he cannot spare his 

wife, not for a moment, when he sits at the worktable. You sigh, cousin; you too had the 

desire to be just such a loving husband. 

ADOLF. 

I cannot deny that I have sometimes thought of such happiness. 

LOUISE. 

346

Oh God, yes, if only one were married! (Aside to BRANDT.) Doesn't it seem to you I 

am playing my part well? 

Yes . . . almost too well. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

Here comes Johan. Let's all take our places now. 

(After they have all sat down (with BRANDT and LOUISE in the middle) 

JOHAN comes with a serving-tray with fruit, wine, etc., and leaves when he has set it 

down.) 

LOUISE. 

That's good. Just set the tray down here with us. (To ADOLF.) My brother-in-law and 

his wife do not need solid food. Their love is enough for them. We two, however, we 

can eat and drink. We are not married. 

ADOLF. 

Oh, you are a great joker! Not a serious word comes out of your mouth. 

He is right. Hold off now with the jokes. 

It is serious to me. 

Louise! Listen to what I say to you. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE (to ADOLF). 

BRANDT. 

347

Louise, your husband is talking to you. 

To me? What shall I do? 

LOUISE (to HANNE). 

HANNE. 

BRANDT (confused). 

Well . . . yes . . . of course. You shall bring me a glass of wine. But let us now be at 

peace, children, and talk orderly with each other. We must think about what 

entertainments we can arrange for our guest while he is here with us. 

ADOLF. 

That is not worth thinking about. I do not need entertainment in such a charming circle. 

Your cousin is gallant. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

What if we took a drive after we eat. I have bought a pretty Tilbury, Adolf. You can take 

a drive in it with my wife. 

With his wife! This is a rare husband! 


BRANDT. 

Then I shall drive with my sister-in-law in my old gig. We can go out into the woods. In 

beautiful weather it is full of people. 

LOUISE. 

348

Yes, I have just been thinking about that, and in my opinion we should go someplace else, 

where there are not so many people. 

Why? Is my pretty cousin shy of people? 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

No, but I am not fond of rubbing elbows with my fellow townsmen in the woods. 

Now, that is not such a great calamity. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

No, for God's sake! Copenhageners are worthy of respect, yes even charming in their 

daily life, at their businesses, and when they are at home. But they are unbearable when 

they go out to enjoy themselves . . . . You see my shoe, Cousin? 

ADOLF. 

Yes, I see that you also wear violet shoes, like your sister. 

LOUISE. 

Your eyes must be dazzled. You have never seen my sister with violet shoes. These are 

hers I have on. We got so busy making your room ready that by mistake I put them on . . 

. . By the way, you could tie my shoelace, which I see has come loose. 

I shall do so with the greatest pleasure. 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT (jumps up). 

349

But what are you thinking of! That is not proper at all, to allow a gentleman . . . 

LOUISE. 

But the other day you yourself tied my shoelace. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, that's true. But it is a different with me. I am your . . . I am your . . . 

ADOLF. 

You are her brother-in-law, and I am her blood first cousin, and I am also much closer to 

her. 

LOUISE. 

Naturally. You stay with your wife and chat with her. As far as I can see, you have not 

yet exchanged a word with her. 

(who has sat down again). 

BRANDT. 

One cannot get a word in with you. (Aside.) My wife begins well. (JOHAN comes in 

with paper, writing implements and paraphernalia.) 

JOHAN. 

If you please, here are the master's writing materials. 

Oh, who told you . . . 

BRANDT (annoyed). 

JOHAN. 

350

Have I forgotten something? The straight-edge! I'll be right . . . 

Certainly not. Take it all away again. 

BRANDT. 

(JOHAN goes away again with the writing materials.) 

ADOLF 

(who meanwhile has tied the shoelace). 

There now! How's that? 

LOUISE. 

Remarkable. If my shoelace should come loose again while you are here, nobody shall 

re-tie it except you. 

I am sitting on nails. 

(speaking over to HANNE). 


LOUISE 

But shouldn't cousin Adolf see his rooms, which we have made ready for him so nicely? 

Yes, if our cousin has a desire to see them. 

(goes quickly over to HANNE). 

HANNE. 

ADOLF 

351

I have a great desire to do that. Will you show me? 

Yes, gladly. 

(standing up likewise). 

HANNE. 

LOUISE 

Come along, cousin, we shall both go up there with you. 

BRANDT. 

Oh no, now we are sitting so nicely. Let us stay here together now. 

It will only take a moment. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, I know. But . . . but . . . but I have a couple of words to say to you. You remember 

what you promised . . . 

I? What have I promised? 

Yes . . . hm . . . you know. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT. 

LOUISE. 

No, I don't know anything. What do you mean? 

352

BRANDT (aside to her). 

You can surely pretend that you know . . . . (Aloud.) Yes, I shall certainly tell you. 

ADOLF. 

I must see my rooms. That is settled, at any rate. 

Of course. Hanne! You go up with him. 

(both approaching). 

Do you mean me? 

I mean my wife. You go up with Adolf. 

BRANDT. 

HANNE and LOUISE 

BRANDT (confused). 

LOUISE (to ADOLF). 

You see that my brother-in-law is not jealous. 

ADOLF. 

I have already admired him for that . . . . Come, dear little cousin. 

(He offers HANNE his arm. They go out the garden path nearest the house.) 

SIXTEENTH SCENE. 

353

Well, my friend, it's going well. 

(who walks restlessly up and down). 

Yes . . . very well . . . extremely well. 

BRANDT. LOUISE. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT 

LOUISE. 

But you must not confuse the names. Or else you will give it all away. Remember now, 

that you will call me Hanne and my sister Louise, and that you will be tender and loving 

towards Hanne, but take me as I am, like a good brother-in-law usually does with his 

sister-in-law. 

BRANDT. 

I shall remember. But . . . excuse me for saying this . . . but, dear Louise, it seems to me 

you are forgetting our agreement. 

LOUISE. 

I? No, you are surely wrong about that. On the contrary, I was led to believe that you 

would admire my talent for such a little comedy, as you said earlier. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, there you are right. You have displayed a talent which I had not at all dreamed of. 

But . . . our agreement was still to give Adolf an opportunity to be alone with Hanne. 

LOUISE. 

No, that was not our agreement; I should have opposed that. 

354

BRANDT. 

But we both found it desirable, if they could make a match of it; and then it follows of 

itself that one must not put obstacles in the way of that. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, but do not forget what I stipulated: that I would first pay attention to the young 

gentleman, and get to know him. 

BRANDT (a trifle bitterly). 

It just seems like you have been trying to get him to pay attention to you. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, I was quite taken with his handsome, courteous bearing. He has great spirit and 

breeding, and I must say that you are right that he can be dangerous for a young wife . . . . 

But I am afraid that Hanne is too quiet and serious for your friend Adolf. 

BRANDT. 

Still, experience shows that such incongruous relationships work best. 

LOUISE. 

Oh, yes of course . . . that is possible, all right. But . . . we are forgetting Hanne while we 

are talking about her. We must see what she and our cousin are doing. 

BRANDT. 

Do you want to disturb them again? It is as I say: you take pleasure in separating them. 

LOUISE. 

Here he comes, so we can save our argument. 

355

SEVENTEENTH SCENE. 

BRANDT. LOUISE. ADOLF (from the garden). 

(hurries over to LOUISE). 

ADOLF. 

Dearest cousin! How shall I thank you and your sister for the tasteful arrangement in my 

rooms. And the delightful little book collection, I am obliged for your thoughtfulness! 

LOUISE. 

It is my own little private library, which is completely at your service. 

ADOLF. 

Oh, I am overwhelmed by so much goodness. Allow me to extend my thanks. 

(He wants to take her by the hand.) 

(steps between them). 

BRANDT 

Excuse my sister-in-law, dear Adolf! She has a few things to see to in the house. (Aside 

to LOUISE.) If you want to see what has become of your sister, this is a good 

opportunity for that. 

LOUISE. 

I am going now. (To ADOLF.) But have you noticed the portrait miniature which hangs 

over the sofa? 

ADOLF. 

356

My aunt's portrait, painted when she was a young girl. I noticed it immediately. It is as if 

one is looking at your sister. 

LOUISE. 

You can thank me for that as well. I have taken it from my own room and hung it up in 

yours. When you look at it, you can think again about your aunt and her daughter, my 

married sister. 

I like that; that was well-thought-of. 

BRANDT (aside to her). 

LOUISE (likewise aside). 

There, you see. (Aloud.) But excuse me now. The housework calls me. 

Isn't there anything I can help you with? 

Yes, thanks! Come along. 

(holds him back). 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

BRANDT 

What an idea! Will Adolf help you to set the table, perhaps? Let him stay here now. I 

must also have a little of him. 

All right, then I'll go by myself. 

(She goes into the house.) 

LOUISE. 

357

EIGHTEENTH SCENE. 

ADOLF. BRANDT. 


It is amazing how uneasy he is when one merely approaches his sister-in-law. I must test 

him. (Aloud.) She is a very spiritual girl, your sister-in-law. 

BRANDT. 

Oh yes . . . she has a good head on her shoulders. 

ADOLF. 

To say the least. No, she is unusually spirited. 

BRANDT. 

Oh yes, indeed. But, what I wanted to say, I must still show you my new Tilbury, that I 

spoke of earlier. Would you like . . . ? 

ADOLF. 

Yes, at once . . . . But to come back to your sister-in-law, when could I next attempt to 

try my luck with her? 

Try your luck? What do you mean? 

BRANDT (terrified). 

ADOLF. 

358

Well, you know, the idea I came here with. My elder cousin, whom I actually thought of, 

is married, she is your wife. But her sister is also very charming. 


I have done this to myself. (Aloud.) Of course she is . . . but believe me, she will not do 

for you at all. 

ADOLF. 

You think not? She is so cheerful and pleasant. 

BRANDT. 

Yes, you are right about that. But you must have a rather different sort of wife. You see . 

. . like for example . . . yes, who can I suggest on the spur of the moment? . . . yes, like 

my wife. She could be just the thing for you. Gentle, pious, indulgent. 

ADOLF. 

Your sister-in-law, as far as I can see, has the superior intellect. That teaches us to be 

patient with each other. If I only knew that I am not indifferent to her . . . . 

BRANDT. 

Yes, we can always talk about that. Wait here now, then I shall show you . . . 

Then can I depend on your consent? 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

Do not doubt that, by all means! An old friend like you! . . . (Aside.) It is high time we 

put an end to this business. 

ADOLF. 

359

I believe I shall make a little attempt today . . . . 

BRANDT (quickly). 

No, I must advise against that, frankly. My sister-in-law will regard it as very rash, and 

you will ruin everything. On the whole, you must not think about serious things today. 

Stay here now, and I shall see to getting a man to prepare my new carriage and bring it 

out. In the meanwhile I shall send my wife out to you. (Aside, as he goes.) Pay court to 

my wife! No, that is a little too crazy. 

NINETEENTH SCENE. 

ADOLF (alone). 

I find myself in a remarkable situation. It is obvious that Brandt loves his sister-in-law. 

He is indifferent to his wife, and he has eyes only for her sister. Married only two months 

. . . that's terrible! All the same I believe that his sister-in-law is pulling his leg a little. 

And his wife . . . it appears that she does not feel much warmth for him either. When I 

was up in my rooms with her just now, and in a moment of abandon put my arm around 

her waist, . . . how she trembled and turned pale! What if she were in love with me? 

After all, she has seen me before. Dear God, it runs hot and cold down my back just 

thinking such thoughts. But those are wicked thoughts . . . I do not want to give them a 

place in my heart. She is my friend's wife . . . and I want to act like an honest fellow. 

Isn't her sister a grand girl, so cheerful and alert! Shouldn't I consider myself fortunate if 

she fell to my 

lot. Certainly . . . but as for my married cousin . . . . (Taking out the mentioned portrait.) 

It is her mother's portrait, which I stole by taking it down from the wall up there. It is 

feature-for-feature the same picture as my cousin. The shy, feminine expression, the 

incomparable look of sadness and reflection, which I have observed so often in her 

mother . . . . Everything is in her, just as I imagined it. Oh my God, why is she married, 

and with a man who does not love her, and who perhaps she does not love either! 

TWENTIETH SCENE. 

ADOLF. LOUISE. Later HANNE. 

360

LOUISE 

(aside, as she comes out from the garden room). 

Hanne sat and cried in her room. I must know what obstacles might be in the way. 

(Aloud.) Here I am again, cousin! I would have had my sister with me, so that we could 

both show you the new layout in our garden; but she was angry and didn't want to. Surely 

it is not you who have made her angry? 

I don't believe so. 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

I don't either. It would be very ungrateful of you, to say the least, after she has moved her 

own pretty new sofa up to your room, so that you could be comfortable. 

Has she really? 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

She has only had it a month, and would scarcely allow any of us to sit on it; and now she 

has sacrificed it to your boots and spurs. 

ADOLF. 

Can't I go up and mollify her, if I have offended her without meaning to? 

LOUISE. 

No, stay here. I hope she reconsiders and comes down by herself. (Looks at him.) But 

tell me, what kind of a loop is that, which sticks out there. It looks familiar. 

ADOLF (confused, wants to conceal it). 

361

Oh, it's nothing. 

Let me see! I'm so curious. 

(takes out the portrait). 

Well then, look! 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF 

LOUISE. 

What do I see! My mother's portrait! (Laughing.) And you are carrying it in your breast! 

Well, now I see that you genuinely are fond of your aunt. 

You are making fun of me. 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

If our whole family in ascending order were just as precious to you, I could treat you to a 

portrait of our great-grandmother. It is a rare piece. She is painted as she looked on her 

wedding day, in a stiff corset with pink gloves and her hair set a la Fontagne. 

Oh, stop! 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

On her lap she has a little greyhound with a crooked neck, and in one hand an Easter-lily. 

ADOLF. 

362

Do not tease me any longer. You know why I have kept this portrait. 

No, I don't. 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

Well, then let me tell you straightforwardly. I came here today with the intention of . . . 

well of paying court to your sister, if she corresponded to the impression I had of her. 

To my sister! To a married woman! 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

I did not dream that she was married. I did not know either of my two pretty cousins, and 

that must be my excuse, and also that I did not earlier form an impression of your charm 

as of hers. But I expected to see a picture of my aunt rejuvenated; and your sister 

undoubtedly resembles her more than you do. 


Good night, vain imagination! (Aloud.) Yes, that is a very unpleasant circumstance. 

What do you have in mind now, poor cousin? 

ADOLF. 

My friend's wife is sacred to me; that goes without saying. But I have decided that I shall 

not despair. Possibly there is still a consolation here for me, a consolation which can 

contain greater happiness than I myself imagine. 

(Here HANNE approaches from the walk which goes behind the shrubbery.) 

LOUISE. 

363

That is a conclusion worthy of you. But dare I ask where you will seek your consolation? 

(takes her hand). 

What do you think of me, dear cousin! 

I think well of you. 

ADOLF 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

Is it too bold, if I hope that you will give me compensation for the loss which now cannot 

be made good? 

I? Are you courting me? 

Oh my God! What must I hear! 

LOUISE. 


ADOLF. 

You see I am candid. I have confessed honestly to you. Give me an honest answer. 

LOUISE. 

Since you are candid, I shall be also be. Can you in all fairness ask me to be your 

makeshift, when all else fails for you? 

Do you love someone else, perhaps? 

ADOLF. 

364

LOUISE. 

That is a matter of conscience. But in any case, what is it worth to let yourself be 

embarrassed? You love someone else, and all the same pay court to me. 

(aside and in tears). 

If I were only a thousand miles away! 

HANNE 

ADOLF. 

Oh, answer me seriously! If you like me, then do not deny me your consent. Besides . . . 

you should get away from this house. The circumstances you live in here are not suitable. 


Not suitable? Oh, it seems to me they are quite good. 

ADOLF. 

No, believe me. I see more clearly than the rest of you. Be sure to get away. Come with 

me to my mother's. 

LOUISE. 

Thanks, but I am doing very well here otherwise. 

ADOLF. 

Your sister goes around as patient as an angel, and suffers in silence. Brandt is uneasy, 

now tortured by passion and now by the feeling of his duty. All this cannot be concealed 

from you. 


365

Yes, he sees clearly all right. 

ADOLF. 

You must be able to see that Brandt is consumed by love for you. 

Do you really think so? 

It is so obvious anyone can see it. 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, since you draw my attention to it, it seems to me that he does love me. 

And that is terrible! 

Yes, you are right, it is terrible. Such a man! 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

Therefore be sure that you get out of these unfortunate circumstances, for Brandt's sake as 

well as for your own. I do not dare conceal from you, that staying in this house is 

dangerous for your sister's peace and . . . dangerous for your reputation. 

LOUISE. 

What? My reputation? Then I don't dare to stay here another moment. A person's 

reputation is his greatest sanctuary. 

366

ADOLF. 

Then you agree with me? Now, as I said, come with me to my mother's place in town, 

today, and, if you will listen to my advice, preferably now, this moment. It will also be 

good for me to get away from here . . . I admit that frankly. But in time I will get to know 

you, I will realize that I can expect great happiness by your side. If I am so fortunate as to 

earn your good will, allow me then to ask for your hand. That is all I ask. 

I am going . . . I cannot stand this . . . 

(Makes a movement as if to go.) 



That is my sister coming! (Aloud.) Dear cousin, I am quite uneasy about what you have 

told me, and I realize that I (with emphasis) for my own sake as well as for my sister's 

should follow your advice. I shall go with you to your mother's, and, as you advise 

me, preferably at once . . . . Wait here; I shall just put on a hat and shawl. Or go down by 

the walk, where you will meet someone who can console you during my absence. 

(Aside.) My poor, poor husband! What use to him now are all his tricks to watch over 

his wife! Now I am on the verge of leaving! 

(Goes into the house.) 

ADOLF. 

What does she mean? (Goes over to the shrubbery.) Do I see rightly? Are you here, dear 

Louise? 


I came just now . . . . I was looking for my sister. 

But you have been crying. What's wrong? 

ADOLF. 

367

Nothing . . . nothing's wrong. 

HANNE. 

ADOLF. 

Of course . . . you have been crying, you are sad. Confide your sadness in me! 

HANNE. 

I have no sadness . . . none at all. Let me go now. I have no time. 

(holding her back). 

Stay! You are not angry at me, are you? 

ADOLF. 

HANNE. 

No, I'm not. But let me go. I shall tell my sister to come out. You are waiting for her, 

surely. 

ADOLF (inquiring). 

You have heard our conversation, haven't you? You have heard that I asked for her hand. 

But then you have also heard my open-hearted confession that it was actually you, dear 

Louise, who as soon as I arrived made an indelible impression on my heart. It should 

never have come from my lips . . . never! You belong to another, and I must abandon 

hope for you. 

My God, what shall I answer . . . ! 


ADOLF. 

368

I imagined to find consolation in your sister. Perhaps I deceive myself. But you are both 

my close relatives, you are sisters, and both dear and precious to me. Give me your hand. 

I hope it will be for my happiness. 


But how can I . . . I cannot at all . . . . (Aside.) But isn't it irritating, that I should stand 

here and pretend for the sake of your notion! 

ADOLF. 

Here comes your husband. Let us speak with him and hear what he says. 

HANNE. 

Oh, God no, let me go. I cannot stay if he is coming. 


This is amazing! She has as it were a dread of her husband. 

(when HANNE wants to leave). 

Stay here! Why are you going inside? 

I must go in now. 

TWENTY-FIRST SCENE. 

ADOLF. HANNE. BRANDT. 

BRANDT 

HANNE 

369

(wants to hold her back). 

BRANDT 

What talk! You will stay and keep Adolf company. I must go up to see your sister. 

HANNE. 

I can't. You are wrong to keep me here. (Goes inside.) 

ADOLF (seriously). 

Let your wife go in, Brandt! I want to have a word with you. 

Well then, what do you want? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

I have just had a conversation with your sister-in-law. 

BRANDT. 

With my wi . . . with my sister-in-law, you say? 

ADOLF. 

Yes. I have already confided in you that she has made an impression on me. I have now 

talked to her about it. 

So? . . . What did she answer? 

BRANDT. 

370

ADOLF. 

She asked for time to think. But she did not deprive me of hope. She even admitted that 

she also thinks well of me. 

Really? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

Most likely she first wants to hear your opinion. 

I strongly doubt that. 

What do you think now? 


ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

Yes . . . to speak frankly, this courtship does not seem good to me at all. Immediately, the 

first time one sees a young girl, to ask for her hand, that is, to put it mildly, rashness. 

ADOLF. 

I do not believe it has been generally considered to be that in the capital for a long time. 

BRANDT. 

But you did not come here for her sake at all. It is my wife you have been fantisizing 

about for six months, even though you did not know her. If you had not told me that it 

was she who had made such a strong impression on you, then I would have found that 

reasonable. But my sister-in-law! 

371

ADOLF (very seriously). 

Brandt. Be sensible! I can well imagine that you do not consider it right that I am fond of 

your sister-in-law. 

No, you are right about that. 


ADOLF. 

But let me act here. I believe that it will be best for us all. You cannot and you should 

not deny me her hand. Let her unite with me, let her go away from your house . . . . 

Oh, you talk like a dreamer. 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

Listen, Brandt, you do not understand your heart's situation. But I have seen through you: 

you love your wife's sister. But thank God I have enough control over myself, that I do 

not want to take advantage of your weakness. (With a strong voice.) She must leave your 

house. It is my duty as her nearest relative to deal with her. I shall take her away today. 

You want to take her away? 

BRANDT. 

ADOLF. 

Nothing will prevent me. I am not making a secret of it; I want to act openly. (Aside.) 

There she is! 

TWENTY-SECOND SCENE. 

372

ADOLF. BRANDT. LOUISE (with hat and shawl on) and later HANNE, both from 

the garden room. 

ADOLF. 

Just come, dear Hanne. I have told your brother-in-law everything. He knows that you 

are going with me now at once. 

BRANDT (to LOUISE). 

But what does all this mean? Why are you dressed like that? 

LOUISE. 

I do not really know . . . . Cousin Adolf has such a great desire to take me away. 

BRANDT. 

Oh, now I have heard it all! What foolishness! 

ADOLF. 

My decision is firm . . . . Come, Hanne! (Takes LOUISE's hand and is about to take her 

with him.) 

BRANDT (stopping him). 

Are you crazy? You want to take away my wife? 

Your wife? Do you have two wives? 

No, certainly not . . . but . . . but . . . 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

373

LOUISE. 

Yes, I am his wife, dear cousin! In case you have the desire to court me now, there is no 

way. 

But your sister Louise, is she then . . . 

Please! Her name is Hanne. 

ADOLF. 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

Hanne! And she is not his wife? Yes, then I can understand his behavior. And Hanne is 

really not married? 

No, unfortunately. 

LOUISE. 

ADOLF. 

Unfortunately? All the better! Then can I hope perhaps . . . 

LOUISE. 

Perhaps. But first you must make a decision, which of us you will court. Since it seems 

to me you are uncertain about that. 

ADOLF. 

Oh, you are wrong to make fun of me! I have confessed to you as honestly as you can 

require. Plead my case with your sister. 

374

LOUISE. 

Yes, I shall see what I can do for you. Here she comes at this moment. 

(Walks towards HANNE, who is entering.) 

BRANDT. 

But am I hearing correctly? It is Hanne that you are aiming for after all? 

ADOLF. 

Yes, of course, dear friend, but you yourself are to blame for all the confusion. 

BRANDT. 

You are right about that, it was a great mistake of us. Your choice has my full consent. 

Hanne is a splendid girl. She will not give you a "No;" nor should she, either. 

HANNE 

(who meanwhile has talked with LOUISE, aside to her). 

But he believes that I am married. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, but now he has said he will not be offended that you are unmarried. He will take 

you all the same. 

HANNE. 

Oh, you are making fun of me. I do not want to know anything at all about it. 

LOUISE. 

375

What kind of talk is that! You cried to me in there and complained, and said you were 

unhappy. One does not cry for nothing. 

HANNE. 

But I myself have heard that he paid court to you. 

But I have explained to you . . . 

But I do not believe you. 

LOUISE. 

HANNE. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, yes . . . I can understand that you are angry with cousin Adolf for his great 

recklessness . . . no? So let's give him a rejection. (Turns to ADOLF with assumed 

seriousness.) Dear cousin, I have talked with my sister. 

ADOLF 

(who meanwhile has stood in conversation with BRANDT, approaches quickly). 

Have you? What answer did she give? 

LOUISE. 

My sister does not conceal her good will to you as our close relative; nor does she deny 

you her respect as a military man. But she has become too uneasy over your flightiness to 

dare consider a union which generally lasts for a whole lifetime. 

I have not said anything of the kind! 

HANNE (aside to her). 

376

ADOLF. 

But dear God, my flightiness is not nearly as great as you suppose. I have the best 

intentions to become steady and settled. 

LOUISE. 

Yes, then she must wait until these intentions are developed. But for now duty and 

prudence command . . . 

BRANDT. 

Oh, what fancies! Hanne will give in. I vouch for Adolf. 

HANNE (aside to LOUISE). 

You should be ashamed of yourself for talking that way. 

LOUISE (softly to her). 

Allow me . . . it is a matter of your welfare. (Aloud to ADOLF.) For all these reasons 

and considerations she has decided . . . (taking HANNE's hand) . . . and I confess, I 

cannot blame her for it . . . she has decided, dear cousin, to . . . give you her hand. 

Concerning her heart you must speak with her more intimately yourself. 

I am a lucky man! 

ADOLF. 

BRANDT. 

I like that. (Aside.) It is proper that I reveal the engagement, after I have secured him 

good employment. 

ADOLF. 

Now I am no longer angry with you, that you have pulled my leg. It has paved my way to 

great happiness. 

377

BRANDT. 

Yes, do not hold it against me, dear friend. But I do not deny that I got a little worried 

when I found out that we would have an officer to quarter, and my concern did not 

diminish when I discovered that it was you. In future it will be a firm rule with 

me: rather a whole company of enlisted men than one single lieutenant. 

LOUISE. 

My friend, allow me to make an observation. The billetting which the king and the 

authorities impose on us, I bend over backwards to tolerate like a good subject; it is 

dangerous neither for you nor for your wife. But there is another billetting, which is a 

great plague for you and a great inconvenience for your wife. That is jealousy. Let us 

guard ourselves against that! 

Yes, there you are right. 

BRANDT. 

378

IX. Review Articles about the Performance of Carl Petersen’s Company in 

Skien in the Summer of 1943. From Skiensposten. 

#5, July 18-- 

The Theatre. Skien, the 18th of July. An artistic enjoyment one has lacked here for 

several years and has desired to satisfy, is being offered to Skien's public at this time, as 

theatre director Petersen and company are giving some performances. These began 

yesterday evening in front of a nearly full house with the drama: Clermont or the blind 

painter (Clermont eller den blind Maler) in which piece Mr. Petersen, in a handsome 

performance, and Madame Petersen presented the main roles as Thalia's dedicated 

children with accuracy and poise. In the vaudeville "Under Lock and Key" (“Under Laas 

og Lykke”) a piece without further value or character, Madame Steiner portrayed the 

main role with charm and liveliness to everyone's satisfaction. The lovely music, for 

which one has the local amateur musicians to thank, allowed us not to feel the absence of 

the full orchestras of the larger cities. On Thursday A Glass of Water (Et Glas Vand) will 

be presented, and one would wish that the performers of this piece, which requires a 

certain study, might equally and at each of their performances see their efforst rewarded 

by a numerous attendance . . . and hopefully they will not acquire any reason to complain 

with respect to Skien, what is heard about Larvik, namely that the artists avoid that place 

for lack of encouragement and participation, which are only bestowed on charlatanry, and 

bear- and ape-tricks. 

#7, July 25-- 

379

Yesterday the visiting theatre company gave their third performance before a full house: 

the comedy Mistress Siddons or the English Actress (Mistress Siddons eller den engelske 

skuespillerinde), and afterwards: "Desire and Indifference” (“List og Phlegma”). For the 

presentation of the certainly quite difficult roles in these pieces the acting personnel 

deserved and received unanimous praise. The writer is no real critic ready to make 

pronouncements about the specific roles, but so much dare be said, that Madame Steiner 

as Georgina and Madame Petersen as Amelia Siddons gave their parts with a truth and 

feeling as if in reality they had been the persons acting, and individual scenes in their 

acting even gripped the observers in an obvious way. 

#8, July 28-- 

Mr. Petersen with his company enjoys great acclaim at every performance. On 

Wednesday was given before a good house: “The First Love” ("Den første Kjærlighed"); 

then: “The Mill in Marly” ("Møllen i Marly"), and in conclusion: “Emily’s Palpitation” 

("Emilies Hjertebanken") -- all pieces with much success. Messrs. Steiner and Bech 

played their roles remarkably well. In "List og Phlegma" the former was an exceedlingly 

phlegmatic individual, and he who had no conceptiion of such a characteristic could 

certainly receive it clearly and evidently by watching his masterful acting. And what does 

one say about Mr. Bech in his merry roles as, for example, Baron Palm in the last- 

mentioned play, and as the miller's apprentice in "Møllen i Marly?" Could anyone do it 

much better? This evening will be presented: The English Actor Kean (Den engelsk 

skuespiller Kean). This is certainly a large and difficult play, but the company's previous 

performances, and especially what one saw of these in Et Glas Vand, which everyone 

380

agrees made a great success, guarantee that this performance will not exceed its powers 

either. Mr. Petersen plays Kean's role, and one has seen that he can act . . .. 

#9, August 1-- 

Skien, the 1st of August. The play Den Engelsk Skuespiller Kean, which on Friday 

passed over the stage, won great applause. Mr. Petersen, as Kean, had taken upon 

himself a great actor's role, and he accordingly showed, despite the effort which the 

presentation requires, that he had it in his power. There is something big and strong in 

Mr. Petersen's acting and in a larger theatre he would make a great impression. Most of 

the fellow players assisted him remarkably well and every act provoked strong applause. 

On Sunday were performed: The Billetting (Indqvarteringen), and afterwards: “Jovial, or 

the deputy mayor as poet” ("Jovial eller Underfogden som Poet"). These comedies were 

tremendously amusing, and they also were performed in a masterful fashion. In the first 

play Mr. Steiner showed how it goes with a jealous man; the Mesdames Petersen and 

Steiner brought forth new charms in their acting and Mr. Petersen was a natural lover. 

Mr. Bech as Jovial -- a role which falls precisely into his style -- was very jovial. "I have 

made a song about it." 

#10, August 10-- 

Skien, the 3rd of August. Yesterday evening was presented: "Donna Clara, a Night-play" 

(“Donna Clara, en natscene”) by A[ndreas] Munch; afterwards: “Either Love or Death!” 

("Enten elskes eller døe!") and in conclusion: “The Woman-hater” 

381

("Fruentimmerhaderen"). The company wins greater and greater praise every time, and it 

deserved it not least yesterday. In the first play, of a tragic subject, Madame Petersen -- 

this theatre's Melpomene -- gave Donna Clara's role with so much naturalness and 

feeling, that it seemed she really found herself in that unhappy situation. How she was 

able to manifest the rapturous dismay which came over her at seeing her former lover 

again, and how she was able to express her inner passions, when she had to battle 

rationally against the incitement to flee which was imposed on her by the lover, to whom 

she would willingly have given herself with all her soul - because fidelity to her hard, 

stone-hearted husband demanded it! Her face, her whole appearance cried out obviously 

how her heart was torn apart by sorrow, when her husband, whose strict words she 

listened to with the suffered obedience she had promised him, commanded that the door 

to the alcove, into which her lover had slipped, should be walled up, so that he must 

languish there - yes, her whole inner death-like anguish during the execution of this work 

showed itself so naturally in her acting, that she awakened sympathy in no small degree. 

[Quoted in English:] "Players are mirrors made for men to see, how bad they are, how 

good they ought to be," says an English author, and the truth of this showed itself in this 

performance. That Madame Petersen was not applauded as loudly as previously came 

probably from the unexpected tragic ending of the play, after which the audience sank 

down in a pause, like that which usually follows when one has read the last lines of a too- 

thrilling novel; there is no other way to explain this circumstance. 

The melancholy feelings which the presentation of this scene had awakened, were soon 

alleviated, when the next play was performed, and what one had missed in the foregoing 

382

was not neglected now, and the performance accordingly really deserved all the 

expressions of approval which were heard, so remarkably well did all the performers 

present their roles, and it was a true enjoyment which was offered in the theatre that 

evening. Madame Steiner was incomparable as Clotilde in "Elskes eller døe," and as the 

Baroness in "Fruentimmerhaderen;" these scenes could indeed scarcely be given better, at 

it is worthy of admiration at how much Nature she gives the character in her roles up to 

the very smallest nuances. Mr. Petersen did not let expectations be disappointed: his 

roles are well studied and presented with great confidence. Mr. Steiner gave the Duke del 

Fuentes and the other roles with success, which also properly can be said about Mr. Bech 

as Notarius; his acting is exceedingly easy and pleasant. 

The company is giving two more performances here - one tomorrow as a benefit for Mr. 

Bech - and the numerous public which almost every evening has had, and the satisfaction 

with which it has seen itself rewarded for its diligence and effort, will certainly not be 

lacking these times either. 

#11, August 18-- 

(Contributed.) The Petersen Theatre Company yesterday concluded its performances 

with Scribe's The Quaker and the Dancer (Qvækeren og Dandserinden) - Heiberg's 

vaudeville "Nei" and an "Epilog." The praiseworthy effort which this company has made 

at all its presentations deserves our full recognition, which it also received at its last 

performance, and which was expressed by the unusually numerous attendance. Madame 

Petersen's acting, as the noble, proud Georgina, surrounded by irresponsibility and 

383

seductions, which allows the Quaker to feel that womanly virtue and womanly value can 

be greatest where prejudice will not recognize it, satisfied all reasonable demands; those 

perhaps alone excepted, which one or another lion-maned rooster had cultivated 

according to the stereotype of a capital city; as a friendly portrait of a noble woman this 

performance, and her earlier one as Queen Anne, will therefore remind us; long may 

Madame Petersen live in our memory. 

Mr. Petersen's "Morton" was a counterpart to his good acting as Bolingbroke in Et Glas 

Vand, and the handsome Quaker will long stand in our ladies' favor as a gracious man; he 

also assured himself of that from our side in Hammer's role in "Nei" and by his warm and 

clear declamation of the departing epilog. 

If we have not yet mentioned Madame Steiner, it is not because her worth in any way 

whatsover is overshadowed by those named previously; it goes without saying that she 

indeed occupies a high rank in this company, and by her well-studied acting, by the easy, 

the gentle, the insignificant and the significant, the questioning and the chattering 

naysayer in Sophie's role, she has bound the last flower in the bouquet of roses and 

stocks, which her cheerful, light, lively and confident acting has woven into a memory 

wreath among the Skien public. 

What one several times has believed especially ought to be less satisfactory in Mr. Bech 

is that his speeches most often appear to be dependent on the prompter; one shall not 

reproach him for this at the last performance; since as both Toby and Link his 

384

memorization was good; and the acting especially in the latter role, whose great 

difficulties one must recognize, was satisfactory. 

In the banner which decorated the stage in the epilog Mr. Petersen said to us: "We'll see 

you again." May it not be too long until then - and until that time may the company's 

abilities among its younger members develop to the degree that the lovers' roles are not 

taken by one who is only made for grandfathers, or the beautiful singing voice of Miss 

Marcker so seldom used, - and may the circumstances in Skien accordingly change for the 

better, so that this most noble enjoyment of higher culture not fall from too difficult 

financial abilities. 

Because it (Skien) has long lacked entertainment our best wishes therefore follow this 

worthy company, which by its appearance in this town has earned genuine respect, not 

only as ambitious artists, but also as morally worthy individuals. 

The 7th of August. 

385

X. Ferdinand and Isabella. 

This is a translation of the account of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain from a history text 

that was used in the Skien Latin school at the time Ibsen was a student in another school 

in town. 

From Nyere historie, vol. 2, by Hans A. Kofod. Kbh., 1811-12. Pp. 321-4. 

FERDINAND THE CATHOLIC AND ISABELLA 

There arose immediately a slight disagreement between the two rulers over which 

of them was more nearly entitled to the throne of Castile; but it was settled in this 

manner, that each should rule in his (or her) realm, even though Ferdinand's name would 

stand first in all edicts. The struggle for succession with King Alphonse of Portugal was 

ended to Spain's advantage with the agreement in Alcantara. The situation at this time, 

especially in Castile, was not the best. Lawlessness and disorder upset the peace of the 

citizens; but Ferdinand's wisdom finally taught them order. At every opportunity he 

confiscated assigned crown lands, thereby increasing the royal income; also he gradually 

won grandmastership of Spain's three most important knightly orders, and acquired 

thereby significant influence on the aristocratic families. He established the Sacred 

Brotherhood, whose duty it was to guard strictly the observance of law and order. This 

certainly deserves great praise; but not the establishment of the frightening court of the 

Inquisition. To be sure, in the beginning it was dependent on the court, but it was not 

long before the court itself trembled at the name of the sacred executioners, who were 

thought to make anyone by whom they believed they had been insulted into a heretic, and 

from whose bloody hands no human power could rescue those unfortunate victims who 

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had aroused the Inquisition's attention. Only a few of the persecuted were publicly 

martyred by the terrifying, the most barbaric wild dignified (værdige), human-sacrificing, 

autos-da-fé; far more persons, of whom one could not find the least criticism, pined away 

long years in underground prisons, without anyone knowing where they were or what 

crimes they had committed. 6 What an outrageous misuse of the most gentle religion. 

Until then the kingdom of Granada had survived more through internal 

disagreements among Christians than by its own power. The closer relationship between 

Castilians and Aragonians under Ferdinand and Isabella heralded its fall. Conflicts within 

the ruling family of Granada facilitated the ventures of these twin rulers against Granada, 

and also provided a pretext for the war by which to break a truce that had been formerly 

concluded, to take possession of Zehra and to refuse to pay the usual tribute. Ferdinand 

moved (an army) into Granada, where Abu Abdallah (Boabdil) had ejected his father 

from the throne, and fought against his uncle al Zagal, who desired to take advantage of 

the riots in order to mount (the throne) himself. Actually they divided the little realm 

among themselves, but Zagal, who did not see himself ready to defend his part against the 

Christians, sold his fortresses to Ferdinand and Isabella, who daily came closer to their 

goal. Soon the Moors held no more than Granada itself, and 60,000 Castilians and 

Aragonians moved against it, led by the greatest warrior of the time, one Ponce de Leon y 

Gonsalvo de Cordova, to whom his contemporaries unanimously ascribed the name the 

great commander-in-chief. In order to incite even swifter action, Isabella herself appeared 

in the camp, and in order to make the seige more comfortable, ordered the construction of 

6 “The Inquisition,” says Gifford, “which Ferdinand first introduced in Spain’s constitution, and which he 

unfortunately fostered, obscured the nation’s prosperity with its evil repression, and, although its branches 

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a fortified city called Santa Fe in the vicinity of Granada. Famine, accidents of war and 

the doubt of support from Africa, ultimately persuaded the Moors to surrender. The city 

delivered itself to the Christian coalition, but the Moors were to keep their religion 

inviolate, and be governed according to their own laws. Thereupon Ferdinand and 

Isabella moved (their army) into the capital city, and the dominion of this people (i.e., the 

Moors) in Spain came to an end completely. The provisions, as they had understood 

them, were not kept by the treacherous Ferdinand. He tried to bring them to Christianity 

through violence and coercion; they rebelled, but Ferdinand went against them himself 

and forced them into submission. In return for payment they received permission to cross 

over to Africa; if they returned they would die. In Aragon the nobility opposed itself to 

this procedure against so many of its inhabitants, some of whom were important people, 

so Ferdinand had to allow them to remain there. Ferdinand dealt with the Jews in the 

same way as with the Moors, where after hard persecution a great many were compelled 

to leave the country. This zeal for the purity of the faith gained Ferdinand, so villainous 

and treacherous (as) he in fact was, the name of the Catholic. 

were trimmed by the hand of philosophy, its trunk was still giving tragic evidence of how far religious 

persecution can go.” 

388

C. GRIMSTAD. 

I. A Memoir of Ibsen in Grimstad. Christopher Due’s Recollections of 

Ibsen’s Youthful Years. 

From Erindringer fra Henrik Ibsens Ungdomsaar, by Chr[istopher] Due (Copenhagen: 

Græbes Bogtrykkeri, 1909). 

In the 1840's Grimstad was a less impressive town in several respects than it is 

now. When I arrived there one dark Autumn evening in 1845, my immediate impression 

was one of humble, primitive conditions. There were no street lights at all. In many 

windows there were weak lights without curtains of any kind, so that even in the so-called 

Main Street one could see that families were sitting around a table where just one tallow 

candle burned; this made the street seem even darker, and it was not without risk for 

walkers, since the gutters lay in the middle. I mention especially the lack of street 

lighting because this also gives a picture of the spiritual enlightenment among the people 

then, among whom materialism wholly occupied their minds and thoughts, while higher 

spiritual interests languished. 

The school situation was particularly questionable. Apart from the fact that a 

theological candidate was engaged at times by a single family just for their children, there 

was only one lone teacher in Grimstad, namely the assistant minister of the Fjære and 

Grimstad churches, Isaachsen (the father of the late actor Isaachsen). This person, an 

especially virtuous and zealous man, according to his lights, also taught all the town's 

probably nearly 100 children who wanted to go to school, part of them every-other-day, 

that is, on one day the so-called plebeian school children attended, and on the other day 

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the children of families of better position, who paid an insignificant monthly school tax. 

Isaachsen's energy and tirelessness accomplished a lot, and his memory should be 

preserved with gratitude through the generations, although no doubt the results of his 

work must have been limited, because of the many students for whom he was their only 

teacher, but in any case he laid a good foundation for the practical activity to which the 

coming generation of youth was destined. This is demonstrated also by the many virtuous 

and hard-working merchants Grimstad has produced in the course of time. 

The town’s location, as well as its access to the necessary materials, drew people 

to shipbuilding from time immemorial. Having the sea so close during the shipping 

industry's most favorable period from the 1840's on, meant that in every inlet, and there 

are many inlets in and near the town, one saw a hull under construction, and as soon as it 

was launched, one saw the ribs of a new one erected. One lived in Grimstad mainly for 

that and the whole country was happy in "the time of the wooden ships," which brought 

great prosperity. But this enterprise occupied the people to such a degree that higher 

interests were not attended to. Everyone who had accumulated the means, or who could 

borrow money, invested in ship shares. The priest, the doctor, the judge, not to mention 

the seamen and merchants, craftsmen, even the servant girls, all were shipowners. That 

is, the opportunity to become a part owner was easily available, even with a 

comparatively small amount of money. Becoming the owner of a share in a ship was 

regarded as insurance, and more profitable in the long run than taking one's money to the 

savings bank. It not seldom happened that under the high freight rates at that time, a ship 

was completely paid for after two or three years' trade. Most of the male inhabitants were 

sent to sea immediately after confirmation, and after that they spent only the winter 

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months at home. After spending the greatest part of the year on board ships, they had 

abandoned spiritual development, nor was this state-of-mind overcome in the few months 

before new trade commenced. 

As far as that goes there were in Grimstad especially good moral conditions. 

Moderation, liberal ideals, and above all a high degree of peacefulness, were prominent 

traits among the people, who lived their quiet, modest family life, each among his closest 

ties. With few exceptions, there were almost no interests apart from the shipping trade. 

The few families that were not completely preoccupied with the materialistic philosophy 

of life made a rather sharp contrast to the majority of the town, and therefore stood out 

strongly on certain occasions. 

Like Ibsen in his time, I preserve warm memories of the gracious people I knew 

there during the 13 years I associated with them, in clean, wholesome social relations, and 

I want to close this section with a short story about the old Grimstad-families. I have 

earlier emphasized the charming peacefulness that reigns there. 

This is not always the case in small towns. I know several, where only dissension 

and conflict thrive best. A contributing cause of the good social spirit that prevails in 

Grimstad I want to ascribe to the influence that made itself apparent from the old 

families, that provided a good example to imitate by their honesty and peacefulness in all 

their dealings. In the time we lived there I can therefore mention as true representatives 

for the old Grimstad the extended Holst family, who in those years were very numerous 

and of whom several are still alive. 

Among these people and under their conduct as depicted here, Henrik Ibsen also 

lived, and it is easily understandable that he was not understood or appreciated when in 

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his lively and spirited way he behaved with extravagance. In the foreword to his jubilee- 

edition of the drama Catiline he expressed himself about this as follows: 

Yet I could not refrain from expressing myself, on more elevated 

occasions, along the same passionate lines as in my poetry; from which, 

however, I derived only dubious benefit, both from those who were and 

those who were not my friends: the former acclaimed my talent for being 

unintentionally funny, while others found it utterly remarkable that a young 

man in my subordinate position should actively discuss matters which not 

even they themselves ventured to have views about. For the sake of truth I 

must add that my behaviour on a number of occasions did not justify any 

great hopes that society had in me someone in whom the solid middle-class 

virtues might confidently be expected to flourish, just as I also, through my 

epigrams and caricatures, quarrelled with many who had deserved better of 

me and whose friendship I in fact prized. The long and short of it was that, 

while big things were happening in the tumultuous world outside, I found 

myself at loggerheads with the small community in which I lived, cramped 

as I was by private circumstances and by conditions in general." (from The 

Oxford Ibsen, ed. James Walter McFarlane, et al, London: Oxford UP: vol 

I., Early Plays, 110-111.) 

GRIMSTAD PHARMACY 

in the years 1844-47. 

In small towns where there is only one pharmacy, one can be treated in any old 

way, at all events that is how it was in those years, and under the owner at the time, the 

pharmacist Reimann, a less-than-good economic situation was understandable, since the 

pharmacy lay in an undistinguished part of the town, where one lived cheaply. . . . (It) 

was installed in a humble little outlying building, at that time with small windowpanes in 

both the two lower floors. 

When I walked past there one day with an acquaintance, he asked me if I had seen 

the pharmacist's assistant who had arrived there some time ago, since as he put it, there 

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was something peculiar about him. For that matter there were many who had not yet seen 

him long after he had arrived, inasmuch as they had no business at the pharmacy, and at 

that time Ibsen was never to be seen outside, at any rate in the daytime. 

Curious to see him, shortly afterward I went into the pharmacy. This was a little 

room that was so low that I could almost touch the ceiling with my hand, and it was 

extremely shabby: crude, dark and uncomfortable. As a pharmacy it was primitive and 

chaotic in every respect. Through the half-open door a similarly shabby room could be 

glimpsed, which presumably was the assistant's apartment. No living being was to be 

seen, nor any sound to be heard, either, to indicate that there were people in the vicinity, 

listening, so I had plenty of time to make the aforementioned observations, but after I had 

knocked on the counter, I noticed some movement behind the so-called dispensary 

cabinet, and soon after a rather small young man with a likeable lively face emerged from 

there with a quick motion. I want to remark here, that in his youth Ibsen developed 

unusually early a handsome full brown beard, that gave his face at the same time an 

energetic and also harmonious appearance . . . . Therefore he gave an overall impression 

of being a handsome young man, with a good well-developed body. On this uncertain 

occasion, as far as that goes, his face bore an unmistakable and impatient question mark, 

which indicated right away that the supposed customer was by no means welcome. I 

asked for 4 shillings worth of bandages and he set about, and quickly supplied them. No 

words were exchanged between us, but when I received my bandages our eyes met and 

then I noticed a glint in his handsome eyes that made an impression on me. This glint 

was the spark which later showed itself, the glint of a spirit that would ignite a famous 

torch, that later cast its bright sparks over all parts of the world, hence this glint, this 

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spark was reflected in Henrik Ibsen's eyes. I have depicted our first meeting so precisely, 

because forever after, even after more than 60 years have elapsed, it has stood clearly in 

my memory with a strong intensity. 

After some time had passed the proprietor of Grimstad Apothecary sold his "royal 

privilege" to (another apothecary) Nielsen, who immediately moved it to the eastern part 

of the town, to the house where the liquor store was at that time. The location here was 

brighter, friendlier, within sight of the harbor traffic, and Apothecary Nielsen had been 

my acquaintance for several years, since we had business accounts together in the savings 

bank, so it followed thereafter, that I made frequent visits to the pharmacy, all the more 

since it lay near both the place of my daily business and my lodgings. 

Naturally I then made Ibsen's acquaintance, and as usual between teenagers we 

quickly became good friends. For me this acquaintance became a source of great 

happiness, and there developed afterwards a mutual sympathy between us. Ibsen needed 

a comrade, later also a trustworthy friend, and he had no choice. 

Soon I felt more and more strongly drawn to him. His intelligence and bubbling 

humor were so very interesting, since these characteristics were missing among my other 

circle of comrades. 

Gradually I became a daily guest at the pharmacy, usually around evening, when 

Ibsen sat resting in his room. I looked forward happily to these gatherings all day. It was 

something new and appealing to hear his quick comments, these free, and for me partly 

new views of life, to be sure impudent and full of paradoxes, it seemed to me, but always 

interesting. And in me he had an appreciative listener, who followed him with 

enthusiasm in his at times wild flights from the trivial circumstances in which he lived, 

394

and which he in this way cast off, as it were, to our mutual enjoyment. Ibsen needed a 

response and on these occasions mine was not lacking. 

However, we were not always in agreement and sometimes I protested against 

what seemed to me to be his fallacious opinions. As usual between young men we 

discussed everything between heaven and earth. Accordingly not least marriage. Among 

one of Ibsen's extravagant jokes I remember that he in a way zealously maintained, that he 

and his eventual wife must each live on their own floor, only see each other at mealtimes 

and say De (the formal term of address) to each other. This was at that time his ideal of 

marriage. 

On their honeymoon I met Ibsen and his wife on a steamship, but the earlier 

ordinance between married people seemed to have been abondoned by then, and in any 

case for many years there was no opportunity to practice the theory of the two floors. 

As therefore, I shall now try to describe Ibsen as at that time I knew him, it will of 

course be difficult to find the correct balance of discretion, since as we know, between 

young men a great deal of unbridled talk goes on, and that goes especially among such 

lively natures as Ibsen's in these years, full of the warm blood of youth, and that needs to 

be clarified so that life with Ibsen is in full measure clarified. 

It is necessary therefore to bring to the reader's explicit attention, that I describe 

Ibsen accordingly as he was at that time, about 20 years old, before the struggle of life 

and those great circumstances where he later voyaged had exercised their influence on his 

mind-set and development. 

Our ways parted. Soon Dovre lay between us, later the greater part of Europe. 

Only seldom and with spaces between did we meet later, and I have little knowledge of 

395

what changes had taken place in the afterward more and more silent and closed man, 

outside of what one can conclude from reading his works. 

In any case for me, who knew him in his youth, I noticed a striking contrast when 

I saw him again as an old man. There was then no question of his earlier liveliness and 

communicativeness. By then he had become to a great extent reserved and closed. 

THE FIRST IN PRINT 

To proceed in chronological order 7 I shall first relate an episode which took place 

a few weeks after we had become acquainted, and which makes a literary-historical 

contribution to the biography of Ibsen. Since I permit myself to play a part, I observe that 

this is only an instrument to better illustrate the situation, from a modern viewpoint it 

gives a rather comic impression as far as I am concerned. 

Like so many young men I occupied myself with writing small poems. One day I 

had made such a one that I was proud of, and I took it with me one evening, when I 

visited Ibsen. I confided to him that I wrote verse. "You don't say, do you! Let me hear 

some," was Ibsen's answer. I then read aloud my "Sunset" - one of these melancholy 

sentimental things, in which the young blood knows a heartsick longing to express its 

feelings amidst a description of nature. After Ibsen had heard my reading, he remarked: 

"I also write verse," and now it became my turn to say: "Oh, so you do, too," and at my 

7 Due became acquainted with Ibsen in 1847, after the pharmacy moved to its new location, but the poem 

discussed here, “I Høsten,” which he claims he learned of soon after they met, was not published until two 

years later, in September of 1849. We have no poems from Ibsen’s hand from as early as the time when he 

must have met Due. 

396

equest he read his latest poem: "In the Autumn", that contained a sentiment similar to 

my "Sunset". 

Ibsen's poem appealed to me a great deal, and I immediately declared that it 

should be published, but he found this impossible to manage. There was no newspaper in 

Grimstad, and he believed it was too presumptuous to think of its being accepted by a 

paper in the capital. I thought, however, that this would not be unattainable, since I was 

the Grimstad correspondent for Christiania-posten (The Constitution's successor). So I 

sent it in. A few days later I received the issue of Christiania-posten, which in its first 

column carried the poem which I had submitted, the newspaper's spelling agreeing 

exactly with the original's: 

IN THE AUTUMN 

The singers of Summer leave the forest; where their songs echoed from 

the branches, already the Autumn wind's sighing song sounds 

mournfully through the yellowing leaves. Here, where the flowering 

tapestry so richly adorned the fragrant, pale green meadows, in the 

withered straw Summer's departure trembles, as from strings, - a 

lamenting poem! 

Lily! why did you leave your curved stem leafless behind; where did you 

flee away? O, you will be born in the Spring again, following Summer's 

friendly angel! Rose, with pleasure's sweet-toned speech whispering 

through your fair calyx, the memory of your thorns remains behind, - 

cruel, but I love you still! 

We saw many seeds from the Spring orchard ripening to become fruit; 

oh, but so many plans lie handsomely covered by the grave of crushed 

expectations. Summer! you flew too soon towards the South, hope's 

existence was quickly over, and the mourner has no blossom to piously 

decorate that sacred height! 

Yes, among the graves there still remains one flower in its fairest 

splendor, the Autumn wind has not yet brought it death. O, why then 

should the heart complain any longer! Its name is memory; look, it still 

induces a hope of waking from paralyzing slumber; weave it into a 

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garland around the covering of the past, comfortingly it will promise a 

Spring! 

I was very impatient until evening came, when it would become quiet in the 

pharmacy, and I could bring Ibsen the paper. Warmly sympathetic, with a look of triumph 

on my friend's behalf I showed him his "first in print". Ibsen first grew completely pale 

with emotion, but soon a happy blush flowed up in his face, and I am convinced that later 

on he scarcely felt so happy to see his 

work printed as at this moment - "the first time". 

In a poem "When I saw my first in print" ("Byggeplaner," i.e., "Building Plans") 

he has immortalized this sentiment. The first verse goes like this: 

I remember so plainly, as if it were happening today, the first time I 

saw a poem of mine printed in the newspaper; I sat in my room and 

smoked my pipe with puffing drags in blissful self-satisfaction. 

Somewhat later Ibsen also wrote a poem on the occasion of Oehlenschläger's 

death, entitled "Skald in Valhalla" (“Skjalden i Valhal”). It was an enthusiastic tribute to 

the departed poet, who is welcomed by the valkyries and offered mead from a drinking 

horn. I sent that as well to Christiania-posten, where it was immediately given a place in 

its columns. After this experience my interest in this new friend naturally increased 

substantially. But we preserved as a deep secret in our comradeship, that Ibsen wrote 

poetry of that kind. 

IBSEN IN A CIRCLE OF FRIENDS 

398

Later, however, there were several who took notice of this quick, witty young 

man, and the apothecary's waiting room soon became a favorite meeting-place, especially 

on Sundays and in the evenings, where more and more comrades were introduced. There 

was always amusement in the appreciative circle around him, with Ibsen as the center, 

sparkling as he was with humor, and to be sure with sarcasm as well, always negotiating 

his straitened circumstances in good humor. One could find no indication that anything 

troubled him. He possessed to a great degree the resilience of youth. 

Among those who gathered in the watch-room there were some, especially one of 

them, who by his foolishness and unsuccessful attempts to be witty became a very useful 

and rather well-deserving object for Ibsen's wit and sarcasm, which was always rewarded 

afterwards with bursts of laughter. Among the many jokes, often in the form of poems, 

and illustrated by splendid drawings, whereby he held up to ridicule comic circumstances 

among the comrades, there is one which I have a desire to relate. The anecdote evokes a 

complicated situation, in which the above-mentioned young man played a highly 

laughable role. 

Ibsen had an astonishing ability to write fluent verse quickly, and he was also, as 

already mentioned, very talented as an illustrator. His pen could quickly, tastefully and 

tellingly express the point, when something was to be presented by illustration. Even 

though without seeing the altogether first-rate drawings one can scarcely take pleasure in 

what is comical in these presented circumstances, I shall even so attempt to give the 

reader an impression of them. 

In a notebook in a series of pages one saw as a first picture the young man, 

bowing and elegantly flourishing his hat in the entryway, just as he takes leave after a 

399

visit to his adored heart's queen. But his horse, harnessed to a sleigh, has found the 

departure rather prolonged, so the impatient animal has ambled away by himself. Its 

master, who in his amorous mood has not noticed, is finally ready to depart and realizes 

to his astonishment that horse and sleigh have disappeared. 

The next picture shows him running wildly in order to catch his disobedient 

animal, but he cannot find it and must turn back in order to borrow a horse for the trip 

home, about half a mile. Then in a later picture he is seen riding as fast as he can in order 

to catch his horse. The latter, however, has stopped in at a nearby farm, from where in a 

new picture one sees the horse with a surprised expression (splendidly drawn) observing 

his master's hasty riding, while the latter does not notice the fugitive. 

Another picture shows a scene in the servants' quarters, where the master, having 

arrived at home, rousts the sleep-drugged stableboy out of bed by the hair. A new horse 

is taken out, and now both venture forth, each on his horse, in order to search for the one 

that has disppeared. In the last picture all three horses are seen, at the moment when the 

wandering horse comes walking calmly along and is met by the other two, etc. 

This ridiculous situation was also depicted in a detailed poem in rhymed verse, 

through several sections, and with tunes from the Danish vaudeville Neighbors 

(Genboerne), which was new at that time, and from which several songs were often sung 

by the above-mentioned young man. The latter was then instructed by Ibsen to learn 

several of the songs from Neighbors, and Ibsen gave him a copy of several sections of the 

horse story. This proved to be a success. The young man in question learned the verses 

and sang about his own misfortunes in the belief that they belonged in the play. 

400

One cannot describe Ibsen's delight at the great amusement which reigned in the 

circle of comrades, when we got the object of our teasing himself to sing the songs whose 

comic hero he was. Ibsen's eyes glittered like fire, and we all forgot that we were naughty 

boys. 

Besides such jokes in the evenings at Ibsen's place there was sometimes a card 

party with him. To this were invited the more trusted, who could keep silent about a 

certain debauchery, that we drank punch from ointment jars, which, in case of being 

surprised by a suspicious visitor, were instantly emptied and put into one's pocket. When 

midnight approached, one of those who was more sober could guess that Ibsen needed 

rest, since we knew that he devoted part of the night to studying, but he always soothed 

us with the saying that there was still enough time for both reading and sleep. 

IBSEN'S ABILITY TO WORK AND HIS HEALTH 

Ibsen's ability to work and his physical hardiness were phenomenal. In reality, 

except for a very few hours, he was at work day and night. The greatest part of the day 

was naturally occupied with the duties of the pharmacy. Since at that time there was no 

more than one pharmacy between Christianssand and Arendal (close to 70 kilometres), 

namely Grimstad's, there must have been quite a lot of trade, and since the pharmacist 

was much occupied with his affairs as a shipowner, and as a bookkeeper and cashier in 

the Grimstad savings bank, and as he was sickly, it followed that Ibsen performed much 

of the work in the pharmacy. 

401

Nielsen's pharmacy, like the former one, Reimann's, was by the humble standards 

of the day very inadequately equipped. I can therefore mention that there was no special 

room which could be used as a laboratory. When larger decoctions were to be prepared, 

the kitchen in the landlady's home had to be used. This occupied half of the ground floor 

in the little house, while the pharmacy and the watchroom took up the other half. I have 

accordingly seen Ibsen in the kitchen there by an open fireplace, without a stove, engaged 

in the cooking of medicines, beside Madame Geelymuyden's kettles. For smaller 

preparations a rather small spirit-lamp in the pharmacy was used. At that time one did 

not have petroleum instruments. Because of these questionable facilities, of course, the 

work of the pharmacy was very inconvenient and took an unduly long time, to Ibsen's 

sorrow, since thereby his favorite activities had to be curtailed to a great extent. 

Still, it should be noted here that pharmacist Nielsen was a conscientious, dutiful 

and hard-working man, who did not stint more than necessary in his capacity to work. 

But since he turned over so much in the pharmacy to the care of his single assistant, he 

probably found this reasonable and satisfactory, while he had little or no knowledge of 

how precious for Ibsen the time was for other business. 

It was quite incredible, how much Ibsen accomplished on a daily basis. Besides 

the pharmacy's business, which as noted took up the greater part of the day, he had his 

reading for the university entrance exam, which he had to pursue to a large extent on his 

own. Certainly he had a good private tutor in then candidate in theology Emil Bie, who 

died as dean in Toten, but there were, to be sure, as there could reasonably be, several 

subjects in which Bie was not fully capable, among which was mathematics, in which 

402

therefore Dr. Ole Jacob Broche accordingly later gave Ibsen one of his well-known 

"sixes" (i.e., a failing grade). 

Reading for the entrance exam not only occupied much of his precious time, but 

also caused him a good deal of trouble and worry. Then, by an easily understandable 

inner need, he had to devote part of the day to the authorship which soon more and more 

occupied his thoughts. And still on many occasions he had the time also to occupy his 

talent for drawing. Just as his pencil was continually active, in addition Ibsen was a 

landscape painter. And as such he had an undubitable talent. Some small pieces from 

Telemark were respectable dilettante work. 

It will be understood that if in addition to this, the circle of friends also occupied 

his time every day, in this way most of the twenty-four hours passed, so that there were 

only a few left for rest or sleep. But yet I never heard Ibsen complain about weariness. 

His physical hardiness was unparalleled. He must have had an unusually robust 

nature. This was evident among other things from the fact that since his economic 

situation required him to use the greatest possible thrift, he tried to manage without 

underclothes and later also without stockings. Since among Grimstad's many feminine 

beauties there was one young lady to whom he was attracted, I joked with him that he was 

playing "Love Without Stockings." 8 We had a good laugh at this. Ibsen was always 

inclined to regard his penurious circumstances from a humorous point of view. These 

experiments therefore succeeded even in the winter, without an overcoat. Yet I never 

noticed that he caught a cold, or complained of other physical inconveniences. 

8 Kærlighed uden Strømper, a parody of a neoclassical tragedy, which had been written in Copenhagen in 

1772 by a Norwegian, Johan Herman Wessel, and as one of the oldest authentic Norwegian dramas, was 

known to almost everyone. 

403

I have above mentioned Ibsen's talent for illustration and in that connection want 

to mention one of his many pencil drawings, which has a special interest, considering 

what happened to him later in life. He detested honorary decorations. One day he 

showed me two drawings, of which the first depicted a plump gentleman, presumably 

after a first-class dinner, sitting sleeping in an easy chair, while over his head floats a 

cloud, from which protrudes a hand, holding a medal with a star. The next drawing 

depicts the newly-minted knight, who has just awakened and is surprised to see the star 

on his breast. He puts his hand to his head and bursts out: "What? - an order? Why? 

How?" He soon finds the answer, however: "I have been sleeping!" How little Henrik 

Ibsen suspected then, that his own breast one day would be decorated with orders, 

distinctions which to be sure he came to far from sleeping. 

Before I conclude this section about Ibsen's personal characteristics, I want to state 

that in the years we found ourselves frequently together, he gave few expressions of 

strongly pulsating feelings. It was as if his whole spiritual life moved exclusively, or at 

any rate essentially, in the direction of imagination and thought. 

But there was in any case to a high degree something so captivating about him, as 

he really was then, that I gradually accustomed myself to the abovementioned lack, all the 

more, as at certain times I received the impression that the reason for this lay in an 

aversion deep in his nature to revealing his feelings. He had an especially remarkable 

ability to disguise his many wants, so that in any case they did not appear to depress him. 

His close friends accordingly found no occasion to complain about him, so much less so, 

since most of them scarcely understood the situation as it really was. I, who for some 

time was his only intimate, felt great sympathy with him and had difficulty understanding 

404

how under the circumstances in which he found himself he could be so cheerful and 

lively as was the case. 

SCHUL(E)RUD, IBSEN'S LOYAL FRIEND 

One day Grimstad was surprised that a young student made his entrance, outside 

of the usual holiday time and in order to pursue his legal studies for a whole year in his 

home there. A student was a rare sight in those parts. The annual total of matriculated 

students was then about one-tenth of what it is now, and small towns like Grimstad as a 

rule could not produce more than a couple, who then could be seen during some weeks of 

holiday. There were for many years only two native-born students. Inevitably, then, to a 

certain extent one had to look up to an academician, and since the one in question here 

was in addition a very charming and sympathetic young man, he soon became an 

accepted person in our circle. My relationship of service to his father brought me 

immediately in touch with him, and as soon as possible I introduced to Ibsen his later 

loyal and sacrificing friend, then law-student Ole Carelius Schulrud (born in 1827, 

accordingly a year old than Ibsen, died as an attorney practicing before the appellate court 

in Christiania in 1859). 

Accordingly, within a short time they were intimate friends, and we two, Ibsen's 

first "trusting and loyal," as he calls us in the preface to the second edition of Catiline, 

then created with Ibsen as leading character a triumvirate, which acquired so much 

405

greater value, since a deep secret soon occupied our common thoughts with the greatest 

interest. Of this later . . . . 

First I want to communicate a little about the circumstances which for that matter 

bound us together. In addition to the mutual sympathy and common literary interests - in 

those years one studied seriously Søren Kierkegaard's books Either-Or (Enten/Eller), The 

Works of Love (Kærlighedens Gjerninger), among others, and no less Oehlenschlæger's 

tragedies, Clara Rafael's Letters (Clara Rafael: Tolv Brev) (one of the first signs of 

women's liberation) - besides these points of contact there was also in another a kinship 

of circumstance. We were all three "as poor as church-mice." One of us for economic 

reasons sometimes had to forego the midday meal, the second had certainly both board 

and room, but seldom the pocket money for a cigar, and the third, Ibsen himself, from his 

insignificant income had to obtain his clothing and books, pay his private tutor, and even 

pay town tax as "pharmacist's journeyman," as he was designated on the tax bill, to 

Ibsen's teeth-grinding irritation. 

Most of our companions were larger or smaller shipowners and thereby well 

situated in economic respects. They had means for much which the three of us had to 

deny ourselves. Our well-heeled companions' circumstances created a strong contrast to 

that of the triumvirate, with its humble gatherings. Not least in Ibsen was a bitter feeling 

cultivated towards "those empty heads with full pockets." Nevertheless, these individuals 

were regularly entertained by Ibsen, and indeed he was already making then - or was in 

any case, even if unconsciously, laying the groundwork for - studies for later processing. 

Let me add here, that there were exceptional families, where a more intelligent life 

manifested itself, but Ibsen never travelled in these circles. 

406

While we all looked up to Ibsen as the one with superior intellectual gifts, he 

himself had nobody that he looked up to. This is indeed a lack during the period of 

human development, especially in that period of life in which Ibsen then was. To be sure, 

he had read remarkably much, amazingly much considering the literarily inaccessible 

circumstances in which he lived, but even the highly-gifted still cannot without the 

necessary conditions acquire everything wholly by reading. The experienced life- 

regarding critical view is missing, and in such a strongly active temperament as Ibsen's 

much is devoured without being healthily digested intellectually. 

Among the authors he had studied by preference was Voltaire. He partly defended 

the former's deism, partly pantheism, and partly the study of primitive miners. He denied 

any personal relationship to God. In this he encountered strong opposition in a couple of 

us, and we tried zealously to convert his lack of religious faith, but in vain. During such a 

discussion one of our mutual acquaintances once attempted to recommend to him the 

reading of Bishop Wallin's sermons, a devotional book much-favored at that time, and in 

which he himself every morning took pleasure. "I can never get my fill of reading it," he 

said. Here Ibsen remarked, in his quick-witted way, that there could not possibly be any 

food value in what one could not get enough of. Thereby he had the laughter on his side, 

and the religious influence in the end had to be given up as futile. 

As we know, the influence from home and the first years of childhood has the 

greatest significance for the later religious and moral development. One has, as far as is 

known, little or no knowledge about Ibsen's circumstances before his arrival in Grimstad, 

but there in any case he had no opportunity for any educating or awakening influence 

from a good and healthy family life. If the fellowship with his peers is excepted, and then 

407

as a rule only during fun and amusement, he had no associates, and in the first years of 

our acquaintance never participated in social gatherings, but spent his time almost 

exclusively in the pharmacy and in its watchroom, interrupted only by, that as quickly as 

possible he shared in the midday mealtime at the home of his employer's parents, in 

whose nearby home pharmacist Nielsen lived. Breakfast and the evening meal were 

brought up from there to Ibsen in the pharmacy's watchroom. 

IBSEN FINALLY PARTICIPATES IN SOCIETY 

Ibsen was strongly influenced by the French Revolution in 1848, and afterwards 

he became an out-and-out republican. With him as the life-giving center, at one and 

another opportunity social gatherings of friends were created, where there was much 

amusement and speeches were given, especially with republican ideas in view. 

Accordingly we arranged after the French model a so-called "reform banquet," where 

Ibsen gave a fire-breathing speech against all emperors and kings, those monsters of 

society, and for the republic, the "only possible" form of government. 

We also sometimes arranged dance entertainments. Grimstad had no satisfactory 

social hall, but one adapted oneself practically and very spontaneously to that, in that the 

moving powers among the young people applied in turn to the honorable ladies and 

gentlemen who presided over the largest halls, and asked without further permission to 

hold a ball at their house. The good-natured inhabitants of Grimstad as a rule gave their 

408

permission, and with the help of two violins and a flute, home-made mulled wine and 

punch, coffee or tea and white bread we had the ball quite ready. 

I had several times urged Ibsen to take part in these occasions, but weighty 

reasons denied him this pleasure. He owned namely no evening clothes, and - what was 

worse - he had never danced, which is why he did not dare to make his debut at a ball. 

The problem of clothes was solved, however, when one of those "with empty heads and 

full pockets" gave him credit. This at first astonished Ibsen, but then at the same time he 

found that it only confirmed the cited proverb, and when at year's end the bill for the cost 

of the clothing was presented, he found even more confirmation of it, as he declared in 

his humorous way: "First he is stupid enough to give me credit, and later he is stupid 

enough to expect the bill to be paid." I can state, however, that this debt of Ibsen's was 

paid. 

Now he was accordingly prepared as a ball-cavalier, but to dare to ask his lady for 

a dance and step forward among the ranks of the dancers he found too bold. On this 

occasion Ibsen's invited was Miss Sophie Holst, one of Grimstad's many charming young 

girls. (She still lives here in Christiania as the widow Toft, and when I saw her a few 

years ago, even though she was then over 80 years old, she still preserved a quite unusual 

youthfulness.) 

We attempted however to put courage in Ibsen, and succeeded, by his lady's and 

other good-willed assistance, to see the pair set off in a quick gallop, certainly with some 

difficulty in the beginning, but yet without sensational calamities, and soon it went quite 

swimmingly, so that the situation was saved. Later he ventured himself in other dances as 

well, with equally good results. 

409

Since here I touch upon the dances' rhythms, which Ibsen soon mastered, the 

thought is led away to his poems, also in this respect excellent. Even in his first literary 

works there was always the most exemplary verse construction, and when he wrote the 

poem discussed in an earlier chapter about the story of the horse, which was not short, it 

jigged as was mentioned before after melodies which were used in Neighbors, without a 

single syllable in the meter failing. And yet Ibsen was not musical. When we in the 

circle of friends sang, he certainly came along, but incorrectly, since he lacked an ear for 

music. This seems to be almost the only ability that failed him. In other respects he 

could try almost anything, and it always appeared that his eminent gifts were equal to it. 

CATILINE 

One evening while we were sitting at Ibsen's place, he surprised his two loyal 

friends with a most interesting announcement, namely that he was writing a drama, 

“Catiline,” intended for production. As is known we then possessed almost no national 

literature in the dramatic field. If I mention Bjerregaard's The Mountain Fairytale 

(Fjeldeventyret), A[ndreas] Munch's King Sverre's Childhood (Kong Sverres Ungdom), 

with which the theatre in Bank Place opened its performances, and Wergeland's The 

Campbells (Campbellerne), which all lay rather far back in time, one has indeed most of 

the scattered attempts. And at hearing Ibsen's fiery description of the idea for his drama, 

how his republican sympathies made themselves evident through the rebel Catiline's wild 

and daring plans, we, his most interested listeners, were of course infected by his 

enthusiasm. This was not least the case when he read aloud the first scenes of the drama. 

410

Naturally we urged him to continue, and in a series of unforgettable evenings he 

read aloud for criticism what between each time he had written. The well-disposed 

criticism committee found little to remark upon, however. We two, his first "loyal and 

trusting," as Ibsen called us, found only pleasure and enjoyment at gradually hearing his 

work make progress. None of us knew how to take into consideration the technical faults 

in the drama's construction, while the various parts, partly strong and violent, where 

Catiline appears, partly gentle and lyrical, where his good genius, his wife Aurelia, speaks 

peace and the cause of a peaceful, happy home, made a strong impression on us, and that 

still strikes me when I later read, for example, these lines, which the poet puts into 

Aurelia's mouth: 

Do you forget the little country place 

where I was born, and where we later, gay 

and happy in our calm of utter bliss, 

have spent so many a carefree summer day? 

Where else, I wonder, was the grass so green? 

Where else such coolness in the forest's shade? 

The little house peeps forth between the trees 

and beckons with its cosy air of peace. 

That's where we'll flee, and dedicate our lives 

to peaceful country ways, to quiet pleasures. 

There you shall have a loving wife to cheer you, 

whose tender kisses shall dispel your sorrows. 

And when with blossoms gathered from the fields 

you seek your sovereign lady in her bower, 

I shall at once proclaim you Prince of Flowers, 

and wind the laurel wreath around your brow! 

(The Oxford Ibsen, Vol. I: Early Plays, p. 55.) 

In the aformentioned preface to the jubilee edition of Catiline one has Ibsen's 

own statement of how when the drama was finished, I had the honor of copying it, and 

that it was sent with Schulrud, when he travelled to Christiania to complete his studies. 

411

In the same place Ibsen has also described how the sanguine expectations for Catiline 

were violently disappointed, as the Christiania Theatre regretted that the piece was not 

suited for production, next no publisher could be found, and it was finally printed, by 

Schulerud's tireless and sacrificing help with contributing the means for it, in a "single 

edition." 32 copies of the little book found a market, and after the lapse of some time the 

rest of the edition was sold by the printer as waste paper to a huckster. "In the 

immediately following days we lacked for nothing of life's most urgent necessities," says 

Ibsen in the preface. The new edition of 1875 is printed in at least three issues, in several 

thousand copies. 

412

II. The Grimstad Reading Society. 

The following is an alphabetical list by author of the books purchased by the Grimstad 

Reading Society (Leseselskab) between its founding in 1835, and early 1850, when Ibsen 

left Grimstad. The list has been developed by tracing to indexes of publications or to the 

card catalog of the Royal Library in Copenhagen the sketchy references to authors and 

titles in the handwritten record of acquisitions of the Reading Society, which is now in 

the Grimstad Public Library. (NB: Dates in parentheses at the end of citations refer to 

the year when books were recorded in the acquisitions list.) 

Both J. A. Reimann, Ibsen’s first employer in Grimstad, and the father of Lars Nielsen, 

his second employer, were members of the reading society, so it is generally assumed that 

Ibsen had access to its collection. 

Aal, Jacob. Erindringer som Bidrag til Norges historie fra 1800-1818. 1-3. Deel. 

Christiania 1844-1845 (1845). 

Ainsworth, W. Harrison. Tower i London, Fortælling. Ovs. af Fr. Schaldemose. 1-3. 

Deel. København 1842 (1842). 

Andersen, Hans Chr. En Digters Bazar. København 1842 (1845). 

Archiv for Historie og Geographie. Samlet og udg. af Joh. Chr. Riise. 1-75. Bind. 

København 1820-38 (1835 ff.) {Holdings include approx. vols. 48-75.} 

Arthur (Pseud.). Een for Mange. Novelle. København 1847 (1847). 

Balzac, Honoré de. Rosalie. See Provindsernes Mysterier. 

Barginet, A. Grenaderen fra Elba. Erindringer fra 1814 og 1815. 1-2 Deel. (U. Titelbl. 

St. o.A. [1833]) (1838). 

- - - -. Den to og tredivte Halvbrigade. En Fortælling fra Napoleons første italienske 

Felttog. Ovs. af Jak. Riise. København 1835 (1838). 

Becker, Karl Friedr. Verdenshistorie, omarb. af Jos. Gottfr. Woltmann. Ovs. og forøget 

af Jac. Riise. 1-10. Deel. København 1822-26. -- Fortsat af Karl Adolf Menzel. Ovs. af 

Jak. Riise. 11-12. Deel. 1827-29. (1838). 

Becker, W.A. Charikles, en Fortælling. Skildring af Privatlivet i Grækenland i 

Alexander den Stores Tid. Ovs. af C. Ebeling. København 1846 (1847). 

413

Bernard, Ch. Landjunkeren. Ovs. af D. Dessau. 1-4. Deel. København 1846 (1847). 

- - - -. Ægtemandens Vildbane. Ovs. af T.P., udg. af Chr. Winther. København 1843 

(1843). 

Betlesen, Jac. (Pseud., Aslak Elg). Bergens Sommer. (1850). (Incomplete citation.) 

Bien. Et Maanedsskrift for Moerskabslæsning. Bind 1-26. Christiania 1832-38. 8. 

Hvert bind bestaar af 3 hefter a 8 Art. m. 1 Stentr. Winther, n. pr. indtil videre 10 Spd. 

Enkelte hefter. 12v. (B. 17-26 ogsaa under Titel: Bien. Ny Samling. B. 1-10. 

Christiania 1836-38.) Intelligentsblad for Kunst, Literatur, Music og Moder. Et Tillæg til 

Maanedsskriftet Bien. (B. 21-26.) No. 1 1-18. 1837-38. (Samlg. Norske Læssefrugter.) 

Bremer, Fredrika. Hjemmet eller Familie-Sorger og Glæder. Ovs. af J. C. Julin- 

Fabricius. 1-4. Deel. København 1840 (1840). 

- - - -. I Dalerne. Ovs. København 1845 (1850). 

- - - -. Nabofamilierne. Af Forf. til "Presidentens Døttre," "Nina," osv. Ovs. af J. C. 

Julin-Fabricius. 1-4 Deel. København 1837 (1838). 

- - - -. Præsidents Døttre. En Fortælling, af Forf. af "Tegninger af Hverdagslivet". Ovs. 

af J. C. Julin-Fabricius. København 1836 (1838). 

- - - -. Strid og Fred eller nogle Scener i Norge. Af Forf. til "Præsidentens Døttre", 

"Hjemmet" og fl. Overs. fra det Svenske. København 1841 (1850). 

- - - -. Tegninger af Hverdagslivet. Efter det Svenske af Theod. Schorn. København 

1836 (1838). 

- - - -. Trælqvinden. En Tegning fra Fortiden. Ovs. fra Svensk. Christiania 1840 (1840). 

Bronikowski, Alexander. Den Livegne eller Polen i det 11 Aarhundre. Romantisk 

Fortælling. Ovs. 1-4. Deel. København 1841 (1841). 

Bruden paa Senjen. Af Forf. af "Taarnet ved Dardanellerne." København 1846 (1846). 

Buchwald, Joh. H. v. Invaliden eller Soldater-Perspective. Af Forf. til "Erindringer." 

København 1840 (1845). 

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. Samlede Skrifter. 1-69. Bd. København 1833-65. 

1-3. Bd. Eugen Aram. Ovs. af F. Schaldemose. 1-3. Deel. 1833 (1835). 

414

4-6 Bd. Devereux. En Fortælling. Ovs. af J. R. Reiersen. 1-3. Deel. 1833-34 

(1835). 

7-8. Bd. Pelham eller en Verdensmands Begivenheder. Ovs. af P. Saxild. 1-2. 

Deel. 1834 (1835). 

9-10. Bd. Den Fornegtede. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Reiersen. 1-2. Deel. 1834 

(1835). 

11-12. Bd. Paul Clifford. En Fortælling. Ovs. af E. Levison. 1-2. Deel. 1834 

(1835). 

13. Bd. Pillegrimene ved Rhinen. Ovs. af Reiersen. 1834 (S. 461. Arasmanes. 

Ovs. af Reiersen. med fortsat Paginering) (1835). 

14. Bd. Falkland. Ovs. af Reiersen. 1835 (1835). 

15-16. Bd. Blomsterpigen eller Pompeis sidste Dage. Ovs. af Reiersen. 1-2. 

Deel. 1835 (1835). 

17-18. Bd. Engeland og Engelænderen. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1835 

(1836). 

19-20. Bd. Cola di Rienzi, den sidste Tribun. Ovs. af Reiersen. 1-2. Deel. 1836 

(1836). 

23-24. Bd. Ernst Maltravers. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1839 (1839). 

25. Bd. Hertuginde de la Valliére. Et Skuespil i 5 Acter. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 

1839 (1840). 

26-27. Bd. Alice eller Hemmelighederne. En Fortsættelse af Ernst Maltravers. 

Ovs. af U.A. Rung. 1-2. Deel. 1839 (1839). 

28. Bd. Leila eller Granadas Beleiring. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1839 (1840). 

29-30. Bd. Godolphin. Fortælling. Ovs. af A. L. Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1841 

(1841). 

31-33. Bd. Nat og Morgen. Fortælling. Ovs. ved Moltke. 1-3. Deel. 1841 

(1841). 

34-35. Bd. Zanoni. Ovs. ved Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1842 (1842). 

36-39. Bd. Den sidst Lehnsherre. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-4. Deel. 1843 (1843). 

415

41-43. Bd. Lucretia eller Nattens Børn. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-3. Deel. 1847 

(1849). 

46. Bd. Athenen, dets Opkomst og Fald med Udsigt over det atheniensiske Folks 

Litteratur, Philosophi og Liv. Ovs. ved J. Møller. 1-3. Deel. 1847 (1847). 

Bulwer, Lady Lytton. Cheveley eller Manden af Ære. Ovs. efter den 3. Originaludgave 

ved U. A. Rung. 1-2. Deel. København 1840 (1840). 

Burney, Frances. Evelina, eller et ungt Fruentimmers Indtrædelse i Verden. Deel 1-3. 

København 1805-12 (1845). {Possibly a later edition was purchased.} 

Bury, Charlotte. En Pariserindes Memoirer. Ovs. af L. Jordan. 1-3. Deel. København 

1843 (1. & 2. Deel, 1843). 

- - - -. Et Ægteskab i den fornemme Verden. Ovs. af L. Jordan. 1-2. Deel. København 

1841 (1844). 

- - - -. Trevelyan. Ovs. af L. Jordan. 1-2. Deel. København 1842 (1842). 

Carlén, Emilie. Bruden paa Omberg. Ovs. København 1846 (1846). 

- - - -. Fjeldronningen. 1-3. Deel. København (Date?) (1846). 

- - - -. Fosterbrøderne. Roman. Ovs. af J. C. Julin- Fabricius. 1-3. Deel. København 

1840-41 (1842). 

- - - -. Gustav Lindorm. Efter det Svenske. Deel 1-3. 1839-40. (1842). 

- - - -. Kirkeindvielsen i Hammarby. Roman. Ovs. 1-3. Deel. København 1841 

(1842). 

- - - -. En Nat ved Bullar-Søen. Roman. Ovs. af L. Moltke. 1-3. Deel. København 1847 

(1850). 

- - - -. Rosen paa Tidseløen. Fortælling. Ovs. 1-3. Deel. København 1843 (1. & 2. 

Deel, 1842; 3. Deel, 1843). 

- - - -. Skydsdrengen. Fortælling. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1842 (1850). 

Chamier, Fred. Ben Brace, den Sidstlevende af Nelsons Besætning paa Agamemnon. 

Ovs. af Chr. Carl Paludan. 1-2. Deel. København 1837 (1837). 

- - - -. Sørøverskibet. Roman. Ovs. 1-3. Deel. København 1843 (1. & 3. Deel, 1843). 

416

Conscience, Henrik. Mirakelaaret 1566, et. hist. Maleri. Ovs. 1-2. Bd. København 1846 

(1846) 

Cooper, James Fenimore. Havfruen eller Søskummeren. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Fr. 

Schaldemose. 1-3. Bd. København 1831 (1837). 

- - - -. Samlede Skrifter. Ovs. fra Originalsproget. 1-194. H. Forsk. Udg. København 

1831-1858. 

1-7. Hefte. Lodsen. Et Søemands-Eventyr. Ovs. af A. E. Boye. 1831 (1835). 

8-14. H. Conanchet eller Grændsebeboerne. Ovs. af F. Schaldemose. 1831-32 

(1835). 

15-20. H. Banditten. En venetiansk Historie. Ovs. ved Schaldemose. 1832 

(1835). 

21-27. H. Spionen, en Fortælling fra den nordamerikanske krig. Ovs. ved P. 

Saxild. 1833 (1835). 

28-33. H. Hedningemuren eller Benedictinerne. Ovs. ved Schaldemose. 1833 

(1835). 

34-40. H. Den Sidste Mohicaner. En Fortælling fra Aaret 1757. Ovs. ved J. 

Riise. 1833 (1835). 

41-46. H. Skarpretteren eller Vinhøstfesten. En Fortælling. Ovs. af 

Schaldemose. 1834 (1835). 

47-52. H. Colonisterne, eller Susquehannas Kilder. En Fortælling. Ovs. af A. C. 

Clausen. 1834 (1835). 

53-59. H. Steppen. En Roman. Ovs. af J. Riise. 1834-35 (1835). 

60-66. H. Lionel Lincoln, eller Bostons Beleiring. Ovs. ved Schaldemose. 1835 

(1835). 

67-73. H. Havfruen eller Sø-Skummeren. Ovs. ved A. L. Moltke. Med en 

Forerindring af A. E. Boye. 1836 (1836). 

74-79. H. Vandringer i Schweitz. Efter det Engelsk af J. C. Magnus. 1837-38 

(1838, 1839). 

417

80-86. H. Den røde Røver. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Engelsk ved A. R. Udg. af A. 

E. Boye. 1839-40 (1839, 1840). 

87-94. H. Heimreisen eller Jagten. En Sø-Roman. Ovs. fra Engelsk. Udg. af J. 

D. Magnus. 1841 (1841). 

95-102. H. Eva Effingham eller Hjemmet. En Roman. Ovs. ved U. A. Rung. 

1841-42 (1842). 

103-109. H. Forsigtighed. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved Otto Ferd. Bræmer. 1842 

(1842). 

Corsaren, satirisk Ugebl. m. Træsnit. Begyndt af Goldschmidt, sluttet af Flinch. N. 1- 

756. (N. 1-653. 4. N. 654-745 el. Ny Suite, N. 1-92 Fol., N. 746-756 el. Extra-N 1-11. 

4.) (Qvrtl.) ("Udvalg af Corsarens 2 förste Aarganger" 1845). 

Crusenstolpe, M.J. Carl Johan og Svenskerne. Romantisk Skildring af Forf. til 

Morianen. Overs. fra Svensk af J. H. Halvorsen. 1-4. Bind. København 1846-47 (1846). 

- - - -. Morianen eller det Holsten-Gottorpske Huus I Sverige. Tidsbilleder. Ovs. af J. C. 

Julin-Fabricius. 1-12. Deel. 1841-45. (1842, 1-3. Deel; 1845, 4-12. Deel). 

Dash, Ctsse. Marquise de Parabiere. Ovs. af W., udg. af Philipsen. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1847 (1848). 

Dickens, Charles. Barnaby Rudge. Fortælling. Ovs. 1-4. Deel. København 1845 

(1845). 

- - - -. Pickwick-Klubbens efterladte Papirer, indeh. en tro Beretning om de 

corresponderende Medlemmers Iagttagelser, Farer, Reiser, Eventyr og interessante Fata. 

Ovs. ved Ludv. Jordan. 1-2. Deel. København 1840 (1841). 

- - - -. Hverdagslivet, en Skildring. Ovs. København 1844 (1844). 

- - - -. Nelly og Hendes Bedstefader. Ovs. af C. P. Høyer. 1-3. Deel. København 1841- 

43 (1843, 1844, 1845). 

- - - -. Nicolaus Nicklebys Levnet og Eventyr. Ovs. af Jacob Behrend. Deel 1-8. 

København 1839-41 (1843). 

- - - -. Oliver Twist, eller en Vaisenhuusdrengs Levnetsløb. Efter det Engelske ovs. af 

Ludvig Jordan. Deel 1-3. 1840 (1843). 

Dumas, Alexander. Capitain Paul Jones. En historisk Roman. Ovs. af L. Jensen. 

København 1840 (1843). 

418

- - - -. Chevalier d'Harmental. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (1848). 

- - - -. Diana de Monsoreau. Ovs. af H. Nødskou. 1-5. Deel. København 1846 (1846). 

- - - -. Greven af Monte-Christo. Ovs. af F. Schaldemose. 1-8. Deel. København 1845- 

1846 (1850). 

- - - -. En Læges Mindeskrifter. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1- 11. Deel. København 1846- 

1848 (1850). 

- - - -. Qvindekrigen. Ovs. af D. A. Cohen. 1-3. Deel. København 1847 (1849). 

- - - -. Ridder de Maison-Rouge. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-3. Deel. København 1847 

(1847). 

- - - -. Sylvandiere. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (1847). 

Duplessy, Baronesse. Alexandrine af Chateaufort eller den uheldsvangre Formæling, 

forf.i den franske Republiks syvende Aar. Overs. fra den Franske af C. E. V. Lind. 

København 1834 (1835). 

Duringsfeld, Ida v. Grev Chala. Ovs. København 1848 (1848). 

Edgeworth, Maria. Helena, en Fortælling. Paa Dansk udg. af Otto Ferd. Bræmer. 

København 1839 (1845). 

Etlar, Carit (J. C. C. Brosböll). Ayella, en Fortælling. København 1847 (1847). 

Feval, P. (Pseud., F. Trollopp). Et Hof. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (1847). 

- - - -. Londons Mysterier. Roman. Ovs. af A. C. 1-4. Deel. København 1844-45 

(1844, 1845). 

- - - -. Molly-Maguirerne. Ovs. af F. Schaldemose. 1-4. Deel. København 1846 

(1850). 

- - - -. Paris. Fortælling. Ovs. 1-4. Deel. København 1846-1847 (1847). 

Flygare, see Carlén. 

Frederici, P. (Pseud.). Fortællinger, udg. efter Forf. Handskr. 1-2. Deel. København 

1847 (1847). 

Gosserman. Resa mellem södra og nordra Amerika. (1843). (Incomplete citation.) 

419

Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd, Thomasine Christine. Noveller, gamle og nye, af Forf. til "En 

Hverdags-Historie". Udg. af Joh. Ludv. Heiberg. 1-3 Bind. København 1833-34 

(Date?). 

- - - -. Een i Alle. Novelle, af Forf. til "En Hverdags-historie." Udg. af Joh. Ludv. 

Heiberg. København 1840 (1840). 

- - - -. Korsveien, Novelle, af. Forf. til. "En Hverdags-historie." Udg. af Joh. Ludv. 


- - - -. Nær og fjern. Novelle, af Forf. til "En Hverdags-historie." Udg. af Joh. Ludv. 


Hahn-Hahn, Ida. Tvende Qvinder. Ovs. af Jul. Chr. Gerson. 1-2 Bind. København 1846 

(1846). 

Hauch, Johs. Carsten. Guldmageren, en romantisk Begivenhed fra det forsvundne 

Aarhundrede. København 1836 (1841). 

Henningson, Charles Frederick. Den hvide Slave, eller den russiske Bondepige. Efter 

den engelske Original af Forfatteren til "Revelations of Russia" [1844] ved L. Moltke. 

Deel 1-2. København 1846 (1846). 

Hertz, Henrik. Stemninger og Tilstande. Scener og Skildringer af et Ophold i 

Kjøbenhavn. København 1839 (1845). 

Historisk-Geographisk Archiv. Samlet og udgivet af J. Chr. Riise. 1-75. Bd. København 

1839-64. (Fairly complete set, 1839-1850). 

Hjerteløse Skjønne, Den. En Novelle. [Bearbeidet efter Honorè de Balzac.] Udg. og 

forlagt af A. F. Bergsøe. København 1834 (1835). 

Holberg, Ludvig. Ludvig Holbergs Udvalgte Skrifter, udgivne ved K. L. Rahbek. 1-20. 

Bind. København 1804-1808 (1838). 

Howard, Edw. Den gamle Commandeur. Roman. Ovs. af Magn. Strøm. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1838 (1839). 

- - - -. Ardent Troughton. Roman. Ovs. af F. Bræmer. 1-2. Deel. København 1842 

(1842). 

Hugo, Victor. Keiser Napoleons Historie. Christiania 1841 (1842). 

420

Høst, Alv. Th. De 100 Dage eller Napoleons Feldtog i 1815. Efter Verker af 

Hertuginden af Abrantes, General Berton, Fleury de Chaboulon etc. København 1840 

(1843). 

Informatoren og Aristocraten; en Hverdagshistorie, af "M. B." Ovs. fra Svensk. 1-2. 

Deel. København 1846-1847 (1847). 

Ingemann, Bernh. S. Erich Menveds Barndom. Historisk roman. 2. udg. 1-3. Deel. 

København 1828 (1837). 

- - - -. Kong Erik og de Fredløse. En Historisk Roman. 1-2. Deel. København 1833 

(1838). 

- - - -. Prinds Otto af Danmark og hans Samtid. En Historisk Roman. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1835 (1838). 

- - - -. Valdemar Seier. Historisk Roman. 2. udg. 1-3. Deel. København 1829 (1837). 

Irving, Washington. En Reisendes Fortællinger. Ovs. af Ph. Wallich. 2 Bd. København 

1827, 1828 (1839). 

- - - -. Alhambra. {Incomplete citation.} 

James, George Rainsford. Historisk-romantiske Fortællinger. Efter den engelske 

Original. 1-63. Bd. København 1837-53. 

3-4. Bd. Herren af den gamle Skole. Fortælling. Ovs. ved Joh. L. Gottlieb. 1-2. 

Deel. 1840 (1840). 

5-6, Bd. Zigeuneren. Ovs. ved U. A. Rung. 1-2 Deel. 1840 (1840). 

7-8. Bd. Hugenotten, en Fortælling om de franske Protestanter. Ovs. ved Fr. 

Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1841 (1841). 

9-10. Bd. Richelieu, en Fortælling af Frankrigs Historie. Ovs. ved A. L. Moltke. 

1-2. Deel. 1841 (1841). 

11-12. Bd. Røveren. Fortælling. Ovs. af Andr. Chr. Clausen. 1-2. Deel. 1841 

(1841). 

13-15. Bd. Henrik af Guise, eller Stænderforsamlingen I Blois. Fortælling. Ovs. 

ved Rung. 1-2. Deel. 1841 (1841). 

16-17. Bd. Attila. Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1841 (1841). 

421

18-19. Bd. Lidenskabernes Bog, tilligemed andre Fortællinger af samme 

Forfatter. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1842 (1841?, 1842). 

20-22. Bd. Henry Masterton. Ovs. af Moltke. 1-3. Deel. 1842 (1842). 

23-25. Bd. Maria af Burgund eller Oprøret i Gent. Historisk-romantisk 

Fortælling. Ovs. af Clausen. 1-3. Deel. 1842, 1845 (1842, 1845). 

26. Bd. Gensdarmen eller Henri de Cerous. Ovs. ved Magn. Strøm. 1844 (1844). 

32-34. Bd. Arabella Stuart. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-3. Deel. 

1845 (1845). 

38-39. Bd. Rosa d'Albret eller Urolige Tider. Ovs. af Carl J. Mantzius. 1-2. 

Deel. 1846 (1846). 

40-42. Bd. Arrah Neil eller Forrige Tider. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-3. Deel. 1846 

(1846). 

43-44. Bd. John Marston Hall's Levnet og Eventyr. Roman. Ovs. ved C. 

Mantzius. 1-2. Deel. 1846-1847 (1848). 

47-48. Bd. Robin Hood eller de Fredløse i Sherwood. Ovs. af Fred. Jensen. 1-2. 

Deel. 1847 (1847). 

K. K-g. Gustaf den tredje og hans Hof. (1843) (Incomplete citation.) 

Knorring, S.M. Axel, Roman af Forf til Sødskendebørnene. Ovs. 2 Opl. 1-3. Deel. 

København 1844 (1845). 

- - - -. Forhaabninger. 1-4. Deel. København 1844 (1844, 1845). 

- - - -. Husmanden og hans omgivelser . . . . 1-2. Deel. København 1844 (1844). 

- - - -. Illusionerne. Ovs. af C. J. Julin-Fabricius. København 1837 (1838). 

- - - -. Qvinderne. 2 Bind. København 1837 (1838). 

- - - -. Stands-Paralleler. Ovs. fra Svensk. Deel 1-3. København 1839 (1850). 

- - - -. Sødskende Børnene. Ovs. af C. Julin-Fabricius. København 1837 (1838). 

- - - -. Vennerne. København 1837 (1838). 

422

Knubs, Thobias (Pseud.). Efterladte papirer, udg. af Kirstine Svale. København 1847 

(1848). 

Kunstberiderne, en Novelle. Efter det Tydske. (Schubothe). København 1847 (1849). 

Laing, Samuel. Reise i Sverige i 1838 med Bemærkninger over den svenske Nations 

moralske, politiske og økonomiske Forfatning. Ovs. fra det Engelske. Christiania 1840 

(1840). 

Lever, Ch. Familien O'Donoghue, en Fortælling. Ovs. af L. Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1846 

(1850). 

Lewald, Aug. Gorgona. Billeder fra Frankrigs Middelalder. Udg. paa Dansk af Joh. H. 

Halvorsen. 1-2. Deel. København u.A. [1840] (1842). 

Maanedsroser, et Maanedsskrivt. Udgivet af Thomas Overskou. København Jan. 1824- 

Marts 1827. -- (Uden Udgiver). April 1827-Juni 1831. (Appears to have been a fairly 

complete set.) 

Marryat, Capitain F. Samlede Skrivter. 1-44. Bd. København 1835-51. 

1-2. Bd. Peter Simple, en Fortælling. Ovs. af Ludvig J. Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 

1835-36 (1835). 

3-4. Bd. Jacob Ærlig. Ovs. af Ludvig Jordan Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1836-37 (1836). 

5-6. Bd. Kongens Eie. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1836-37 

(1837). 

7. Bd. Sørøveren og De tre Kuttere. Tvende Noveller. Ovs. af Magn. Strøm. 

1837 (1837). 

8-9. Bd. Paschaen eller Mange Eventry i eet. Ovs. af Strøm. 1-2. Deel. 1836-37 

(1837). 

10-11 Bd. Søeofficieren. Roman. Ovs. af Saphir og Andr. Carl Hanson. 1-2. 

Deel. 1837 (1837). 

12-13 Bd. Newton Forster eller Coffardie-Farten. Roman. Ovs. af Strøm. 1-2. 

Deel. 1837 (1838). 

14-15. Bd. Mr. Midshipmand Easy eller Ligheds-Retten praktisk prøvet ombord i 

en Orlogsmand. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1837-1838 (1838, 

1839). 

423

14-15(!). Bd. Japhet, der søger efter sin Fader. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Moltke. 

1-2. Deel. 1838 (1838). 

18-19. Bd. Snarleyyaw eller den djævelske Hund. Historisk Roman. Ovs. af 

Herm. Ipsen. 1-2. Deel. 1838 (1838). 

20-21. Bd. Dødseileren eller den flyvende Hollænder. Ovs. ved Ipsen. 1-2. Deel. 

1840 (1840). 

22-25. Bd. Dagbog holden i America, ledsaget med Bemærkninger over Landets 

Institutioner. Ovs. ved Moltke. 1-4. Deel. 1840-41 (1840) 

26-27. Bd. Den Fattige Jack. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1841 

(1841). 

28-29. Bd. Olla Podrida. Ovs. af Fr. Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1841 (1841). 

30. Bd. Masterman Flink eller Skibbruddet i det stille Hav, en Bog for 

Ungdommen. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1841 (1841). 

31-32. Bd. Joseph Rushbrook eller Krybskytten. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved 

Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1842 (1842). 

33-34. Bd. Percival Keene. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 1843 

(1843). 

35-36. Bd. Monsieur Violets Reiser og Æventyr i California, Sonora og det 

vestlige Texas. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1844 (1843, 1845). 

39-40. Bd. Nybyggerne i Canada. Skrevet for Ungdommen. Ovs. af Fred. Jensen. 

1-2. Deel. 1846 (1850). 

41-42. Bd. Kapergasten for et hundrede Aar siden. Ovs. af Jensen. 1-2. Deel. 

1846 (1848). 

42(!). Bd. Valerie, en Autobiographi. Ovs. af G. C. Jacobsen. 1849 (1850). 

Mortonval [Alex Fursy Guesdon]. Don Martin Gil. Historie fra Peter den Grusommes 

Tid. Ovs af Frid. E.K. Dorschæus. 1-2. Deel. København 1838 (1839). 

Mügge, Th. Kamp mellem Hoved og Hjerte. Ovs. København 1844 (1845). 

Nyt Reportorium for Morskabs-Læsning. Udg. af A.P. Liunge. 1-6. Bind. København 

1830-32. (Bind 1. 1835). 

424

Oehlenschlæger, Adam. Øen i Sydhavet. Roman. 1-4. Deel. København 1824-25 

(1845). 

(Palzow, Auguste v.) Jacob van der Nees. Ovs. af P. Kruse. 1-3. Deel. København 

1845 (1846). 

- - - -. St. Roche. Ovs. af C. Mantzius. 1-3. Deel. København 1843 (1844). 

- - - -. Thomas Thyrnau. Ovs. af Kruse. 1-3. Deel. København 1844 (1844). 

P.P. (Pseud., see Th. V. K. Rumohr). 

Provindsernes Mysterier. Af H. de Balzac, Ch. Ballard og F. Soulié; overs. af 

forskjellige. 1-6 Deel. (I-II. Fætteren i Kjøbstaden; af Ballard. 1-2. Deel. III-IV. Otte 

Dage paa Slottet; af Soulié. 1-3 Deel. VI. Roslaie; af Balzac.) København 1844-45 

(1844, 1845). 

Rehfues, Ph. Jac. Scipio Cicala. Ovs. af A. C. Clausen. 1-3. Bind. København 1834-35 

(1835). 

Rellstab, Ludwig. 1812. En Historisk Roman. Ovs. af L. J. Flamand. 1-4. Deel. 

København 1835-36 (1838). 

(John) Ross's anden Opdagelsesreise til de nordlige Polaregne og Ophold i Boothia felix 

A. 1829-33. Oversat fra Engelsk af Knud Klær. Med Forfatterens Portr. og Biogr. samt 1 

Kort og 15 Staalstik. København 1837 (1835). 

Rudbeck, T. G. Birger Jarl og hans Samtid. Hist. Fortælling. Ovs. København 1845 

(1846). 

Rumohr, Th. V. K. (Pseud., P. P.). Grevens Feide, hist. maleri fra det 16 aarh. 1-4. Deel. 

København 1850 (1850). 

- - - -. Niels Juell og hans Samtid. Et historisk maleri fra midten af det 17de 

Aarhundrede. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (Date?). 

- - - -. Peder Tordenskjold. (1842). (Incomplete citation.) 

Saint-Aubain, Andr. Nic. de [Pseud., Carl Bernhard]. Fortællinger. 1. Bd. København 

1839 (1839). {May contain: Et Løvte; En Familie paa Landet.} 

- - - -. Gamle Minder. Fortælling. 1-2. Deel. København 1841 (1841). 

- - - -. Kröniker fra Christian den 2des Tid. 1-3. Deel. København 1847 (1847). (Vols. 

10-12 of Noveller og Fortællinger. 1841-50.) 

425

- - - -. Noveller. 1-4. Bd. København 1836-1838 (1839). {May contain: Dagvognen, 

Declarationen, Brødrene, Commissionaire, Børneballet, Tante Francisca, Skødesynderne, 

Lykkens Yndling.} 

Saintine, X. B. Ludvig XIIIs Elskede. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 

1847 (1849). 

Saussure, Mme. Qvindens Liv. (1845). {perhaps an earlier edition of Qvinden fra 

hendes Confirmation til hendes Død. Ovs. af Bloch-Suhr. 2 udg. København 1857.} 

Schumacher, G. Gorm den Gamle. Roman. Ovs. med Anm. af H. Behrmann. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1845 (1850). 

Schwach, C. R. Ny og sandfærdig Vise om Peder Paars i Aarhuus af Cornelius Svendsen, 

Bager paa Levanger. Synges som Hans Michelsens bekjendte Vise. Christiania 1845 

(1845). 

Scott, Walter. Samlede Skrifter. Ovs. fra Originalsproget. 1-39. Bd. København 1832- 

58. 

1-2. Bd. Waverley eller det er tredsindstyve Aar siden. Ovs. af Fr. Schaldemose. 

1-2. Deel. 1832 (1836). 

3-4. Bd. Grev Robert af Paris. Historisk-romantisk Fortælling. Ovs. af 

Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1833 (1836). 

5. Bd. Det farlige Slot. Romantisk Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1833 

(1836). 

6-7. Bd. Ivanhoe. En romantisk Fortælling. Ovs. af C. J. Boye. 1-2. Deel. 1833 

(1836). 

13-14. Bd. Bruden fra Lammermoor. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Boye. 1-2. Deel. 

1835 (1838). 

15. Bd. En Fortælling om Montrose. Ovs. af Boye. 1-2. Deel. 1836 (1838). 

16-17. Bd. Kenilworth. En Historisk Roman. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-4. Deel. 

1836 (1838). 

18-19. Bd. Guy Mannering eller Stjærnetyderen. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. 

Deel. 1837 (1838). 

426

20-21. Bd. Qventin Durward, en historisk Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. 

Deel. 1837-38 (1839). 

22-23. Bind. Søerøveren. Romantisk Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. 

Deel. 1839 (1839, 1840). 

26-27. Bd. Allan Cameron, en Roman. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1841 

(1841). 

28-29. Bd. Robin den Røde, en Fortælling. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 

1842-43 (1842). 

- - - -. Anna af Geiersteen eller Taagens Datter. Historisk Roman. (Ovs. af Fr. 

Schaldemose?). 1-3. Deel. København 1830 (1840). 

- - - -. Klosteret. En romantisk Skildring. Ovs. af Andr. C. Rasmussen. 1-3. Deel. 

København 1823-24 (1840). 

- - - -. Korsridderen. 1-2. Deel. (1841). (Incomplete citation.) 

- - - -. Lord Nigels Hændelser. Ovs. af Fridr. Schneider. 1-3. Deel. København 1823 

(1840). 

- - - -. Lægens Datter (De Forlovede. Fortælling) Ovs. af Rasmussen. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1827 (1840)). 

- - - -. Midlothians Hjerte eller Fengslet i Edinburgh. En Fortælling. Ovs. af Boye. 1-4. 

Deel. København 1822 (1840). 

- - - -. Oldgranskeren. Fortælling. Ovs. ved C. W. Hviding. 1-3. Deel. København 

1824 (1840). 

- - - -. Redgauntlet eller Den blodige Handske. En Fortælling fra det 18. Aarhundrede. 

Ovs. frit og med Forkortninger af Schneider. 1-3. Deel. København 1824-25 (1840). 

- - - -. Ridder Peveril paa Høien. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved L. J. Flamand. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1825 (1840). 

- - - -. St. Ronan's Brønd. En Fortælling. Ovs. ved Hans. G. N. Nyegaard. 1. Deel. 

København 1826. -- Ovs. ved P.S. Petersen [Pet. Salom. Martin]. 2-3. Deel. (1840). 

- - - -. Talismanen. En romantisk Skildring fra Korstogenes Tider. Ovs. af Rasmussen. 

1-2. Deel. København 1826-27 (1840). 

427

- - - -. Woodstock eller Cavalieren. En romantisk Skildring fra Cromwells Tider. Ovs. 

af Rasmussen. 1-3. Deel. København 1827 (1840). 

- - - -. Øernes Behersker. En romantisk Skildring. Ovs. ved C. N. Block. København 

1829 (1840). 

Smith, Horace. Kjærlighed, en venetiansk Historie. Ovs. af M. Strøm. København 1846 

(1846). 

Smith, Horaz. Ruben Apsley eller Hertugen af Monmouths Landgang. Udg. paa Dansk 

ved Chr. J. Klæstrup. 1-3. Deel. København 1834 (1838). 

Soulié, Fred. Djævelens Memoirer. Ovs. af C. M. Petersen. 1-2. Deel. København 1846 

(1847). 

- - - -. Frierne. Ovs. af T.P., udg. af Chr. Winther. København 1847 (1847). 

- - - -. Grevinden af Monrion. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (1847). 

- - - -. Hertugen af Guise. Fortælling. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1846 (1847). 

Souvestre, Emile. Fortællinger. Ovs. af Fred. L. Liebenberg. København 1839 (1839). 

Spindler, Karl. Jöden. Tydsk characteermaleri fra det femtende Aarhundrees Første 

Halvdeel. Bd. 1-6. København 1830 (1835). 

Sue, E. Arthur. Ovs. 1-3. Deel. 1847 (1847). 

- - - -. Den evige Jøde. Roman. Ovs. af P. V. Blicher. 1-10. Deel. København 1844- 

1845 (1845) 

- - - -. Malthesercomthuren. Roman. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1846 (1846). 

- - - -. Mathilde. En ung Kones Memoirer. Ovs. af L. Jordan. 1-6. Deel. København 

1844 (1845). 

- - - -. Parises Mysterier. Ovs. tildeels af F. Schaldemose. 1-8. Deel. København 1843 

(1-5. Deel, 1843; 7-8. Deel, 1845). 

- - - -. Søtaarnet. Roman. Ovs. 1-2. Deel. København 1847 (1847). 

Thiers, L.A. Den franske Revolutions Historie. Overs. efter den 15 Originaludgaven ved 

F. C. Rosen. 1-7 Bd. Nykøbing 1842-45 (1846). 

Theodora (Pseud.) Fanny, en Fortælling. København 1842 (1842). 

428

Tidsskrift for Reisebeskrivelser. Udg. af Fr. Schaldemose. 1-10. Deel. København 

1838-42. 

I-II. Semilasso's (Fyrst Pückler Muskaus) Reise i Afrika. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 

1-2. Deel. 1838 (1838). 

III-IV. Lamartines Reise i Østerland. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2 Deel. 1838 

(1839, 1840). 

V. Oberst Sir Alex. Burnes's Reise paa Indusfloden I Aaret 1831 tilligemed 

Beretninger om Pandshab og Afghanistan. Ovs. med oplysende Anmærkninger og 

Fortale af Thorl. Gudm. Repp. 1839 (1839). 

VI. Otto v. Kotzebues nye Reise om Jorden. Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1840 (1840). 

VII-VIII. Ed. Rüppel, Reise i Abyssinien. Ovs. af Schaldemose. I-II. Bd. 1840- 

41 (1841). 

IX-X. Ed. Pöppigs Reise i Chili og Peru og paa Amazonfloden i Aarene 1827-32. 

Ovs. af Schaldemose. 1-2. Deel. 1842 (?). (fortsat med: Nyt Tidsskrift for 

Reisebeskrivelser. I. 1844.) 

Trane, Torkel (F.J. Hansen). Humoristiske Noveller. Bind II: Let Sind og Letsind. 

København 1844 (1845). 

Trollope, Mrs. F. Arvingen til Thorpe Combe. Fortælling. Ovs. af L. Jordan. 1-3. Deel. 

København 1843 (1845). 

- - - -. Den gifte Enke. Ovs. af F. Bræmer. 1-2. Deel. København 1844 (1845). 

- - - -. Enken Barnaby. Fortælling. Ovs. af F. Bræmer. 1-2. Deel. København 1844 

(1845). 

Trollopp, F., see Feval. 

Udvalg af Criminelsager og af mærkelige Forhandlinger derom, for Lovkyndige, 

Psychologer, Retslæger og for et dannet Publicum overhoved samlet efter Bishchoff, 

Feuerbach, Hitzigs Annaler og fra andre Kilder. Udg. af Frands M. Lange. (1-3 H.). 

København 1831-1835. (1838). 

Wilson, C. Tom Cringles Skibsjournal. En Fortælling. Ovs af L. Moltke. 1-2. Deel. 

København 1838 (1839). 

Winther, Chr., udg. I de Halvtreds. (1845). (Incomplete citation.) 

429

III. Ibsen’s Practice Essays in Norwegian Composition. 

The following translations are based on the texts in Henrik Ibsens Samlede Verker. Vol. 

15: Artikler og Taler. Ved Francis Bull, Halvdan Koht, Didrik Arup Seip. Oslo: 

Gyldendal, 1930, 21-27. 

Pp. 21 ff.: 

1. On the Importance of Self-Knowledge. 

Among all the branches of thought, the investigation of the nature of our own 

being is perhaps the one in which the greatest attentiveness and impartiality are necessary, 

in order to arrive at that which is the aim of every investigation, namely truth. Self- 

knowledge presupposes the most accurate attention to ourselves, our inclinations, and our 

actions, and only as the results such observation is it possible for the person to attain to a 

clear and correct realization of the nature of his own character. 

How important this knowledge is for us is already evident from its name, self- 

knowledge, knowledge about oneself, and it must be of the greatest importance to the 

person to acquire this, since every one of our undertakings requires its assistance all-too- 

much, until it can be dispensed with without harm. 

According to the different purposes to which the person makes use of his self- 

knowlege, its importance can be said to show itself mainly in two directions, namely: 

other people. 

1. with respect to our soul's further education and development, and next 

2. with regard to our material well-being, our undertakings and our relationship to 

As far as the first point is concerned, then, it is obvious that the person necessarily 

must possess an adequate knowledge of himself, if favorable progress in the suggested 

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direction is to be expected. Indeed, if we assume that the thinking person's goal in 

intellectual respects is continually to develop his spiritual abilities, to clarify his 

conceptions and on the whole as far as possible to lay aside the errors which inclination 

or outer causes could have produced, then from this as well is evident the predominant 

influence self-knowledge exerts on the person's endeavors in this respect. One must 

know oneself, in order to know in what position he finds himself and in which directions 

improvements are necessary. The person must be conscious of his faults as well as his 

good qualities, in order to be able to lay aside the former and further develop the latter; he 

must know his passions, in order to be able to restrain them when they threaten to erupt, 

and thereby gradually to weaken the power they have gained. Yet not in this alone, but 

also as an aid to judgment of the character of others and to human knowledge in general 

is it necessary to have correctly understood the nature of one's own character and mode of 

thinking, since only by conclusions drawn from this is it possible for the person to attain a 

somewhat certain result in the mentioned respects. 

From what is here briefly advanced, it is obvious that self-knowledge is required 

as a basis for the person's spiritual development and intellectual progress on the whole; 

but certainly there are fewer than one would desire who make use in this direction of the 

knowledge of themselves which they must have acquired. More generally, however, the 

person makes use of his self-knowledge in practical life as a necessary aid to advance his 

material interests, and the different respects in which the importance of this is most 

sharply evident, will be more closely explained here. 

It must be assumed that every thinking person, before he makes his conclusions, 

considers the obstacles which could oppose themselves, as well as the risks with which 

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the execution can be associated, and it must therefore be important to him to know 

himself, in order to know whether his strength is capable of clearing away the former or 

his courage permits him to approach the latter; and knowledge of himself must therefore 

always be of predominant influence on the person's mode of action, since only thereby is 

one put in a position more-or-less certainly to be able to calculate the outcome of his 

projects. 

It can therefore certainly also be maintained that, provided that the person himself 

is actually capable of something with respect to his destiny, then the chances of this 

would be better if he possessed self-knowledge enough always to adjust his actions 

according to the abilities he had at his disposal, and always to know his inclinations 

enough not to let them get the upper hand. 

Accordingly, in every direction of the person's endeavor self-knowledge is 

challenged, in order to be able to exert an influence for the benefit of himself and others; 

it is therefore of the highest necessity to acquire this knowledge, and if, then, as he learns 

to know his less good sides, the person is placed more than once in the necessity of 

having to humble himself before himself, even so this humiliation can still not weaken 

the person's self-respect in any way, since it demonstrates all the more a strong will and 

an honest striving for that which is the person's goal in life: the development of his 

spiritual abilities and the concern for his temporal welfare. 

Grimstad, the 3rd of February 1848. 

2. Labor is its own reward. 

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By labor is understood every endeavor to obtain an intented, useful benefit from 

an appropriate activity. Therefore a broader meaning lies in this word than that which 

one ordinarily understands by it, namely, a strenuous application of physical energies; 

accordingly, in the suggested sense spiritual activity is called labor, and it is about this, as 

well as about every other useful activity, that the sentence can be employed: Labor is its 

own reward. 

Talents for activity are implanted in the person's nature, and the possession of 

these is naturally a good; but this good by no means lies in their dead presence, on the 

contrary, it is called forth only insofar as they are used for that purpose for which they are 

given, namely for activity. Accordingly, work is the only means whereby, so to speak, we 

actually come into possession of our talents, considered as a good; since an ability which 

is not used is a nothingness, and an ability used for a harmful or incorrect purpose is even 

in its feelings an evil; but every activity whereby a useful result is intended is work; 

consequently work is not only a means, but even the only means whereby our talents for 

activity become a good for us. 

Whether the person is brought to activity by the inner impulse to it, which to a 

higher or lower degree is innate in everyone, or whether his situation compels him, under 

all circumstances the result is the same. In the first case he follows his inclination and 

thereby has compensation enough for his toil; in the second case one acts out of necessity, 

but this necessity is in reality a good, as thereby he is put in a position to improve his 

position and earn increased means to well-being and enjoyment. 

However, that which is understood by the reward which lies in the labor is not the 

material benefit of the activity, since this reward rather appears as a consequence of the 

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labor. The reward which lies in the labor is understood to be the benefit which is joined 

to the activity itself without respect to the results of the same, and here then must 

especially be included: that the body is strengthened and, as a consequence of that, the 

health is maintained, that the mind is encouraged and improved, inasmuch as the thought 

is directed towards a useful goal, that the ideas are clarified and a continually wider and 

wider field is opened for the inquiring mind, whereby the spiritual activity produces the 

consciousness of having made a step forward towards a great goal, perfection, insofar as 

it is given to the human race at any time here in life to reach this point. 

3. Why should a nation seek to preserve the language and memory of its ancestors? 

It is only by the continued influence through the centuries of the traditions of the 

past from generation to generation that the distinctive character in conceptions and 

perceptions is capable of developing itself, when it appears sharply enough defined, 

finally acquiring the name of a people's national character, while the results achieved by 

the ancestors are the succeeding generations' possession, and this possession is common 

for every individual of the society to which he belongs; but it is precisely in this common 

right of acquisition that the reason must be sought for the inner unity and the outer 

limitation which alone is capable of maintaining a people's existence, since it is here that 

nationality has its root, or perhaps more correctly, this is nationality itself. 

But if the bond which knits a nation's individuals to each other must be sought 

primarily in the common inheritance of the forefathers' conduct and activity, then it must 

naturally be important to the nation to acquire for itself the greatest possible security for 

the legitimacy whereby it inherits its past; it must seek to maintain and clarify everything 

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that it still remembers about the ancestors and before all else the language, the speaking 

witness of a people's common origins. 

It is only through memories that the ancestors still live among us, it is through 

memories alone that we are able to acquire for ourselves the past, - but it is in the past 

that what exists is based; if the foundation is shaken, then the building erected on it must 

also totter. A people without a past or without memories of the past has no basis in 

tradition ("Faren"); memory bears witness of former greatness, in it, for those who come 

after, lies an increased demand not to enfeeble its radiance; if the memory is sad, it also 

possesses rich experiences. In every person's breast there is instilled a certain feeling of 

piety for the conceptions and impressions he has received in his childhood; if one thinks 

of a nation as an individual, then the past is its childhood memories; they will always 

speak faithfully and warningly, they will be a strong bulwark against the demoralisation, 

from which this still might have its source. 

In the recognition of the significance memories of the ancestors have, also lies a 

duty to maintain them. By this is understood naturally not merely the visible reminders of 

the past, but also every spiritual witness, every trait from the vanished time interwoven in 

the folk-character, and especially the retention of the ancestors' language, which certainly 

creates one of the most important bonds between them and us. By this it is not meant that 

a nation should safeguard the past and its memories by stagnation and irrational holding- 

fast to the old; on the contrary, it is by continuing to develop and improve what is 

received, without in any way losing sight of its source, that succeeding generations rightly 

honor the memory of the generations who have consigned to them the past's rich 

inheritance. 

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Yet in this respect the people also have duties toward the coming times; what the 

ancestors have effected for the now-living generations, the latter should pass on to the 

coming; since just as the present belongs to the past with respect to the following 

moment, it is business of the present to clarify and as far as possible to fulfill what 

vanished generations have begun, thought or guessed, since it is on this foundation that 

the future's hopes will be built. 

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IV. “Den Skandinaviske Idé” (“The Scandinavian Idea”), by Marcus J. 

Monrad. 

IBSEN AND SCANDINAVIANISM. 

Ibsen was involved in Scandinavianism as early as 1848. We know this because a 

poem he wrote in that year, “The Giant Oak Tree,” shows the influence of this movement. 

In the Fall of 1844, when the following three-part article appeared in a Christiania 

newspaper, Ibsen was working as an apprentice in a pharmacy in Grimstad, and at that 

time the pharmacy was also the post office. Newspapers and magazines came to their 

subscribers in the mail, and presumably when Ibsen had a spare moment he could read 

them. We have no anecdotal evidence that Ibsen read this particular article, but Monrad 

was an important intellectual in Norway at that time, and Ibsen’s philosophy teacher 

during his year at the university in 1850-51. 

Marcus J. Monrad, "Den Skandinaviske Idé." Morgenbladet, nos. 268, 270, 272 

(September, 1844). 

I. 

The thought which as a vague generality is expressed by the term Scandinavian 

Unity, and which was first articulated as such by a couple of Danish and Swedish writers, 

has recently become very widespread, and has finally had a success even in Norway, 

which one could call surprising, considering our countrymen's renowned caution and 

reserve. In Denmark and Sweden, as is well known, there are already so-called 

Scandinavian Societies, with the goal of working for Scandinavian unity mainly in 

literary respects; in Norway, as far as is known, there are still no formal societies with this 

purpose; but at present the Norwegian student society must be regarded as a center of the 

Scandinavianist movement among us, since on the whole--not without fervent debates--it 

has declared itself favorable to the idea, and has been in contact with the Swedish society, 

from which it has received gifts of Swedish books, just as it has forwarded to the Swedes 

[some] of our literary productions. It was natural that young people, who are the most 

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easily influenced by what is new, whether it is wise or foolish, were the first to embrace 

this idea, in which there apparently lay such great things hidden; however, it is a fact that 

it has now become a subject for many older people's attention and interest as well; it 

obtrudes itself increasingly as a current issue, and is discussed everywhere far and wide 

on the right and on the left. 

The idea of Scandinavian unity, like every other large and comprehensive idea, as 

it developed to greater preciseness, had to expose great oppositions and accordingly to 

awaken conflict, which is the more fervent the blinder it is, and the more that everyday 

interests and passions have come into play. The Scandinavian Idea has been interpreted, 

or rather misinterpreted in every way, celebrated with enthusiasm as Scandinavia's only 

salvation, but also on the other hand written off [udstregen] as fanaticism, even as treason 

against the fatherland. There are enthusiasts who would tear down all boundaries and 

proclaim one Scandinavia, so that Norway, Sweden and Denmark should disappear; there 

are also those who suspect every approach to the brother peoples as dangerous. We recall 

seeing in a Norwegian provincial newspaper twelve reasons, which were to prove the 

Scandinavian Idea's harmfulness. As is natural, we also have "middle-of-the-roaders" 

enough, and these manage as usual with a distinction: "as a gesture towards a literary 

rapprochement Scandinavianism is harmless, perhaps even desirable; [but] as politics-- 

may God deliver us from that!" 

As long as everyone makes The Scandinavian Idea into whatever he thinks fit, 

there is no explanation in this confusion, and the controversy "over whether it is 

beneficial or harmful for Norway to embark upon it" comes to no end. On the whole it is 

an improper reversal of the matter, when one is asked about the benefit or harmfulness of 

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an idea. With an idea it is a question only of its truth, or in other words whether it is a 

real idea, which has its root in the general consciousness and in the nature of the matter, 

or a mere fancy. Of the so-called Scandinavian Idea it must accordingly be asked, 

whether there really is an Idea of Scandinavia, of which the former is merely the 

subjective reflection, and then whether if Scandinavia really is something, is a national 

unity, which has its definite historical mission, then what this is. But this can only be 

discovered by a more comprehensive historical consideration, and pending its outcome all 

secondary considerations with respect to benefit, harm, etc., must be overshadowed. 

The recent past has undeniably had a revolutionary, divisive and destructive 

character. One can date this tendency from the Reformation, which attacked at its root 

the principle of an external authority brooding over Europe, to awaken by means of an 

inner--religious--domain the feeling of the individual's independence and eternal 

justification. This movement must, however, also extend to the political [sphere]; since 

there were also--by analogy with the aforementioned spiritual hegemony--powerful 

princely houses with military power and diplomatic connections that gathered under 

themselves masses of different peoples, who without inner sympathies were held together 

merely by an outward compulsion. Even if the Reformation seems at first to show favor 

precisely to secular absolutism, even so it could not fail that in a more distant future its 

actual principle of independence and individuality must assert itself also in political 

respects. 

This creative spark long smouldering in silence actually broke into flame in the 

French Revolution, and that movement, which from there spread over Europe, has 

essentially the merit to have called forth nations instead of empires, nations which have 

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felt their existence and sought to do their own will to guide, instead of merely to listen to 

the commands of the individual. Everywhere now is detected a tendency to break apart 

the formerly aggregated masses; everything that has felt itself to be a distinctive feature, 

attempted also to present itself and assert itself as such in external appearance. This 

tendency must naturally first and foremost direct itself against the colossus which 

Napoleon himself--the Revolution's son--with a strange misconception of his calling, had 

conglomerated: the kingdom of France had to be reduced to the French nation. Over 

almost the whole of Europe the process continued: Norway seceded from Denmark, 

Belgium from Holland, Greece from Turkey; the Poles made a desperate attempt to crawl 

out of the clutches of Russia. Similar movements are detected now, even though they are 

taking place more quietly. Accordingly Austria is apparently threatened with being split 

into at least three parts, Ireland is zealously occupied with the issue of repeal, the Prussian 

Poles grumble behind their beards, and it is only fear which holds them back. In order to 

show how far the division can go, one can recall the splitting of the "Baseler Landschaft" 

from the town of Basel. One sees accordingly a striving to create continually smaller and 

smaller states; the same principle which claims citizenship, freedom and independence 

for the single individual in the state, claims also recognition for every society which on 

the basis of a distinctive character can be regarded as an individual. 

This striving for independence, this process of individualization, is accordingly, 

then, considered from one point of view, without purpose and end; since the common 

charactistics recede as they become more concrete, continually gathering in narrower and 

narrower circles, and who determines the boundary where a certain distinctive 

characteristic ends to be able to be a nationality? Acccordingly, on the occasion of 

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Norway's separation from Denmark, and the Norwegians' opposition to any kind of 

amalgamation with Sweden, one has asked whether the conclusion of the same principle 

could not lead, for example, to the northern mountain region of Norway separating itself 

from the southern mountain region. It cannot be denied that Trondheimers have much, 

both in predispositions and customs, which separates them from the people of the 

southern mountain region, just as also climatic and other circumstances to some extent 

seem to indicate separate interests. The aforementioned tendency towards independence 

would also really be something to be feared, as destructive of everything, as if in world 

history everything at last separated into meaningless atoms--if it were not accompanied by 

a tendency in the opposite direction, which has the effect of creating continually larger 

and larger unities, and shows itself superior to the former [tendency] precisely in that it 

walks in its footsteps and makes use of its results for its greater goals. This merging, 

uniting principle is world history's actual nisus organicus, which is actually one with the 

foregoing and only its positive side. The dissimilar must be separated, in order for the 

similar to be united; the compulsory conglomeration, held together by outer bonds, must 

be split asunder in order to make a place for a free association, determined by inner 

reasons. Freedom and independence consist only by submission under a general law of 

society; without this they are unreal abstractions. The individual cannot be free and 

independent unless there are citizens in a state, and the state itself cannot be independent 

except as a link in a larger whole. 

This is not empty philosophizing; one inquires about the history of only the most 

recent times, to see if a recognizable striving to create larger societies has not followed on 

the heels of the disorganization. Or much more: the uniting, organizing tendency has 

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from the first moment been indivisible from the disorganizing [tendency]. Is this not 

already expressed in the concept of nation and nationality, which was expressed with such 

energy at the same moment one threw off the tyrants' yoke? When the unnatural bond 

was dissolved, then one immediately looked for a natural one; or more correctly: the 

latter bond one used already as a belt of strength, as one attacked the former. It was 

precisely by the invocation of nationality, that the men of the liberation led the battle. 

And this spirit once evoked cannot let itself be bound again! 

It must further be recognized that in the beginning the conception of what actually 

constitutes a nationality was only vague. To be sure, at first one took this conception only 

from the negative side; one felt it should be a natural, in-itself free solidarity, not a unity 

based on dynastic joint ownership. The poet Walter Scott can be said to be among the 

first who brought to the attention of Europe what significance common descent and 

language have with respect to the determination of nationality. In his romantic 

descriptions of England's and Scotland's ancient history he has pointed out with great 

clarity the opposition between the Saxon and the French people, who have met on the 

same ground; and after him French writers of history especially have developed the 

romantic and German-Scandinavian tribal-characters--an opposition which can be said to 

have become a basic principle in modern historical research. 

Practically-speaking, affinity of language and descent, with clearer or vaguer 

consciousness of its actual significance, gradually manifested itself in several corners of 

Europe. Germany's unity has been celebrated already for a long time now in the songs of 

the poets, and at present there is scarcely one young person in Germany who is not an 

adherent of this idea. South of the Alps one dreams already stronger and stronger dreams 

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about the unity of Italy, and--in Europe's opposite corner we are eagerly occupied with the 

Scandinavian Idea. Yes, such great power and significance lies in this idea of national 

unity, this tendency towards unification of related national elements for the development 

of common freedom and civilization, that it has even brought forth its grandiose 

caricature--in Pan-Slavism! 

Accordingly the historical process--like mechanical motion--allows itself to be 

broken into two opposing equal powers, one repulsive and one attractive. Separately 

these powers are simply abstractions; the one without the other would lead to absurdities, 

atomistic dismemberment or characterless amalgamation. Therefore, since in reality they 

are inseparably bound together, they limit each other mutually, and therefore could 

actually only create concrete units. Even though it is difficult to say where the actual 

border stands for the firmest and most concrete political unity, which we call a state, it is 

still certain that there is such a border. Yet with this the process of organization does not 

stop, but continues inwards to create municipalities, outward associations of peoples or 

confederations. Since outwardly also wider and wider circles exist, which are defined by 

a continually more abstract sense of community. Indeed, this as been expressed already 

in the French historians' aforementioned discovery of the German-Scandinavian tribal 

unity in opposition to the romantic, just as both these tribes, like historical peoples 

especially, let themselves be construed as a unity in opposition to the Slavs. 

Now it is a general law in history, that everything which is in a thought, that is to 

say not in a loose, subjective thought, which can occur once to someone or other, but in a 

real thought, given by history itself, strives also to realize itself, to assume gradually a 

firmer outline. This is basically only a definition of freedom's striving, which aims at 

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ealizing inner conscious purpose. And the more nations struggle forward in culture and 

freedom, the more obviously and more directly will the former law assert itself. Now the 

first outline acquires the tendency towards unity first in literature; it is most especially a 

literary unity which evolves. Such a one exists already in general features--one can say-- 

over the whole of civilized Europe; in spite of what is characteristic, and marked 

obviously enough by the language of the different literatures, there is yet a European 

literature with its heroes: Dante and Tasso, Molière and Racine, Shakespeare and Lord 

Byron, Goethe and Schiller, Holberg and Oehlenschlæger--a literature which more and 

more demands the attention of all educated people, whereas for example the Slavic and 

Turkish literature with its hundreds of writers is still regarded as being irrelevant to us. 

Such a literary commonality will now doubtless more and more disseminate itself; yet 

one cannot leave it there; since that striving for unity is only articulated for the 

conciousness and realized so to speak inwardly; it seeks gradually also to take possession 

of the outward domains and accordingly must finally also touch upon the political. It is 

precisely characteristic of the most recent--freedom's--time, that circumstances develop 

from within, that literature accordingly is a forerunner for politics, and not, as previously, 

an idle spectator. 

In the old days of barbarism it was not the people but the princes who concluded 

alliances; they then attempted to make use of whoever they could in order to support their 

power, and accordingly then one not uncommonly saw the sight of a "tiger mating with a 

lamb," since the tiger's and the lamb's lord found such an unnatural connection answering 

to his interests. No fruitful connections for mutual transmission of culture and freedom 

were then intended; the prince's private passions determined the destiny of the people. 

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However, when nations have come to consciousness and stand at the helm themselves, 

they want to regulate their connections by their own natural sympathies; commonality in 

language and customs, together with common memories of the past draw them together, 

and little-by-little, under literature's influence, they approach the consciousness that they 

have a common historical vocation, a common principle to manifest in humanity's general 

process of civilization, and that in order to develop and defend this they must unite both 

their intellectual and material powers. The perception that every individual state is 

directly determined to promote the general human civilization, and accordingly can join 

with anybody else, would correspond to cosmopolitanism in individuals, which indeed 

also leads them to feel that they are at home in any state and religion, that wherever they 

are they could act the same way. 9 

II. 

The Scandinavian Idea is accordingly in no way an isolated phenomenon, a 

phantom of an individual's fantasy or mood; it is much more, as we have seen its 

analogies in all quarters and it is deeply grounded in the general historical development 

and the whole direction of the times. That our Scandinavia could not be unaffected by 

the ideas fermenting everywhere in Europe, was so much more natural, because the spirit 

of history, or to use a more commonly understood expression: Providence, seems recently 

to have turned its attention more and more towards us. Even the most careless glance 

9 It must be regarded as such a state-cosmopolitanism when some Danish patriots dream of an alliance with 

France against England. To be sure, it is the Affair of 1807 which still creates enmity; they do not consider 

that it was only the work of the nemesis of history with respect to the Danish forefathers' bloody actions in 

England. All kindred nations--like brothers--have quarrelled and fought in their childhood; but they must 

grow up sometime, and then such accounts must be regarded as settled. 

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over the course of world events cannot ignore, that history withdraws more and more to 

the northwest. The old world, Rome's orbis terrarum, is limited for the most part to 

countries around the Mediterranean; the Middle Ages' wide-ranging fanciful upheaval 

still centers mostly around the former Roman Empire's northern borders, where Romans 

and barbarians got along together; more recent history belongs to Central Europe, with 

France to a great extent as the leader. And that the last act of this great European drama 

will be played especially in our Scandinavia, is evident by much more than the former 

analogy. The Scandinavian North for the moment stands at the summit of our time's 

civilization; the enlightenment of the people is at least as great and widespread here as 

anyplace; Protestantism, whose mightiest champions have already once before gone out 

from here, has permeated the population more completely here than in any other place. 

The political freedom in the Norwegian constitution has already raised a magnificent 

temple; and among our brother peoples, where it has not yet come so far, its voice still 

sounds already fuller and more powerful, and the time indeed is not far off, when like an 

Orpheus it will get the stones to move; art has already finished several of the northern 

temple's ornamentations; science stands like a priest, and poetry already sings splendid 

hymns previously construed by the priest in its tabernacle, still really often threatened by 

storm. The rest of Europe already begins to turn its glance more and more up here; what 

has hitherto stood in the way of our importance has been only our division. Norway, 

Sweden, Denmark are each by themselves too small to place any significant weight into 

the scale of Europe; only together would they be able to assert themselves, only together 

will they be able to carry out with strength the larger and difficult mission to which 

already they are more and more obviously beckoned. Now in the first place, as far as 

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literature goes, it is evident that an isolated Norwegian or Swedish or Danish literature 

can in no way arouse the attention in Europe or have the influence in the development of 

scholarship, as a united Scandinavian [literature can], not to mention that each of the 

former separate literatures contains to be sure so much that is valuable and genuine in 

relation to its extent. But in the second place, the separate literatures, which could not be 

self-sufficient even when they managed without the support which lies in the common 

bank, would become far more dependent on literature from abroad, and not be able to 

develop themselves into the powerful distinctive feature, which would achieve a genuine 

significance. The dependence of Danish literature on the German is all-too-well-known; 

the Swedish has walked on the Frenchmen's leash more than is proper; about the 

Norwegian, which is still completely in its childhood, nothing definite can yet be said, but 

the analogy and simple impression for that matter seem to indicate that it will not be able 

to keep itself free from mainly English influence. Now we would not in any way want 

Scandinavia's literature to stand, like the Russian, completely isolated from the German, 

French and English literatures, which for that matter are not without mutually significant 

points of contact either; we have suggested above precisely how with these it constitutes a 

higher unity. But we want Scandinavia's literature to defend its independence in this 

unity, we want it to stand there with honor, with firm, marked, manly features, we want it 

to have its complete significance beside the rest. And it is in this respect significant that 

the Danish writer who has given the strongest support to emancipate Danish poetry and 

attain that significance--namely Oehlenschlæger --is precisely the one to whom honor 

belongs for having first expressed the idea of Scandinavia's unity. His poetry is basically 

as Norwegian as it is Danish, and with the exception of the little difference of dialect, it 

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could just as well be called equally Swedish; and yet nobody before him has sung so 

utterly nationally, so truly Scandinavianly! Therefore it is so far from being the case that 

the national consciousness dilutes and loses itself by being expanded over all of 

Scandinavia, that it much more precisely thereby achieves its actual courage and strength! 

But still it does not end with literature; indeed we want not merely to sing for 

Europe and hold uplifting conversations about our nationality--indeed, they would not 

listen much to either afterwards, if we could not by more material means give our words 

weight. Besides, it could possibly happen, while we sang our best, that one or another 

birdcatcher could get the desire to cage us, one after the other, and then the song would 

only come to a sad end. So it is a matter of being sure also to have a beak and claws; and 

while our neighbors in all quarters by alliances and by an altogether better and better 

organized military capability increase--one can say fearfully--in strength, we must not 

remain standing in our prevailing insignificance. There was a time when our forefathers, 

without creating any actual union, were feared over the whole of Europe; but that was 

then, when in the army itself an individual's strength and valor were the decisive factors. 

Now everything depends more on the masses and on a rational organization; now an 

individual Stærkodder is of little significance; now a single flock of either Norwegians or 

Swedes or Danes with all possible courage will not be able to do the deeds as in the old 

days. If we will--and we must will it--retain the same relative strength as in the past, then 

we must follow the development of the times; the berserker's wild energy disappeared a 

long time ago, and besides would now help us greatly not; let us therefore draw our 

strength from a more noble source, from the League of Nations, and from the strongest, 

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most beautiful league of nations, which rests on a sacred thought, a national unity and 

agreement to develop and defend the same idea of freedom. 

It lies precisely in the nature of civilization and accordingly in the character of the 

most recent times, that the spirit, the idea more and more appears and asserts itself over 

the raw power of nature. Not as if the latter should be useless or superfluous; physical 

power is necessary precisely to the realization of the idea; but it must more and more 

present itself as serving the idea; as ruled by it. Its [power's] actual effect depends more 

and more on that it receives from the idea its firm direction and its inner ordering and 

economy. The Scandinavian people accordingly will only be able to accomplish anything 

significant in the future insofar as they are led by the Scandinavian Idea; only under this 

condition can the natural strength and courage inherited from their forefathers have the 

right vigor and force and become something other than Thor's prodigious but wasted 

accomplishments in Jotunheim. 

Therefore let us not disappoint ourselves concerning the nature and significance of 

the Scandinavian Idea. It cannot remain standing here as a literary [unity], but must one 

day, sooner or later, develop the thought also of political unity, to which it contains the 

seed (aspiration). Those for whom it was a consolation that the Scandinavian idea was 

only an innocent concern for literature's development, that it only aimed at greater unity 

in the bookstore and more rebellion in the literary situation--those who have only dared to 

give the idea their approval under this assumption, must be stripped of their delusion, and 

the sooner the better. It is better if they desert completely, since the idea is better served 

by having the travelers in the middle way and the half-way hucksters as enemies than as 

friends. However, it is good that the matter is not carried out precipitately; it will have 

449

time precisely to develop itself from within, from the consciousness' own depths, and 

therefore it is perhaps most practical that the active work in the service of the idea be 

limited at first to the literary situation. It is perhaps even useful that the masses of 

workers, especially the young people who engage themselves with it, not be conscious at 

first of any other purpose; their work will thereby be more peaceful, more secure, less 

marked by self-interest and the passions of the moment. But it cannot fail that one must 

gradually glimpse, at least as a distant possibility (which in any case one must regard 

either with fear or antipathy) what the more insightful already perceive as a necessity. A 

people's literature is indeed never anything isolated, anything existing for itself alone, but 

has its actual significance in a real existing nationality; it is an expression of a nation's 

innermost consciousness, and where this is true and strong, there also outwardly far and 

wide it must and shall break itself a way to unite itself. 

For that matter, of what character this Scandinavian unity should be or will 

become, lies outside the possibilities of the present moment to determine more closely. It 

would not be difficult to write a book about it and make proposals by the dozen, but that 

would be only slightly useful. The certain and complete answers to such questions occur 

only through the course of centuries, not in a thinker's mind. Well runs the old rule, that 

one should always think before one acts, and from this should follow, not to embark upon 

anything which one has not investigated completely beforehand; but this division between 

thought and action must not be pursued too far; since it is certain in any case that the 

greater, world-historical thoughts are not in themselves fully developed before precisely 

being acted. What time carries in its womb can only in general contours and for the most 

part merely negatively be reported in advance. Accordingly the considerations we have 

450

initiated above lead more closely only to a firm, unshakeable alliance in war and peace 

between the three Scandinavian nations, living together mutually and reciprocally, with 

common interests and cooperation, as far as the separate nations' independence can 

permit. Since this appears to us clear, that there cannot be talk here about any 

amalgamation. 

The general consideration initiated above has shown that our time's striving for 

unity has originated precisely from, or has in any case developed itself in inseparable 

connection with an opposite tendency, a tendency to separate and divide, a tendency 

which aims at allowing every individuality, every real distinctive feature, to receive its 

full rights. In this way an adequate counterweight is given, and the self-creating unity is 

protected from merging in a loose-jointed dull clump. It can be added, that the 

aforementioned principle of separation in particular seems to belong to the Scandinavian 

tribe; it is perhaps one of this tribe's most important duties to maintain the eternal 

justification of the individual. The enterprise of independence is too deeply ingrained in 

the Scandinavian's whole mind, that he in any way should relinquish it. Evidence of this 

is furnished by, for example, the energy which the Norwegians have shown to maintain 

their independence from Sweden--truly a heroic struggle, which even so has not made the 

union with this kingdom looser or weaker. As a consequence of the same principle one 

can note our present arrangement with executive committees; which despite the 

difficulties that perhaps in the beginning it can have entailed, yet must be regarded as a 

happy sign of the times. 

On the whole the Scandinavian countries' scattered geographical position and 

most highly differentiated natural situation show already that they are not determined to 

451

create such a compact mass as, for example, France. Indeed, in that sense not even our 

literature will become one and without division, evidently to express everything that is 

alive in the nation, so necessarily what is characteristic and independent in the three 

Nordic people must also find its expression in their common literature, which accordingly 

must indeed manifest itself as a unity, but in addition with a certain obvious articulation. 

Accordingly in this respect the Norwegians' effort to emancipate itself completely from 

Danish literature deserves recognition, and the Danish are completely wrong to condemn 

the thought of developing the recognizable Norwegian written language, as a phantom of 

a narrow-minded Norwegian fanaticism. In spite of all Danish protests, it is already 

recognized more and more by the language, if something is written south or north of 

Kattegat, and we need only to get a Norwegian dictionary according to Professor 

Holmboe's plan 10 in order that it will show how much we have that is remarkable in our 

vocabulary. And yet are yonder Norwegian Norwegians so far from acting against the 

Scandinavian Idea's interests, that they are rather to be regarded as its necessary 

forerunners. A liberation must come first, before a free affiliation can take place; only 

when Norway truly owns something, can it have something to deposit in the common 

fund. Therefore, much seems to suggest that Scandinavian literature has in common with 

the ancient Greek to be divided into dialects; but this did not prevent the latter [language] 

from being great and immortal and perhaps the most well-rounded which has yet existed. 

10 See the periodical Nor, 3rd volume's 1st part; Morgenbladet no. 193. 

III. 

452

What, then, has Norway in particular to do with respect to the Scandinavian Idea? 

First and foremost, not to be afraid of it, as something which will be dangerous to its 

independence, should it not be altogether as "politically innocent" in its deepest 

foundation as at first glance it appears. The idea of Scandinavian union would be 

dangerous only if Norway did not possess strength enough to assert itself beside the 

neighbor states, if it were not able to behave with perfect dignity in the confederation. By 

that, then, is already suggested, what first and foremost must be the purpose of the 

Norwegian nation's endeavors, what there actually is for us to do; that is, namely, 

precisely as much as possible to liberate ourselves from all undue dependence, to give our 

independence and all our spiritual as well as material powers the highest possible degree 

of harmonious development. Let the industries struggle forward, as far as the country's 

nature will permit; let the military power and a true warrior spirit rise; let science and art 

be pursued with zeal and enthusiasm; let the whole national spirit be steadily more and 

more developed and strengthened, by recalling the forefathers' proud customs and 

achievements; truly, it shall then be felt that our neighbors do not need us less than we 

them, and Norway's independence in the union will then be sufficiently secure, and by the 

union doubly secure against every foreign molestation. As far as the industries are 

concerned, the matter speaks for itself; with respect to the military power, is it bad to 

neglect it now, because for the moment we have peace. The war will reach us to be sure, 

and perhaps before we suspect it, and woe to us, if it meets us unprepared! The 

Scandinavian kingdoms would come to need all the power they could summon, and 

considerations of their possible union should sharpen our zeal even more in this respect, 

for once to be able to contribute a not contemptible addition to the common defensive 

453

strength. The Scandinavian Idea must on the whole enlarge our vision with respect to our 

situation; it must make us at once more courageous and more cautious; more courageous, 

because in union with our neighbors we could expect to accomplish something, more 

cautious, because for this reason we ourselves are led to attach importance to our military 

establishment and not to regard it as a useless embellishment. Accordingly, those 

considerations which otherwise could mislead us into directing our attention all-too 

exclusively to a one-sided defese, must yield to bolder and more comprehensive 

perceptions. We would certainly not in any way think of making conquests; but it must 

be recognized that the division between defensive and offensive war, even though it is 

emphasized even in our constitution, scarcely permits in reality strictly to be 

accomplished, precisely because a surprise attack at the right time can often be the most 

effective, even the only possible means of defense. Especially when a David shall fight 

with a Goliath it is of the greatest importance to reach the giant with a deft shot from a 

sling, before he actually gets his crushing club lifted. 

And as far as science and literature are concerned, it should still be recognized, 

that these are not luxuries or toys, but altogether necessary links in a state organization. 

We could indeed not avoid becoming intellectually dependent oOn those who write our 

books and on the whole stand above us in education and knowledge; and political 

independence does not reconcile at all with intellectual dependence. Therefore, not only 

the immediate practical subjects, but on the whole everything which in general 

determines spiritual culture, history, philosophy, yes all the way to poetry and the fine 

arts, must be considered indispensable in every truly independent state. Where a nation 

lacks this important means to come to full and deep consciousness of itself it is and 

454

emains actually incompetent, and its political independence an empty form. If in this 

respect Norway cannot raise itself to a suitable rank in relation to its neighbors, then it 

could well be feared, that under a coming Scandinavian union, Denmark especially would 

raise its old supremacy; --or more correctly, even without a union, the Danes would still 

dominate us fundamentally. 

Yet, we do not suppose that there is any danger; Norway has in its womb so many 

material and spiritual powers, that when they only become conscientiously developed, 

they will to be sure secure it an honorable and independent place beside its neighbor 

countries. But Norway is still a young state, everything is only in its springing-forth; 

before it can really develop itself to firm distinctiveness, it is indeed best, that at first for 

the most part it conduct itself separately. Norway has accordingly for the moment no 

reason to accelerate the Scandinavian union; it must on the contrary still desire a period of 

preparation, before it can appear beside its neighbors in all situations with dignity, with 

mature powers and with a firmly marked and consistent and articulate national spirit, and 

not only from the first moment be able to make an incontestable claim to full recognition, 

but also later continually to raise its position with honor. A closer association, which will 

then precisely protect its independence, could perhaps, if it happened too soon, be 

overwhelming and hinder the still slender shoots' characteristic development. 

Accordingly--it may also really be the general sentiment among us--at first we take no 

active step; but we do not hinder the free movement of the idea; we anticipate as a 

possibility, even as a probability, that at some time it will be realized, and we use the 

intervening time in order that it really can become to us a rich blessing, as according to its 

nature it should be. This, we believe, is in any case a far more valuable mode of opinion, 

455

than either theirs, who in their limited nationalistic arrogance rely upon our steep cliffs, 

and imagine that in every respect and in every situation now and in the future we will be 

sufficient to ourselves, or those who, in dishonorable cowardice, place their trust in our 

insignificance and weakness, and believe to have in that the best shield against all kinds 

of misfortunes. That is not what any true, enlightened Norwegian thinks. On the 

contrary: we feel that in much we are still inferior, that for the moment, alone by 

ourselves, we have not altogether the weight in Europe as at one time; we suspect that 

there are imminent hard tests and bad times, where to be sure we could have need of 

assistance; but we are both proud and intelligent enough to take this preferably from our 

brothers, whom we similarly could support; and we still feel so much of the forefathers' 

fire and strength in us that we doubt not of a final victory. We discern it plainly: we are 

still determined to perform great deeds in the world's great places; the old Norsemen were 

the terror of civilized Europe, so shall the new Scandinavia be civilization's asylum; our 

Archaean rock, or rather our enlightened, free and equal spirit shall create the archipelago 

against which the threatening waves of barbarism and despotism shall be broken and 

must be cast powerlessly back. There it is written: "thus far and no farther!" 

456

V. Plays Advertised in Christianssand and Arendal, for performance in 

Sørlandet, 1844-48). 

There was no local newspaper in Grimstad in the 1840s, but there were newspapers in 

Christianssand and Arendal, two larger towns on the Norwegian coast to the south and 

north of Grimstad respectively. Theatre troupes generally traveled by boat along the 

coast, and on occasion they put in at Grimstad and performed part of their repertoire. We 

do not know which plays they performed in Grimstad, but it is interesting that in 1847 a 

company in Sørlandet performed Molière’s Don Juan, since the hero of Ibsen’s first play, 

like Don Juan, is a libertine. We also know that Ibsen was aware of Hostrup’s Genboerne 

(“Neighbors”), a comedy that was performed in the area during the summer of 1848. 

In the following list, the play as advertised in the newspapers comes first in quotation 

marks; publication information about the play follows. For an explanation of initials in 

parentheses, see the end of the list. 

(NB: K.= advertised in Christiansand; A.= advertised in Arendal.) 

1844-- P. I. Titchen Company 

Feb. 3, A.-- 

"Ungdommen maa rase, nyt lystspil i 2 Acter efter Angelys (d. 1835) original." 

"Ukjent forfatter" (EA). 

Feb. 3, A.-- 

"Romeo e Giulietta, nyt lystspil i 1 Act." (1843) 

[Warburg, C.A.] Romeo e Giulietta. Lystspil i 1 Akt. København 1843. 

Feb. 6, A.-- 

Hvedbrødsdagene, lystsp. i 2 Acter." 

Scribe, Aug. Eug., Mélesville (i.e., Duveyrier, Anne Honoré Joseph, baron), og 

Carmouches, (Pierre Francois Adolphe). Hvedebrødsdagene, Lystspil i 2 Acter, 

oversat efter La lune de miel, af J. E. Beck. Arendal 1833. 

Feb. 6, A.-- 

"Oldingens ung Kone, ny Vaudeville i 2 Acter." 

457

"af Scribe" (EA). 

Feb. 10, A.-- 

"Formyndere og Myndling, Lystsp. i 1 Act. Efter Scribes og Courcys "Simpel 

Historie" overs. af J. L. Heiberg." 

Formynder og Myndling. Lystspil i 1 Act. Efter Scribe's og de Courcy's "Simple 

Historie," oversat ved J. L. Heiberg. København 1829. (DKTR Nr. 20.) 

Feb. 10, A.-- 

"Brud og Brudgom i een Person, Lystspil i 2 Acter efter det tydske." 

Kotzebue, A. v. Brud og Brudgom i een Person. Comedie i 2 Acter oversat ved 

N. T. Bruun. København 1815. 

Feb. 16, A.-- 

"Man kan hvad Man vil, Lystspil i 2 Acter efter det franske, oversat af Professor J. 

L. Heiberg." 

Ancelot [Jacques Arsene Polycarpe Francois], og Alexis de Comberousse, Man 

kan hvad man vil. ("Vouloir, c'est pouvoir.") Efter det Franske oversat af J[oh.] 

L[udv.] Heiberg. København 1838. (DKTR Nr. 96.) 

Feb. 16, A.-- 

"Michel Perrin eller Politie-Spionen uden at vide det, Vaudeville i 2 Acter af 

Melesville og Chr. Duveyrier, overs. av Th. Overskou." 

Melesville, [Anne Honoré Joseph Duveyrier], og Charles Duveyrier. Michael 

Perrin eller Politispionen uden at vide det. Bearb. af Thom. Overskou. 

København 1835. (DKTR Nr. 73.) 

Feb. 18, A.-- 

"Debutantindens Fader, Lystspil i 5 Acter efter det franske af Bayard og 

Theaulon." 

Bayard, [Jean Francois Alfr.] og [Marie Emanuel Guillaume 

Marguerite]Théaulon [de Lambert], Debutantindens Fader. Frit efter det 

Franske [ved Carl Otto]. København 1840. (Dramatisk Repertoire, Nr. 1). 

458

Feb. 18, A.-- 

"Recruten, Vaudeville i 1 Act af Merle, Simonin og Ferdinand, overs. af Th. 

Overskou." 

Merle, [Jean Toussaint], [Antoine Jean Baptiste] Simonin og Ferdinand [i.e., 

Ferdinand Laloue], Rekruten. Oversat og localisert af Th[om.] Overskou. 


Feb. 19, A.-- 

"De borgerlige Stevnemøder, Lystsp. i 2 Act af Hofmann." 

Hofman, [Francois Benoit], De borgerlige Stævnemoder. Comedie i 1 Act; 

oversat ved N. T. Bruun. København 1819. 

Feb. 19; Mar. 11, A.-- 

"Jeppe paa Bjerget eller Den forvandlede Bonde, Comedie i 5 Acter af Baron 

Ludvig v. Holberg." 

[Holberg, Ludv.] Jeppe paa Bierget eller den forvandlede Bonde. En Comoedie i 

5 Acter. København 1802. (First published 1722.) 

Feb. 23, A.-- 

"En Bryllupsdag-fataliteter, originalt Lystsp. i 2 Acter, af Th. Overskou." 

(København 1840. DKTR Nr. 118.) 

118.) 

Overskou, Th[omas]. En Bryllupsdags Fataliteter. København 1840. (DKTR Nr. 

Feb. 32, A.-- 

"Recentsen og Dyret, original Vaud. i 1 Act af J.L. Heiberg." 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv., Recentsen og Dyret. Vaudeville. Udgiven af Ferd. 


Feb. 25, A.-- 

"Svend Dyrings Hus, romantisk Skuespil i 4 Acter, med Sang og Chor, af Henr. 

Hertz; Musiken componert af Concertmaster Rung." (København 1837.) 

Hertz, Henr. Svend Dyrings Hus. København 1837. 

459

Mar. 5, A.-- 

"Ørkenens Søn, ny romantisk Skuespil i 5 Acter af `Frederick Halm,' overs. af C. 

Borgaard." 

Holm, (Fr.). Ørkenens Søn, fra "Der Sohn der Wildnis," overs. av Borgaaard. 


Mar. 10, A.-- 

"Hr. Bonaventures Reise-Eventyr eller saadan Reiser man med Deligencen, 

Vaudeville i 6 Acter." 

Mar. 10, A.-- 

"Intriguen ved Morskabstheatret, original Vaud. i 1 Act." 

Intriguen ved Morskabstheatret, Original Vaudeville i en Akt af A. L. Arnesen. 


Mar. 11, A.-- 

"Rataplan, den lille Tambour, Vaudeville i 1 Act." 

Rataplan, eller Den Lille Tambour, Vaudeville i 1 Act, [af Sevrin [i.e., Charl. 

Augustin Bassompierre] og A.V. Vizentini], overs. efter (Louis) Angely af H.P. 

Holst. København 1834. (Original title: "Rataplan, ou: Le petit tambour.") 

Mar. 13, A.-- 

Slaget i Kjøgebugt, original dramatisk Skildring i 1 Act med sang, af kongl. 

Skuesp. W. Holst." 

Holst Wilh. [Conr.] Slaget i Kjøgebugt. København 1835. 

Mar. 13, A.-- 

"Nei! original Vaud. i 1 Act." 

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv. Nei. København 1836. 

Mar. 13, A.-- 

"De Uadskillelige, original Vaudeville i 1 Act." 

460

Heiberg, Joh. Ludv. De Uadskillelige. Vaudeville. Met et Kobber, efter Tegning 

av [Chr. Wilh.] Eckersberg. Udgiven af Ferd. Printzlau. København 1827. 

Apr. 9, A.-- 

"Don Juan af Østerrig, Ridderskuespil i 5 Acter, af Casimir Delavigne, overs. af 

Borgaard." 

Delavigne, Casimir. Don Juan af Østerrig. Oversat af C[arl Pt.] Borgaard. 


-- Cortes and Weyse Company. 

Oct. 27, A.-- 

"Recreations-Reise, Lystsp. i 1 Act efter det tydske." 

"Forf. ukj." (EA) 

Oct. 27, A.-- 

"Farinelli, Lystsp. i 3 Acter med Chor og Sang ved J. L. Heiberg." 

Saint-Georges, de [i.e., Jules Henri de Vernoy], og Leuven [i.e., Adolph, Grev 

Ribbing]. Farinelli. Efter det Franske. Oversat af J[oh.] L[udv.] Heiberg. 


Oct. 31, A.-- 

"Leonora! lyrisk Drama i 3 Avdelinger af Baron v. Holtey. Musiken af Professor 

Eberwein." 

Oct. 31, A.-- 

"List og Phlegma, Vaud. i 1 Act af Angely." 

List og Phlegma, vaud. i 1 a. av Angely, bearb. efter Patrat's Kom. "Le Resolution 

inutile, ou: Les Deguisements amoureux," overs. og omarb. av. H. Wergeland. 

(CTR) 

Nov. 3, 5, A.-- 

461

"Den Usynlige paa Sprogøe, dramatisk Spøg i 1 Act med Chor og Sange af H.C. 

Andersen. med tilhørende Spansk Nationaldands. ‘Et Jaleo de Xerxes,’ som 

dandses i Costume af Jrf. Andersen." 

Andersen, H[ans] C[hr.] Den Usynlige paa Sprogø. København 1839. (DKTR 

Nr. 113.) 

Nov. 3, A.-- 

"Malles Friere, Vaudeville monolog i 1 Act." 

"af Edvard Meyer" (EA) 

Nov. 3, A.-- 

"Recentsen og Dyret, Vaudeville i 1 Act af Heiberg." (See Feb. 23.) 

Nov. 5, A.-- 

"Den Usynlige Hans, Operette i i Act af Costinoble, Musikken af Eule." 

Dec. 4, A.-- 

"Djævelens Memoirer, Skuespil i 3 Acter af Etienne Arago og Paul Vermond." 

1845-- None. 

1846-- None. 

"Djævelens Memoirer," Drama i tre Acter af Etienne Arago og Paul Vermond. 

MS Nr. 301 in the university library, Oslo. 

"Les mémoires du diable," overs. av N. A. Colban. (CTR.) 

1847-- Chr. L. Hansen Company (Den Bergenske Skuespillerselskab) 

May 9, K.; May 24, A.-- 

"Indkvarteringen, Lystspil i een Act." 

462

Henrik Hertz. Indqvarteringen, Lystspil i 1 Act. København 1841. 

May 9, K.; June 15, A.-- 

"Postillonen i Lonjumeau." 

De Leuven [i.e., Adolph, Grev Ribbing] og Brunswick [i.e., Léon Lheric]. 

Postillonen i Lonjumeau. Oversat af Th[om.] Overskou. København 1837. 

May 9, K.; May 26, A.-- 

"Adolph og Henriette, Vaudeville i een Akt ved A.L. Arnesen." 

Adolph og Henriette. Dramatisk Spøg i 1 Act, efter den franske Vaudeville 

"Indiana et Charlemagne," (av Dumanoir and Bayard, oversat) ved A. L. Arnesen. 

MS Nr. 338 in the University Library, Oslo. 

May 11, K.; June 15, A.-- 

"Kong Renes Datter, lyrisk Drama i een Act af H. Hertz." 

Hertz, Henr. Kong Rene's datter: lyrisk Drama. København 1843. 

May 11, K.-- 

"Jovial eller Underfogden som Poet." 

Théaulon (i.e., de Lambert, Marie Emanuel Guillaume Marguérite) and (Adolphe) 

Choquart. (Original title: "M. Jovial, ou: L'Huissier Chansonnier.") (CTR.) 

May 12, K.; May 24, A.-- 

"Don Cæsar de Bazan, Drama i 5 Acter af Dumanoir and Dennery." 

Lystsp. i 5 a. av Dumanoir og Dennery. "Don César de Bazan," overs. av N. C. L. 

Abrahams. København 1846. 

May 16, K.; June 9, A.-- 

"Regimentets Datter, Opera i 2 Akter af Saint Georges og Bayard; Musiken af 

Donizetti, oversat af Th. Overskou." 

Saint-Georges, de [i.e., Jules Henri de Vernoy], og [Jean Francoise Albert] 

Bayard. Regimentets Datter. Oversat af Th[om.] Overskou. København 1840. 

(DKTR Nr. 122.) 

463

May 19, K.-- 

"Ulla skal paa Bal, en Bellmansk Situation af Heiberg." (København 1845.) 

Heiberg, (J. L.). Ulla skal paa Bal. København 1845. 

May 19, K.-- 

"Tordenskiold, original Vaudeville i 1 Akt af H.Ø. Blom." 

Tordenskiold. Vaudeville i een Act, af H. Ø. Blom. MS Nr. 324, university 

library, Oslo. 

May 19, K.; May 26, 30, June 13, A.-- 

"Intriguerne, Vaudeville i 1 Akt af Forfatteren til ‘Gjenboerne'". 

Hostrup, Christian. Intrigerne. Vaudeville. København 1846. 

May 30, A.-- 

"Jeannette og Jeannetton, Comedie i 2 Acter af Scribe." 

Jeannette og Jeannetton. Lystsp. i 2 A. af. av Scribe og Varner, overs. (av G. E. 

Schjelderup). København 1850. 

June 1, A.-- 

"Don Juan eller Steengjæstebudet, Comedie i 5 Acter af Moliere: paany oversat af 

Th. Overskou." 

Kom. i 5 a. av Moliere. Don Juan, ou: Le Festin de Pierre, overs. av Overskou. 

(København 1844.) 

June 6, A.-- 

"En Herre og en Dame, Vaudeville i 1 Act." 

vaud. i 1 a. av Xavier, Duvert og Lauzanne. "Un Monsieur et une Dame." (CTR) 

June 6, A.-- 

"Den Reisende Student, Vaudeville i 2 Acter." 

464

(CTR) 

vaud. i 2 a. av Schneider. "Der Reisende Student, oder: Das Donnerwetter." 

June 13, A.-- 

"Napoleon paa St. Helena, historisk Drama i 3 Acter af Duperty og Regnier." 

Napoleon. Historisk drama i to Dele. Oversat og omarbeidet af Thom. Overskou 

efter Désiré Charles Dupeuty og Francois Joseph Regnier de la Brière. Udg. av 

Ferd Printzlau. København 1832. 

June 15, A.-- 

"Kjærlighedsdrømme eller Søvngjængersken, Vaudeville i 2 Acter, efter `La 

Somnambula" ved J. L. Heiberg." 

Kjærligheds Drømme. Vaudeville, oversat efter La Somnambule, af E. Scribe og 

G[ermain] Delavigne, og indrettet for den danske Skueplads ved Joh. Ludv. 

Heiberg. Udgiven af Ferdinand Printzlau. København 1827. 

1848-- Hans Sørensen Company (Den Bergenske Skuespillerselskab). 

Aug. 26, A.; Sept. 8, K.-- 

"Genboerne." 

Hostrup, Christian. Genboerne. Vaudeville-Komedie. København 1847. 

Aug. 27, A.-- 

"Pak, Lystsp. i 5 Acter af Overskou." 

Overskou, Thomas. Pak! Lystspil i 5 Acter. København 1845. 

Aug. 30, A.-- 

"Babiole og Joblet, Lystspil i 2 Acter." 

Aug. 30, A.-- 

Scribe, Eugene and Xavier. Babiole og Joblet, Lystspil i 2 Acter, overs. af 

Overskou. In Th. Overskous Selskabstheatret. En Skuespilsaml. m. Anviisning 

til Udførelsen. (København) 1847. 

465

"En Sondag paa Amager, Vaudeville i 1 Act av et Anonym." 

Heiberg, Johanne Luise. En Søndag paa Amager. Vaudeville. København 1848. 

Sept. 3, A.; Sept. 11, K.-- 

"En Pariserinde, Lystspild i 2 Acter efter det fransk." 

"En Pariserinde. Lystsp. i 2 a. av Emile Souvestre." 

Sept. 3, A.-- 

"List og Phlegma, Vaudeville i 2 Act af Angely." (See Oct. 31, 1844.) 

Sept. 11, K.-- 

"Salonen eller Intrigen i Kræmmerhuset, original norsk Vaudeville i 1 Act af Rolf 

Olsen." 

1849 -- None. 

1850 -- None. 

Olsen, Rolf. Salonen eller Intrigen i Kræmmerhuset. Vaudeville i een Act. Chra. 

1848. 

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS: 

CTR = Christiania Theaters Repertoire, 1827-99. Øyvind Anker. Oslo: Gyldendal, 

1956. 

DKTR = Det Kongelige Theaters Repertoire, København 1828 ff. 

EA= Teater i Norge . . . . Eli Ansteinsson. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1968. 

466

VI. Jørgen Moe. "Indledning." Samling af Sange, Folkeviser og Stev. 

Norske Almuedialekter. Christiania: P. T. Mallings Forlag, 1840. 

Some of what is written in the following essay will not be easily understood by 

English-speaking readers, since it has to do with styles of verse and folk poetry 

unfamiliar outside of Norway. All the same, it has seemed worthwhile to include the 

essay because of its intrinsic interest, and because its ideas appear to have influenced 

Ibsen in the composition of some of the poems he wrote in 1849-50. He planned to 

produce a series of folk songs at the time, but the only one of this series which 

survives is “Møllergutten” (“The Miller Boy”), whose verses are actually lyrics. They 

were to be set to the melody of a folk song, “Aa kjøre vatn aa kjøre ved” (“If you go 

into the water you will get wet”). See H[ans] Eitrem, “Henrik Ibsen—Henrik 

Wergeland,” Maal og Minne (Kristiania) 1910, 38-9. 

The author of this essay was later to be the partner of Asbjørnsen in a large project of 

collecting Norwegian folk tales: Peter Christen Asbjørnsen og Jørgen Moe. Norske 

folkeeventyr. 2 nd ed. Christiania: J. Dahl, 1852. 

If one assumes that the main requirement of a country's serious literature is that 

it should reflect, in pure, refined images, the life of the people as it has existed as a 

result of physical and historical conditions, it will hardly occur to anyone to deny that 

what we call Norwegian poetry stands very low. Nor will anyone grope for long after 

the reason: at the time "the lion was tamed by a poodle," it was natural that the 

Norwegian Pegasus, displaced onto the Danish plains and mauled by German and 

French, forgot its ancient flight from mountaintop to mountaintop. After the 

separation from Denmark the political element consumed all the energy, and none of 

that period's poetry-writing Northmen towered so much above his time that, liberated 

from this one-sided struggle, he was able to lose himself in and express the home-and- 

heart-life of the people,--except for just one, our splendid Maurits Hansen. But one 

swallow--even a swallow with such a melodious breast--does not make a summer, and 

the present subject therefore involves the unusual circumstance that our "art" poetry as 

467

a whole is rather separate from, is indeed purely alien to our "folk" poetry, such as it 

manifests itself, principally in stories and legends, but also in individual metric, lyric- 

epic forms. Still, however artificial and refined a country's literature may be, even so, 

if it is genuine, it has always preserved a fundamental tone in its folk poetry;--among 

us everyone sounds his own tone, and where the sounds unite, it has often been as 

disharmony. 

Even less than the life of the people, which so far has had one poet, has our 

mountain scenery found a person who was open to it and also possessed of a mind, 

who was able to liberate its poetry from fossilization, in which it lies spellbound. In 

this respect--I know it is a frightful heresy, but it must here come out!--I have a rash 

hope for Mr. Welhaven, a hope several of his poems have not alone for me awakened, 

but for me still only partly satisfied. 

For all those who acknowledge this defect of our "art" poetry--certainly the 

worst it can have--every means to alleviate the same must be of the utmost importance, 

and as long as there do not appear some, or even just one poetic spirit with the superior 

ability, that by its own power it can immerse itself in the life of the people and there 

liberate and resurrect with itself the abundance of poetry it possesses, so long must the 

present means be sought, of reaching poetic persons with folk poems, in order that the 

breath of these (which in truth can be compared with the awakening and enlivening 

spring wind) can stimulate them to productions written in the people's spirit, or to 

receptivity to the same. 

Of course, I do not by any means want to have the designation "poetic person" 

taken in the narrowest sense of those--God knows how many--poet-names that, all 

468

things considered, we could thereby obtain; I refer here equally to the brilliant readers, 

whose awakening to love the patriotic element in our self-developing literature is just 

as necessary, inasmuch as it is certain that the poet, gently lifted and carried on his 

public's love, is able to attain the highest. As far as the poems themselves are 

concerned, it is naturally not really the intention to present subject matter (Stof) in the 

folk poetry,--we have enough of that, for the time being we have too much; I consider 

the worth and meaning of these, as I suggested, to be only in the inspiration and 

liveliness they carry in themselves. To be sure I judge those popular prose poems, 

legends, and especially folktales appearing abundantly among us far higher in this 

respect than the only thinly appearing versified forms, because the former (i.e., in 

prose), which to a great extent are Filosofemer (?) have a quite different profundity, 

and because they are lighter in a technical sense, they far more purely and more 

definitely express their idea, while the latter (i.e., versified) lie bound in the form's far 

from inflexible and perfectly developed organism; but nevertheless these latter also 

without a doubt fully deserve attention, and that the moreso as they are more rare. 

They have besides something that must and will secure them access to eye and ear-- 

their melodies, these often so boundlessly delightful tones, whereby our mountain 

valleys' desires and pains dissolve and die. 

This is partly the meaning (betydningen) which has led to the publication of 

this collection; still, it can be considered from another perspective, from that of the 

language. Indeed, as far as that goes, the dialects--with which I do not have familiarity 

enough to be able to judge--are reliable, yielding examples, remnants of which our 

valley district still preserves of our glorious old Norse speech, and how these now 

469

form themselves--a contribution which could be interesting not alone for our age's 

researchers, but also for everyone else who intends to use our language as a means of 

public communication. Indeed, I in no way want to have Dolgsmaal (?) laid on my 

conviction that it is the one correct thing that our writers fetch from the gold mines of 

the common language, that they need and that they could profitably use; these mines 

contain ores which have a clear and strong sound for melodies precisely for what 

Norwegians have to say and sing. That criticism and taste must be applied here, 

however, is something which goes without saying. Moreover it is certainly the same, 

whether this conviction is concealed or expressed, it will even so in time manifest 

itself! 

This about the book in general. About its first part especially there is nothing 

much to say. What there is of it is good, for example the delightful Stockfleth-esque 

"Heimatkomt" ("Homecoming") and much of Storm, needs no recommendation, and 

of what is possibly less good it would even be wasted. Often the melody recommends 

the less remarkable text. But there could be a word to say about the poems in the 

second part of the book. These are authentic folk-poems, and insofar as they are well- 

chosen, they bear the inner mark thereof. But the artlessness in the form, which is to 

that extent remarkable, combines indeed the bold and certainly the typical, the 

genuine, the true and the proficient, which surprisingly meet us in all folk poetry. But 

do not ask here about the author; with every poem one receives only one answer: the 

people; since it is written not to win a name, but delight (Luft)--it is the profuse life, 

which must liberate itself, that is the source, that which fights its way up into the 

daylight. What Heine has adduced about the German peasant's improvisations: 

470

Wer hat das schone Liedel erdacht? 

Es habens drei Gans ubers Wasser gebracht, 

Zwei graue und eine weife, 

(Who has made this beautiful song?" 

Three geese have brought it over the water, 

Two gray and one white,) 

is said in Norwegian about these folk-poems: 

Aa denna Visa har gjort sei sjøl: 

Hu kom naa flytanes paa et Fjøl. 

(This ballad has been made by the soul itself: 

She comes now floating over a mountain.) 

But precisely because it is inclination and not conscious purpose to which these 

poems owe their existence, they have accordingly something to give, and they give it 

with truth. As improvisations they must necessarily be understood in connection with 

their melodies, and as such they have an often miraculous power. As an example I 

will mention the deep, intimately lamenting: "Ifjør jet e Jeiten." In contrast to this the 

baroque-comic "Han Mas aa'n Lasse" constitutes an example. In the background of 

this baroque-comic mood, where everything romps joyfully together, there remains in 

addition, often in the text, but almost always in the melody, a painful, subdued tone, 

which I do not know how to compare with anything better than with the miraculously 

vibrating and trembling lower string on the bottom of the Hardanger fiddle, when it is 

scraped in a charming Halling-dance, with short bold strokes. This painful trembling, 

this hidden zithering restlessness in the midst of the noisy, joyful, enthusiastic 

happiness I believe is distinctively Norwegian, a sound from our mountain scenery 

471

itself, and I suggest it is not at all accidental that our folk-virtuosos' instrument is 

constructed in just that way. Through others (i.e., other poems) there goes a gentle 

romantic tone, for example through "Rabnabryllup i Kraakalund," which has the 

intimacy of a children's fairy-tale, and the especially pretty erotic situation: "Je seer 

dei ut for Gluggen" ("I see you through the peephole"). 

--But it is especially the verses (Stevene), which by their distinctive method of 

coming into being and use, perhaps even more than by their contents, have claims on 

the attention. The verses, named after stef, i.e., a kind of reflective, continually 

backward-looking refrain in the old skalds' strophes--are indeed to be regarded as a 

remnant of the improvisation through which the ancestors easily and energetically 

discharged their lively hearts. To "make stev" (i.e., to carry on a (dialogue) contest in 

the improvisation of "stev") is a social entertainment; it is very common in several 

mountain parishes, as far as I know, especially in the southwestern part of the 

country; 11 it consists of a song-competition, which is opened by a singer in the crowd 

(prepared), as with a provocative glance and tone he sings one of the usually stock 

challenging forms, like 

"Stevjast mæ me, kan de lite nytte; 

Men e ska laane de Krok aa Lykke, 

Aa e ska laane de Lykkje aa Krok 

Aa hægt saa Kjæften din vel ihop!" 

(To make stev" with me, will do you little good; 

But I shall loan you a hook for luck, 

Oh I shall loan you a ribbon with the hook 

11 The honourable pastor A[ndreas] Faye, who indeed has had the goodness to communicate to the publisher 

most of the included stev as well as my hint about their use, etc., mentions especially Sætersdal as their true 

home; yet it occurs to me that the ones from there which are presented in this collection are among the most 

mediocre both in subject and form. 

472

To fasten your mouth together!) 

The one who takes up the challenge, answers for example: 

Aa e ska ta dine Or paatværke, 

Saa dine Kjakabein, dei ska værke, 

Aa e ska ta dine Or paa Sne, 

Saa Nasetippen ska hænge ne! 

(Oh I shall twist your ear crosswise, 

So your jawbone, will pain you, 

Oh I shall twist your ear askew, 

So the tip of your nose will hang down!) 

I have taken pains to choose a pair of the most grandiose-arrogant suggestive 

verses (Intimationsvers), in order to show that in this piece our folk-singers in their 

controversies are not inferior to our educated poets; but should someone believe all the 

same that they must yield, I do not know how to rescue them in any other way than by 

calling attention to the lively mood in their boasting; that will most likely restore the 

balance again. 

Accordingly, when the battle is opened, they attack each other with stev of 

varied contents, until one is silenced and thereby conquered. However, one must not 

imagine the whole as improvisation; the true Steverne are armed for battle with a 

whole pile of memorized stev, among which, during the struggle, they have only to 

choose, or from which they choose and later accommodate what is chosen in its 

details; since the one's stev always constitutes a supplementing or responding link to 

the other's preceding. Only when the combatants flare right up in anger, is everything 

improvised between them, and these momentary inspirations (Tankefugle, i.e., 

473

"thought-birds") usually have both beak and claws. In a second sense, namely in its 

origins, however, the whole battle's series of stev is naturally, like all folk-poetry, 

improvisation; not only by the Stever but also from the crowd. Accordingly the 

custom that the Steverne have inherited from the old skalds, that they assiduously wet 

the throat, so the song will not sound hoarse; but this is the only pause which dares 

find a place, as long as the battle lasts. 

From this brief discussion of the origin and use of the stev, one should expect a 

more pointed and less intricate subject matter than that here communicated allows one 

to conclude. But partly one must remember that a large part are written in another 

time, and partly reveal these children of nature in the midst of the listening crowd, free 

and unhindered, (expressing) what moves them then and there. On the girls' lips 

especially therefore these small poems often overflow with a warmth of feeling and an 

unmistakable sincerity; one can easily feel that here especially, as in other places, is 

love's pleasure and pain, which brings the warm blood to rise and the song to emit a 

fragrance. The prettiest of those here presented, those from Telemark, are almost all 

serious, and with all their simplicity, many still have something which finds a way to 

the heart. If the mind is to comprehend these poems, however, it must liberate itself 

from the effort of reading modern refined poetry as a path to perceiving a hidden 

meaning underneath their naive and unsophisticated expression; of such a betrayal--if I 

may so call it--these small poems, in their innocence, know nothing. As an example I 

shall mention the stev: "Ja Kjærlikheta, ho kan bedrøve" ("Yes Love, how it can 

grieve"). In several of the gay and joyful expressions there is a good-natured teasing; 

something could even be fine in suggestions for example "Om alle Guter sto i ei Line" 

474

("If all the boys stood in a line"); but all of this kind have that true, strong nature's 

priceless mood, replaceable by no substitute. 

In technical respects, one notices that all are formed according to the same 

pattern, because they are the same melody underneath; from this perhaps the name. 

The easily soluble iambic series for each of these are besides not otherwise notable, 

than that the last enjambment's variation or supplement of the thought in the first 

enjambment, which can be compared with similar in heroic ballads, bears witness to 

the poems' origin by improvisation, and furthermore what is more essential, that in the 

most highly imperfect rhyme the vocal sounds' resonance is sought with surprising 

accuracy and found with certainty. Should this signify that poetry with assonances 

will be able to find acceptance among our people? 

With these introductory comments the book is delivered to readers of good 

will. Its poetry and melodies sound around Mangen's bow, soothing him in his first 

slumber and blending themselves in his gentlest dream; his childhood memories will 

better and more prettily tell their tale. 

475

VII. Translations of the Poems Ibsen Wrote in Grimstad. 

The order in which the poems are reproduced follows that in vol. 14 of Henrik Ibsens 

Samlede Værker. Ved Francis Bull, Halvdan Koht, Didrik Arup Seip. Oslo: 

Gyldendal, 1937, 43-87. 

These are literal prose translations, lacking the meter and rhyme of the originals, both of 

which are at times quite complex. Ibsen’s early poems are in general well crafted and 

carefully done, although they depend on trite poetic conventions. 

RESIGNATION (1847) 

Are you glimmers from the dark of the soul, 

That broke through the dense darkness, 

And that sparkle like a lightning flash, 

Born merely to be forgotten forever? 

Were all my yearnings futile, 

Was my dream just a phantom, 

Is the soul's ascent denied me, 

Was my poetry cold and empty! 

Be silent, then, you undertones! 

If I cannot understand you, 

Let me among millions 

Live forgotten and forgotten die! 

POEMS FROM 1848 

BY THE SEA 

Foaming wave with battle-loving mind! Who is able to follow you? Where are you 

heading now? Who is able to restrain your stormy rush? Who to tame you, to hold you 

fast! 

Like a youth in wild tumultuous brawl, your desire was always to play against the cliff. 

Yet in the midst of your struggle, in the midst of your anger, you beckon the little seaflower 

to your breast! 

476

The moment is fleeting; like your greatness! Your force has vanished, then you sink 

down! See, a grave awaits you in a break in the cliffs. Ha, wave! So ended your dream 

of achievement! 

Your lament merely blends with the breakers' song! What is left behind? Not even the 

memory! Because while in its heaven 12 your dreams preserve you, in the tumult of the 

waves you are long since forgotten! 

DOUBT AND HOPE 

What a night, so frightful, dark! A gale is blowing out there! Like the lion's roar in a 

desolate wilderness, hear the storm's breathing! Do you come from death's valley, you 

shadows yonder, you gray-shrouded spirits who walk like ghosts across a battlefield at 

night? 

These thunderous voices sound in this midnight hour like the darkness' wild victory song, 

like doomsday's bassoon! Many times I have scoffed at the terror of doomsday; the fruit 

this insult bore is wild despair now! 

Long, long ago, when I was a child, I made my evening prayer to God in heaven so 

happily for mother and father and siblings small: but that was over long ago, I have 

forgotten my prayer, I no longer seek consolation there, I am not disposed to piety! 

Tossing soul! do you tremble so at these thunderclaps? In the terror of this stormy night 

you believe you will see doomsday, that day that never will come, thus your words often 

ran; and it has been a long time since you believed in that God you are praying to! 

Demon, 13 are you awakened again? Depart from me, horrid tempter! Like the hurricane's 

wild chase it storms in my soul, and no guide, no path in this sea of doubt! God! I would 

give all worldly cunning for a childlike prayer to you! 

But I am a child no more, nor have a child's mind! I am blind to the path the innocent eye 

sees in faith! This night is terrifying, illuminated only by the lightning, and yet it is as 

bright as day compared to the darkness in my breast! 

Yet I shall not despair, but follow the heart's command: I shall cling to hope, to faith in 

my God! Let the hurricane's song howl, I slumber in peace; certain I shall awaken again 

reborn with childlike faith. 

12 i.e., the heaven of memory. 

13 i.e., the demon of doubt. 

477

THE GIANT OAK TREE 

In the farthest North stood a giant oak; its origins were in heathen times; its glorious 

crown rose towards heaven, and its roots struck deep into the earth. Its mighty boughs, its 

vigorous shoots spread from the North Pole to the Eider, 14 proudly shaded the land of the 

Swedes, and crowned the Western sea's 15 rocky shores! 

But the storms of time moved against the giant; they crushed its mighty trunk, and over 

that split, sunken Nor 16 they roared violently like a funeral song, and the East's 17 ravenous 

eagle looked across the blue Codan 18 with a covetous eye, while the German stretched his 

hand towards the prey, which lay, like one dying, unprotected! 

Yet the crushed (tree) bore sprouting shoots, the living spark grows easily into a flame! 

Youth remembers what the graybeard was, and is readily disposed to grow the same. 

Those separated soon seek their brother again, and extend their hand to him like a faithful 

friend; soon they shall be united, soon they shall fuse together, like the Northern Lights' 

flame in a winter night's sky! 


THE SPRING OF MEMORY 

A maiden sits in the evening hour, gazing into the waves in the stream, and yonder, down 

in the deep shallows the dark forests are reflected. 

She gazes and gazes with a melancholy smile just as if she longed for something; but the 

wave runs away in merry haste embraced by leafy banks. 

She sat this way often in innocent childhood, she saw an image on the bottom then: a 

youth who beckoned, smiling gently; long ago the sight disappeared. 

14 A river which today is in Germany, but which then was considered by the so-called “Eider Danes” to be 

the limit beyond which German expansion should not be allowed. 

15 The Atlantic Ocean. 

16 Goddess of the North. 

17 Russia’s. 

18 The Baltic Sea. 

478

Now she is grown, and yet how often she remembers her childhood days that never, never 

come again, nor do its sights return! 

Still she sits often by the spring's bank, her cheeks are stained with tears; the waves 

trickle slowly away, the evening breeze ripples them lightly. 

Then the moon casts a mysterious gleam this way from the vaulted arch; she gazes into 

the wave and thinks she still sees that image yonder! 

THE BALL OF THE DEAD 

Across the deserted churchyard the night has spread its wings; the dead slumber there so 

peacefully, a slumber not easily troubled; and mysteriously in the moon's radiance may be 

glimpsed the marble stone, which, adorned with sentimental wreaths, covers the bones of 

the dead. 

But the silence of yon grave is broken by midnight's hollow stroke; then, if you would 

only listen, you would hear a faint uproar, and while it approaches, it thunders more and 

more, and the stroller genuflects and shudders, although he sees nothing! 

Then the sunken graves are opened and every moss-covered stone, and forth from those 

low dwellings so silently the dead step out. Yet at every step they clapped their rotting 

knucklebones; but the gown, that white linen, it shone pure as the snow. 

They take hold of one another's hands, and gather as for a celebration; a lygtmand 19 burns 

like a lamp, every skeleton is a welcome guest, each seizes its neighbor's hand and dances 

so wildly in a ring; perhaps a prince's spirit leaps around with a beggar's! 

Don't think that musicians are lacking at such an excellent ball: a skeleton rattles his 

knuckles, a second might make ready to strike a skull like a drum; it resounds, like the 

last sigh from a breaking heart; see, that is the dead's music! 

They dance so merrily around and about the crumbled grave monuments; but the graves 

wait for them once more, only one hour are they granted, the ball they gave is ended; 

since the clock's stroke sounds hollowly, and deep in the peaceful grave they slumber 

until Judgement Day! 

19 “Corpse-man,” a figure from folklore. 

479

MEMORY OF LEAVE-TAKING 

(At O. Schulerud's departure.) 

When ways part and friends walk separated in the tumult of life, we gaze so gladly 

towards the bright blue heaven of memory. 

The memories of bygone days shine there like friendly little stars, time's veiling clouds 

are not able to dim that light so fair. 

Yet among those friendly little stars our eye searches so gladly for one; it twinkles in 

mournfully shimmering gleam and still is our most precious star! 

Its name is melancholy; since in leave-taking's hour we mention it, spoken seriously, yet 

gently from the blue background it illuminates each of our treasured memories of 

friendship! 

AUTUMN EVENING 

See, it is growing dark, the rain strikes pattering against the windowpane, mingling with 

the howling of the wind, while across the sky pass cloud-shapes, like spirits from death's 

silent kingdom; amid the rumble of distant thunder they come, they go, and disappear, 

like the memory of the newly beloved in a faithful maiden's breast. 

I sit close by the stove, gazing engrossed into the fire, which only half lights the room; but 

it is a world for me, where in the coals' dark fissures my dream's airy figures build 

themselves a fire-palace (the equal is not easy to find; since within its halls I can see 

maidenly fidelity!). 

Ah, what scenery is there! Is it then my childhood's vanished days, bound to my heart, 

which appear again here? Or (I wish it were so!) is the veil in front of that vague 

distance, in a wild confused haste, drawn fluttering aside, does Skulda 20 beckon with her 

gentle or ominous smile? 

Nevertheless, I am awakened from my dream to cold reality; the rain is still falling in a 

stream, my palace is toppled down. Oh, how sad it is and desolate, such a moment can 

give birth to dejection, can bring the heart, anxiously, really to feel what it lacks: 

company? No, that is of little profit for a mind disposed to dejection! 

20 One of the Norns (goddesses of fate) of Norse mythology.` 

480

I have my mistress, just like everyone else! But no earthly woman is she whom I call 

mine; only a dream-vision, projected by a longing unfulfilled, perhaps unattainable! 

(What if love's yearning died suffocated in the heart's prison, like her, only a beautiful 

idea!) 

You believe you will recognize an earthly maiden in my beloved's features, that I have 

fetched from earth what I adorned her with! That from one I borrowed the forehead rich 

in thoughts, and from another this sea of emotions in my mistress' eyes? No, oh no, not 

from earth did I take what I gave to her! 

Come, my heart's ideal! I want to daydream by your side, from your tender glance I want 

gently to seek cooling relief for the longing consuming me. That which sustains my 

dream, that which never dies out, will in silence burn only when I meet again on earth my 

dream's spiritual bride! 

THE SOUL'S GLIMPSE OF THE SUN 

Oh, how my breast storms! I have heard this voice, which I recognize from the land of 

dreams when, sleeping dully, I heard in the dawning night the waves whisper by the 

shore! 

I have seen the glance that my spiritual bride received in my poeticizing dream of love! 

Through the soul-depth guiding, like a hurricane over the earth, the trembling stream of 

my ideas! 

And that pain of longing that my soul's ideal kindled deep in my yearning breast, from 

being a burning, frenzied, all-consuming fire, became a flame, so peaceful and warm! 

My cloudy breast was illuminated by a spark, not like the summer's burning sun, when it 

casts a glow on us nearby, no, like the shine of the stars when they twinkle from the 

farthest pole! 

In my soul there was day; then I did not feel resentment, nor pain's poison-dipped sword; 

it was only for a second, but that fleeting moment was still more worthwhile than an 

eternity! 

Shall I be disappointed once more? Shall the visions flee and become merely phantoms 

again, when the storming roar of ecstasty’s intoxication sounds faint and dies wasting 

away? 

O, with the treasure of memory I shall fantasize on the sea of dreams throughout the 

future's night, until I descend wearily to seek my peace in the calm, cooling grave! 

481

MOONLIGHT CRUISE ON THE SEA 

The full moon shines; across the wide slumbering sea-flood the glistening, gentle stream 

of moonlight spreads softly, appearing magical, while everything is still; while the stars in 

the night sky bathe in the depths and the light sparkles from wave to wave; my vessel 

glides easily on the wave, it follows those beautiful rows of moonlight. 

Yonder in where the birch branches spread themselves, leaning out intimately over the 

sea, there I rested just now under leafy cover; there it is so silent, there I could die, there I 

could slumber beneath the peaceful grave mound, there could the wave sing in the stormy 

night, there could the spirits of the sea-depths weep, fill my abode with longing laments. 

Yet no, it is oppressively stifling by the shore! I must go out on the waves far from land. 

There the sea-wind wafts coolly on my forehead, there I will quench the fire of longing 

that gnaws my heart; there it is silent, there stretches the sea-plain, slumbering, deserted, 

there nobody follows me, except the dead, whose eyes sparkle so strangely in the waves. 

Do you believe perhaps there are stars that twinkle with tear-dimmed radiance down there 

in the depths? Do you see how they come, they vanish, they wink and whirl around 

wildly in the mysterious dance? There certainly I would feel at home, there I could 

extinguish every gnawing pain, quiet every torment that consumed me within! Yes, there 

it is splendid; there I could forget! 

MIDNIGHT MOOD 

Nocturnal mists drift across the riverbank, to sink into the soul gently engrossed in the 

peace of ideas; while the living sleep, an elfin army haunts yonder in the dark forests; the 

midnight hour is near. 

Here it is good to dream, here in the silent night, where your sore longings' poetry is being 

set to music: the notes the waves sing resound like spirits' play, down there the spruce 

forest's sigh hums accompanying chords. 

Here you can conjure up the vanished memories from the sea of the past, greet, like 

friends, the shadows of those who passed away, that ascend from the grave, to mingle so 

prettily the dim, darkening cloud of memories with the gleams of light that sparkle from 

hope's breaking dawn! 

482

Did not sounds echo in the night's calm from the mist yonder? Softly the waves trickle, 

the birds listen from a twig; in the forest, where the elves play, everything at once 

becomes hushed, between the old oaks the moon shines so bright. 

Do you hear the nøkken 21 sing down by the river's edge, there where the willow tree 

swings shading out over the water! There, concealed in that dark thicket, he plucks those 

golden strings, and the echo sounds gentle and long in the calm night. 

Nature is put in such a sad melancholy mood by the nøkken's lay; the dewdrop, just like a 

tear, glistens from every blade, enveloped in light clouds the moon shines so soft, 

lamenting notes twine themselves into the strange playing. 

When the daylight shines up here, the nøkken dwells in the river bottom, but when the 

moon in nocturnal hour ascends behind the spruce's top, you see him glide on the wave, 

singing so mournfully; O could the lament tremble high above the golden star! 

In the song is pious energy, that commands a sacred power: the goal you long for, though 

deepest in the future laid, will one day reconcile your bosom and raise you above the 

earth, then every melancholy note becomes a blissful chord! 

TO THE STAR 

(Dedicated to C. E.) 

Pale star! Send a sign from that eternal height! Shine with friendly blazing twinkle 

clearly before the eye of the soul! 

Shall your dim word-pictures 22 awaken only longing, then! Yet teach me to see clearly 

through the future's covering! 

Scatter doubt's black cloud from my sick heart, let a dawn of blessed certainty shine 

through the gloom; 

My prayer is foolhardy; dare I ask for certainty! Is a son of the earth able to raise himself 

from the earth? 

I shall be content with faith's gentle gleams; even if truth cannot be found here, I shall 

nourish hope; 

21 water sprite in the shape of a horse, man, etc. 

22 I.e., letters. 

483

When the heavenly light shines faintly from the distance, I shall be happy in the calm 

night, gazing towards my star. 

EVENING STROLL IN THE FOREST 

It is too bright, it is too bright where the moon shines down, my heart is so wracked by 

this night's peace; on every single flower, on every single leaf, stand pearldrops of the 

evening dew and tremble before my eye! 

It is too bright, it is too bright here by the spring's bank! Look! The wave glides much 

too quietly and the image of the star in the watery depth, it seems to me, is a griefenshrouded 

forget-me-not, one eye swathed in gray. 

In there, farthest towards the north, where the spruce tree stands so dark, deep in the 

mountain where the hulder lives (perhaps you call it a wilderness), there I have a favorite 

spot, thither I shall direct my step, there is my sacred kingdom! 

Do you see where the mountain's steep top is enveloped in clouds; an autumnn storm is 

brewing, already the night wind blows! O, lovely; as if by a breath of spirit I feel the 

storm roar around me to make me run through the night! 

Away, away, deep into the forest! O, still further on, until the soul becomes entirely a 

prey for this wild terror, until you almost believe the spirits of the night will follow your 

hasty track no matter how you hurry! 

Hush, here is the place;--calm now! Here amid the forest's bosom hear the owl screech,-do 

you hear? How splendid it sounded! It is a lively melody, do not let a note pass by 

your ear;--ah, how lovely! 

The spruce tree stands here black and tall by the tarn's dismal shore; while the storm 

rushes through the air see the mist's shadow-shroud, it drifts up, it drifts down and wraps 

now around the forest's top now over the black depths. 

The heart is so satisfied here, in the midst of the storm's tumult; here the face of nature 

itself is a mirror of my bosom, an image of what destiny gave: no rest in life, no rest in 

the grave, no rest in eternity! 

IN THE AUTUMN 

484

The singers of summer leave the forest; where their songs echoed from the branches, 

already the autumn wind's sighing song sound mournfully through the yellowing leaves. 

Here, where the flowering tapestry so richly adorned the fragrant, light green meadows, 

summer’s departure trembles in withered straw, as from strings--a lamenting poem! 

Lily! why did you leave behind your curved stem leafless,--where did you flee away? 

You will be born in the spring again, following summer's friendly angel! Rose, with 

pleasure's sweet-toned speech whispering through your calyx so fair, your thorny memory 

remains behind,--cruel,--but I love you still! 

Many a seed from the spring orchard we saw ripening to become fruit; but so many plans 

lie handsomely covered by the grave of crushed expectations. Summer! too soon you 

flew towards the south, hope’s existence was quickly over,--and the mourner has no 

blossom to decorate piously that sacred mound! 

Yes, among the graves there still remains one flower in its fairest splendor, the autumn 

wind has not yet brought it death. O, why should the heart complain any longer! Its 

name is memory,--look, it still induces the hope of paralyzing slumber to wake; weave it 

into a garland around the covering of the past, comfortingly it will promise a spring! 

SPRING'S MEMORY 

(Set to music by C. Due.) 

There is in life 

Given to you by God 

A springlike moment, 

When happy dreams 

Stream through you 

From the soul's depths 

And charmed away is 

Every misty veil 

From what you perceived 

Half-dimly before. 

A hope's summer 

With fair flowers 

From the heavens passes 

Beyond your inner being; 

How bright they sparkle, 

Like little stars; 

485

While life's riddles 

Seem to you solved, 

A springtime reigns 

Gently in your breast! 

Ah, soon it vanishes! 

Then a mournful sound 

From the heartstrings 

Gentle and long 

Kindly reminds you 

About the spring's delight, 

Those melody-streams 

Are echoes 

Of flower-dreams 

And spring-song! 

TO HUNGARY! 

The battle no longer thunders hollowly from the land of the Magyars! From the 

battlefield muffled sighs mingled with a lament for the dead to bring through the night's 

calm the sad and muted message: the Magyar is no more, his last great struggle is fought! 

Freedom's heroic band succumbed before the barbarians' wild hordes, on the ruins tyranny 

stands again as freedom's murderer. Rejoice ye, purple-bedecked monarchs! Once again 

violence celebrated its triumph,--freedom's flame is vanquished anew! 

Wretched land! O, your sons' best heart's blood is poured, yet, those noble fallen heroes 

have won a martyr's crown. See, you gird Europe's hope with your brave champions' 

corpses; soon perhaps that doomed land becomes another Poland! 

Yet, beyond the night of thralldom will beam a glorious sunrise, then will your heroes of 

freedom rise from the dead, to join with them who fell fighting by Weichsel's banks and 

with those who are wet with blood-stains from the soil of the scaffold Germany! 

Yes, when those young kinsmen rising bravely leap against the throne like an autumn 

hurricane and topple the foundations of tyranny's pillars, then shall the name of the 

Magyars be called proudly by their heroes, to thunder like a beautiful battle-cry from 

those victorious ranks! 

486

AWAKE, SCANDINAVIANS! 

An Appeal to Norwegian and Swedish Brotherhood 

1849 

Hush, do you hear yon thunderclap from the south? Hollowly the boom rolls over 

Kattegat; there are two hostile powers wrestling, which spreads a night over Denmark! 

A night, so frightful and so teeming with blood, just now when the young shoots of the 

freedom-tree display tender springlike flower buds, but the peace is lacking to open them. 

Yonder stand German bullies in order to steal a part of Denmark's soil with armed hand; a 

soil, so sacred for the Northmen's race! 

Up, brothers, up--we dare no longer hesitate,--thus Norden's brother-spirit commands us, 

that unites Norwegian and Swede and Dane together! 

Already a long time lay a yearning in our breast,--the Danish brothers flew towards our 

soul, when they resolved with warm enthusiasm to bleed for Norden's great common 

cause. 

But if we stand silent, if we seize no sword, if we put up no brave front against the 

German mob, then we are not worthy of our ancestors, nor of our brothers on the Danish 

beaches. 

If we entrench ourselves among our mountains, if we believe ourselves secure in the 

shelter of the cliff, O, would that the belief might not all too soon give way. 

But do not forget, Northmen, the eagle who with might extends his talons,--remember it 

is not far away:--what if it had sighted the quarry already? 

Is not Schleswig then a sacred realm, a common possession for the whole of Norden, a 

barrier against Germanism's penetration, but what if now this barricade is being lost? 

What if the Eider stream moistens German banks, while Nordic spirit and language are 

driven out, what if the people then in the German's power mourn their Denmark, their 

dear lost mother? 

What if Denmark's lament carries hither on the wind and forces its way to our hearts' 

depth while the stormcloud threatens from the distance: 

Do you stand then with shame's dim glow on your cheek, you, who were given the power 

and who did not seize the sword in order to defend Norden's right! 

487

Shall Schleswig for the Danish people become identified as what Finland is for Sweden's 

sons, a land for which bitter tears tremble heavily in the eye of the silent spokesman of 

sorrow. 

Shall Schleswig be dedicated to German plunder, shall the child be torn violently from its 

mother? No, brothers, no, there is a sacred law in the depths of the soul, it says: Rescue 

your brother! 

It says: help, what Nature long bound with noble firm bonds tight to the heart; woe, woe 

to you, if you fail in the hour of danger! 

Skulda reads your saga strictly and plainly, she requires action for what nourished you 

within and not merely resounding floods of words. 

Shall Norway stain with a faithless deed its young freedom's bright sunrise? Say, who 

planted in the people's breast the advice to sit peacefully while the Danes bleed. 

Was it those men whom the people elected, to stand guard over their honor in the Thing? 

Why did you not follow honor's noble command, why did you call dishonor upon 

yourselves? 

Was the choice doubtful when it stood to you to follow the voice of brotherly love. Say, 

did you not hear the people's cry? 

Already the German advanced closer and closer and yet you could forget those in distress 

who still placed in us a confident hope. 

Say, Swedish brothers, say why you tarry? Why do you not hurry across the sound's 

waves? You hold the Danes as dear as we, you love Zealand with its bright forests. 

Say, does not the tumult oppress your soul when you look across the sound towards 

Denmark, is not the German's victory cry an awful arrogant insult, you are inclined 

willingly to subdue? 

Ha! is it true, what is whispered about, that you stare back with fright towards the east, 

are Sweden's sons then the barbarians' slaves? 

No, no, you fear no foreign judgment; each saga's page from bygone days nobly witnesses 

what is related there. 

And if only a single band departs for there (Schleswig) from Sweden's coasts and from 

Norway's mountains, what use is that? A distant future will before its strict tribunal 

condemn the people. 

488

When the earth has long, long covered us those who come after with shame will confess: 

"We descend from a degenerate race," and will hurry to turn the page of our saga. 

Do the people then live only for the present? Is the memory of the past not a friendly 

flower with which we adorn many of the present moment's flaws. 

Soon "Nordic allegiance" becomes in our mouths bitter ridicule or empty platitudes and 

later generations (will) lack the comfort of memory. 

Shall brotherly love become hate? Shall brother blush shamefaced at brother? Shall we 

no more as before gather happily, no more in harmony enjoy the benefits of peace? 

What the veil of the future conceals, lies yet in darkness,--but soon the veil will crack;-what 

then if faithlessness towards our friend, towards Denmark, were our last action as a 

people! 

Ha, what will inspire us to the last battle, how, indeed, should we summon courage and 

strength when the people's honor lies in its grave? 

O, woe to us that we did not hurry there,--where warm brother-hearts burned despite 

Norway's cold, despite its mountain and sea! 

You, Oskar! were already for a long time Norden's hope, towards you we sent trusting 

glances. Do not be deaf to the cries of three nations, who from your lips await the royal 

order! 

Your pledge, Oskar! is a sacred debt, by you could Denmark's movement yet be won. 

Lead us, bold King! to Norden's advantage, there is only one way in which it still can be 

found. 

Why do you not call the nation's men to council, you, King! They (will) follow as soon 

as you call, because the sparks of the past still glow in the North! 

There is still time,--still by quick action the noble Denmark could be saved before it falls 

with trust disappointed in a--king's word! 

Command the nation to awake, command it to follow you before its spirit is bound in 

chains of lethargy, lead it in the way of honor and duty before everything is lost 

nevermore to be won. 

Then before your throne's foot two brother peoples whom you awoke to battle will kneel 

thankfully, and Norden's honor, Denmark's saved blood are the reward for the help you 

brought the Danes. 

489

Then, King! you (will) spread in newborn radiance an ancient honor over Norden's realms 

and the people exultantly (will) shout your name; while brothers sink happily in brother's 

embrace and decorate the double crown with a wreath of love and faith which never fail. 

But if hope is disappointed, if it was only an illusion, if Denmark is left without help in 

distress, Norway and Sweden will have betrayed Norden's cause, while for it many Danes 

met the heroes' death. 

Then hear a Norwegian's word you Danish men: let not the whole innocent people suffer; 

know, many of us gladly girded their loins with the sword in order to battle by your side. 

Among Norway's mountains many bosoms bleed, so many hearts blaze for you there and 

never, never dies the flame of brotherhood. 

Only the misery the hate's seed scatters out wakens dullness' foolish indignation, while it 

threatens the nation with imagined danger! (?) 

Yet one day,--you noble sons of Norway, you brave Swedish brothers! You awake! Hear 

yet the battle's tumult from Denmark thunder, soon the page is turned back in destiny's 

book. 

Remember Schleswig was from distant bygone days a fair branch of Norden's giant oak 

tree,--soon perhaps (there will) remain of Denmark only its honor as a tall stone 

monument of the past. 

Remember posterity will judge our conduct, let us not forget the heart's high command, 

nor break Norden's noble bond of brotherhood; 

Therefore work bravely by word, by writing, by sword, obey the voice of honor, of duty, 

and of reason, extend to the brother-people a loving brother's hand! 


TO THE POETS OF NORWAY 

Poets, why do you daydream for the distant past, for entombed age with its crumbling 

memories, a picture as feeble as the light that rises at dawn from a cloud-veiled star?--Is 

not the spark which you possess merely a gift bestowed on you to use for the people, who 

demand that the skald's inspired voice interpret its sorrow, its delight and its longing? 

490

You sang so often about "the towering mountain," where the spruce forest grows and the 

glacier has a home, but visions and dreams that storm majestically in your brothers' 

hearts,--those you could forget! Why do you not listen to the rushing, which trembles 

richly from the soul before it grows calm? Why do you not weave the visions into a 

poem, why do you not form the sounds into chords? 

Beautiful shapes beckon here-and-now, you know,--from the valley, from the mountain, 

from winter and summer. Do you not see the treasure so brilliantly sparkling,--a poetry of 

folk life with delightful flowers! Those fleeting images demand a life in descriptive 

poems, symbols of experience, they lack only the skald's inspiring: "Come into being!" to 

be dressed magnificently in the poem's draperies! 

MEMORIES OF A BALL 

A fragment of life in poetry and prose 

Prologue: 

To Stella! 

At your foot I lay down 

A bouquet of fresh flowers, 

Grown last summer 

From memory's herb-bed; 

You do not find 

There "love's memory," 

Centifoler 

And violets, 

Or the rich luxuriance 

That comes with springtime's sun. 

--Stella! The blossoms I give 

Are only melancholy bunches 

Of faded autumnal asters 

Sprouted fragrantly from a grave! 

1. 

As a comforter through life 

The angel of memory is given to us; 

491

From your childhood's fair spring 

He walks cheerfully by your side, 

Humming gently the songs of the past, 

Weaving beautiful 

Evergreen 

Memory-wreaths in your hair. 

The Spring disappears, still you have 

A memory-flower left over,-- 

Yes, each page in life's book 

Is written full of lovely memories, 

And when down the stream of time 

You again leaf through them 

The memories stand in rows 

Like shapes from a dream, 

Familiar, 

Heaven-sent, 

Just like the beautiful flowers of Spring, 

When your heart's Winter comes.-- 

Yes, from each of your life's moments 

Gently trembles an after-echo 

Sometimes short and sometimes long 

Through the strings of memory's harp; 

Yet among all the past's days, 

If you call them back, 

No moment so rich in memories 

As a gay ball you find! 

Perhaps it sounds a little strange, 

Besides a little unpoetic,-- 

For an ear, finely aesthetic 

It was perhaps more precious 

In the ballroom that night to hear 

Something "lovelier" and "greater," 

Just as if the lighted hall, 

Festively decorated for a ball, 

Where a charming flock of coquettes 

Hurls the glance's fireworks 

While the music strikes up,-- 

Were without poetry! 

Still, it is not such memories, 

Which appear before the soul's eye, 

There is sincerity also, 

Not merriment alone, 

492

23 The Greek muse of dancing and choral song. 

The ball's pleasant scene presents 

All its lovely enchantments! 

While every face expresses delight, 

Many in the heat of fever, 

Under passion's struggle 

Throw themselves into the waltz's wild 

Whirl to quiet their torment 

Even if only for a short time; 

Many breasts,--yet no, I will 

No longer coldly paint 

This terrible wild game 

In those rapture-filled halls, 

Even to make a pilgrimage there oneself 

To see you around in the scenery, 

Consecrated like Terpsichore! 23 

What a sea of light billows forth 

From those long rows of windows 

With a radiance that teases the darkness 

There on the street under them, 

There where the many uninvited 

Leaned up against the door, 

Gazing longingly towards the hall 

And its splendor behind the frame, 

Yet what a picture of life, 

One of the two is given to you, 

Either you go like a guest 

Invited to life's feast, 

Or, like a spectator 

Shivered-through by the night's wind, 

You gaze in from the street 

Towards those shining windows! 

But what a crowd in there! 

Like stars from a winter sky, 

Or as clear as crystal 

Glitter candles without number, 

While in an intricate flow 

Groups rising and groups descending 

Floating with graceful steps 

Smile courteously to one another. 

See, how far your glance reaches, 

Pure beauty you have before your eyes; 

493

Still my friend, look not too closely, 

Since with flower-trimmed hair 

And in these white costumes 

Even a virgin of thirty years 

Becomes in the ball a sylph! 

Roses, roses everywhere! 

Roses even painted on the cheek! 

White arms, 

Lily-white bosoms 

With their alabaster sheen 

Here with lacework splendor heightened; 

Here a reddish bosom is 

Concealed from the eye with ornaments 

See the little one over there 

Scarcely ventures to send a glance 

Towards the swarm of young gentlemen, 

Who with chapaubas 24 in arm, 

Each his lady warmly holds, 

Yet give time,--she quickly learns, 

The girl-child was first 

Confirmed last autumn! 

What rich and varied life 

Still that lighted ballroom contains! 

Like a vision from a feverish sleep 

When your heart's dream-wife 

In your wild fantasy 

Glides ethereally past. 

O, I do so want to go in there, 

Where the noises, where the roars 

Wild and violent like my mind, 

When its grief's storm rages; 

Into the crush to find 

Fleeting oblivion or--her! 

2. 

A Diary's Last Page 

Foolish dreamer! What do you want here among these noisy crowds? Is it the irony of 

fate which has brought you to seek your heart's ideal in a ballroom? 

24 A French hat. 

494

And would it really please you to find it here? Would you like it if your heart's ideal were 

incarnated in the ballroom's ideals? 

Rational or irrational, all the same; I must! What are will and reason able to do against 

that inner, powerfully deadly and yet saving yearning? 

"I must"! 

Remember these words, you unfeeling! who coldly judge passion's rage in the human 

soul, remember them and do not forget that in them you read the justification for so much 

of existence, erring, and--destructive! 

What moves in all these happy smiling figures? They have come here with the 

expectation of pleasure and satisfaction;--have they found what they sought, or does the 

scene of the ball express the idea of human life's great drama? 

And what is this idea? 

To dimly perceive (ahne), to hope and to be disappointed! See, in these three words is 

human life told! 

What was that! A glance met me among the crowd, a glance, strange and yet so familiar! 

No, that is no illusion, I have seen her, I have found my heart's ideal! I dare not dwell 

with these memories lest like airy phantoms they fly away and disappear! 

I have put my arms around her, I have gazed into those clear eyes; yes, that is she, whom I 

know from my waking dreams; if only this is not also a dream! 

What is a human life's struggle and disappointment against one half hour like this,--oh, 

glorious to be ruined completely, to be annihilated in such a moment 

Fate! Take this excess of happiness from me, do not let this moment be profaned by 

being prolonged; I have found her, what more then do I want? 

Benevolent fate! you have heard me! My life's three-act drama is played to the end; 

through two long acts have I perceived and hoped, now also is the third act past; 

magnificently! what a conception, what casting! 

And the "intrigue" in the piece? Is it not the simplest, the most understandable one can 

desire? 

A gentleman approaches; she places her arm in his, they go. 

495

"Who is this gentleman!" 

"It is her fiancé; she loves him passionately!" 

The ball is ended. Oh, nobody is as happy as I in this moment; I am bewildered by 

ecstasy, every longing must be fulfilled; because I hope no more. I shall go home; I shall 

complete the last page in my diary with reminiscences from the ball. That is my life's 

sunrise! My life's sunrise on my diary's last page! Strange; one speaks about eternity, 

should there follow an eternal day from this sunrise? 

Yes, I shall go home, I shall once more live through my life, my love, and then out into 

the dark night to dream and-- 

THE MILLER BOY 

Where the waterfall roars on a summer night across the river-bottom's stones, while the 

mist glides by river and thicket, there sits the miller boy alone; among alder foliage a 

snowpale dawn of moonlight peeps in, spreading its pleasant gleam across the night's 

silent scene. 

It is late one Thursday evening; from the mountain echoes the hulder's air, and in the 

stream's torrent the fossegrim plucks the golden harpstrings, and the miller boy listens to 

its playing. Hush, listen! Then, like a gentle echo, the hulder's song trembles, and the 

waterfall-harp's sound is lightly carried away on wings of night. 

It is Thorgjerd who calls forth his fiddle's marvellous lay, because he has sacrificed the 

black lamb to the fossegrim there below, and therefore too he has learned the magical 

playing, and therefore strangely from his bow are heard the forest-top's sighs, the 

mountain-brook's roar, with the call of the hulder and the song of the flute. 

But life at home seems to him cold and weak and joyless now, since what he heard and 

saw last night he can never forget, and therefore from his strings pours what his yearning 

sang for him; a sorrowful song; the tones' stream interprets the dream that the midsummer 

night let him perceive! 

IT IS FINISHED! 

Hope is quenched! Yes, forever quenched in my bosom where just now it blazed 

brightly; the enchanted castle's flowered gate is shut. Lovely dream! why fled you so 

496

soon? Harp notes wafted through the soul, deep in the mind's temple it was sabbath; now 

the tone-wave has changed with a deathly sigh through the heart's night! 

The mind-castle lies in ruins stone upon stone on the heart's barren soil; but now at its 

mistress' steps the hall rises in the hour of night; from that mournful vanished kingdom 

she reaches me gently that full chalice and the pale clouds of memory ascend ethereally 

from their catafalque. 25 

Oh, then I shall dream gently and ramble through the castle in the silent night, pious 

memory blossoms I shall pluck, to keep them, as the heart's best treasure> Come then, 

cold Present! with all your pain, settle winter-like around my breast; a temple stands 

spring-like in my heart; there has memory built its tent! 

VACANT LODGING 

Little girl! would you like to move into a faithful breast? See, I have a bright and cozy 

room in my heart's cottage, but I live there so sad and so lonely; I surely believe that 

within the hut's walls there can be found room enough for us both! 

To be sure, so many little girls peek inside the door in passing, but the visit makes the 

cottage emptier than before; she has curtsied farewell, thanked kindly for the evening; she 

is forgotten and yet--the visit has increased my boredom. 

No, that will not do any longer, I take that for granted! If you like, move in at once, 

conclude a contract with me for life. We’ll probably agree on the rent, just come, little 

girl! Come, let the sun, before it sinks, see us as roommates! 

The cottage is certainly no hall where a party's noises resound, it is plain, a summer 

hunting lodge; it even lacks winter heating; here on the wall is only one picture,--it is my 

portrait. If you agree, I shall paint a friendly little angel beside it. 

Then the hut will be redecorated, it will be tidied up inside, then I shall no longer find the 

heart's cottage sad and empty; everyone will smile Sunday-like, life will slip by like a 

poem, I shall be at peace if you are pleased to be my room's best ornament! 

THE SKALD IN VALHALLA 

(At the news of Oehlenschlæger's death.) 

25 An ornamental structure sometimes used for the lying-in-state of a body; also a pall-covered coffinshaped 

structure used at requiem masses celebrated after burial. 

497

26 The family of Norse gods. 

27 That is, the new skald, Oehlenschlæger. 

Death's harp trembles! 

The skald rises purified 

From earth-kingdom’s valley, 

But on his high 

Heavenly journey 

He visits the hall of the Aser. 26 

Then strides the skald 

High above the rainbow 

And into the gods' castle, 

Odin greets him 

Happy from Lidskjalf, 

Yet the happiness is mingled with grief; 

Since now Norden's 

Holy gods 

Have lost their spokesman on earth, 

Now is the bond 

Broken which united 

The Aser to the people in the North! 

Strangely uneasy, 

Gravely disposed, 

Forgetting Idavold's pleasures, 

Sit in long, 

Shining rows 

Valfader's heroes so hushed. 

Brage then seizes 

The harp with skill 

Glorious silver notes fall, 

Hermod gladly 

Leads to his seat 

The Aser's mighty skald. 

Seated at table 

With ringing voice 

The skald 27 speaks words of thanks, 

He greets Alfader, 

Frigg and Baldur 

The comfort of Gods and men. 

498

High in Valhalla's 

Vaulted halls 

Treads an army of fallen warriors, 

Splintered shields 

Cover the brave ones, 

He recognizes Stærkodder there. 

That hero then greets 

The famous skald, 

Asks about Dana and Nor, 

Asks about Ingild's, 

Olaf's and Helga's 

Beloved native soil. 

Hakon the Good 

Silently approaches 

The bard, whose voice so strong 

Spoke for Norden's 

Listening sons 

Mighty his achievement and works. 

Then the fortress' 

Arched gate opens, 

Two holy ones approach; 

Freya the Beautiful's 

Shining grove 

Is their sacred abode. 

Gratefully the youth 

Kneels to the skald, 

The maiden, marvellously fair, 

Delivers to the famous 

Magnificent poet 

Eternity's wreath as reward. 

Quickly to Folkvang, 

Love's dwelling, 

The lovers hasten away; 

Freya awaits them, 

The skald recognized 

Hagbarth and Signe again! 

Urda then reaches 

The skald his beaker 

499

Filled with refreshing drink, 

Værandi loyally 

Follows her sister, 

Thanking with mournful eye. 

Dark but delightful 

Skulda appears, 

Points towards the future's blue: 

"Singer! your memory 

Shall live eternally, 

Never your song shall die! 

“Soon you sit 

Blissful among spirits 

Here in transfiguration's home, 

Even if Norden's 

Mighty race changes, 

You will never be forgotten among them!" 

IN THE NIGHT 

Nature slumbers behind the cover of night in a dream of forgetfulness, then the soul 

makes ready its sailboat, to drift on memory's stream; sadly quiet it is carried along the 

flowering shore there where the sighing wave is concealed by shadowing forests. 

Look, a comforter then climbs kindly on board the sailboat, while a blending minor chord 

trembles from familiar voices; with soothing harmony it wafts past my soul, to greet 

intimately the fair visions with engrossed lament! 

Yet do not stir memory's bright wave with life's gust, surely at a moment's thought my 

world would collapse! Remembrance's night violet will be closed by daylight; it unfolds 

so gladly under the twinkling stars! 

Then glide, my soul! on easy currents towards memory's shore, there you can quietly 

weave flowers in the night's peace! How lovely, in the dream to embrace again each 

memory as a friend; yes, lovely, to follow its longing across remembrance's wave! 

MOONLIGHT STROLL AFTER A BALL 

(Written at the request of Sophie Holst and Cathrine Martini.) 

500

Hush, how still! Yonder from the ballroom the pleasure sounds no longer; no voice, no 

tone penetrates the night's calm. 

Far in the west the moon shortly will cast the last glance across the earth, which under the 

snow’s lilies sleeps in dreams of forgetfulness. 

The ball is ended; but in thought I still see among those white figures, that glide through 

the rows, a graceful young sylph! 

Soon the moon will have declined, then sleep's arms will embrace me, then the soul could 

drift freely on the sea of dream with the treasures of memory! 

MOONLIGHT MOOD 

(Presented the 7th of April) 

The moon shines pale and colorless in the silent winter night. If only it could gently and 

for a time penetrate the heart's night! 

If it could with silver-tinted light gently and softly, as here, pour quiet peace into the 

mind, to lay forgetfulness over the memory! 

Moon! Thanks for this calm, which has lived recently in the soul! Thanks for the 

moment's relief! 

Oh, but peace should live permanently there,--then I might forget the heart's most 

precious memory! 

501

D. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HENRIK IBSEN, 1828-50. 

EDITIONS. 

Ibsen, Henrik. Henrik Ibsen Brev 1845-1905. Ny Samling. Ved Øyvind Anker. 2 vols. 

I. Brevteksten. II. Kommentarene. Registre. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1979; 1980. 

- - - -. Early Plays: Catiline, The Warrior’s Barrow, Olaf Liljekrans, by Henrik Ibsen. 

Trans. Anders Orbeck. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation; London: 

Humphrey Milford, Oxford UP, 1921. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. Catiline and The Burial Mound. Trans. with intro. by Thomas F. 

Van Laan. New York: Garland, 1990. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. The Oxford Ibsen. 8 vols. Ed. James Walter McFarlane, et al. 

London: Oxford UP, 19--. Vol. 1: The Early Plays. Trans. and ed. James Walter 

McFarlane and Graham Orton, 1970. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsens norske stilebog fra 1848. Forord av Brikt Jensen. Oslo: 

Gyldendal, 1977. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. Oeuvres complètes. Trans. P[ierre] G[eorget] La Chesnais. Vol. 1 

only. Paris: La Nouvelle revue française, 1914. Contents: Introduction: “La litteratur et 

la société en Norvège vers 1850.” “Ouevres de Grimstad (1847-1850).” “Notice 

biographique.” “Poèmes.” “Le prisonnier d’Akershus,” fragment. “Catilina.” 

Appendices: I. “Souvenirs d’enfance.” II. “Compositions norvégiennes.” A complete 

edition in 16 volumes was published later. Paris: Plon, 1930-45. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. Samlede Verker. Ved Francis Bull, Halvdan Koht, Didrik Arup 

Seip. 20 vols. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1928-57. See esp. vol. 1 (date): Catilina. 

“Kjæmpehøien.” “Norma.” Vol. 14 (date): Dikt, 9-87; vol. 15 (1930): Artikler og 

Taler, 21-32; vol. 16 (1940): Brev 1844-1871. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. Speeches and New Letters. Trans. Arne Kildal, intro. Lee M. 

Hollander. Boston: R. G. Badger, 1909; London: Frank Palmer, 1911. 

502

BOOKS, PARTS OF BOOKS, AND DISSERTATIONS. 

Aalen, Ragnar. “Ibsen og Paludan-Müller. Slektskap og innflytelse.” Diss. U of Oslo, 

1938. 

Aall, Anathon. Henrik Ibsen als Dichter und Denker. Halle: Max Niemeyer, 1906. 

- - - -. “Henrik Ibsen, en norsk filosof.” In his Filosofien i norden. Kristiania: I 

kommision hos J. Dybwad, 1919. 277-316. 

Aarseth, Asbjørn. “Ibsen’s dramatic apprenticeship.” The Cambridge Companion to 

Ibsen. Ed. James Walter McFarlane. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994. 1-11. 

Admoni, Vladimir Grigor’evic. Henrik Ibsen: Die Paradoxie eines Dichterlebens. 

München: Beck’sche Riehe, 1991. 

Andenæs, Ragnar Nicolay. “Ibsen og Shakespeare, 1849-1871.” Diss. U of Oslo, 1934. 

Anderson, Einar Wulfsberg. “The influence of Kierkegaard’s philosophy on the works of 

Henrik Ibsen.” Diss. U of Minnesota, 1926. 

Andreasen, Torleif. “Monologen i Henrik Ibsens dramaer.” Diss. U of Oslo, 1952. 

Anker, Herman. “Fire akvareller av Henrik Ibsen.” Med boken som bakgrunn. Festskrift 

til Harald L. Tveterås. Oslo: Tanum, 1964. 3-22. 

Anker, Øyvind. Christiania Theaters Repertoire, 1827-99. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1956. 

Berg, Thoralf. Tidlig teater i Trondheim. Gideå: Vildros, 1994. 

Bergman, Bo. “Ibsens lyrik.” In his Från den långa resan. Stockholm: Bonnier, 1959. 

23-45. 

Bergwitz, Johan Kielland. Henrik Ibsen i sin Avstamning: Norsk eller Fremmed? 

Kristiania: n.p., 1916. 

- - - -. “Henrik Ibsens ophold i Grimstad 1844-1850.” “Indledning” til Grimstad 

1800-1850 som Type paa norsk Smaaby. Kristiania: Gyldendal, 1916. 21 ff. 

Beyer, Edvard. Henrik Ibsen. Oslo: Cappelen, 1978. 

Beyer, Harald. “Ibsen’s Early Plays.” In his A History of Norwegian Literature. Trans. 

Einar Haugen. New York: New York UP for the American-Scandinavian Foundation, 

1956. 171-85. 

503

- - - -. “Ibsen—Ungdomsårene.” In his Søren Kierkegaard og Norge. Kristiania: 

Aschehoug, 1924. 114-90. 

Beyer, Harald, and Edvard Beyer. “Om Ibsen.” Norsk Litteraturhistorie. 3 rd ed. Oslo: 

Aschehoug, 1970. 176-93. 

Binswanger, Ludwig. Henrik Ibsen und das Problem der Selbstrealisation in der Kunst. 

Heidelberg: L. Schneider, 1949. 

Blanc, T. Henrik Ibsen og Christiania Theater 1850-1899: Et Bidrag til den Ibsenske 

Digtnings Scenehistorie. Kristiania: J. Dybwad, 1906. 

Blytt, Peter. “Ibsen som instruktør.” In his Minder fra den første norske Scene i Bergen i 

1850-Aarene: Et kulturhistorisk Forsøg. Bergen: F. Nygaard, 1907. 9-13. 

Brunsvig, J. Henrik Ibsens barndom og fødebyen i hans diktning. Skien: Rasmussen, 

1952. 

Bryan, George G. An Ibsen Companion: a dictionary-guide to the life, works, and 

critical reception of Henrik Ibsen. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1984. 

Buene, Arne Øystein. “Otto Manns teorier i Poetikk der Tragedie, prøvd på Ibsens 

Catilina.” Diss. U of Bergen, 1964. 

Bull, Francis. “Henrik Ibsen.” Norsk litteraturhistorie. Ed. Francis Bull, et al. 2 vols. 

2 nd ed. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1957- . Vol. 4: Norges litteratur fra Februar-revolusjonen til 

Første verdenskrig. Ed. Francis Bull (1960). 267-452. 

- - - -. Henrik Ibsen. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1934. Særtrykk fra Norsk Litteratur historie, 

vol. 4. 1 st ed. Kristiania: Aschehoug, 1920. 

Bull, Francis, Halvdan Koht, Didrik Arup Seip. Ibsens Drama: Innledninger til 

Hundreårsutgaven av Henrik Ibsens Samlede Verker. Oslo: Gyldendal, 1972. 

Dahl, Herleiv. Bergmannen og Byggmesteren: Henrik Ibsen som lyriker. Oslo: 


Dahl, Willy. “Henrik Ibsen.” Norges Litteratur. 2 vols. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1981. Vol. 

1: Tid og Tekst 1814-1884. 219-340. 

Deer Irving. “Ibsen’s search for dramatic form.” Diss. U of Minnesota, 1956. 

504

Dietrichson, L(orentz). “Samliv med Henrik Ibsen.” In his Svundne Tider. Af en 

Forfatters Ungdomserindringer. 4 vols. Kristiania: Cappelen, 1899-1907. Vol. 1: 

Bergen og Christiania i 40- og 50-Aarene (2 nd ed., 1913). 327-70. 

Downs, Brian. Ibsen. The Intellectual Background. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 

1946. 

Due, Chr(istopher). Erindringer fra Henrik Ibsen Ungdomsaar. København: Græbes 

Bogtrykkeri, 1909. 

Duve, Arne. Henrik Ibsens hemmeligheter? Oslo: Lanser, 1977; ny omarb. utg., 1979. 

- - - -. The Real Drama of Henrik Ibsen? Oslo: Lanser, 1977. 

Ebbell, Clara Thue. I ungdomsbyen med Henrik Ibsen. Grimstad: Grimstad Bymuseum, 

1966. 

Eitrem, Hans. Ibsen og Grimstad. [Utg. av Hallvard Lie.] Oslo: Aschehoug, 1940. 

Elster, Kristian, d.y. “Ibsens digte.” In his Fra tid til anden, bøker og dikter. Kristiania: 

Aschehoug, 1920. 1-47. 

Enna, A. Alexander. “Henrik Ibsen and Friedrich Hebbel, a comparative study.” Diss. U 

of Oregon, 1929. 

Faaland, Josef. Henrik Ibsen og antikken. Oslo: Tanum, 1943. 

Farinelli, Arturo. Byron e Ibsen. Milano: Fratelli Bocca, 1944. 

Firkins, Ina Ten Eyck. Henrik Ibsen. A Bibliography of criticism and biography. With 

an index to characters. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1921; reprinted Folcroft, Pa.: 

Folcroft Library Editions, 1972. 

Flottorp, Haakon. “Kierkegaard and Norway, a study in ‘Inwardness’ in history with 

illustrative examples from religion, literature and philosophy.” Diss. U of Michigan, 

1955. 

Foss, Knut. “Morgenbladet og Henrik Ibsen.” Diss. U of Oslo, 1951. 

Fraenkl, Pavel. Ibsens vei til drama: en undersøkelse av dramatikerens genesis. Oslo: 


Gosse, Edmund W. Ibsen. New York: Scribner, 1907. 

Gran, Gerhard. Henrik Ibsen. Liv og verker. 2 vols. Kristiania: Aschehoug, 1918. 

505

Grimstad Bys Historie. Paa Kommunal Foranstaltning. Utgit ved en Komité. Grimstad: 

I Hovedkommission hos Grimstad Bymuseum, Grøndahl, 1927. 

Grummann, Paul Henry. Henrik Ibsen. An introduction to his life and works. Lincoln, 

Neb.: The University Publishing Company, 1928. 

Haakonsen, Daniel. Henrik Ibsen: Mennesket og Kunstneren. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1981. 

Halvorsen, Jens Bragge. Bibliografiske oplysninger til Henrik Ibsens Samlede Værker. 

København: Gyldendal, 1901. 

- - - -. “Henrik Ibsen.” In his Norsk Forfatter-Lexikon 1814-1880. 6 vols. in 3. 

Kristiania: Den Norske forlagsforening, 1885-1908. Vol. 3 (1892), 1-89. 

Heiberg, Hans. “. . . født til kunstner”: et Ibsen-portrett. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1967; 3 rd 

ed., 1976. 

- - - -. Ibsen: a portrait of the artist. Trans. Joan Tate. London: Allen & Unwin, 1969. 

Heldal, Halldor. “Ibsen og Skandinavismen.” Diss. U of Oslo, 1947. 

Henrik Ibsens Ordskatt: Vokabular over hans Diktning. Ed. Harald Noreng, Knut 

Hofland, Kristin Natvig. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1987. 

Holsen, Sigvald. “Livsvilkår, Mennesketypet og Gudsforhold: en problemanalyse i 

Ibsens ungdomsdiktning sett mot psykologisk, sosial og religiøs bakgrunn.” Diss. U of 

Bergen, 1977. 

Hurt, James. Catiline’s Dream: an essay on Ibsen’s plays. Urbana, Ill.: Southern 

Illinois UP, 1972. 

Iversen, Ragnvald. “Noen stildrag i Ibsens lyrikk.” In his Med Munn og penn. 

Trondheim: F. Brun, 1957. 45-64. 

Jacobs, Barry. “The Master Builder and Ibsen’s early plays: the call of the wild in 

Ibsen.” Proceedings of the Seventh International Ibsen Conference, Grimstad 1993. 

Oslo: Center for Ibsen Studies, 1994. 89-98. 

Jaeger, Henrik. Henrik Ibsen: a critical biography. Trans. William Morton Payne. 

Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1890. 2 nd ed. 1901, with a supplementary chapter by the 

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506

- - -. The life of Henrik Ibsen. Trans. Clara Bell. “With the verse done into English 

from the Norwegian original by Edmund Gosse.” London: Heinemann, 1890. 

- - - -. “Fra Henrik Ibsens Rusaar.” In his Norske Forfattere. Literaturbilleder. 

København: Gyldendal, 1883. 160-207. 

Jensen, Jens Per. Snipetorp og Søndre Brekke: borgerhus og herregård i Skien. Skien: 

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Johnsbraaten, Magnus Arnold. “Ibsen og Welhaven. Studier i Ibsens Lyrikk.” Diss. U 

of Oslo, 1930. 

Johnston, Brian. To the Third Empire: Ibsen’s Early Drama. Minneapolis: U of 

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Jorgenson, Theodore. Henrik Ibsen. A Study in Art and Personality. Northfield, Minn.: 

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- - - -. “In the Mountain Wilderness” and other works. “Translations [from Ibsen] and 

comments by Theodore Jorgenson.” Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf College Norwegian 

Institute, 1957. 

Joyce, James. “Catilina.” In James Joyce: The Critical Writings. Ed. Ellworth Mason 

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Judine, Sister. Goethe to Ibsen. New York: Macmillan, 1962. 

Kihlman, Erik. Ur Ibsen dramatikens idéhistoria. En studie i dansk-norsk litteratur. 

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- - - -. Henrik Ibsen i Manden. Oslo: I kommisjon hos J. Dybwad, 1928. 

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Koppang, Ole. Hegelianisme i Norge. En idéhistorisk undersøkelse. Oslo: Aschehoug, 

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