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_ ACT I - SCENE I
(A Cloister opening upon a Convent Close planted with groups of trees. The convent church forms the right side of the quadrangle. A brick wall runs along the rear. Fruit trees in blossom appear above the wall. Olof is seated on a stone bench. Before him stand two scholars, who are reading their respective parts out of "The Comedy of Tobit.")
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Now have our enemies trapped us full well.
Woe unto us, poor children of Israel!
SECOND SCHOLAR.
Yea, brother, good cause you have to make such plaint!
Now certes we have come upon days of great lament--
Our land is taken away, and so's our increase,
And ne'er we may look for any help or surcease.
It must be, as long I have both dreamt and said,
That the promise to Abram has been long mislaid.
[Enter Lars Andersson.]
LARS ANDERSSON.
What are you doing?
OLOF.
I am playing.
LARS.
Playing--you?
OLOF.
I am playing a little comedy about the children of Israel and the Babylonian captivity.
LARS.
Have you nothing better to do? Bigger work is waiting for you.
OLOF.
I am too young.
LARS.
Do not say you are too young.
OLOF.
No, for there are plenty of others who say it.
LARS (takes out a roll of paper, which he opens; for a while he stands looking at Olof; then he begins to read) "Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah: 'Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.'
"Then said Jeremiah: 'Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.'
"But the Lord said: 'Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee,' saith the Lord, 'to deliver thee.'"
OLOF
(leaping to his feet).
Did the Lord say that?
LARS.
"Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee."
OLOF.
Why do not you go?
LARS.
I am too old.
OLOF.
You are afraid!
LARS.
I am, for I have not the strength; but you have--and now may the Lord give you the faith also.
OLOF.
Oh, once I did have the flame of faith, and it burned wondrously, but the monkish gang smothered it with their holy water when they were trying to read the devil out of my body.
LARS.
That was a fire of straw which had to flicker out; but now the Lord will light you a fire of logs by which the offspring of the Philistines shall be consumed. Do you know your own will, Olof?
OLOF.
No, but I feel myself choking when I think of these poor people who yearn for salvation. They are crying for water--for living water--but there is no one who can give it to them.
LARS.
Tear down the crumbling old house first, you can do that. Then the Lord Himself will build them a new one.
OLOF.
Then they will be without a roof over their heads for a time.
LARS.
They will at least get fresh air.
OLOF.
But to rob a whole nation of its faith--they will despair.
LARS.
Yes, they will despair.
OLOF.
But they will decry me, and revile me, and drag me before the elders.
LARS.
Are you afraid?
OLOF.
No--but the offence--
LARS.
You were born to give offence, Olof; you were born to smite. The Lord will heal.
OLOF.
I can feel the pull of the current; I am still clinging to the sluice-gate, but if I let go, I shall be swept away.
LARS.
Let go! There are more than enough who hold back.
OLOF.
Reach out your hand to me, Lars, if I get too far into the whirlpool.
LARS.
That is not in my power, and into the whirlpool you must go, even if it be to perish.
OLOF.
What storms you have raised in my soul! A moment ago I sat here and played in the shadow of the trees, and it was Whitsun Eve, and it was spring, and all was peace. And now--how can the trees be still, and why is there no darkness in the sky? Put your hand on my forehead, feel the blood surging! Do not abandon me, Lars! I see an angel coming towards me with a cup--she is walking across the evening sky--her path is blood-red, and in her hand she is carrying a cross--No, it is more than I avail! I will return to my peaceful valley. Let others fight; I will look on--No, I will follow in their wake and heal the wounded and whisper words of peace into the ears of the dying--Peace!--No, I want to fight with the rest, but in the last ranks--Why should I lead?
LARS.
Because you are the boldest.
OLOF.
Not the strongest?
LARS.
The strong will come after you: and the strongest of all is by your side; it is He who summons you to battle.
OLOF.
Help me, O Lord! I go.
LARS.
Amen!
OLOF.
And will you come with me?
LARS.
You must go alone--with God!
OLOF.
Why do you turn back?
LARS.
I was not born to be a warrior: your armorer is all that I can be. Your weapon is the pure Word of God, and with that you must arm the people. For the doors to the popish armory have been broken open at last, and hereafter every one calling himself a man must fight for the freedom of his own spirit.
OLOF.
But where is the enemy? I am burning for battle, yet see no one to fight against.
LARS.
No need to summon them; they will come! Farewell! You may begin whenever you are ready, and may God be with you!
OLOF.
Don't go. I have much more to talk with you about.
LARS.
Here comes the vanguard now--to arms!
[Exit Lars.]
(A crowd of townsmen with their women and children pass across the stage to the church door at the right. They stop in front of it, bare their heads, and make the sign of the cross.)
GERT THE PRINTER
(disguised as a townsman). It's Whitsun Eve, and nobody has rung the vesper bell--that's very strange.
A TOWNSMAN.
The church door is closed. Maybe the priest is sick.
GERT.
Or not yet out of bed.
TOWNSMAN.
What do you mean?
GERT.
Only that he might be sick abed.
TOWNSMAN.
But there are a lot of acolytes, and one of them might be saying a mass for us in his place.
GERT.
They are probably too busy.
TOWNSMAN.
With what?
GERT.
That's hard to tell.
TOWNSMAN.
Take care, my good man! You seem to have a leaning towards Lutherism. Bishop Hans of Linkoeping is here, and so's the King.
GERT.
Is Brask in town?
TOWNSMAN.
Indeed he is. But I suppose we had better try the church door to see if it be really closed.
GERT
(runs up the steps and beats the church door with his fist).
The house of God is closed this Whitsun Eve. The reverend clergy will grant no audience with the Lord to-day, and so the worshipful commonalty will have to go home and go to bed without any mass. Look here, good folk! Here you have a door--mere wood, of course, but that matters little, as it is lined with copper. Just take a look at this door! If I say that the Lord is living within--this being His house; and if I say that the bishop's diaconus, or secretarius, or canonicus, or some other fellow ending in 'us'--for it's only these clerical gentlemen that end in 'us'; and if I say that some fellow of that kind has the key hanging on a nail in his bedroom: then I don't mean to say that he has locked up the Lord and put the key on a nail in his bedroom: but all I mean to say is that we can't get in, and that there will be no divine service for its to-night--for us who have toiled six days making shoes and coats--who have spent the whole week brewing and baking and butchering for the reverend clergy in order that the said clergy might have strength enough on the seventh day to celebrate divine service for its. Of course, I am not at all saying this in reproach of the right reverend members of this Chapter; for they, too, are nothing but human beings, you know, and it was only the Lord who could stand working six days and be satisfied with resting on the seventh.
TOWNSMAN.
You're blaspheming God, master townsman!
GERT.
Well, He can't hear it when the door is closed.
A WOMAN.
Jesu Maria! He's an Antichrist!
GERT
(beating at the door).
Do you hear how hollow it sounds?--It is writ in the Bible that once upon a time the veil before the Holiest of Holies was rent in twain, and it must be true--but nothing is said in the Bible about the clerical gentlemen having sewed the veil together again, which, of course, is no reason why it shouldn't have been done.
(The crowd makes a rush at Gert; the children begin to cry.)
TOWNSMAN.
Out on you, Luther! For that's what you are. We have sinned, and for that reason the Lord has closed His house. Can't you hear that the very children cry out at the sight of you, unclean spirit that you are?
GERT.
Naturally, when you step on their toes, my dear friends--
WOMAN.
Don't go near him! He has a devil!
TOWNSMAN.
Down with him! Down with him!
GERT.
Don't touch me, for here I am under the protection of the Lord.
TOWNSMAN.
The Lord will not protect the angel that was cast out.
GERT.
If the Lord won't, the Holy Church will, and I am now within her consecrated walls.
TOWNSMAN.
Get him away from the church wall!
GERT.
If you don't fear God, you must at least fear the ban of the Holy Father.
WOMAN.
Drag him away from that door! It is his unclean spirit that has cast a spell on the church.
TOWNSMAN.
That's it! The Lord won't open His church to the Devil.
(The crowd is rushing at Gert again, when the Bishop's Secretary enters, preceded by a verger, who calls upon the people to attend.)
SECRETARY
(reading).
"Whereas our cathedral city has failed in the payment of its tithes to this See, and whereas it continues refractory in regard to such payments, the Chapter has deemed it necessary, in accordance with its vested rights and the sanction granted by the Holy Curia, to close the doors of the church and to discontinue all masses and sacrifices until the aforesaid dereliction shall have been duly remedied; failure to observe which shall be at the risk of our displeasure. Datum vigilia assumptionis Mariae. Chapter of Straengnaes."
[Exit.]
GERT.
What do you say to that, good folk?
TOWNSMAN.
No mass on Whitsun Eve? That's a shame!
GERT.
Take care! Say nothing evil of the priests; maybe they're not to blame.
TOWNSMAN.
Who is to blame, then?
GERT.
The Church! That invisible and omnipotent something! It is the Church, you see, that has closed the church. (The crowd gives evidence of disapproval.)
OLOF
(who in the meantime has come forward, seizes a rope
hanging from the bell tower, and begins to ring vespers).
If your worship be seriously meant, I'll say mass for you.
TOWNSMAN.
Many thanks, Master Olof, but are you aware of what that may lead to?
OLOF.
Let us fear the Lord more than men! (The crowd kneels.) Dear friends! Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus! As we are now come together here--
TOWNSMAN.
Master Olof--
OLOF.
What is it?
TOWNSMAN.
We want a real mass, and not any new inventions of men.
GERT.
It has to be in Latin, my dear Master Olof, or we can't understand what you say.
TOWNSMAN.
It has to be in the sacred tongue--or anybody might say mass.
OLOF.
And so you shall! Everyone for himself, with God!
CROWD.
A Luther! A Luther! Antichrist!
TOWNSMAN.
Well, well, Master Olof, have you, too, so young and zealous, become tainted by the German devil? I am an old man, who has seen much of the world, and I mean well by you--Turn back while you are still young!--Do as we ask you and give us the old mass.
OLOF.
No, there must be an end to that mummery. Ye shall pray in spirit and in truth, and not in words ye do not understand.
TOWNSMAN.
Don't you think, my young friend, that the Lord understands Latin?
GERT.
But Swedish He doesn't understand at all!
TOWNSMAN.
Master Olof, are you going to let the people depart from you without a word to edify them? Can't you see how they are yearning for their God? Make a sacrifice of your own sinful will, and don't let the people go from you like sheep that have no shepherd.
OLOF.
You call my will sinful?
TOWNSMAN.
You are a hard man!
OLOF.
Say not so! Do you know what the ringing of this bell will cost me?
TOWNSMAN.
Your vanity.
GERT.
And your peace! For it was the alarum bell that rang in the battle. Hey-ho, this is the start! Soon the bells of Stockholm will respond, and then the blood of Hus, and of Ziska, and of all the thousands of peasants will be on the heads of the princes and the papists.
WOMAN.
Woe unto us! What is he raving about?
TOWNSMAN.
Do you know this man, Master Olof?
OLOF.
No.
GERT.
Yes, Olof, you know me. Deny me not! Are you afraid of these miserable creatures who do not want their own welfare--and who have never heard the word "freedom"?
OLOF.
What is your name?
GERT.
If I told, you would all tremble. Yet you must tremble in order that you may wake out of your sleep. I am named the angel that was cast out and that is to come again ten thousand times; I am named the liberator that came too early; I am named Satan because I love you more than my own life; I have been named Luther; I have been named Hus. Now I am named Anabaptist!
CROWD
(shrink back and begin to cross themselves).
Anabaptist!
GERT
(removing his disguise and revealing himself
as much older than he had seemed).
Do you know me now, Olof?
OLOF.
Father Gert!
TOWNSMAN.
He calls him father!
CROWD
(drawing back from Olof and Gert).
Anabaptist! Anabaptist!
WOMAN.
Don't you see, it's he who was put under the ban--
TOWNSMAN.
Gert the Printer--the bishop's printer--
ANOTHER TOWNSMAN.
The man who printed Luther!
WOMAN.
Woe unto us and to our city! Woe to our priests when they bear company with Antichrist!
TOWNSMAN.
He denies the holy baptism!
WOMAN.
He denies God.
(The crowd disperses.)
OLOF.
That was dangerous talk, Father Gert.
GERT.
You really think it was dangerous, Olof? Bless you for those words!
OLOF.
Dangerous for you, I mean.
GERT.
Not for any one else?
OLOF.
Let us hope not.
GERT.
You have known Luther?
OLOF.
Indeed, I have! And now I want to carry out his work in my own country.
GERT.
Is that all?
OLOF.
What do you mean?
GERT.
It is not enough! Luther is dead. He made a beginning, we have to go on.
OLOF.
Whither do you want to lead me?
GERT.
Far, Olof, very far!
OLOF.
I am afraid of you, Father Gert.
GERT.
Yes, and will be more so; for I shall take you up on a high mountain, and from there you shall overlook the whole world. You see, Olof, it is now Whitsuntide; it was at this time the Holy Ghost came down and filled the Apostles--nay, all humanity. The spirit of the Lord has descended upon me. I feel it, and for that reason they shut me up like one demented. But now I am free again, and now I shall speak the word; for now, Olof, we are standing on the mountain. Behold the people crawling on their knees before those two men seated on their thrones. The taller holds two keys in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. That is the Pope. Now he hurls his thunderbolt, and a thousand souls pass into perdition, while the rest kiss his foot and sing Gloria Deo--but he who is seated on the throne turns about and smiles. Now behold his companion. He has a sword and at sceptre. Bow down before the sceptre, lest the sword smite you. When he knits his brows all the people tremble.
(He turns toward the man on the other throne, and both smile.)
They are two pillars of Baal. Then is heard a sound out of heaven as of a host muttering. "Who is grumbling?" exclaims the Pope, shaking his thunderbolt. "Who is muttering?"--and the Emperor shakes his sword. Nobody answers, but still there is grumbling in the air, and roaring, and a cry of "Think!" The Pope cowers, and the Emperor, turning pale, demands: "Who was it that cried 'Think'? Bring him here, and I will take his life!" The Pope shouts: "Bring him here, and I will take his soul!" The cry came out of heaven, and was uttered by no one. But still the sound of it rises; a storm wind springs up; it sweeps over the Alps and goes roaring across Fichtelgebirge; it stirs up the Baltic and echoes from the shores, and the cry is repeated a thousand times all over the world: "Freedom, freedom!" The Pope throws his keys into the sea, and the Emperor sheathes his sword, for against that cry they avail nothing.--Oh, Olof, you wish to smite the Pope, but you forget the Emperor--the Emperor, who is killing his people without counting them because they dare to sigh when he tramples on their chests. You want to smite the Pope at Rome, but, like Luther, you want to give them a new pope in Holy Writ. Listen! Listen! Bind not the spirits with any fetters whatsoever! Forget not the great Whitsunday! Forget not your great goal: spiritual life and spiritual freedom! Listen not to the cry of death: "And behold, it is all good!" For then the millennium, the kingdom of liberty, will never arrive--and it is that which is now beginning.
(Olof remains silent.)
Does it make you dizzy?
OLOF.
You go too far, Gert.
GERT.
The day shall come when they will call me papist. Aim at the sky, and you will hit the forest line ahead of you.
OLOF.
Turn back, Gert! You'll bring disaster on yourself and on the realm. Can't you see how the country is still shivering with the wound-fever caused by the last war? And you wish to sow the seeds of civil war. It is a godless deed!
GERT.
No, the knife is in the flesh now. Cut away, and the body may be saved.
OLOF.
I'll denounce you as a traitor to your country.
GERT.
You had better not, seeing that to-day you have offended the Church beyond repair. Besides--
OLOF.
Speak out, Gert. Just now you look like Satan himself!
GERT.
You shall have my secret: deal with it to suit yourself. The King leaves for Malmoe to-day, and the day after to-morrow, perchance, Stockholm may be in open revolt.
OLOF.
What are you talking about?
GERT.
Do you know Rink and Knipperdollink?
OLOF
(alarmed).
The Anabaptists!
GERT.
Yes. What's so startling in that? They are nothing but a couple of lubberly tradesmen. A furrier and a grocer, who deny the use of baptizing unconscious children, and who are simple-minded enough to oppose the forcing of irrational creatures into deliberate perjury.
OLOF.
What is it, then?
OLOF.
They are possessed.
GERT.
Of the spirit, yes. It is the storm wind that is crying through them. Beware, if you get into its path!
OLOF.
This must be stopped. I am going to the King.
GERT.
We should be friends, Olof. Your mother is living in Stockholm, isn't she?
OLOF.
You know it, then?
GERT.
Do you know that my daughter Christine is with your mother?
OLOF.
Christine?
GERT.
Yes, for the present. If we win, your mother will be protected for my daughter's sake; and if the Catholics win, my daughter will be protected for your mother's sake. You are a little concerned about Christine, are you not?
OLOF.
Gert, Gert, what made you so wise?
GERT.
The madhouse.
OLOF.
Go away from me! You'll lead me into disaster.
GERT.
Yes, if you call it a disaster to be robbed of all earthly happiness, to be dragged into prison, to suffer poverty, to be scorned and reviled fur the sake of truth. If so, you are not worthy of such a splendid disaster. I thought you would understand me, I counted on your help, for in you the fire is still burning, but I see that the world is tempting you. Well, follow the stream and be happy!
OLOF.
How could a man make over the age in which he is living?
GERT.
That's what Luther has done.
OLOF.
How can one man check a stream?
GERT.
Guide it, you fool--for we are the stream. The old are stagnant mudpools, you don't need to check them, but don't let them rot away or dry up; give them an outlet, and they'll flow with the stream, too.
OLOF.
Yes, I understand you! You have bred a thought in my soul, but that thought must be strangled in its birth, or it will kill me.
GERT.
Believe me, you will be a Daniel, and you will speak the truth unto princes, and they will conspire to take your life; but the Lord will protect you.--Now I can safely leave, for I see lightnings flash from your eyes and tongues of fire flickering over your head. (As he is leaving.) There comes the Lord of Flies: don't let him defile your pure soul also.
OLOF.
Jesus help me!
[Enter Bishop Brask and Bishop Sommar. Sommar approaches
Olof, while Brask remains behind, studying the surroundings.]
SOMMAR.
Who rang vespers, Canonicus?
OLOF
(calmly but firmly).
I did.
SOMMAR.
Didn't you know the order?
OLOF.
I was aware of the prohibition.
SOMMAR.
And you dared to defy it?
OLOF.
Yes, when the people were let go like sheep without a shepherd, I wanted to keep them together.
SOMMAR.
You seem to be finding fault with our actions. That's impudence indeed.
OLOF.
Truth is always impudent.
SOMMAR.
I believe, young man, that you want to play the part of an apostle of truth. It will bring you no thanks.
OLOF.
All I ask is ingratitude.
SOMMAR.
Save your truths. They don't retain their value in the market very long.
OLOF
(impetuously).
That's advice worthy of the Father of Lies!--(Mildly.) I ask your pardon!
SOMMAR.
Do you know to whom you are talking?
OLOF
(heatedly).
To servus servi servorum Mans Sommar!
BRASK
(stepping forward).
Who is this man?
SOMMAR.
One of the attendants in the church.
BRASK.
What's his name?
SOMMAR.
Olof Pedersson, alias Olaus Petri.
BRASK
(staring hard at Olof).
So you are Master Olof? (Olof bows and looks fixedly at Brask.) I like you. Would you care to become my secretary?
OLOF.
Many thanks, Your Grace, but I have no recommendations.
BRASK.
What have you to say, Bishop Mans?
SOMMAR.
He is said to have found much favor with Dr. Luther.
BRASK.
So I've heard. Nothing but youthful spirits. We'll train him.
OLOF.
I fear it is too late!
BRASK.
A sapling can be bent.
SOMMAR.
It is not wise to raise vipers, Your Grace. Our canonicus here has strong leanings toward heresy, and to-day he has dared to defy our orders.
BRASK. Is that so?
SOMMAR.
On fully legal grounds we have proclaimed an interdict, and this man has ventured to say mass--worse than that, he has said a Lutheran mass, and thus stirred up the people.
BRASK.
Take care, young man! Don't you know that the ban will fall on anybody who proclaims Luther?
OLOF.
I know it, but I fear no other god than God.
BRASK.
Consider your words. I mean well by you, and you repel me.
OLOF.
You want to purchase my ability for the doctoring of your sick cause, and I am shameless enough not to sell myself.
BRASK.
By Saint George, I think you are out of your senses!
OLOF.
If so, don't give me the same treatment as Gert the Printer. You put him in a madhouse, and it made him too wise, I fear.
BRASK
(to Bishop Sommar).
Do you know Gert?
SOMMAR.
No, Your Grace.
BRASK.
He's a lunatic who used my press to print Lutheran writings in place of the anti-Lutheran stuff I put into his hands. Moreover, he was dreaming of the Apocalypse and the Millennium.
(To Olof.)
Have you seen him?
OLOF.
He was here awhile ago, and you can expect but little good of him.
BRASK.
Is he at large?
OLOF.
He'll be in Stockholm soon, and from there you'll hear of him, I think. Take care, my Lord Bishop!
BRASK.
Ho, there is nothing to fear yet.
OLOF.
The Anabaptists are in Stockholm.
BRASK.
What do you say?
OLOF.
The Anabaptists are in Stockholm!
BRASK.
The Anabaptists?
[Enter Gustaf Vasa suddenly.]
GUSTAF.
What's up? The city is in a tumult, the people are marching through the streets crying for the mass. What's the meaning of all this?
BRASK.
Mischief, Your Highness.
GUSTAF.
Bishop Mans!
SOMMAR.
The city has failed to pay its tithes.
GUSTAF.
And for that reason you refuse to hold divine service? 'Sdeath!
BRASK.
Your Highness ought to remember--
GUSTAF.
Answer me, Bishop Malls!
SOMMAR.
Your Highness ought to remember that matters like these, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Church--
GUSTAF.
I command you to attend to your duties!
BRASK.
The Bishops of Sweden take no orders except from their superiors, the Pope and the Canon Law.
GUSTAF
(checked).
I know, but if the Pope cannot always keep an eye on them?
BRASK.
That's our concern.
GUSTAF
(flares up, but controls himself at once).
Your Grace is right. It will remain your concern.
BRASK.
To change the subject--Stockholm is about to rise in rebellion.
GUSTAF.
Who says so?
SOMMAR.
Our canonicus here.
GUSTAF.
Your schoolmaster? Where is he? Oh, is it you? What's your name?
OLOF.
Olof Pedersson.
GUSTAF.
Master Olof! They tell the you are a heretic, and that you are scheming against Holy Church! That's a perilous venture!
BRASK.
This very day he has dropped his mask by daring to show open defiance of the Chapter's prohibition against services, and for that reason we demand that Your Highness consent to have him duly punished.
GUSTAF.
That's a matter for the Chapter and does not concern me. (To Olof.) But what was that you had to say about a rebellion at Stockholm?
OLOF.
The Anabaptists!
GUSTAF.
Is that all?
BRASK.
Does not Your Highness know how those madmen have been carrying on in Germany? We suggest that Your Highness return to the city in person with your armed force.
GUSTAF. That's a matter in which I suit myself!
BRASK.
But civil war--
GUSTAF.
That's _my_ concern! (To Olof.) Olof, I appoint you to the clerkship of our court-house at Stockholm. Get over there at once. Speak to the people. I put my trust in you!
BRASK.
For the country's sake I ask Your Highness to consider the futility of wasting speech on madmen.
GUSTAF.
Souls are not controlled by swords. Bear that in mind, Your Lordships.
BRASK.
The Church has never--
GUSTAF.
Nor by keys! (To Olof.) Go to my chancellor, and he will give you your appointment.
BRASK.
You had better wait a moment, canonicus.
GUSTAF.
Our secretary will not put your orders ahead of mine.
BRASK.
The rights of the Church must be assured first of all. Olof Pedersson--
GUSTAF
(correcting him).
Secretary--
BRASK.
Secretary Olof Pedersson cannot leave this city until the Chapter has pronounced its verdict.
GUSTAF.
The Chapter must try the case before it can pronounce a verdict.
BRASK.
That's our concern.
GUSTAF.
It is not your concern, Bishop Brask. The Bishop of Linkoeping cannot sit in judgment on a canonicus at Straengnaes. Speak for yourself, Bishop Sommar.
SOMMAR.
After what has just occurred--h'm!
BRASK.
All further arguments would seem superfluous.
GUSTAF.
You had better be silent, Bishop Brask, or leave us, as I am talking privately to Bishop Sommar--privately!--Well, speak up, Bishop Mans!
SOMMAR.
I cannot see but--that--as His Grace, the Bishop of Linkoeping--
GUSTAF.
We are talking of Master Olof now. Your Lordships will have to postpone the trial. Be kind enough to leave us.
[Exeunt Bishops.]
GUSTAF
(to Olof).
Will you be my man?
OLOF.
Your Highness' secretary?
GUSTAF.
No, my right hand--on the condition that for the present the left hand shall not know what the right is doing. Go to Stockholm.
OLOF.
The Chapter will demand my surrender and ban me.
GUSTAF.
Before they get to that point you may fall back on me, but until then--stand on your own feet as far as you can.
OLOF.
What is Your Highness' will?
GUSTAF.
Talk to those fanatics in Stockholm.
OLOF.
And then?
GUSTAF.
Oh, that's a long way off. I don't dare to think so far yet.--Let them preach. It can't hurt those sottish spirits to hear a new word, even if it be not all true. But there must be no violence; for then the sword will join in the game. Farewell, Olof! [Exit.]
OLOF
(alone).
So the Emperor won't be friends with the Pope!
(The two scholars, who have been waiting among the trees in the background, come forward.)
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Shall we go on with the play, Master Olof?
OLOF.
No, children, there will be no more playing.
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Are you going to leave us, Master Olof?
OLOF.
Yes, and probably forever.
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Can't you stay over Whitsuntide, so that we can perform our comedy?
SECOND SCHOLAR.
And so that I can play the Angel Gabriel?
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Please do as we ask you, Master Olof! You are the only one who has been nice to us and spared us those terrible fasts.
SECOND SCHOLAR.
Oh, don't go away from us, Master Olof!
OLOF.
You don't know what you are asking, children. The day will come when you shall thank the Lord that I did go away from you.--Oh, no, I hope such a day will never come!--But let us make our leave-taking brief. Good-bye, Nils! Good-bye, Vilhelm!
(He embraces them, and they kiss his hand. In the meantime Lars Andersson has entered and is watching the group closely.)
FIRST SCHOLAR.
Won't you ever come back, Master Olof?
LARS
(coming forward).
Are you ready to start now?
OLOF
(to the scholars).
No, I shall never come back.
SCHOLARS
(as they go out).
Good-bye, Master Olof, and don't forget us! (Olof stands looking after them.)
LARS.
I have seen the King.
OLOF
(absent-mindedly).
Have you?
LARS.
Do you know what he said?
OLOF.
No.
LARS.
"I have got a harrier to raise the game; now it remains to be seen whether he will come back when I whistle for him!"
OLOF.
Look at them--playing there among the graves, and picking flowers, and singing the songs of Whitsuntide.
LARS
(taking hold of Olof's arm).
Child!
OLOF
(with a start).
What did you say?
LARS.
I thought you had laid your hand so firmly on the plough handle to-day that there could be no question of looking back. (Olof waves his hand to the scholars.) Are you still dreaming?
OLOF.
It was the last bright morning dream that passed away from me. Pardon me--I am awake now!
[Exeunt toward the right. Then they are nearly out, Olof turns for a last look at the scholars. These have disappeared in the meantime, and in their place appear the two Black Friars, Marten and Nils. On seeing them, Olof utters a startled cry and puts one hand to his forehead. Lars drags him out.] _
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