Bibliotheca Polyglotta

STYVER.
Jeg skal af sagens fakta extrahere
det vigtigste.

STIVER.
I will abstract, in rapid resume,
The leading points.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Nej, jeg erindrer mere;
jeg kan fortælle –

MISS JAY.
No, I am more au fait,
I know the ins and outs--

FRU HALM.
Det kan også jeg!

MRS. HALM.
I know them too!

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Å nej, fru Halm, nu er jeg alt på vej.
Ser De, herr Falk, – han gjaldt, som kandidat,
for et af hovedstadens bedste hoder,
forstod sig på kritik og nye moder –

MISS JAY.
Oh Mrs. Halm! now let me tell it, do!
Well, Mr. Falk, you see--he passed at college
For quite a miracle of wit and knowledge,
Had admirable taste in books and dress--

FRU HALM.
Og spillede komedie privat.

MRS. HALM.
And acted--privately--with great success.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Ja bi nu lidt! Han musicerte, malte, –

MISS JAY.
Yes, wait a bit--he painted, played and wrote--

FRU HALM.
Og husk, hvor pent historier han fortalte.

MRS. HALM.
And don’t forget his gift of anecdote.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Ja giv dog tid; jeg kan det på en prik.
Han skrev og komponerte selv musik
til noget, som en – forelægger fik;
det kaldtes „Syv sonetter til min Maren“.
Å Gud, hvor sødt han sang dem til guitaren!

MISS JAY.
Do give me time; I know the whole affair:
He made some verses, set them to an air,
Also his own,--and found a publisher.
O heavens! with what romantic melancholy
He played and sang his “Madrigals to Molly”!

FRU HALM.
Ja, det er visst, at han var genial!

MRS. HALM.
He was a genius, the simple fact.

GULDSTAD
(dæmpet).
Hm, somme mente nu, at han var gal.

GULDSTAD
[to himself].
Hm! Some were of opinion he was cracked.

FALK.
En gammel praktikus, som ikke henter
sin visdom blot af mugne pergamenter,
har sagt, at kærligheden gør Petrarker
så let, som fæ og ladhed patriarker.
Men hvem var Maren?

FALK.
A gray old stager,¹ whose sagacious head
Was never upon mouldy parchments fed,
Says "Love makes Petrarchs, just as many lambs
And little occupation, Abrahams."
But who was Molly?

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Maren? Det var hende,
hans elskede, som snart De lærer kende.
Hun var en datter af et kompagni –

MISS JAY.
Molly? His elect,
His lady-love, whom shortly we expect.
Of a great firm her father was a member--

GULDSTAD.
Et trælasthus.

GULDSTAD.
A timber house.

FRØKEN SKÆRE
(kort).
Ja, det må Herren vide.

MISS JAY
[curtly].
I’m really not aware.

GULDSTAD.
For det var hollandsk last de gjorde i.

GULDSTAD.
Did a large trade in scantlings, I remember.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Sligt hører til den trivielle side.

MISS JAY.
That is the trivial side of the affair.

FALK.
Et kompagni?

FALK.
A firm?

FRØKEN SKÆRE
(vedblivende).
Som ejed store grunker.
De kan vel tænke, hvor der kur blev gjort;
der meldtes friere af første sort. –

MISS JAY
[continuing].
Of vast resources, I’m informed.
You can imagine how the suitors swarm’d;
Gentlemen of the highest reputation.--

FRU HALM.
Og mellem dem sågar en kammerjunker.

MRS. HALM.
Even a baronet made application.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Men Maren værged kækt om kvindens ret.
Hun havde Stråmand mødt i „Dramatiken“:
at se og elske ham, det var nu ét –

MISS JAY.
But Molly was not to be made their catch.
She had met Strawman upon private stages;
To see him was to love him--

FALK.
Og bejlerskaren måtte stå i stikken?

FALK.
And despatch
The wooing gentry home without their wages?

FRU HALM.
Ja vil De tænke Dem den romantiken!

MRS. HALM.
Was it not just a too romantic match?

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Og læg så til en gammel grusom far,
som bare gik omkring og skilte hjerter;
jeg tror der også en formynder var,
for endnu mer at øge deres smerter.
Men hun blev ham og han blev hende tro;
de drømte sammen om et stråtækt bo,
et snehvidt får, som kunde nære to –

MISS JAY.
And then there was a terrible old father,
Whose sport was thrusting happy souls apart;
She had a guardian also, as I gather,
To add fresh torment to her tortured heart.
But each of them was loyal to his vow;
A straw-hatched cottage and a snow-white ewe
They dream’d of, just enough to nourish two--

FRU HALM.
Ja i det højeste en liden ko, –

MRS. HALM.
Or at the very uttermost a cow,--

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Kort sagt, som de for mig så tidt erklærte,
en bæk, en hytte og hinandens hjerte.

MISS JAY.
In short, I’ve heard it from the lips of both,--
A beck, a byre, two bosoms, and one troth.

FALK.
Ak ja! Og så –?

FALK.
Ah yes! And then--?

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Så brød hun med sin slægt.

MISS JAY.
She broke with kin and class.

FALK.
Hun brød –?

FALK.
She broke--?

FRU HALM.
Hun brød med den.

MRS. HALM.
Broke with them.

FALK.
Se, det var kækt.

FALK.
There’s a plucky lass!

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Og flytted til sin stråmand op på kvisten.

MISS JAY.
And fled to Strawman’s garret--

FALK.
Hun flytted op! Foruden – sådan – vielse?

FALK.
How? Without--
Ahem, the priestly consecration?

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Å fy!

MISS JAY.
Shame!

FRU HALM.
Fy skam! Min salig mand på listen
står blandt forloverne –!

MRS. HALM.
Fy, fy! my late beloved husband’s name
Was on the list of sponsors--!

STYVER
(til frøkenen).
Ja, din fortielse
af faktum er det, som forvolder tvisten.
I referater har det megen vægt
at ordne kronologisk og korrekt.
Men jeg kan aldrig faa det i mit hode,
hvor de kom af det –

STIVER
(To MISS JAY).
You’re to blame
For leaving that important item out.
In a report ’tis of the utmost weight
That the chronology be accurate.
But what I never yet could comprehend
Is how on earth they managed-–

FALK
(fortsættende).
– thi man tør formode,
at får og ko ej med på kvisten bode.

STIVER
[to MISS JAY].
The one room
Not housing sheep and cattle, I presume.

FRØKEN SKÆRE
(til Styver).
Å, du skal vel betænke ét, min gode:
Man trænger ej, hvor kærligheden troner;
to ømme hjerter klarer sig med lidt.
(til Falk.)
Han elsked hende til guitarens toner,
og hun gav på klaver informationer –

MISS JAY
[to STIVER].
O, but you must consider this, my friend;
There is no Want where Love’s the guiding star;
All’s right without if tender Troth’s within.
[To Falk.]
He loved her to the notes of the guitar,
And she gave lessons on the violin--

FRU HALM.
og så, forstår sig, tog de på kredit –

MRS. HALM.
Then all, of course, on credit they bespoke--

GULDSTAD.
Et år, til handelshuset gik fallit.

GULDSTAD.
Till, in a year, the timber merchant broke.

FRU HALM.
Men så fik Stråmand kald et steds der nordpå.

MRS. HALM.
Then Strawman had a call to north.

FRØKEN SKÆRE.
Og i et brev, jeg siden så, han svor på,
han leved blot for pligten og for hende.

MISS JAY.
And there
Vowed, in a letter that I saw (as few did),
He lived but for his duty, and for her.

FALK
(supplerende).
Og dermed var hans livs roman tilende.

FALK
[as if completing her statement].
And with those words his Life’s Romance concluded.

FRU HALM
(rejser sig).
Ja nu jeg tror vi går i haven ned;
vi må jo se, om vi dem har ivente.

MRS. HALM
[rising].
How if we should go out upon the lawn,
And see if there’s no prospect of them yet?

FRØKEN SKÆRE
(idet hun tar mantillen på).
Det er alt svalt.

MISS JAY
[drawing on her mantle].
It’s cool already.

FRU HALM.
Ja, Svanhild, vil du hente
mit uldne shavl.

MRS. HALM.
Svanhild, will you get
My woollen shawl?--Come ladies, pray!

LIND
(til Anna, ubemærket af de øvrige).
Gå forud!

LIND
[to ANNA, unobserved by the others].
Go on!

FRU HALM.
Kom så med!
(Svanhild går ind i huset; de andre, undtagen Falk, går mod baggrunden og ud til venstre. Lind, der har fulgt med, standser og kommer tilbage.)

[SVANHILD goes into the house; the others, except FALK, go towards the back and out to the left.]
[LIND, who has followed, stops and returns.]

LIND.
Min ven!

LIND.
My friend!

FALK.
Iligemåde!

FALK.
Ah, ditto.

LIND.
Hånden hid!
Jeg er så glad; – jeg tror mit bryst må sprænges,
ifald jeg ikke får fortalt –

LIND.
Falk, your hand! The tide
Of joy’s so vehement, it will perforce
Break out--

1. A grey old stager. Ibsen’s friend P. Botten-Hansen, author of the play Hyldrebryllupet.

Permanent link

http://www2.hf.uio.no/common/apps/permlink/permlink.php?app=polyglotta&context=ctext&uid=cdacbcb8-ea84-11e0-ab97-001cc4df1abe

Choose languages

Choose images, etc.

Choose languages

Choose display