Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 4).djvu/52

And declared that such a headpiece
Many a Prince down there might envy;
Till the cob your father gave him,
With a sledge to boot, in thanks
For his pleasant, friendly talk.—
Ah, but things went bravely then!
Provost,^[1] Captain, all the rest,
Dropped in daily, ate and drank,
Swilling, till they well-nigh burst.
But 'tis need that tests one's neighbour.
Lonely here it grew, and silent,
From the day that "Gold-bag Jon"^[2]
Started with his pack, a pedlar.

[Dries her eyes with her apron

Ah, you're big and strong enough,
You should be a staff and pillar
For your mother's frail old age,—
You should keep the farm-work going,
Guard the remnants of your gear;—

[Crying again.

Oh, God help me, small's the profit
You have been to me, you scamp!
Lounging by the hearth at home,
Grubbing in the charcoal embers;
Or, round all the country, frightening
Girls away from merry-makings—
Shaming me in all directions,
Fighting with the worst rapscallions—-

Peer.

[Turning away from her.]

Let me be.

1. An ecclesiastical dignitary—something equivalent to a rural
   dean.
2. "Jon med Skjæppen"—literally, "John with the Bushel"—a
   nickname given him in his days of prosperity, in allusion to
   his supposed bushels of money.