Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 3).djvu/120

And, as I just drove by, occurr'd
The thought that, after all, "to leap
Is just as easy as to creep":
Moreover, many have averr'd,
That she and you have been imbrued
For years in a domestic feud——

Brand.

Domestic feud?

The Mayor.

               She's out and out
Close-fisted, so they say, you know.
You think it goes too far, no doubt.
A man's own claims he can't forego.
She keeps exclusive occupation
Of all that was bequeath'd to you.

Brand.

Exclusive occupation, true.

The Mayor.

A ready cause of irritation
In families. Surmising thence
That you await with resignation
The moment of her going hence,
I hope I may without offence
Speak out, although I quite admit
The time I've chosen is unfit.

Brand.

Or now or later, nought I care.

The Mayor.

Well, to the point then, fair and square.
When once your mother's dead and blest,
In the earth's bosom laid to rest,
You're <g>rich</g>!