Brand.
Gazing a while before him: then bursts out.]
Before—or now,—when did I stray?
Agnes comes out with a cloak over her shoulders
and the child in her arms; Brand does not see
her; she is about to speak, but stands petrified
with terror at the look in his face. At the same
moment A Man comes in hastily through the
garden-gate. The sun is setting.
The Man.
Hark, priest, you have a foe!
Brand.
[Clenching his hand against his breast.]
Yes, <g>here</g>!
The Man.
Watch well the Mayor. The seed you sow
Sprang ever bravely into ear,
Till blighting slanders laid it low.
With meaning hints he has implied
That by-and-by this house would lack
A tenant, and you'd turn your back,
The day your wealthy mother died.
Brand.
And if it were so
The Man.
Priest, I know you;
Know, why these poisonous tales are rife;
You stood against him still at strife;
He could not bend your purpose;—lo, you,
That's what these slanders signified
