Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 3).djvu/202

Set by the State to guard and guide,—
Look, we must stand against the tide,
Cherish the Church and Education,
And keep aloof from agitation.
Briefly, in nothing take a side.

The Sexton.

But Parson's in it, heart and soul.

The Schoolmaster.

And just in that forgets his rôle.
His own superiors, well I know,
Look with displeasure on his action,
And, dared they but offend his faction,
Had thrown him over long ago.
But he is fine; he smells a rat;
He's got a recipe for that.
He builds the Church. Here you may glue
All eyes up, if you will but <g>do</g>.
<g>What's</g> done none has a thought to spare for;
The <g>doing</g> of it's all they care for.
So they who follow, and we who lead,
All equally are men of deed.

The Sexton.

Well, you have sat in the great Thing,
And ought to know the Land and Folk;
But one who travell'd through the glen
A little after we awoke
Said, we'd been sleeping folks till then,
But, having waked,—were <g>promising</g>.

The Schoolmaster.

Yes; we're a promising folk, of course,—
And mighty promises we're giving,—