Ibla

“ ALFHILD. And where is the home, the house of God, Where the dead dream only of mirth? OLAF. Behold! Now they place him beneath the sod And cover him over with earth. ALFHILD. [Quiet and thoughtful, after a pause.] Not so was death in the song—not so. OLAF. 'Tis true; but no such joy and pleasure Has any one felt here below.— Have you never heard of the mountain king's treasure, Which night after night like gold would glow; But if you would seize the gold in your hand, You nothing would find save gravel and sand; And listen, Alfhild! it often is true That life turns out in the selfsame way ”

“ Rafael thought he did. As he went back in his memory, the picture of an old wrinkled woman rose before his mind, a woman round-shouldered, bent with age, but with a kindly face smiling with simple-mindedness and good nature. He could see her now, with a rosary usually in her hand, a camp-stool under her arm, and her mantilla drawn down over her face. As she passed the Brull door on her way to church, she would greet his mother; and doña Bernarda would remark in a patronizing way: "Doña Pepa is a very fine woman; one of God's own souls.... The only decent person in her family." ”

“ As he climbed slowly and wearily, his arms numb from rowing, to the bridge, he heard his name called.
Don Andrés was standing there, gazing at him out of those yellow eyes of his, scowling through his wrinkles with an expression of stern authority.
"You've given me a fine night, Rafael. I know where you've been. I saw you row off last night with that woman; and plenty of my friends were on hand to follow you and find out just where you went. You've been on the island all night; that woman was singing away like a lunatic.... God of Gods, boy! Aren't there any houses in the world? ”

“ And at night, alone in the dining-room with don Andrés, when the hour of confidences came, doña Bernarda would forget the affairs of "the House" and of "the Party," to say with satisfaction:
"It's going better."
"Is Rafael taking to her?"
"More and more every day. We're getting there, we're getting there! That boy is the living image of his father when it comes to matters like this. Believe me, you can't let one of that tribe out of your sight a minute. If I didn't keep my eye peeled, that young devil would be doing something that would discredit the House forever." ”

“ Wangel (in quiet sorrow) . I see it, Ellida. Step by step you are slipping from me. The craving for the boundless, the infinite, the unattainable will drive your soul into the darkness of night at last.
Ellida. Yes! I feel it hovering over me like black noiseless wings.
Wangel. It shall not come to that. No other deliverance is possible for you. I at least can see no other. And so—so I cry off our bargain at once. Now you can choose your own path in perfect—perfect freedom.
Ellida (stares at him a while as if stricken dumb) . ”

“ O Imba! I give my people into your hand; now let your hand bend the twig as you would have it grow. Make them Christian if you will, or leave them heathen if you will; I care nothing. They are yours to drive upon whatever path you choose to set their feet, yours, O Imba, not Tombool’s. Also, I, who lack heirs, give you my cattle, all of them. Ivana, make known my words, and with them the curse of Menzi, the King’s child, the Umazisi, the Seer, on any who dare to disobey. Say to those of my House and to my people that henceforth the Maiden Imba is their lady and their mother. ”

“ I thought there was life in the mountain side. A sorry mistake I have made. Now I know better;—for man alone Can revel in joy, can suffer despair. In tree and in flower, friend there is none,— My sorrow alone I must bear. [She rises.] ALFHILD. Away then! Up midst the ice and the snow,— The grave is the only shelter below!
[She starts to leave.]
SCENE VIII
[ALFHILD, LADY KIRSTEN, ARNE, WEDDING GUESTS, PEASANTS and SERVANTS from various sides. Later OLAF LILJEKRANS.]
LADY KIRSTEN. There she is! Stand still, Alfhild! Do not try to escape,—else we shall shoot you. ”

“ Every one was there, even the Snow Witches who had not been invited. They came whirling and dancing through the forest almost as soon as the sliding had begun. Ivra gave them glad welcome in spite of their rough ways and stinging hair. For she, the only one of all who were there, liked them very well and had made them her comrades often and often on windy winter days. And they, who cared for nobody, cared for her. "She is not like anybody," they explained it to each other. "She is a great little girl."
But they would not take Ivra's sled as she wanted them to. ”

“ Once again he bent to the oars, heading out toward midstream over the moonlit water, as if to vouchsafe the groves on either bank an equal pleasure in the romantic escapade.
It had been one of her caprices—a desire repeated during his visits to the Blue House on some afternoons, in the presence of doña Pepa and the maid, and on every night, as he passed through the opening in the hedge where Leonora's bare arms were waiting for him in the darkness.
For more than a week Rafael had been living in a sweet dream. Never had he imagined that life could be so beautiful. ”

“ Ellida. Do you mean because of the vow?
The Stranger. Vows bind no one, neither man nor woman. If I hold so steadfastly to you, it is because I cannot do otherwise.
Ellida (in a low, trembling voice) . Why didn't you come before?
Wangel. Ellida!
Ellida (bursting out) . Ah! All that attracts, and tempts, and lures into the unknown! All the strength of the sea concentrated in this one thing!
(The STRANGER climbs over the fence.)
Ellida (stepping back to WANGEL) . What is it? What do you want?
The Stranger. I see it and I hear it in you, Ellida. ”

“ That it would all pass; that it was a young man's whim; that youth must have its fling! What was the use? Rafael hadn't studied to be a monk! Many boys his age, and even older ones, were far worse!... And the old gentleman smiled, for he was thinking of his own easy conquests with the wretched flock of dirty, unkempt peasant girls who wrapped the oranges in the shipping houses of Alcira. "You see, doña Bernarda, you suffered too much with don Ramón. You are a bit too exacting with Rafael. Let him have a good time! Let him enjoy himself! ”

“ You ought most of all to be glad that you have Rita.
ALLMERS. Yes, of course I should. But Rita is no kin to me—it isn't like having a sister.
ASTA. [Eagerly.] Do you say that, Alfred?
ALLMERS. Yes, our family is a thing apart. [Half jestingly.] We have always had vowels for our initials. Don't you remember how often we used to speak of that? And all our relations—all equally poor. And we have all the same colour of eyes.
ASTA. Do you think I have—?
ALLMERS. No, you take entirely after your mother. You are not in the least like the rest of us—not even like father. ”

“ OLAF. [Deeply moved.] Alas, that I lay in the grave below. Lulled in eternal rest! Your every word is a steel-made bow That strikes with an arrow my breast! ALFHILD. [Jumps up with childlike joy.] Just so it shall be,—'tis rightfully so! Yes, truly, indeed, have you chords in your breast! So let it be sung; they easily show That you are yourself by my sorrow oppressed. They show that your own grief is just as strong As the one that you voice in your plaintive song! [She stops and looks sorrowfully at him.] ALFHILD. Yet no,—you shall not sing of Alfhild's lament ”

“ Lead me whither and as far as you will, into the mountain, under the hill, to the grassy meadow, where song and refrain echo sweetly in the evening, on the bottom of the river, down under the rapids, where there are harps for powerful plaintive lays; wherever your home is, there I am ready to wander!
ALFHILD. Why speak you thus? You must surely know better than what you are saying.—Spirits and elves hold sway in mountain and hillock, and on the bottom of the river lives the nixie,—so father has said. Think you that I am an elf or—
OLAF. You are the fairest in the world ”

“ In the distance he saw, in the doorway of the tavern of Copa, his enemy Pimentó, with an earthen jug in hand, in the midst of a circle of friends, gesticulating and laughing as if he were imitating the protests and complaints of the one denounced. His sentence was the theme of rejoicing for the huerta: all were laughing.
God! Now he, a man of peace and a kind father, understood why it is that men kill.
His powerful arms trembled, and he felt a cruel itching in the hands. He slackened his pace on approaching the house of Copa; he wanted to see whether they would mock him to his face. ”

“ They had not proceeded far when they heard the noise of drums and trumpets from the battlements of the Alhambra.
"Our flight is discovered!" said the renegado.
"We have fleet steeds, the night is dark, and we may distance all pursuit," replied the cavaliers.
They put spurs to their horses, and scoured across the Vega. They attained the foot of the mountains of Elvira, which stretches like a promontory into the plain. The renegado paused and listened. "As yet," said he, "there is no one on our traces, we shall make good our escape to the mountains." ”

“ SCENE IV [OLAF. ALFHILD from the church.] ALFHILD. [Runs eagerly to meet him.] Olaf! Olaf! You have led me to the land Where I walk amid flowers, where before I trod on sand. In truth you have here so pleasant an isle, O here I can live without worry or guile! So much I would question, so little I know, The riddles must you explain as we go.— Is it green here always in summer and spring? OLAF. Alfhild! ALFHILD. Your answer delay! You see yon house with its spire and wing? There went I this morning to play; Without there was joy, there was laughter and mirth ”

“ One ancient crone gave a long account of the subterranean palace in the bowels of that mountain where Boabdil and all his Moslem court are said to remain enchanted. “Among yonder ruins,” said she, pointing to some crumbling walls and mounds of earth on a distant part of the mountain, “there is a deep black pit that goes down, down into the very heart of the mountain. For all the money in Granada I would not look down into it. Once upon a time a poor man of the Alhambra, who tended goats upon this mountain, scrambled down into that pit after a kid that had fallen in. ”

“ Rafael noticed finally that the recluse was approaching, unable to restrain a desire to communicate his admiration to someone.
"What a woman!" the man cried, rolling his eyes to express his full enthusiasm.
She had given him a duro, one of those white discs which, in that atheistic age, so rarely ascended that mountain trail! And there the poor invalid sat at the door of the Hermitage, staring into her apron blankly, hypnotized by the glitter of all that wealth! Duros, pesetas, two-pesetas, dimes! All the money the lady had brought! Even a gold button, which must have come from her glove! ”

“ Ibú's great settlement is no gloomy Hades, nor, on the other hand, is it a paradise of celestial joy. It is simply a continuation of the present life, except that all care and worry and trouble are ended. The spirits of deceased earthly relatives take up their abode in one house and pass a quiet existence under the mild sway of Ibú. There they eat, work, and even marry. Occasionally, with the aid of the family deities with whom they can commune, they pay a brief visit to the home of their living relatives and then return to the tranquil realms of Ibú as fleetly as they came. ”

“ All these charges have been reiterated in various forms; they have passed into ballads, dramas, and romances, until they have taken too thorough possession of the public mind to be eradicated. There is not a foreigner of education that visits the Alhambra, but asks for the fountain where the Abencerrages were beheaded; and gazes with horror at the grated gallery where the queen is said to have been confined; not a peasant of the Vega or the Sierra, but sings the story in rude couplets, to the accompaniment of his guitar, while his hearers learn to execrate the very name of Boabdil. ”

“ Elves and sprites hold sway here. Be you of good cheer! If you find him not he is at play with the elves; they are fond of all who love little birds, and Olaf, you said.... Go home,—go home again. Olaf is up in the mountain; he suffers no want.
LADY KIRSTEN. Curse you for saying such things!
ARNE. [To LADY KIRSTEN.] Do not heed what he says.
THORGJERD. [Approaches again.] I go hence now to tune my harp; Olaf Liljekrans is up in the mountain,—there shall his wedding be held.—Mad Thorgjerd must also be there; he can make tables and benches dance, so stirring is the music he plays. ”

“ But Ivrea, like all the other Italian towns, has its history, its glorious legend, which is never allowed to die, and the Carnival of Ivrea is the time chosen for representing the story and commemorating the tragic history of the local heroine. In the Middle Ages, Ivrea had its feudal lord. The Count Arduino, as may be fancied from his name, was a bold, bad man; he possessed the [Pg 208] terrible Droit de Seigneur, which he rigorously exacted. The belle of the village was a miller's daughter:
"We never see such maidens now,
Such mill-wheels turn not round." ”

“ The noise of the instruments upset the animals, taking away their courage and serenity when they entered the arena.
"They are just like ourselves," he said with tenderness. "They lack only speech. What do I say? Like us? There are some that are better than some people."
And he told about Lobito, an old bull, a leader, which he declared he would not sell even if they would give him the whole of Seville with its Giralda. He no sooner galloped in sight of the drove in which this jewel lived on the vast pastures, than a shout was enough to call his attention. ”