HEDDA GABLER 9

HEDDA GABLER 9

TESMAN. Has Mrs. Elvsted been here all night? HEDDA. Yes, since no one came to fetch her. TESMAN. Ah, to be sure. HEDDA. [Closes the door of the stove and rises.] Well, did you enjoy yourselves at Judge Brack's? TESMAN. Have you been anxious about me? Eh? HEDDA. No, I should never think of being anxious. But I asked if you had enjoyed yourself. TESMAN. Oh yes,--for once in a way. Especially the beginning of the evening; for then Eilert read me part of his book. We arrived more than an hour too early--fancy that! And Brack had all sorts of arrangements to make--so Eilert read to me. HEDDA. [Seating herself by the table on the right.] Well? Tell me then-- TESMAN. [Sitting on a footstool near the stove.] Oh, Hedda, you can't conceive what a book that is going to be! I believe it is one of the most remarkable things that have ever been written. Fancy that! HEDDA. Yes yes; I don't care about that-- TESMAN. I must make a confession to you, Hedda. When he had finished reading--a horrid feeling came over me. HEDDA. A horrid feeling? TESMAN. I felt jealous of Eilert for having had it in him to write such a book. Only think, Hedda! HEDDA. Yes, yes, I am thinking! TESMAN. And then how pitiful to think that he--with all his gifts--should be irreclaimable, after all. HEDDA. I suppose you mean that he has more courage than the rest? TESMAN. No, not at all--I mean that he is incapable of taking his pleasure in moderation. HEDDA. And what came of it all--in the end? TESMAN. Well, to tell the truth, I think it might best be described as an orgie, Hedda. HEDDA. Had he vine-leaves in his hair? TESMAN. Vine-leaves? No, I saw nothing of the sort. But he made a long, rambling speech in honour of the woman who had inspired him in his work--that was the phrase he used. HEDDA. Did he name her? TESMAN. No, he didn't; but I can't help thinking he meant Mrs. Elvsted. You may be sure he did. HEDDA. Well--where did you part from him? TESMAN. On the way to town. We broke up--the last of us at any rate--all together; and Brack came with us to get a breath of fresh air. And then, you see, we agreed to take Eilert home; for he had had far more than was good for him. HEDDA. I daresay. TESMAN. But now comes the strange part of it, Hedda; or, I should rather say, the melancholy part of it. I declare I am almost ashamed--on Eilert's account--to tell you-- HEDDA. Oh, go on--! TESMAN. Well, as we were getting near town, you see, I happened to drop a little behind the others. Only for a minute or two--fancy that! HEDDA. Yes yes yes, but--? TESMAN. And then, as I hurried after them--what do you think I found by the wayside? Eh? HEDDA. Oh, how should I know! TESMAN. You mustn't speak of it to a soul, Hedda! Do you hear! Promise me, for Eilert's sake. [Draws a parcel, wrapped in paper, from his coat pocket.] Fancy, dear--I found this. HEDDA. Is not that the parcel he had with him yesterday? TESMAN. Yes, it is the whole of his precious, irreplaceable manuscript! And he had gone and lost it, and knew nothing about it. Only fancy, Hedda! So deplorably-- HEDDA. But why did you not give him back the parcel at once? TESMAN. I didn't dare to--in the state he was then in-- HEDDA. Did you not tell any of the others that you had found it? TESMAN. Oh, far from it! You can surely understand that, for Eilert's sake, I wouldn't do that. HEDDA. So no one knows that Eilert Lovborg's manuscript is in your possession? TESMAN. No. And no one must know it. HEDDA. Then what did you say to him afterwards? TESMAN. I didn't talk to him again at all; for when we got in among the streets, he and two or three of the others gave us the slip and disappeared. Fancy that! HEDDA. Indeed! They must have taken him home then. TESMAN. Yes, so it would appear. And Brack, too, left us. HEDDA. And what have you been doing with yourself since? TESMAN. Well, I and some of the others went home with one of the party, a jolly fellow, and took our morning coffee with him; or perhaps I should rather call it our night coffee--eh? But now, when I have rested a little, and given Eilert, poor fellow, time to have his sleep out, I must take this back to him. HEDDA. [Holds out her hand for the packet.] No--don't give it to him! Not in such a hurry, I mean. Let me read it first. TESMAN. No, my dearest Hedda, I mustn't, I really mustn't. HEDDA. You must not? TESMAN. No--for you can imagine what a state of despair he will be in when he wakens and misses the manuscript. He has no copy of it, you must know! He told me so. HEDDA. [Looking searchingly at him.] Can such a thing not be reproduced? Written over again? TESMAN. No, I don't think that would be possible. For the inspiration, you see-- HEDDA. Yes, yes--I suppose it depends on that--[Lightly.] But, by-the-bye --here is a letter for you. TESMAN. Fancy--! HEDDA. [Handing it to him.] It came early this morning. TESMAN. It's from Aunt Julia! What can it be? [He lays the packet on the other footstool, opens the letter, runs his eye through it, and jumps up.] Oh, Hedda--she says that poor Aunt Rina is dying! HEDDA. Well, we were prepared for that. TESMAN. And that if I want to see her again, I must make haste. I'll run in to them at once. HEDDA. [Suppressing a smile.] Will you run? TESMAN. Oh, my dearest Hedda--if you could only make up your mind to come with me! Just think! HEDDA. [Rises and says wearily, repelling the idea.] No, no don't ask me. I will not look upon sickness and death. I loathe all sorts of ugliness. TESMAN. Well, well, then--! [Bustling around.] My hat--? My overcoat--? Oh, in the hall--. I do hope I mayn't come too late, Hedda! Eh? HEDDA. Oh, if you run-- [BERTA appears at the hall door. BERTA. Judge Brack is at the door, and wishes to know if he may come in. TESMAN. At this time! No, I can't possibly see him. HEDDA. But I can. [To BERTA.] Ask Judge Brack to come in. [BERTA goes out. HEDDA. [Quickly, whispering.] The parcel, Tesman!    [She snatches it up from the stool. TESMAN. Yes, give it to me! HEDDA. No, no, I will keep it till you come back.      [She goes to the writing-table and places it in the bookcase.        TESMAN stands in a flurry of haste, and cannot get his        gloves on.   JUDGE BRACK enters from the hall. HEDDA. [Nodding to him.] You are an early bird, I must say. BRACK. Yes, don't you think so! [To TESMAN.] Are you on the move, too? TESMAN. Yes, I must rush of to my aunts'. Fancy--the invalid one is lying at death's door, poor creature. BRACK. Dear me, is she indeed? Then on no account let me detain you. At such a critical moment-- TESMAN. Yes, I must really rush-- Good-bye! Good-bye!    [He hastens out by the hall door. HEDDA. [Approaching.] You seem to have made a particularly lively night of it at your rooms, Judge Brack. BRACK. I assure you I have not had my clothes off, Mrs. Hedda. HEDDA. Not you, either? BRACK. No, as you may see. But what has Tesman been telling you of the night's adventures? HEDDA. Oh, some tiresome story. Only that they went and had coffee somewhere or other. BRACK. I have heard about that coffee-party already. Eilert Lovborg was not with them, I fancy? HEDDA. No, they had taken him home before that. BRACK. Tesman too? HEDDA. No, but some of the others, he said. BRACK. [Smiling.] George Tesman is really an ingenuous creature, Mrs. Hedda. HEDDA. Yes, heaven knows he is. Then is there something behind all this? BRACK. Yes, perhaps there may be. HEDDA. Well then, sit down, my dear Judge, and tell your story in comfort.      [She seats herself to the left of the table.  BRACK sits near        her, at the long side of the table. HEDDA. Now then? BRACK. I had special reasons for keeping track of my guests--last night. HEDDA. Of Eilert Lovborg among the rest, perhaps? BRACK. Frankly, yes. HEDDA. Now you make me really curious-- BRACK. Do you know where he and one or two of the others finished the night, Mrs. Hedda? HEDDA. If it is not quite unmentionable, tell me. BRACK. Oh no, it's not at all unmentionable. Well, they put in an appearance at a particularly animated soiree. HEDDA. Of the lively kind? BRACK. Of the very liveliest-- HEDDA. Tell me more of this, Judge Brack-- BRACK. Lovborg, as well as the others, had been invited in advance. I knew all about it. But he had declined the invitation; for now, as you know, he has become a new man. HEDDA. Up at the Elvsteds', yes. But he went after all, then? BRACK. Well, you see, Mrs. Hedda--unhappily the spirit moved him at my rooms last evening-- HEDDA. Yes, I hear he found inspiration. BRACK. Pretty violent inspiration. Well, I fancy that altered his purpose; for we menfolk are unfortunately not always so firm in our principles as we ought to be. HEDDA. Oh, I am sure you are an exception, Judge Brack. But as to Lovborg--? BRACK. To make a long story short--he landed at last in Mademoiselle Diana's rooms. HEDDA. Mademoiselle Diana's? BRACK. It was Mademoiselle Diana that was giving the soiree, to a select circle of her admirers and her lady friends. HEDDA. Is she a red-haired woman? BRACK. Precisely. HEDDA. A sort of a--singer? BRACK. Oh yes--in her leisure moments. And moreover a mighty huntress--of men--Mrs. Hedda. You have no doubt heard of her. Eilert Lovborg was one of her most enthusiastic protectors--in the days of his glory. HEDDA. And how did all this end? BRACK. Far from amicably, it appears. After a most tender meeting, they seem to have come to blows-- HEDDA. Lovborg and she? BRACK. Yes. He accused her or her friends of having robbed him. He declared that his pocket-book had disappeared--and other things as well. In short, he seems to have made a furious disturbance. HEDDA. And what came of it all? BRACK. It came to a general scrimmage, in which the ladies as well as the gentlemen took part. Fortunately the police at last appeared on the scene. HEDDA. The police too? BRACK. Yes. I fancy it will prove a costly frolic for Eilert Lovborg, crazy being that he is. HEDDA. How so? BRACK. He seems to have made a violent resistance--to have hit one of the constables on the head and torn the coat off his back. So they had to march him off to the police-station with the rest. HEDDA. How have you learnt all this? BRACK. From the police themselves. HEDDA. [Gazing straight before her.] So that is what happened. Then he had no vine-leaves in his hair. BRACK. Vine-leaves, Mrs. Hedda? HEDDA. [Changing her tone.] But tell me now, Judge--what is your real reason for tracking out Eilert Lovborg's movements so carefully? BRACK. In the first place, it could not be entirely indifferent to me if it should appear in the police-court that he came straight from my house. HEDDA. Will the matter come into court then? BRACK. Of course. However, I should scarcely have troubled so much about that. But I thought that, as a friend of the family, it was my duty to supply you and Tesman with a full account of his nocturnal exploits. HEDDA. Why so, Judge Brack? BRACK. Why, because I have a shrewd suspicion that he intends to use you as a sort of blind. HEDDA. Oh, how can you think such a thing! BRACK. Good heavens, Mrs. Hedda--we have eyes in our head. Mark my words! This Mrs. Elvsted will be in no hurry to leave town again. HEDDA. Well, even if there should be anything between them, I suppose there are plenty of other places where they could meet. BRACK. Not a single home. Henceforth, as before, every respectable house will be closed against Eilert Lovborg. HEDDA. And so ought mine to be, you mean? BRACK. Yes. I confess it would be more than painful to me if this personage were to be made free of your house. How superfluous, how intrusive, he would be, if he were to force his way into-- HEDDA. --into the triangle? BRACK. Precisely. It would simply mean that I should find myself homeless. HEDDA. [Looks at him with a smile.] So you want to be the one cock in the basket(12)--that is your aim. BRACK. [Nods slowly and lowers his voice.] Yes, that is my aim. And for that I will fight--with every weapon I can command. HEDDA. [Her smile vanishing.] I see you are a dangerous person--when it comes to the point. BRACK. Do you think so? HEDDA. I am beginning to think so. And I am exceedingly glad to think--that you have no sort of hold over me.