Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 1).pdf/493



And how have you discovered—

That you love her? That in your eyes 'twas easy to discover. Let her too know it.

[Presses his hand.

Now I will go in. Let the jest cease and earnest work begin; And if you undertake that till the end You'll be to her no less a faithful friend, A staff to lean on, and a help in need, Than I can be—

[Turning to                   Why, good, my offer's nought; Cancel it from the tables of your thought. Then it is I who triumph in very deed; You're happy, and for nothing else I fought. [To  And, apropos—just now you spoke of cash, Trust me, 'tis little more than tinsell'd trash. I have no ties, stand perfectly alone; To you I will make over all I own; My daughter she shall be, and you my son. You know I have a business by the border: There I'll retire, you set your home in order, And we'll foregather when a year is gone. Now, Falk, you know me; with the same precision Observe yourself: the voyage down life's stream, Remember, is no pastime and no dream. Now, in the name of God—make your decision! [''Goes into the house. Pause. and  look shyly at each other.''