Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 10).djvu/186

 said: "Listen—I have been here and there—in this place and in that. And I have taken our child with me—to this place and to that. And I have lost the child—utterly lost it. The devil knows into what hands it may have fallen—who may have had their clutches on it."

Hedda.

Well—but when all is said and done, you know—this was only a book

Lövborg. Thea's pure soul was in that book.

Hedda. Yes, so I understand.

Lövborg.

And you can understand, too, that for her and me together no future is possible.

Hedda. What path do you mean to take then?

Lövborg.

None. I will only try to make an end of it all—the sooner the better.

Hedda.

[A step nearer him.] Eilert Lövborg—listen to me.—Will you not try to—to do it beautifully?

Lövborg.

Beautifully? [Smiling.] With vine-leaves in my hair, as you used to dream in the old days?