Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 11).djvu/265



[Looking at him.] I have no poetic vocation! And you could actually say it to me so bluntly.

[In a gentler tone.] Well, you know, I don't pretend to know much about these matters.

Perhaps you know more than you think.

I?

[Softly.] Yes, you. For I myself have had my doubts, now and then, I may tell you. The horrible doubt that I may have bungled my life for the sake of a delusion.

If you have no faith in yourself, you are on the downward path indeed.

That was why I found such comfort in coming here to lean upon your faith in me. [''Taking his hat.''] But now you have become a stranger to me.

And you to me.

Good night, John Gabriel.