Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 7).djvu/227

 Mrs. Alving.

[Beaming.] Yes, isn't it, dear?

Manders.

[Looking sympathetically at him.] You went out into the world early, my dear Oswald.

Oswald.

I did. I sometimes wonder whether it wasn't too early.

Mrs. Alving.

Oh, not at all. A healthy lad is all the better for it; especially when he's an only child. He oughtn't to hang on at home with his mother and father, and get spoilt.

Manders.

That is a very disputable point, Mrs. Alving. A child's proper place is, and must be, the home of his fathers.

Oswald. There I quite agree with you, Pastor Manders.

Manders.

Only look at your own son—there is no reason why we should not say it in his presence—what has the consequence been for him? He is six or seven and twenty, and has never had the opportunity of learning what a well-ordered home really is.

Oswald.

I beg your pardon, Pastor; there you're quite mistaken.