Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 8).djvu/106

 Petra.

Oh, mother, don't always think first of us.

Mrs. Stockmann.

Yes, it's easy for you to talk; you can stand alone if need be.—But remember the boys, Thomas; and think a little of yourself too, and of me

Dr. Stockmann.

You're surely out of your senses, Katrina! If I were to be such a pitiful coward as to knuckle under to this Peter and his confounded crew—should I ever have another happy hour in all my life?

Mrs. Stockmann.

I don't know about that; but God preserve us from the happiness we shall all of us have if you persist in defying them. There you will be again, with nothing to live on, with no regular income. I should have thought we had had enough of that in the old days. Remember them, Thomas; think of what it all means.

Dr. Stockmann.

[Struggling with himself and clenching his hands.] And this is what these jacks-in-office can bring upon a free and honest man! Isn't it revolting, Katrina?

Mrs. Stockmann.

Yes, no doubt they are treating you shamefully. But God knows there's plenty of injustice one must just submit to in this world.—Here are the boys, Thomas. Look at them! What is to become of them? Oh no, no! you can never have the heart

Eilif and Morten, with school-books, have meanwhile entered.