Jeppe on the Hill Part 8

=Second Lawyer=--Nego majorem, qvod scilicit irruperit.

=First Lawyer=--Res manifesta est, tot legitimis testibus exstantibus, ac confitenti reo.

=Second Lawyer=--Quic.u.mque vi vel metu coactus fuerit confiteri--

=First Lawyer=--But where is that vis? Where is that metus? That is but chicanery.

=Second Lawyer=--No, you are using chicane.

=First Lawyer=--No honest man shall accuse me of such a thing.

(The lawyers grapple, and Jeppe runs over and pulls the wig off the first lawyer and strikes him on the head with it.)

=Judge=--Order in the courtroom! Stop, I have heard enough! (Reads his verdict:) Whereas Jeppe on the Hill, son of Niels on the Hill, and grandson of Jeppe from the same place, is proved by legal witnesses as well as by his own confession to have surrept.i.tiously entered the Baron's castle, put on his clothes, and maltreated his servants, he is condemned to die by poison, and when he is dead his body shall be hanged on the gallows.

=Jeppe=--Ah! Ah! Gracious judge! Is there no pardon?

=Judge=--None. The sentence shall be executed immediately in my presence.

=Jeppe=--Ah! Won't you give me a gla.s.s of whiskey before I drink the poison so that I can die like a soldier?

=Judge=--Yes, that is permitted.

=Jeppe= (drinks three gla.s.ses of whiskey, falls on his knees and asks:)--Is there then no pardon?

=Judge=--No, Jeppe! It is too late now.

=Jeppe=--Ah! But it isn't too late! The judge can surely change the sentence, and say that it was all wrong the first time. Why, that happens often, for we are all human.

=Judge=--No, you shall feel yourself in a few minutes that it is too late; for you have already taken the poison in the whiskey.

=Jeppe=--Ah, poor me! Have I already taken the poison? Ah, goodbye, Nille!

Still, you fiend, you don't deserve to have me bid you farewell; goodbye Jens, Niels and Christoffer! Goodbye, my daughter Martha; goodbye, the apple of my eye! You have your father's face; we look as much alike as two drops of water. Goodbye, my dappled horse, and thanks for every time I have ridden on you; next to my own children I have loved no beast as much as you. Goodbye, Fairfax! My faithful dog and watch; goodbye Mo'ns, my black cat! Goodbye, my oxen, my sheep, my hogs, and thanks for good company and for every day I have known you. Goodbye--Ah! Now I can say nothing more, I am so weak and helpless.

(Falls over and remains lying.)

=Judge=--It works well; the drugged liquor has already done its work; he sleeps like a stone. Now hang him up; but see to it that he receives no injury from it, and that the rope comes only under his arms. Now we shall see how he acts when he awakes and finds himself hanging aloft.

ACT V.

Scene 1.

Nille. Jeppe. Judge.

(Jeppe is represented hanging on a gallows.)

=Nille= (tears her hair, beats her breast, and cries)--Oh! Oh! Is it possible that I shall see my husband hanging on a gallows! Ah, my dearest husband! Forgive me if I have ever done anything to harm you.

Oh, oh! Now my conscience awakes; now I am sorry, but too late, that I have treated you so mean; now I begin to miss you, now I can see what an excellent husband I have lost! Oh! Oh, if I could only bring you back from death, even at the cost of my own life and blood.

(Wipes her eyes and weeps bitterly. In the meantime the effects of the sleep-producing drink have worn off, and Jeppe wakes and sees himself hanging on a gallows with his hands tied behind his back; he hears his wife sobbing and speaks to her.)

=Jeppe=--Don't feel bad, my darling wife! We must all go this way sometime. Go home and take care of the house and look after my children.

My red coat can be made over for little Christian, and what is left Martha may have for a cap. But, before all else, see to it that my dappled horse is well taken care of, for I loved that beast as if he was my own brother. If I wasn't dead I'd tell you a number of other things.

=Nille=--Oh--Oh--Oh--What is that? What do I hear? Can a dead man speak?

=Jeppe=--Do not fear, Nille; I won't hurt you.

=Nille=--Ah, my dearest husband, how can you speak when you are dead?

=Jeppe=--I don't know how it is myself. But listen, dear wife. Run like a streak and bring me eight pence worth of whiskey, for I am more thirsty now than when I was alive.

=Nille=--Fie! You beast! You rascal! You old sot! Didn't you drink whiskey enough while you were alive? Are you still thirsty, you dog, now that you are dead? You're what I call a regular hog!

=Jeppe=--Hold your tongue, you scold, and fetch the whiskey. If you don't do that I'll be hanged if I won't haunt the house every night. You must know that I'm not afraid of Master Erik any more, for I don't feel thras.h.i.+ngs now. (Nille runs to the house after Master Erik, returns and thrashes him on the gallows.) Ou--Ou--Ouch! Stop, Nille! Stop! You might kill me again, Ou--Ou--Ouch!

=Judge= (interferes)--Look here, woman, you must not strike him any more.

Be content; we will, for your sake, forgive your husband his offense, and sentence him to life again.

=Nille=--Ah, no, gracious lord! Just let him hang, for he is not worth the trouble.

=Judge=--Fie! You are a wicked woman! Get out of here quickly or we shall hang you up beside him. (Nille runs out.)

Scene 2.

Jeppe. The Court.

(Jeppe is being taken down from the gallows.)

=Jeppe=--Ah, your honor! Is it certain that I am quite alive again or am I a ghost?

=Judge=--You are quite alive; for the court which can sentence you to death can also sentence you to life. Can't you understand that?

=Jeppe=--No, I don't understand it, but I believe I am still a ghost.

=Judge=--Ah, you fool! That is easy to see. He who takes a thing from you can certainly give it back to you.

=Jeppe=--May I then try to hang the judge, just for fun, and see if I can sentence him to life again later?

=Judge=--No, that won't do; for you are no judge.

=Jeppe=--But am I then alive again?

=Judge=--Yes, you are.