{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/ron/ron09.htm","path":"neu/ron/ron09.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/ron/ron09.htm","text":"A open space on the shore in front of the Gibichungs' hall; to the right the open entrance to the hall, to the left the bank of the Rhine. From the latter, crossing the stage and mounting towards the back, rises a rocky height, cut by several mountain-paths. There an altar-stone to Fricka is visible, as well as one, higher up, to Wotan, and one at the side to Donner. It is night. Hagen, his arm round his spear and his shield by his side, sits against one of the pillars of the hall asleep. The moon shines out suddenly and throws a vivid light on Hagen and his immediate surroundings. Alberich is seen crouching in front of him, leaning his arms on Hagen's knees.\nAlberich\n[Softly.]\nHagen, son, art asleep?\n Betrayed by drowsiness\n And rest thou dost not hear?\nHagen\n[Softly, without moving, so that he seems to sleep on although his eyes are open.]\nI hear thee, O baleful Niblung;\n What wouldst thou tell me while I slumber?\nRemember the might\n Thou art endowed with,\n If thou art valiant\n As thy mother bore thee to me.\n[Still as before.]\nThough courage she bestowed,\n I have no cause to thank her\n For falling under thy spell;\nSoon old, wan and pale,\n Hating the happy,\n Where is my joy?\n[As before.]\nHagen, my son,\n Hate thou the happy;\n This joyless and\n Sorrow-laden one,\n Him alone thou shalt love.\n Be thou strong\n And bold and wise!\n Those whom with weapons\n Of darkness we fight\n Already our hate has dismayed.\n And he who captured my ring,\n Wotan, the ravening robber,\n By one of his sons\n In fight has been vanquished;\n He has lost\n Through the W\u00e4lsung power and might.\n With the whole immortal race\n He awaits in anguish his downfall.\n Him I fear no more:\n He and all his must perish!\n Hagen, son, art asleep?\n[Remains motionless as before.]\nThe might of the Gods\n Who then shall wield?\nI--and thou!\n The world we shall own,\n If in thy truth\n I rightly trust,\n Sharest thou my hate and wrath.\n Wotan's spear\n Was splintered by Siegfried,\nThe ravens of Wotan\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0See p. 128\nThe hero who won\n As booty the ring\n When Fafner, the dragon, he slew.\n Power supreme\n He has attained to;\n[Still mysteriously.]\nWalhall and Nibelheim bow to his will.\n On this hero undaunted\n My curse falls in vain,\n For he knows not\n The ring's true worth,\n Nor makes use\n Of its wonderful spell;\n Laughing he burns life away,\n Caring only for love.\n Nothing can serve us\n But his undoing!\nSleepest, Hagen, my son?\nAlready he speeds\n Through me to his doom.\nThe golden ring--\n 'Tis that that we must capture!\n The W\u00e4lsung\n By a wise woman is loved.\n If, urged by her,\n To the Rhine's fair daughters\n --Who bewitched me once\n Below in the waves--\n The stolen ring he restored,\n Forever lost were the gold,\n And no guile could win it again.\n Wherefore with ardour\n Aim for the ring.\nI gat thee\n A stranger to fear,\n That against heroes\n Thou mightst uphold me.\n I had not the strength,\n Indeed, to despatch,\n Like the Walsung, Fafner in fight;\n But I reared Hagen\n To deadly hatred,\n And he shall avenge me--\n Shall win the ring,\n Putting W\u00e4lsung and Wotan to scorn!\n Swear to me, Hagen, my son!\n[From this point Alberich is covered by an ever-deepening shadow. At the same time day begins to dawn.]\nThe ring shall be mine yet;\n Quietly wait!\nSwear to me, Hagen, my son!\nTo myself swear I;\n Make thy mind easy!\n[Still gradually disappearing, and his voice, as he does so, becoming more and more inaudible.]\nBe true, Hagen, my son!\n Trusty hero, be true!\n Be true!--True!\n[Alberich has quite disappeared. Hagen, who has never changed position, looks with fixed eyes and without moving towards the Rhine, over which the light of dawn is spreading.]\n\"The ring upon my hand--\n . . . ah, be implored!\n For Wotan fling it away!\"\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0See p. 129\nThe gradually brightening red of dawn is reflected in the Rhine. Siegfried\n steps out suddenly from behind a bush close to the shore. He appears\n in his own shape, but has the Tarnhelm on his head still; he takes\n this off, and, as he comes forward, hangs it on his girdle.\nSiegfried\nHoioh! Hagen!\n Weary man!\n Where is thy welcome?\n[Rising in a leisurely fashion.]\nHei! Siegfried?\n Swift-footed hero,\n Whence stormest thou now?\nFrom Br\u00fcnnhilde's rock.\n 'Twas there that I drew the breath\n I called to thee with;\n A quick passage I made!\n Slower behind me a pair\n On board a vessel come.\nHast thou won Br\u00fcnnhild'?\nWakes Gutrune?\n[Calling towards the hall.]\nHoiho! Gutrune!\n Haste and come!\n Siegfried is here.\n Why dost delay?\n[Turning to the hall.]\nHow Br\u00fcnnhild' yielded\n Ye shall both be told.\n[Gutrune comes from the hall to meet him.]\nGive me fair greeting,\n Gibich's child!\n I come to thee with joyful news.\nGutrune\nFreia greet thee\n To the honour of all women!\nTo thy lover glad\n Be gracious;\n For wife I have won thee to-day.\nComes then Br\u00fcnnhild' with my brother?\nNone ever wooed with more ease.\nWas he not scorched by the fire?\nIt had not burnt him, I trow;\n But I broke through it instead,\n That I for wife might win thee.\nAnd no harm didst thou take?\nI laughed 'mid the surge of the flames.\nDid Br\u00fcnnhild' think thee Gunther?\nLike were we to a hair;\n The Tarnhelm saw to that,\n As Hagen truly foretold.\nI gave thee counsel good.\nAnd so the bold maid was tamed?\nHer pride--Gunther broke.\nDid she give herself to thee?\nThrough the night the vanquished Br\u00fcnnhild'\n To her rightful husband belonged.\nFor her husband thou didst pass?\nBy Gutrune sojourned Siegfried.\nBut 'twas Br\u00fcnnhild' lay beside thee.\nThe wooing of Grimhilde, the mother of Hagen\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0See p. 135\n[Pointing to his sword.]\nFar as north from east and west,\n So far was Br\u00fcnnhild' removed.\nBut how got Gunther his wife from thee?\nThrough the flames of the fire as they faded,\n When day dawned, through the mist\n She followed me down the hill;\n When near the shore,\n None observing,\n I gave Gunther my place,\n And by the Tarnhelm's magic\n Wished myself straight to thee.\n A strong wind drives the lovers\n Merrily down the Rhine;\n Prepare to greet them with joy.\nSiegfried! Such is thy might,\n I am afraid of thee!\n[Calling from the shore.]\nI can see a sail in the distance.\nNow be the envoy thanked!\nLet us give her gracious greeting,\n That glad and gay she here may tarry!\n Thou, Hagen, prithee\n Summon the men\n To the hall here for the wedding,\n While blithe maids\n To the feast I bid;\n Our joy they will merrily share.\n[As she goes towards the hall she turns round again.]\nWilt thou rest, wicked man?\nHelping thee is rest enough.\n[He gives her his hand and accompanies her into the hall.]\n[Has mounted a rock at the back, and starts blowing his cow-horn.]\nHoiho! Hoiho! Hoho!\n Ye Gibich vassals,\n Up and prepare!\n Woeful tidings!\n Weapons! Weapons!\n Arm through the land!\n Goodly weapons,\n Mighty weapons\n Sharp for strife!\n Dire the strait!\n Woe! Danger! Danger!\n Hoiho! Hoiho! Hoho!\n[Hagen remains where he is on the rock. Armed men arrive in haste by different paths; first singly, and then in larger and larger groups.]\nThe Vassals\nWhy sounds the horn?\n Who calls us to arms?\n We come with our arms,\n We come with our weapons.\n Hagen! Hagen!\n Hoiho! Hoiho!\n Who hath suffered scathe\n Say, what foe is nigh?\n Who forces war?\n Is Gunther sore pressed?\n We come with our weapons,\n With weapons keen!\n Hoiho! Ho! Hagen!\n\"Swear to me Hagen, my son!\"\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0See p. 138\n[Still from the rock.]\nCome fully armed\n Without delay!\n Welcome Gunther, your lord:\n A wife Gunther has wooed.\nIs he in straits,\n Pressed by the foe?\nA woman hard won\n With him he brings.\nHer kinsmen and vassals\n Follow for vengeance?\nNo one follows\n But his bride.\nThen the peril is past,\n And the foe put to flight?\nThe dragon-slayer\n Helped him at need;\n Siegfried, the hero,\n Kept him from harm.\nHow then can his vassals avail him?\n And why hast call\u00e8d us here?\nSturdy oxen\n Ye shall slaughter;\n On Wotan's altar\n Their blood be shed!\nAnd after that, Hagen? Say, what next?\nAfter that for Froh\n A boar ye shall fell,\n And a full-grown and strong\n He-goat for Donner;\nBut for Fricka\n Sheep ye shall slaughter,\n That she may smile on the marriage!\n[With increasing cheerfulness.]\nWhat shall we do\n When the beasts we have slain?\nThe drink-horn take\n That women sweet\n With wine and mead\n Blithely have filled.\nThe drink-horn in hand,\n What task awaits us still?\nGaily carouse\n Until tamed by wine:\n Drink, that the Gods, duly honoured,\n Grace may accord to this marriage.\n[Burst into ringing laughter.]\nGood luck and joy\n Laugh on the Rhine,\n If Hagen, the grim one,\n So merrily jests!\n To wedding-feasts\n Hagen invites;\n His prick the hedge-thorn,\n Hagen, has lost!\n[Who has remained very grave, has come down to the men, and now stands among them.]\nNow cease from laughing,\n Doughty vassals!\n Receive Gunther's bride;\n Yonder come Br\u00fcnnhild' and he.\n[He points towards the Rhine. Some of the men hurry to the height; others range themselves on the shore to watch the arrival. Hagen goes up to some of the men.]\nBe to your lady\n Loyal and true;\n Suffers she wrong,\n Swiftly avenge her!\n[He turns slowly aside and moves towards the back. The boat arrives with Gunther and Br\u00fcnnhilde. Those who have been looking out from the height come down to the shore. Some vassals spring into the water and pull the boat to land. All press closer to the bank.]\nHail! Hail! Hail!\n Be greeted! Be greeted!\n Welcome, O Gunther!\n Hail! Hail! Hail!\nGunther steps out of the boat with Br\u00fcnnhilde.\n[Range themselves respectfully to receive them.]\nWelcome, Gunther!\n Health to thee and to thy bride!\n[They strike their weapons loudly together.]\nGunther\n[Presenting Br\u00fcnnhilde, who follows him with pale face and lowered eyes, to the men.]\nBr\u00fcnnhild', a peerless bride,\n Here to the Rhine I bring.\n No man ever won\n A nobler woman!\n The Gods have shown from of old\n Grace to the Gibichung stock.\n To fame unmatched\n Now may it mount!\n[Solemnly clash their weapons.]\nHail! O hail, happy Gibichung!\n[Leads Br\u00fcnnhilde who never raises her eyes, to the hall, from which Siegfried and Gutrune, attended by women, now come forth.]\nDear hero, greetings glad!\n I greet thee, fair sister!\n By him who won thee for wife\n I joyfully see thee stand.\n Two happy pairs\n Here radiant are shining:\n[He draws Br\u00fcnnhilde forward.]\nBr\u00fcnnhild'--and Gunther,\n Gutrun'--and Siegfried.\n[Br\u00fcnnhilde, startled, looks up and sees Siegfried. Her eyes remain fixed on him in amazement. Gunther, who has released her violently trembling hand, shows, as do all present, blank astonishment at her behaviour.]\nThe Vassals and Women\nWhat ails her?\n Has she gone mad?\nWhy looks Br\u00fcnnhild' amazed?\n[Goes a few steps towards Br\u00fcnnhilde, who has begun to tremble.]\nBr\u00fcnnhilde\nSiegfried . . . here? Gutrune . . . ?\n[Scarcely able to control herself.]\nGunther's gentle sister,\n Wed to me\n As thou to him.\n[With fearful vehemence.]\nI? Gunther? 'Tis false.\n[She sways and seems about to fall. Siegfried supports her.]\nLight fades from mine eyes . . .\n[In Siegfried's arms, looking faintly up at him.]\nSiegfried . . . knows me not?\nGunther, see, thy wife is swooning!\n[Gunther comes to them.]\nWake, Br\u00fcnnhild', wake!\n Here stands thy husband.\n[Perceives the ring on Siegfried's outstretched finger, and starts up with terrible vehemence.]\nHa! The ring\n Upon his hand!\n He . . . Siegfried?\nWhat's wrong?\n[Coming among the vassals from behind.]\nNow pay good heed\n To the woman's tale.\n[Mastering her terrible excitement, tries to control herself.]\nOn thy hand there\n I beheld a ring.\n 'Twas wrested from me\n By this man here;\n[Pointing to Gunther.]\n'Tis not thine.\n How camest thou by\n The ring thou hast on?\n[Attentively regarding the ring on his finger.]\n'Twas not from him\n I got the ring.\n[To Gunther.]\nThou who didst seize the ring\n With which I wedded thee,\n Declare to him thy right,\n Make him yield up the pledge!\n[In great perplexity.]\nThe ring? No ring I gave him,\n Though thou dost know it well.\nWhere hast thou hid the ring\n That thou didst capture from me?\n[Gunther, greatly confused, does not answer.]\n[Breaking out furiously.]\nHa! He it was\n Who despoiled me of the ring-\n Siegfried, the treacherous thief!\n[All look expectantly at Siegfried, who seems to be lost in far-off thoughts as he contemplates the ring.]\nNo woman gave\n The ring to me,\n Nor did I wrest it\n From a woman's grasp.\n This ring, I know,\n Was the booty won\n When at Neidh\u00f6hl' boldly I fought,\n And the mighty dragon was slain.\n[Stepping between them.]\nBr\u00fcnnhild', dauntless queen,\n Knowest thou this ring well?\n If it was by Gunther won,\n Then it is his,\n And Siegfried has got it by guile.\n For his guilt must the traitor pay.\n[Shrieking in terrible anguish.]\nBetrayed! Betrayed!\n Shamefully betrayed!\n Deceived! Deceived!\n Wrong too deep for revenge!\nA wrong? To whom?\nVassals and Women\nDeceit? To whom?\nHoly Gods!\n Ye heavenly rulers!\n Whispered ye this\n In councils dark?\n If I must bear\n More than ever was borne,\nBowed by a shame\n None ever endured,\n Teach me such vengeance\n As never was raved!\n Kindle such wrath\n As can never be calmed!\n Order Br\u00fcnnhild's\n Poor heart to be broken,\n Bring ye but doom\n On him who betrayed!\nBr\u00fcnnhild', dear wife,\n Control thyself!\nAway, betrayer!\n Self-betrayed one!\n All of you, hearken!\n Not he,\n But that man there,\n Won me to wife.\nSiegfried? Gutrune's lord?\nHe forced delight\n And love from me.\nDost thou so lightly\n Hold thine honour,\n The tongue that thus defames it\n I must convict of its falsehood.\n Hear whether faith I broke!\n Blood-brotherhood\n I have sworn unto Gunther;\n Nothung, my trusty sword,\n Guarded the sacred vow;\n 'Twixt me and this sad woman distraught\n Its blade lay sharp.\nBehold how thou liest,\n Crafty man,\n Vainly as witness\n Citing thy sword!\n Full well I know its keenness,\n And also the scabbard\n Wherein so snugly\n Hung on the wall\n Nothung, the faithful friend,\n When its lord won the woman he loved.\n[Crowd together in violent indignation.]\nWhat! Siegfried a traitor?\n Has he stained Gunther's honour?\n[To Siegfried.]\nDisgraced were I\n And sullied my name,\n Were not the slander\n Cast in her teeth!\nSiegfried faithless?\n False to his vow?\n Ah, prove thou that worthless\n Is her word!\nClear thyself straight;\n If thou art wronged\n Silence the slander;\n Sworn be the oath!\nIf I must swear,\n The slander to still,\n Which of you offers\n His sword for the oath?\nSwear the oath upon\nThe point of my spear;\n Bad faith 'twill surely avenge.\n[The vassals form a ring round Siegfried and Hagen. Hagen holds out the spear; Siegfried lays two fingers of his right hand upon the point.]\nShining steel!\n Weapon most holy,\n Witness my oath sworn for ever!\n On this spear's sharp point\n I solemnly swear;\n Spear-point, mark thou my words!\n If weapon must pierce me,\n Thine be the point!\n When by death I am stricken\n Strike thou the blow,\n If what she tells is true,\n And I broke faith with my friend!\n[Strides furiously into the ring, tears Siegfried's hand from the spear, and grasps the point with her own.]\nShining steel!\n Weapon most holy,\n Witness my oath sworn for ever!\n On this spear's sharp point\n I solemnly swear!\n Spear-point, mark thou my words!\n Devoted be thy might\n To his undoing!\n Be thy sharpness blessed by me,\n That it may slay him!\n For broken his oaths have been all,\n And false is what he has sworn.\nHelp, Donner!\n Roar with thy thunder\n To silence this terrible shame!\nGunther, look to this woman\n Who falsely slanders thy name.\n Let her rest awhile,\n The untamed mountain maid,\n That the unbridled rage some demon\n In malice has\n Against us roused\n May have the chance to subside.\n Ye vassals, go ye your ways;\n Let the womenfolk scold.\n Like cravens gladly we yield,\n Comes it to fighting with tongues.\n[He goes up to Gunther.]\nThou art not so vexed as I\n That I beguiled her ill;\n The Tarnhelm must, I fear,\n But half have hid my face.\n Still, women's wrath\n Soon is appeased:\n That I won her for thee\n Thankful thy wife will be yet.\n[He turns again to the vassals.]\nFollow me, men,\n With mirth to the feast!\n[To the women.]\nGaily, women,\n Help at the wedding!\n Joyfully laugh\n Love and delight!\n In hall and grove\n There shall be none\n This day more merry than I!\n Ye whom love has blessed,\nLike myself light-hearted,\n Follow and share in my mirth!\n[He throws his arm in the highest spirits round Gutrune and draws her into the hall. The vassals and women follow, carried away by his example. All go off, except Br\u00fcnnhilde, Gunther, and Hagen. Gunther, in deep shame and dejection, with his face covered, has seated himself on one side. Br\u00fcnnhilde, standing in the foreground, gazes for some time sorrowfully after Siegfried and Gutrune, then droops her head.]\n[Lost in thought.]\nWhat dread demon's might\n Moves here in darkness?\n By what wizard's spell\n Worked was the woe?\n How weak is my wisdom\n Faced by this puzzle!\n And where shall I find\n The runes for this riddle?\n Oh, sorrow! Sorrow!\n Woe's me! Woe's me!\n I gave all my wisdom to him;\n[With increasing emotion.]\nThe maid in his power\n He holds.\n Fast in his fetters\n Bound is the booty\n That, weeping her grievous shame,\n Gaily to others he gives!\n Will none of you lend a sword\n With which I may sever my bonds?\n[Going close to Br\u00fcnnhilde.]\nLeave that to me,\n O wife betrayed;\n I will avenge\n Thy trust deceived.\n[Looking round dully.]\nOn whom?\nOn Siegfried, traitor to thee.\nOn Siegfried? Thou?\n[Smiling bitterly.]\nOne single flash\n Of his eye and its lightning--\n Which streamed in its glory on me\n Even through his disguise--\n And thy heart would fail,\n Shorn of its courage.\nBut to my spear\n His perjury gives him.\nTruth and falsehood--\n What matter words!\n To arm thy spear\n Seek for something stronger,\n Strength such as his to withstand!\nWell know I Siegfried's\n Conquering strength:\n How hard in battle to slay him;\n But whisper to me\n Some sure device\n For speeding him to his doom.\nUngrateful, shameful return!\n I taught him all\n The arts I know,\n To preserve his body from harm.\nHe bears unwitting\n A charmed life\n And safely walks by spells enwound.\nThen no weapon forged could wound him?\nIn battle none;--yet--\n Did the blow strike his back!\n Never--I knew that--\n Would he give way,\n Or turn and fly, the foe pursuing,\n So there I gave him no blessing.\nAnd there shall my spear strike!\n[He turns quickly from Br\u00fcnnhilde to Gunther.]\nUp, Gunther,\n Noble Gibichung!\n Here stands thy valiant wife.\n Why hang thy head in grief?\n[Starting up passionately.]\nO shame!\n Dishonour!\n Woe is me!\n No man has known such sorrow!\nIn shame thou liest--\n That is true.\nO craven man!\n Falsest of friends!\n Hidden behind\n The hero wert thou\n While won were for thee\n The prize and the glory.\n Low indeed\n The race must have sunk\n That breeds such cowards as thou!\n[Beside himself.]\nDeceived am I--and deceiver!\n Betrayed am I--and betrayer!\n My strength be consumed,\n And broken my heart!\n Help, Hagen!\n Help for my honour!\n Help, for my mother was thine--\n Thee too she bore!\nNo help from head\n Or hand will suffice:\n 'Tis Siegfried's death we need.\n[Seized with horror.]\nSiegfried's death?\nUnpurged else were thy shame.\n[Staring before him.]\nBlood-brotherhood\n He and I swore.\nWho broke the bond\n Pays with his blood.\nBroke he the bond?\nIn betraying thee.\nWas I betrayed?\nHe betrayed thee,\n And me ye all are betraying!\n If I were just,\n All the blood of the world\n Would not atone for your guilt!\nBut the death of one\n Is all I ask for.\n Dying, Siegfried\n Atones for himself and you!\n[Turning to Gunther and appealing to him secretly.]\nHis death would profit thee;\n Boundless were indeed thy might\n If thou couldst capture the ring,\n Which, alive, he never will yield.\nBr\u00fcnnhilde's ring?\nThe ring the Niblung wrought.\n[Sighing deeply.]\n'Twould be the end of Siegfried.\nHis death would serve us all.\nBut Gutrun', to whom\n He has been given!\n How could we look in her face\n If her husband we had slain?\n[Starting up furiously.]\nWhat wisdom forewarned of,\n And runes hinted darkly,\n In helpless despair\n Is plain to me now.\n[Passionately.]\nGutrune is the spell\n That stole my husband's heart away!\n Woe be her lot!\nIf this grief we must give her,\n Conceal how Siegfried died.\nWe go to-morrow\n Merrily hunting;\n The hero gallops ahead;\n We find him slain by a boar.\nBr\u00fcnnhilde and Gunther\nSo shall it be!\n Perish Siegfried!\n Purged be the shame\n He brought on me!\n Faith sworn by oath\n He has broken;\n Now with his blood\n Let him atone!\n Avenging,\n All-hearing God!\n Oath-witness,\n And lord of vows!\n Wotan, come at my call!\n Send thou thine awful\n Heavenly host\n Hither to hear\n While I vow revenge!\nDoomed let him die,\n The hero renowned!\n Mine is the hoard,\n And mine I shall hold it!\n From him the ring\n Shall be wrested!\n Niblung father!\nO fallen prince!\n Night warder\n Nibelung lord\n Alberich! Hear thou thy son!\nRuling again\n O'er the Nibelung host,\n Bid them obey thee,\n The ring's dread lord!\n[As Gunther turns impetuously towards the hall with Br\u00fcnnhilde they are met by the bridal procession coming out. Boys and girls, waving flower-wreathed staves, leap merrily in front. The vassals are carrying Siegfried on a shield and Gutrune on a seat. On the rising ground at the back men-servants and maids are taking implements and beasts for sacrifice, by the various mountain-paths, to the altars, which they deck with flowers. Siegfried and the vassals blow wedding-calls on their horns. The women invite Br\u00fcnnhilde to accompany them to Gutrune's side. Br\u00fcnnhilde stares blankly at Gutrune, who beckons her with a friendly smile. Is Br\u00fcnnhilde is about to step back angrily Hagen comes quickly between them and presses her to wards Gunther, who takes her hand again, whereupon he allows himself to be raised on a shield by the men. Is the procession, scarcely interrupted, moves on quickly again towards the height, the curtain falls.]","title":"TWILIGHT OF THE GODS: The Second Act","type":"page"}