No, the two parties would come
together, dicker and compromise, and in the end the diet would agree to
build one road according to the one plan, and one according to the
other. Agreeably to this principle Bjoernson leaves the honors between
the combatants about easy; but Riis, deserted by his children, undergoes
a partial change of heart and is seized with doubt as to the excellence
of his philosophy of life.
That the satire of "The New System" struck home is obvious from the
fierceness and virulence of the criticism with which it was hailed. It
has never become fairly domesticated on the Scandinavian stages, and
probably never will be. In Germany, France, and Holland it has received
respectful attention, and (I am informed) has proved extremely effective
upon the boards.
In the same year as "The New System" (1879) appeared the delightful
novelette "Captain Mansana," dealing with Italian life, and throwing
interesting side-lights upon the War of Liberation. There is an
irresistible charm in the freshness, the vividness, the extreme
modernness of this little tale.
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