SIEGFRIED’S FORGE.
Siegfried forces Mime to tell him the story of his parentage. Mime then brings out the pieces of the broken sword which the dying Sieglinde had left as a legacy to the child. The young hero now begins to set to work to forge the sword, and Mime chuckles with delight when he thinks that after Siegfried has forged the sword and killed the dragon he will poison him. The scene of the welding of the sword is magnificent, and is peculiarly Wagnerian in its conception.
Supported by a square frame of hewn timbers is the bellows, which is composed of hides fastened together with rings. The leather cylinder rises and falls by means of a lever secured to the top. Siegfried goes bravely to work. Going to the forge, he heaps coals upon the open hearth, and gradually fans the fire; it rises and rises until there is a roaring blaze. The light shines fitfully upon Siegfried and upon the walls of the cave. At each stroke of the bellows handle the fire rises higher and higher. Siegfried places a crucible in the midst of the fire, and in it puts the pieces of the broken sword. When the pieces appear to be melted, he takes up the crucible with a pair of tongs and pours the fluid metal into a clay mold. Grasping the mold with a piece of cloth, he carries it to the rough-hewn tempering log trough and throws it in. The heated metal coming in contact with the water causes the steam to rise. When Siegfried judges that the sword has cooled sufficiently, he takes it from the trough and, striking it a smart blow, breaks the mold which surrounds it. He then heats the blade of the sword in the forge and proceeds to the anvil. At each stroke of the hammer the sparks fly, producing a most realistic impression. He now places the sword in a vise, files it, and then rivets on the handle.
At last Siegfried finishes the sword and he says:
“Rescue! Rescue!
Welded anew!
To life once more I have waked thee.
Dead hast lain
In ruins long,
Now flashest thou fiercely and fair.
Blend thou the blatant
Now with thy blaze!
Fell thou the false ones,
Rend thou the rogues!
See, Mime, thou smith—
So smiteth Siegfried’s sword!”
—J. P. Jackson’s version.
THE FORGING OF THE SWORD IN “SIEGFRIED.”