purposes of worship. It is recorded--and by himself, I think--
that Olof once asked his mother whether she really understood the
Latin prayers, since she was so very fond of them. She answered:
"No, I don't understand them, but when I hear them I pray
devoutly to God that they may please Him, which I don't doubt
they do."

On the other hand, what maybe regarded as rather an awkward slip
is found in the first scene of the fifth act, where Gert cries
exultantly to Olof: "You don't know that Thomas Munster has
established a new spiritual kingdom at Muhlhausen." The name of
the great Anabaptist "prophet" was Thomas Munzer, and the place
where he established his brief reign was Munster. Strindberg's
habit was to fill his head with the facts to be used, and then to
rely on his memory. Marvellous as his memory was, it sometimes
deceived him, and checking off names or dates seems to have been
utterly beyond him. Thus it is quite probable that the passage in
question represents an unconscious error. At the same time it is
barely possible that the mistake may have been purposely laid in
the mouth of a fanatic, from whom exactness of statement could
hardly be expected. Thus, in the first act, Gert remarks that
"Luther is dead." We understand, of course, that this expression
is metaphorical, signifying that Luther has done all that can be
expected of him, but it is nevertheless characteristically
ambiguous.

The second scene of the third act is apparently laid in Olof's
house at Stockholm, although the location of the building is not
definitely indicated. We find him waiting for a messenger who is
to announce the results of the Riksdag then in session. But the