nture for him. Hagen then explains
to both of them that Siegfried can, after braving the fire, appear to
Brynhild in the semblance of Gunther through the magic of the wishing
cap (or Tarnhelm, as it is called throughout The Ring), the use of which
Siegfried now learns for the first time. It is of course part of the
bargain that Gunther shall give his sister to Siegfried in marriage.
On that they swear blood-brotherhood; and at this opportunity the old
operatic leaven breaks out amusingly in Wagner. With tremendous exordium
of brass, the tenor and baritone go at it with a will, showing off
the power of their voices, following each other in canonic imitation,
singing together in thirds and sixths, and finishing with a lurid
unison, quite in the manner of Ruy Gomez and Ernani, or Othello and
Iago. Then without further ado Siegfried departs on his expedition,
taking Gunther with him to the foot of the mountain, and leaving Hagen
to guard the hall and sing a very fine solo which has often figured in
the programs of the Richter concerts, explaining that his interest in
the affair is that Siegfried will bring back the Ring, and that he,
Hagen, will presently contrive to possess himself of that Ring and
become Plutonic master of the world.

And now it will be asked how does Hagen know all about the Plutonic
empire; and why was he able to tell Gunther about Brynhild and
Siegfried, and to explain to Siegfried the trick of the Tarnhelm. The
explanation is that though Hagen's mother was the mother of Gunther, his
father was not the illustrious Gibich, but no less a person than our old
friend Alberic, who, like Wotan, has begotten a son to do for him what
he cannot do for himself.

In the above incidents, those gentle moralizers who find the serious
philosophy of the music dramas too terrifying for them, may allegorize
pleasingly on the philtre as the maddening chalice of passion which,
once tasted, causes the respectable man to forget his lawfully wedded
wife and plunge into adventures which eventually lead him headlong to
destruction.

We now come upon a last relic of the tragedy of Wotan. Returning
to Brynhild's mountain, we find her visited by her sister Valkyrie
Valtrauta, who has witnessed Wotan's solemn preparations with terror.
She repeats to Brynhild the account already given by the Norns. Clinging
in anguish to Wotan's knees, she has heard him mutter that were the ring
returned to the daughters of the deep Rhine, both G