pedition,
and rapturously claims Gutrune as his bride. After hearing
her lover's account of his night's adventures, the maiden
leads him into the hall in search of rest and refreshment,
while Hagen, summoning the people with repeated blasts of his
horn, admonishes them to deck the altars of Wotan, Freya, and
Donner, and to prepare to receive their master and mistress
with every demonstration of joy. The festive preparations are
barely completed, when Gunther and Brunhilde arrive. The bride
is pale and reluctant, and advances with downcast eyes, which
she raises only when she stands opposite Gutrune and Siegfried,
and hears the latter's name. Dropping Gunther's hand, she rushes
forward impetuously to throw herself in Siegfried's arms, but,
arrested by his cold unrecognising glance, she tremblingly
inquires how he came there, and why he stands by Gutrune's
side? Calmly then Siegfried announces his coming marriage:--

'Gunther's winsome sister
She that I wed
As Gunther thee.'

Brunhilde indignantly denies her marriage to Gunther, and almost
swoons, but Siegfried supports her, and, although Brunhilde
softly and passionately asks him if he does not know her, the
young hero indifferently hands her over to Gunther, bidding
him look after his wife.

At a motion of his hand, Brunhilde's attention is attracted to
the ring, and she angrily demands how he dare wear the token
which Gunther wrested from her hand.

Bewildered by this question, Siegfried denies ever having
received the ring from Gunther, and declares he won it from the
dragon in the Neidhole; but Hagen, anxious to stir up strife,
interferes, and elicits from Brunhilde an assurance that the
hero can have won the ring only by guile.

A misunderstanding now ensues, for while Brunhilde in speaking
refers to their first meeting, and swears that Siegfried had
wooed and treated her as his wife, he, recollecting only the
second encounter, during which he acted only as Gunther's proxy,
denies her assertions.

Both solemnly swear to the truth of their statement upon Hagen's
spear, calling the vengeance of Heaven down upon them in case of
perjury. Then the interrupted wedding festivities are resumed,
for Gunther knows only too well by what fraud his bride was
obtained, and thinks the transformation has not been complete
enough to blind the wise Brunhilde.

As Siegfried gently leads Gutrune away into the hall, whither
all but Hagen, Gunther, and Brunhilde