Leghorn be fleet and strong, I can provide thee with a fleeter and a
stronger. Nay, more--become mine, consent to serve me as Faust served
me, and within an hour, within a minute if thou wilt, Nisida shall be
restored to thee, she shall be released from the hands of her captors,
thou shalt be free, and thy head shall be pillowed on her bosom, in
whatever part of the earth it may suit thee thus to be united to her.
Reflect, Wagner--I offer thee a great boon--nay, many great boons: the
annihilation of those trammels which bind thee to the destiny of a
wehr-wolf, power unlimited for the rest of thy days, and the immediate
possession of that Nisida whom thou lovest so fondly, and who is so
beautiful, so exceedingly beautiful."

Desperate was the struggle that took place in the breast of Wagner. On
one side was all he coveted on earth; on the other was the loss of the
immortal soul. Here the possession of Nisida--there her forced abduction
by a brigand; here his earthly happiness might be secured at the expense
of his eternal welfare--there his eternal welfare must be renounced if
he decided in favor of his earthly happiness. What was he to do? Nisida
was weighing in the balance against his immortal soul: to have Nisida he
must renounce his God!

Oh! it was maddening--maddening, this bewilderment!

"An hour--an hour to reflect!" he cried, almost frantically.

"Not a quarter of an hour," returned the demon, "Nisida will be lost to
you--haste--decide!"

"Leave me--leave me for five minutes only!"

"No--no, not for a minute. Decide--decide!"

Wagner threw up his arms in the writhings of his ineffable anguish:--his
right hand came in contact with a crucifix that hung against the wall;
and he mechanically clutched it--not with any motive prepense--but
wildly, unwittingly.

Terrific was the expression of rage which suddenly distorted the
countenance of the demon: the lightnings of ineffable fury seemed to
flash from his eyes and play upon his contracting brow;--and yet a
strong spasmodic shuddering at the same time convulsed his awful form;
for as Wagner clung to the crucifix to prevent himself from falling at
the feet of the malignant fiend, the symbol of Christianity was dragged
by his weight from the wall--and, as Wagner reeled sideways, the cross
which he retained with instinctive tenacity in his grasp, waved across
the demon's face.

Then, with a terrific howl of mingled rage and fear, the fiend fell back
and disap