e water and
sprinkled some on his face. Peter fetched a deep sigh and opened his
eyes, looked for a long time around, and asked for his wife Elizabeth,
but no one had seen her. He thanked the men for their assistance,
crawled into his house, searched everywhere, but in vain, and found
what he imagined to be a dream a sad reality. As he was now quite
alone strange thoughts came into his mind; he did not indeed fear any
thing, for his heart was quite cold; but when he thought of the death
of his wife his own forcibly came to his mind, and he reflected how
laden he should go hence--heavily laden with the tears of the poor;
with thousands of the curses of those who could not soften his heart;
with the lamentations of the wretched on whom he had set his dogs; with
the silent despair of his mother; with the blood of the beautiful and
good Elizabeth; and yet he could not even so much as give an account of
her to her poor old father, should he come and ask "Where is my
daughter, your wife?" How then could he give an account to Him--to Him
to whom belong all woods, all lakes, all mountains, and the life of men?

This tormented him in his dreams at night, and he was awoke every
moment by a sweet voice crying to him "Peter, get a warmer heart!" And
when he was awoke he quickly closed his eyes again, for the voice
uttering this warning to him could be none other but that of his
Elizabeth. The following day he went into the inn to divert his
thoughts, and there met his friend, fat Hezekiel. He sat down by him
and they commenced talking on various topics, of the fine weather, of
war, of taxes, and lastly, also of death, and how such and such a
person had died suddenly. Now Peter asked him what he thought about
death, and how it would be after death. Hezekiel replied, "That the
body was buried, but that the soul went either up to heaven or down to
hell."

"Then the heart also is buried?" asked Peter, anxiously.

"To be sure that also is buried."

"But supposing one has no longer a heart?" continued Peter.

Hezekiel gave him a terrible look at these words. "What do you mean by
that? Do you wish to rally me? Think you I have no heart?"

"Oh, heart enough, as firm as stone," replied Peter.

Hezekiel looked in astonishment at him, glancing round at the same time
to see whether they were overheard, and then said, "Whence do you know
that? Or does your own perhaps no longer beat within your breast?"

"It beats no longe