-he thought on his lost engagement
ring--and the ring grew larger, widened into a sparkling circle and
within it shone the clear glacier; all about yawned endless deep
chasms; the water dropped and sounded like a chime of bells, and shone
with bluish-white flames. He saw in a second, what we must say in many
long words. Young hunters and young girls, men and women, who had
once perished in the glacier, stood there living, with open eyes and
smiling mouth; deep below them chimed from buried towns the peal of
church bells; under the arches of the churches knelt the congregation;
pieces of ice formed the organ pipes, and the mountain stream played
the organ. On the clear transparent ground sat the Ice-Maiden; she
raised herself towards Rudy, kissed his feet, and the coldness of
death ran through his limbs and gave him an electric shock--ice and
fire. He could not perceive the difference.

"Mine, mine!" sounded around him and within him.

"I kissed you, when you were young, kissed you on your mouth! Now I
kiss your feet, you are entirely mine!"

He vanished in the clear blue water.

Everything was still; the church bells stopped ringing; the last tones
died away with the splendour of the red clouds.

"You are mine!" sounded in the deep. "You are mine!" sounded from on
high, from the infinite.

How happy to fly from love to love, from earth to heaven!

A string broke, a cry of grief was heard, the icy kiss of death
conquered; the prelude ended; so that the drama of life might
commence, discord melted into harmony.--

Do you call this a sad story?

Poor Babette! For her it was a period of anguish.

The boat drifted farther and farther. No one on shore knew that the
lovers were on the island. The evening darkened, the clouds lowered
themselves; night came. She stood there, solitary, despairing,
moaning. A flash of lightning passed over the Jura mountains, over
Switzerland and over Savoy. From all sides flash upon flash of
lightning, clap upon clap of thunder, which rolled continuously many
minutes. At times the lightning was vivid as sunshine, and you could
distinguish the grape vines; then all became black again in the dark
night. The lightning formed knots, ties, zigzags, complicated figures;
it struck in the lake, so that it lit it up on all sides; whilst the
noise of the thunder was made louder by the echo. The boat was drawn
on shore; all living objects sought shelter. Now the rain streamed
down.

"Where ca