e a look, the horrible expression of which I
know not how to paint; made three or four hideous grimaces, and then,
letting her palsied head fall upon her breast, drew her great shawl
closely around her, and advanced slowly to the heavy door, behind which
I saw her disappear.

"She's an old fool!" I said to myself, in a sort of stupor. My faith,
it was the height of folly in me to be interested in her!

However, I would like to see her grimace again; old Toubac would
willingly give me fifteen florins if I could paint it for him.

I must confess that these pleasantries of mine did not entirely
reassure me.

The hideous glance which the old shrew had given me pursued me
everywhere. More than once, while climbing the almost perpendicular
ladder to my loft, feeling my clothing caught on some point, I trembled
from head to foot, imagining that the old wretch was hanging to the
tails of my coat in order to destroy me.

Toubac, to whom I related this adventure, was far from laughing at it;
indeed, he assumed a grave and solemn air.

"Master Christian," said he, "if the old woman wants you, take care!
Her teeth are small, pointed, and of marvelous whiteness, and that is
not natural at her age. She has an 'evil eye.' Children flee from her,
and the people of Nuremberg call her 'Fledermausse.'"

I admired the clear, sagacious intellect of the Jew, and his words gave
me cause for reflection.

Several weeks passed away, during which I often encountered
Fledermausse without any alarming consequences. My fears were
dissipated, and I thought of her no more.

But an evening came, during which, while sleeping very soundly, I was
awakened by a strange harmony. It was a kind of vibration, so sweet, so
melodious, that the whispering of the breeze among the leaves can give
but a faint idea of its charm.

For a long time I listened intently, with my eyes wide open, and
holding my breath, so as not to lose a note. At last I looked toward
the window, and saw two wings fluttering against the glass. I thought,
at first, that it was a bat, caught in my room; but, the moon rising at
that instant, I saw the wings of a magnificent butterfly of the night
delineated upon her shining disk. Their vibrations were often so rapid
that they could not be distinguished; then they reposed, extended upon
the glass, and their frail fibers were again brought to view.

This misty apparition, coming in the midst of the universal silence,
opened my hear