y
soul sat listening in his ears, could hear no more. He trembled too much
to dare to address the ladies, even if it had been advisable to expose
himself to their curiosity. The name of the Princess was well known to
him, but he had never seen her; except indeed it was she, which now he
hardly doubted, who had knelt before him on that dreadful night. Fearful
of attracting attention, for, from the weak state of his health, he
could not recover an appearance of calmness, he made his way to the open
air, and reached his lodgings; glad in this, that he at least knew where
she lived, although he never dreamed of approaching her openly, even
if he should be happy enough to free her from her hateful bondage. He
hoped, too, that as he had unexpectedly learned so much, the other and
far more important part might be revealed to him ere long.

*****

"Have you seen Steinwald lately?"

"No, I have not seen him for some time. He is almost a match for me at
the rapier, and I suppose he thinks he needs no more lessons."

"I wonder what has become of him. I want to see him very much. Let me
see; the last time I saw him he was coming out of that old broker's
den, to which, if you remember, you accompanied me once, to look at some
armour. That is fully three weeks ago."

This hint was enough for Cosmo. Von Steinwald was a man of influence in
the court, well known for his reckless habits and fierce passions. The
very possibility that the mirror should be in his possession was hell
itself to Cosmo. But violent or hasty measures of any sort were most
unlikely to succeed. All that he wanted was an opportunity of breaking
the fatal glass; and to obtain this he must bide his time. He revolved
many plans in his mind, but without being able to fix upon any.

At length, one evening, as he was passing the house of Von Steinwald, he
saw the windows more than usually brilliant. He watched for a while,
and seeing that company began to arrive, hastened home, and dressed
as richly as he could, in the hope of mingling with the guests
unquestioned: in effecting which, there could be no difficulty for a man
of his carriage.

*****

In a lofty, silent chamber, in another part of the city, lay a form more
like marble than a living woman. The loveliness of death seemed frozen
upon her face, for her lips were rigid, and her eyelids closed. Her long
white hands were crossed over her breast, and no breathing disturbed
their repose. Beside the dead