interrupted him to inquire what this discovery might be,
but Melchior had the force to keep his secret, and only handed over to
him the phial of the elixir, which he had previously packed carefully in
a jewel casket of Bianca's, of Italian workmanship, and then wrapped in
parchment, and tied, and fastened, with many seals.

He also entrusted his school companion with the letters which he
had written, saying that his days were numbered, and giving him many
instructions. Finally he made the notary swear to be a faithful guardian
and second father to Zeno if he should be taken away.

At midnight the friends parted, deeply moved, and Herr Winckler told his
wife that he had never seen any man, let alone the solemn Melchior, so
bubbling over and beaming with happiness, and if one could judge by the
radiance of his glance, and the fire of his youthful enthusiasm, his
friend had many more good years to live.

But what had pleased him in the appearance of the doctor was, alas! only
the expiring flicker of the burnt-out candle.

The intense excitement of the last few days had exhausted the sick man,
and before dawn Frau Schimmel was roused by his bell. When she entered
his room she found him sitting up in bed with burning cheeks and
coughing violently. He called for something to drink, saying that he was
dying of thirst.

When he was refreshed by a glass of wine mixed with water, which
in Italy had grown to be his favourite drink, he said to the old
housekeeper that he would not need to use his son's blood, as his own
was equally efficacious. He also asked her if perchance his father had
wounded his hand before he had discovered the elixir, and when Frau
Schimmel stated that he had, for she remembered the broken glass retort
which had cut the Court apothecary's finger the day before his death, he
smiled and said: "Now the wonderful fact of his discovery is explained.
A drop of the paternal blood must have found its way into the mixture.
Thus one riddle after another is solved, and soon the last mystery that
remains will become clear to me."

Then he added that having brought Truth into the world he was glad
to depart to that region where it was always day, where there were no
deceits and no uncertainties, and where the star of his life that had
set would arise for him once more.

He murmured Bianca's name and closed his eyes, while a happy smile lit
up his worn, thin face. His breast rose and fell with his irregular
brea