ch. At length he lifted it, and entered the room.
It was empty; but, just then, the door of Elizabeth's chamber opened,
and old Kranhelm stepped out. On beholding Bernard, he started back as
though he had seen a ghost. He said a word or two in a low voice to
somebody in the inner room, and then shutting the door, bolted it,
and placed his back against it, as if to prevent Bernard from going
in.

"Begone!" cried he in a tremulous voice; "in the name of God, begone!
thou evil spirit of my house;" and he stretched out his arms towards
Bernard as though to prohibit his approach. No longer master of
himself, the young man sprang towards him, and, grasping his arm,
thundered in his ear the question--

"Where is my Elizabeth?"

The words rang through the old tower, and the confused murmuring of
voices in the inner room was heard. Bernard listened, and thought he
distinguished the voice of Elizabeth repeating, in tones of agony, the
fatal number.

One of the physicians knocked, and begged to be let out. The old
tower-keeper opened the door cautiously, and, when the doctor had
passed through, carefully shut and barred it. But during the moment
that it had remained open, Bernard heard too plainly what his ears had
at first been unwilling to believe.

"Is that the man?" demanded the physician hastily. "In God's name, be
silent. You will kill the patient. She recognized your voice, and fell
immediately into the most fearful paroxysm. She has got back again to
the infernal number with which her delirium began, and she shrieks it
out perpetually. It is a frightful relapse. Begone! young man; yet
stay--I will go with you. You can, doubtless, give us a key to this
mystery."

The old physician took Bernard's arm to lead him away; but at that
very moment there was a shrill scream from the next room, and
Elizabeth's voice was heard calling upon Bernard by name. The
unfortunate young man could not restrain himself. Shaking off the
grasp of the physician, he pushed old Kranhelm aside, tore back the
bolts, and flung open the door. There lay Elizabeth on her deathbed,
her arms stretched out towards him, her mild countenance ashy pale and
frightfully distorted, her soft blue eyes straining from their orbits.
She made a violent effort to speak, but death was too near at hand;
the sound died away upon her lips, and her uplifted arms dropped
powerless upon the bed; her head fell back--a convulsive shudder came
over her: she was dead. Her