is
salutation with a benignant smile.

"Wagner," he said, in a firm but mild tone, "I have been forewarned of
thy coming, and am prepared to receive thee. Thy constant and unvarying
faith in Heaven has opened to thee the gates of salvation; and it is
mine to direct thee how to act, that the dreadful doom which thou hast
drawn upon thyself may be annihilated soon and forever."

The venerable man paused, and Fernand again bowed lowly and with
profound respect.

"So soon as the morning's sun shall have revisited this hemisphere,"
continued Rosencrux, "thou must depart for Italy. Start not,
Fernand--but prepare to obey that power which will sustain thee. On
arriving in Italy, proceed direct to Florence; and fear not to enter
that city even in the broad daylight. Thou wilt not be harmed! There
await the current of those circumstances that must lead to the grand
event which is ordained to break the spell that has cast upon thee the
doom of a Wehr-Wolf. For as thou didst voluntarily unite thyself in the
face of heaven with Donna Nisida of Riverola, so it is decreed, for the
wisest purposes, that a circumstance intimately connected with her
destiny must become a charm and a talisman to change thine own. On thine
arrival in Florence, therefore, seek not to avoid Lady Nisida; but
rather hasten at once to her presence--and again I say, a supernal power
will protect thee from any baneful influence which she might still
exercise over thee. For, the spell that the evil one hath cast upon
thee, Fernand Wagner, shall be broken only on that day and in that hour
when thine eyes shall behold the skeletons of two innocent victims
suspended to the same beam!"

Having uttered these words in a louder and hurried, but not the less
impressive tone, than he had at first used, Christianus Rosencrux
motioned impatiently for Wagner to depart. And Fernand, amazed and
horrified at the dreadful words which had met his ears, retreated from
the cavern and sped rapidly back to the spot where he had quitted his
guide, whom he found waiting his return beneath the undying lamp. The
Rosicrucian conducted Wagner in silence from that deep and subterranean
abode beneath the tomb; thence through the cemetery amidst the ruins of
the monastery--and across the wild waste, back to Syracuse; nor did the
muffled brother of the Rosy Cross take leave of Fernand until they had
reached the door of the hostel. There they parted, the Rosicrucian
invoking a blessing upo