hich chanced to be on the
table, held it out before her into vacancy, and let it go, and it went
hovering about amongst the lookers on, and then deposited itself gently
on the table. The mother and Augusta fainted; and these fainting fits
were succeeded by violent nervous fever. The colonel forced himself to
retain his self-control, but the profound impression which this
extraordinary occurrence made on him was evident in his agitated and
disturbed condition.

"'The French lady had fallen on her knees and prayed in silence with
her face turned to the floor, and both she and Adelgunda remained free
from evil consequences. The mother very soon died. Augusta survived the
fever; but it would have been better had she died. She who, when I
first saw her, was an embodiment of vigorous, magnificent youthful
happiness, is now hopelessly insane, and that in a form which seems to
me the most terrible and gruesome of all the forms of fixed idea ever
heard of. For she thinks she is the invisible phantom which haunts
Adelgunda; and therefore she avoids every one, or, at all events,
refrains from speaking, or moving if anybody is present. She scarce
dares to breathe, because she firmly believes that if she betrays her
presence in any way every one will die. Doors are opened for her, and
her food is set down, she slinks in and out, eats in secret, and so
forth. Can a more painful condition be imagined?

"'The colonel, in his pain and despair, followed the colours to the
next campaign, and fell in the victorious engagement at W----. It is
remarkable, most remarkable that, since then, Adelgunda has never seen
the phantom. She nurses her sister with the utmost care, and the French
lady helps her. Only this very day Sylvester told me that the uncle of
these poor girls is here, taking the advice of our celebrated R----, as
to the means of cure to be tried in Augusta's case. God grant that the
cure may succeed, improbable as it seems.'"

When Cyprian finished, the friends all kept silence, looking
meditatively before them. At last Lothair said,

"It is certainly a very terrible ghost story. I must admit it makes me
shudder, although the incident of the hovering plate is rather trifling
and childish."

"Not so fast, dear Lothair," Ottmar interrupted. "You know my views
about ghost stories, and the manner in which I swagger towards
visionaries; maintaining, as I do, that often as I have thrown down my
glove to the spirit world, overweeni