, and the melody dies a beautiful death,
leaving you undecided whether to weep or smile, but penetrated through
and through with its dreamy loveliness.

This exquisite refrain lingered in my memory and echoed in my mind, like
a voice from some heavenly height, telling me to rest and be at peace,
in time to the swinging of the censer, in harmony with the musical
southern voice of that unknown Brother Somebody.

By degrees I began to think that the censer did not sway so regularly,
so like a measured pendulum as it had done, but was moving somewhat
erratically, and borne upon the gale came a low, ominous murmur, which
first mingled itself with the voice of the preacher, and then threatened
to dominate it. Still the refrain of the symphony rang in my ears, and I
was soothed to rest by the inimitable nepenthe of music.

But the murmur of which I had so long been, as it were, half-conscious,
swelled and drove other sounds and the thoughts of them from my mind. It
grew to a deep, hollow roar--a very hurricane of a roar. The preacher's
voice ceased, drowned.

I think none of us were at first certain about what was happening; we
only felt that something tremendous was going on. Then, with one mighty
bang and blow of the tempest, the door by which I had entered the church
was blown bodily in, and fell crashing upon the floor; and after the
hurricane came rushing through the church with the howl of a triumphant
demon, and hurried round the building, extinguishing every light, and
turning a temple of God into Hades.

Sounds there were as of things flapping from the walls, as of wood
falling; but all was in the pitchiest darkness--a very "darkness which
might be felt." Amid the roar of the wind came disjointed, broken
exclamations of terrified women and angry, impatient men. "_Ach Gott!_"
"_Du meine Zeit!_" "_Herr du meine Guete!_" "_Oh je!_" etc., rang all
round, and hurrying people rushed past me, making confusion worse
confounded as they scrambled past to try to get out.

I stood still, not from any bravery or presence of mind, but from utter
annihilation of both qualities in the shock and surprise of it all. At
last I began trying to grope my way toward the door. I found it. Some
people--I heard and felt rather than saw--were standing about the
battered-in door, and there was the sound of water hurrying past the
door-way. The Rhine was rushing down the street.

"We must go to the other door--the west door," said some one