he
Carlsberg. He looked down into Sorrento, and the tears gushed from his
eyes. "Oh!" he cried, "Oh! how deep, how incurably deep an injury, O
thou eternal ruling Power, does thy bitter irony inflict upon poor
man's soft heart! But no, no! But why should the child cry over the
incurable pain when instead of enjoying the light and warmth he thrusts
his hand into the flames? Destiny visibly laid its hand upon me, but my
dimmed vision did not recognise the higher nature at work; and I had
the presumption to delude myself with the idea that the forms, created
by the old master and mysteriously awakened to life, which stepped down
to meet me, were my own equals, and that I could draw them down into
the miserable transitoriness of earthly existence. No, no, Felicia, I
have never lost you; you are and will be mine for ever, for you
yourself are the creative artistic power dwelling within me. Now,--and
only now have I first come to know you. What have you--what have I to
do with the _Kriminalraethin_ Mathesius? I fancy, nothing at all."

"Neither did I know what you should have to do with her, my respected
Herr Traugott," a voice broke in. Traugott awakened out of his dream.
Strange to say, he found himself, without knowing how he got there,
again leaning against the granite pillar in Arthur's Hall. The person
who had spoken the abovementioned words was Christina's husband. He
handed to Traugott a letter that had just arrived from Rome.
Matuszewski wrote:--

"Dorina is prettier and more charming than ever, only pale with longing
for you, my dear friend. She is expecting you every hour, for she is
most firmly convinced that you could never be untrue to her. She loves
you with all her heart. When shall we see you again?"

"I am very pleased that we settled all our business this morning," said
Traugott to Christina's husband after he had read this, "for to-morrow
I set out for Rome, where my bride is most anxiously longing for me."

* * * * * * *

FOOTNOTES TO "ARTHUR'S HALL":

[Footnote 1: Written for the _Urania_ for 1817.]

[Footnote 2: The _Artushof_ or _Junkerhof_ derives its names from its
connection with the Arthurian cycle of legends, and from the fact that
there the _Stadtjunker_, or wealthy merchants of Dantzic, used formerly
to meet both to transact business and for the celebration of festive
occasions. It has been used as an exchange since 1742. The site of the
present buildi