me and to posterity. If the worth of this creature is thus
great on the one side, yet on the other it must be confessed that she
possesses not a single trait of grace, not a particle of vivacity, and
none of that quick characteristic retreating from an object which
indicates an internal buoyancy, an elastic temperament, such as we see
in a bird or fish.... There is something very agreeable in the varied
lowing of cattle when heard in the distant country, and when replied to
by a large herd, especially toward evening and amid echoes. On the other
hand, nothing is more unpleasant than to hear all at once, and just
beside one, the bellowing of a bull, who thus authoritatively announces
himself, as if nobody else had any right to utter a syllable in
his presence.

A NEW UNDINE

From 'The Book of the Rose'

Miss Rudenskoeld and her companion sat in one of the pews in the cheerful
and beautiful church of Normalm, which is all that is left of the once
famous cloister of St. Clara, and still bears the saint's name. The
sermon was finished, and the strong full tones of the organ, called out
by the skillful hands of an excellent organist, hovered like the voices
of unseen angel choirs in the high vaults of the church, floated down to
the listeners, and sank deep into their hearts.

Azouras did not speak a single word; neither did she sing, for she did
not know a whole hymn through. Nor did Miss Rudenskoeld sing, because it
was not her custom to sing in church. During the organ solo, however,
Miss Rudenskoeld ventured to make some remarks about Dr. Asplund's sermon
which was so beautiful, and about the notices afterward which were so
tiresome. But when her neighbor did not answer, but sat looking ahead
with large, almost motionless eyes, as people stare without looking at
anything in particular, she changed her subject.

At one of the organ tones which finished a cadence, Azouras started, and
blinked quickly with her eyelids, and a light sigh showed that she came
back to herself and her friend, from her vague contemplative state of
mind. Something indescribable, very sad, shone in her eyes, and made
them almost black; and with a childlike look at Miss Rudenskoeld she
asked, "Tell me what that large painting over there represents."

"The altar-piece? Don't you know? The altar-piece in Clara is one of the
most beautiful we possess."

"What is going on there?" asked Azouras.

Miss Rudenskoeld gave her a side glance; she di