t his finger-ends. The face itself was as placid as it
had been in life; the lids were firmly closed--no peeping or squinting
here--and the lips met and rested on each other round and full. Seen
like this, it now became evident that his face was one of those which
are, all along, intended for death--intended, that is, to lie waxen and
immobile, to show to best advantage. In life, there had been too marked
a discrepancy between the extreme warmth of the girl's colouring and
the extreme immobility of her expression. Now that the blood had, as it
were, been drained away to the last drop, now that temples and nostrils
had attained transparency, the fine texture of the skin and the beauty
of the curves of lips and chin were visible to every eye. Only one
hand, so the LEICHENFRAU babbled on, was convulsively closed, and could
not be undone; and, as she spoke, she drew the sheet further down, and
displayed the naked arm and hand: the long, fine fingers were clenched,
the thumb inside the rest. Otherwise, Avery appeared to sleep, to sleep
profoundly, with an intensity such as living sleep never attains
to--the very epitome of repose. It seemed as if her eyelids were
pressed down by some unseen force; and, in her presence, the feeling
gained ground in one, that it was worth enduring much, to arrive at a
rest of this kind at last.

"JA, JA," said the woman, and rearranged the covering. "It's a pleasure
to handle such a pretty corpse. That one there, now,"--with her chin
she pointed to the other figure, and made a face of disgust. "EIN
EKLIGER KERL! There was nothing to be done with him."

"Let me see what he's like," begged Louise.

"It's an ugly sight," said the woman. However, she pulled the sheet
down, and so far that not only the face, but also a part of the hairy
black breast was visible.

Louise shuddered, yet the very horror of the thing fascinated her, and
she plied the woman with questions about the workings of the agonising
poison that had been swallowed. After one hasty glance, Maurice had
turned away, and now stood staring out of the high, barred window into
a gloomy little courtyard, For him, the air of the room was hard to
breathe, owing to the faint, yet unmistakable odour, which even the
waxen figure of the girl had begun to exhale; and he marvelled how
Louise, who was so sensitive, could endure it.

Outside, both drew long breaths of the cold, evening air, and Louise
bought a bunch of violets, which she pres