?' enquired the teacher.

"Bolko slowly raised his head, and looked full in the face of his
confessor.

"'Canst thou vouch for this, Hubert?' he asked in his turn. 'Is it
genuine, is it true?'

"'Since when hast thou learned to suspect me of deception?' replied
the old man calmly.

"'Forgive me, Hubert. This narrative confounds me. I am unable to
distinguish truth from falsehood. But do thou advise me. What dost
thou think of it? Can a curse such as this is represented to have
been--can it have retained its force so long?'

"'Universal nature is one tremendous mystery,' replied the priest;
'who shall decide wherein her power consists? At the best we can but
conjecture at her connexion with the world of man--her weaving and
working. No one can deny that a solemn curse, spoken with a determined
and haughty purpose, has often, on the very instant, accomplished its
fulfilment. If this be so, why may it not work again and again? The
disregarded belief of the people--that a curse floats in the air until
it finds its victim, and then drops down upon him--is not so worthless
as men would have us think. There is at least expressed in it, dimly
and perhaps unconsciously, the inseparable union that subsists between
the spirit of man and the all-governing spirit of nature.'

"The youth had risen from his chair, and was pacing the apartment to
appease his agitated soul.

"'Well, well!' said he, drawing a heavy breath; 'it is a decree which
we must receive without a murmur, and suffer patiently.'

"'And who says that?' replied the priest with quickness. 'The wisdom
of nature has created an antidote for every poison.'

"'Art thou serious?' asked Bolko earnestly.

"'Heaven is merciful!' continued Hubert. 'Pardon is unlimited where
repentance is sincere.'

"'Who shall repent in this case?' answered Bolko. 'The criminal is
long since dead. Can another atone for his offence?'

"'Dost thou yet doubt, and art thou my pupil?' said Hubert. 'The WILL
can kill and also vivify.'

"The eyes of Bolko sparkled in the gloomy chamber. He grasped the hand
of his aged teacher, and drew him to the casement.

"'Speak!' he exclaimed. 'I will hear thee, and do thy bidding--do all
that thou holdest lawful and right.'

"Hubert directed his countenance, over which a few hoary locks still
lingered, towards the landscape before them.

"'You have often heard, my son,' said he, 'that yon desolate spot,
called to this day the _Gold Spring_, is