a burning desire that could not
be quenched. She called on her dread father; three times she cried out
to him, and her sisters echoed the call. Then he arose from the depths,
majestic and so terrible to behold that Lenore almost lost the courage
to address him. But he listened to her request in silence, brooding,
while great ravens whirled and swooped in the sky above their heads.
Then he spoke:

"It is decreed that no one can alter the path of fate, or avoid the doom
that is written in the stars. The hour has come: I have foreseen this
day; go, my daughters, go. But remember there is one condition which you
must strictly obey. One night in the week you may be absent from the
lake; but as the hour strikes twelve, you must be back again in these
waters. I shall send a messenger to fetch you, the dwarf Hunold, beware
lest you keep him waiting! If you disobey, destruction will overtake
you, and your home will know you no more." He sank gloomily into the
lake; the day was oppressive; no rain fell and the evening brought no
relief. Strange and uneasy were the dreams of many that night in the
little village.

Some young people returning late from a social gathering, reported that
they had seen a bright, uncanny light in the sky, like a fire, or some
said like a golden hand, at midnight over the ill-omened mountain.

In those days when it was so difficult to travel from place to place,
the villagers were obliged to depend on themselves for amusement and
entertainment. In the villages round about the mountain it was the
custom for the young people to meet together at each other's houses on
Saturday evenings. Those who had rooms large enough, took it in turns to
invite all the rest; the girls brought their spinning-wheels, and the
room where they met was called the spinning-room. The girls were busy
and merry at the same time. Stories were told, and songs were sung, the
young men smoked and drank wine, and not infrequently the
spinning-wheels were cleared away and there was dancing. Strangers were
welcome; for the peasants were renowned for their hospitality; but
seldom did it happen that travellers passed that way; some young fellow
perhaps might drop in who was wandering about for a year or so before
settling down to the work of his life as the German custom is; but
tourists were few when roads were bad and money scarce.

One lovely summer's evening at the end of June the full moon was shining
in the sky, the latticed wind