t an imperceptible
quivering of the paper; and when he came to an end Elisabeth gently
pushed her chair back and passed silently out into the garden. Her
mother followed her with a look. Eric made as if to go after, but the
mother said:

"Elisabeth has one or two little things to do outside," so he remained
where he was.

But out of doors the evening brooded darker and darker over garden and
lake. Moths whirred past the open doors through which the fragrance of
flower and bush floated in increasingly; up from the water came the
croak of the frogs, under the windows a nightingale commenced his song
answered by another from within the depths of the garden; the moon
appeared over the tree-tops.

Reinhard looked for a little while longer at the spot where
Elisabeth's sweet form had been lost to sight in the thick-foliaged
garden paths, and then he rolled up his manuscript, bade his friends
good-night and passed through the house down to the water.

The woods stood silent and cast their dark shadow far out over the
lake, while the centre was bathed in the haze of a pale moonlight. Now
and then a gentle rustle trembled through the trees, though wind there
was none; it was but the breath of summer night.

Reinhard continued along the shore. A stone's throw from the land he
perceived a white water-lily. All at once he was seized with the
desire to see it quite close, so he threw off his clothes and entered
the water. It was quite shallow; sharp stones and water plants cut his
feet, and yet he could not reach water deep enough for him to swim in.

Then suddenly he stepped out of his depth: the waters swirled above
him; and it was some time before he rose to the surface again. He
struck out with hands and feet and swam about in a circle until he had
made quite sure from what point he had entered the water. And soon too
he saw the lily again floating lonely among the large, gleaming
leaves.

He swam slowly out, lifting every now and then his arms out of the
water so that the drops trickled down and sparkled in the moonlight.
Yet the distance between him and the flower showed no signs of
diminishing, while the shore, as he glanced back at it, showed behind
him in a hazy mist that ever deepened. But he refused to give up the
venture and vigorously continued swimming in the same direction.

At length he had come so near the flower that he was able clearly to
distinguish the silvery leaves in the moonlight; but at the same t