few words to you, my Cecilia. Here it is good and quiet; and joyful
voices--truly festival voices, echo to me here. The heart of my Ernst
enjoys the highest pleasure, for he sees all his children happy around
him. And the children, Cecilia, he has reason to be joyful over them and
proud; they stand all around him, good and excellent human beings; they
thank him that existence has been given to them, and that they have
learned its worth; They are satisfied with their lot. The lost and
again-found-one has come home, in order to begin a new life, and her
charming child is quite established on the knees of the grandfather.

"I hear Gabriele's guitar accompanied by a song. I fancy now they dance.
Louise's eight boys make the floor shake. Jacobi's voice is heard above
all. The good, ever-young man. I also should be joyful, for all in my
house is peaceful and well-arranged. And I am so; my heart is full of
thankfulness, but my body is weary--very weary.

"The fir-trees on the grave wave and beckon me. I see their tops
saluting me in the clear moonlight, and pointing upwards. Dost thou
beckon me, my son? Dost thou call me to come home to thee? My
first-born, my summer-child! Let me whisper to thee that this is my
secret wish. The earth was friendly towards me; friendly was my home:
when thou wast gone, my favourite! I began to follow. Perhaps the day of
my departure is at hand. I feel in myself as if I were able to go to
rest. And might a really bright and beautiful moment be enjoyed by me
before my last sleep, I would yet once more press my husband's hand to
my lips, look around me on earth with a blessing, and upwards towards
heaven with gratitude, and say as now, out of the depths of my heart,
'Thank God for the home here, and the home there.'"

END OF THE HOME.

Transcriber's Notes:

I inserted 'a' into sentence, Never did I envy [a] human being as I
envied her, on Page 90.

In Footnote 3, the word appears to be Niflhem, but the more common
spelling is Niflheim.

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