e was
doing, rushed up, seized her arms, and made her get back.

If the cock crew, it was the crow of death; if the clock ticked, it was
the tick of death; if the wind blew, it was a breath from beyond the
grave. "You must take your life"--with this thought the air, the earth,
the house, the church, the morning, the evening, and her dreams were
full.

In April Eleanore was taken down with fever. Gertrude watched by her
bedside night and day; she sacrificed herself. Daniel, worried about
Eleanore, went around in a dazed condition. When he came to her bed he
never noticed Gertrude. After Eleanore had begun to recover, Gertrude
lay down; for she was very tired. But she could not sleep; she got up
again.

She went into the kitchen in her bare feet, though she did not know why
she went. It was the consuming restlessness of her heart that drove her
from her bed. Her legs were heavy with exhaustion, but she did not like
to stay in any one place for any length of time. Later Daniel came back
from the city, and brought her a silver buckle which he fastened to her
bracelet. Then he pressed his lips to her forehead, and said: "I thank
you for having been so good to Eleanore."

Gertrude stood as if rooted to the floor. Something seemed to cry
incessantly within her; she felt that a mortally wounded beast was in
her bosom wallowing in its blood. Long after Daniel had gone to his room
she could still be seen standing in the middle of the floor. Wrapped in
gloomy meditation, she removed the buckle from her bracelet: she thought
she saw an ugly mark where the metal had touched her skin. She went into
her room, opened the cabinet, and hid the buckle under a pile of linen.

She had only one wish: she wanted to sleep. But as soon as she would
close her eyes her heart would begin to beat with doubled, trebled
rapidity. She had to get up and walk back and forth in the room; she was
struggling for breath.

XVIII

A few days later she went out during a pouring rain storm, and wandered
about aimlessly through the streets. Every minute she feared--and
hoped--she would fall over and become unconscious of herself and the
world about her. She passed by two churches, the doors of which were
locked. It was growing dark; she reached the apothecary shop of Herr
Pflaum, and looked in through the glass door. Herr Seelenfromm was
standing at the counter, mixing some medicine in a mortar. She went in
and asked h