take her by the hand. Now, Meinheer, swear.'

"`I swear,' repeated my father.

"`By all the spirits of the Hartz mountains--'

"`Nay, why not by Heaven?' interrupted my father.

"`Because it is not my humour,' rejoined Wilfred; `if I prefer that
oath, less binding perhaps, than another, surely you will not thwart
me.'

"`Well be it so then; have your humour. Will you make me swear by that
in which I do not believe?'

"`Yet many do so, who in outward appearance are Christians,' rejoined
Wilfred; `say, will you be married, or shall I take my daughter away
with me?'

"`Proceed,' replied my father, impatiently.

"`I swear by all the spirits of the Hartz mountains, by all their power
for good or for evil, that I take Christina for my wedded wife; that I
will ever protect her, cherish her, and love her; that my hand shall
never be raised against her to harm her.'

"My father repeated the words after Wilfred.

"`And if I fail in this my vow, may all the vengeance of the spirits
fall upon me and upon my children; may they perish by the vulture, by
the wolf, or other beasts of the forest; may their flesh be torn from
their limbs, and their bones blanch in the wilderness: all this I
swear.'

"My father hesitated, as he repeated the last words; little Marcella
could not restrain herself, and as my father repeated the last sentence,
she burst into tears. This sudden interruption appeared to discompose
the party, particularly my father; he spoke harshly to the child, who
controlled her sobs, burying her face under the bed-clothes.

"Such was the second marriage of my father. The next morning, the
hunter Wilfred mounted his horse, and rode away.

"My father resumed his bed, which was in the same room as ours; and
things went on much as before the marriage, except that our new
mother-in-law did not show any kindness towards us; indeed during my
father's absence, she would often beat us, particularly little Marcella,
and her eyes would flash fire, as she looked eagerly upon the fair and
lovely child.

"One night, my sister awoke me and my brother.

"`What is the matter?' said Caesar.

"`She has gone out,' whispered Marcella.

"`Gone out!'

"`Yes, gone out at the door, in her night-clothes,' replied the child;
`I saw her get out of bed, look at my father to see if he slept, and
then she went out at the door.'

"What could induce her to leave her bed, and all undressed to go out, in
such bitter wintry weath