They are not mere
spectres that have taken possession of my soul, unless indeed they
belong to one and the same family with spirits. In the second place,
do your eyes see much meaning in this wondrous story, if the success
of the temptation was totally and absolutely impossible?--Now then
what say you? appalling are the feelings that seize on one of us, and
you too cannot escape them, when all this is brought home to the heart
and mind.--There is still a third remark that I would close
with:--what would have become of the world and of mankind, of heaven
and earth, if the tempter had won the day? if love had faltered and
been beguiled?--O young man, the doors are not closed in every place
where we see them put to. You fancy you have made out everything, when
you have hardly counted up to five.--I too believed, I too inquired,
was absorbed in love and devotion, beheld love in my own soul and in
the souls of my brethren, and this is the very delusion the breaking
up of which snap my heart and life asunder, never, never to revive and
reunite. Cast away your pride in your feelings, think not to soar on
the wings of your imagination; but crawl along the ground like worms,
and eat dust; for that is what befits you."

The old man squeezed Edward's hand, and then with a bitter smile, and
a sudden laugh that scared him, tore himself away. For a while Edward
continued fixt in a stupour, and when at length he lifted up his eyes,
Balthasar was again immerst in deep thought, and standing at his
writing table with the gloomy suffering look which he usually wore.
Edward felt as if he was leaving a dying man when he went away, and
shut the heavy oaken door slowly and carefully after him.

* * * * *

Edward had taken his measures with no less secrecy than judgement.
None of the servants, foremen, or even of the overseers knew that he
was doing anything out in the warehouse. Every interruption had been
guarded against. He was quite alone, nor did anybody even know of his
having left the house, when he made his arrangements; and it was dark
before he came back. He could not tell whether a fresh robbery might
not be committed on that very night, or not till a future one. All the
watchmen had been removed from the warehouse in such a manner as not
to excite suspicion.

And now amid the solitude of the night he sat down to the account
books, for the sake of bringing all his thoughts to bear on a single
poin