But the nearer she approached to the bath-house, the less quickly she walked; and when she stood in the doorway she said: "Oh, how my heart beats!" When Ludwig appeared with the canoe from behind the willows, the charming Naiad stepped from the bath-house.

The rippling waves bore the moonlight to her feet, where she stood on the narrow platform which projected into the lake.

She knelt and, bending forward, kissed the water; it was her beloved! After a moment's hesitation she dropped gently from the platform, as she had been wont to do; but when she felt the waves about her shoulders, she uttered a cry of terror, and grasped the edge of the canoe with both hands.
"Lift me out, Ludwig! I cannot bear it; I am afraid!" With a sorrowful heart the little maid took leave of her favorite element.

The hot tears gushed from her eyes, and fell into the water; it was as if she were bidding an eternal, farewell to her beloved.

From that hour the child became a silent and thoughtful woman.
* * * * * Then followed the stormy days of autumn, the long evenings, the weeks and months when nothing could be done but stay in doors and amuse one's self with books--Dante, Shakspere, Horace.