At length he became convinced that his last hour drew near; and he
blessed God that his struggle was about to terminate. As soon as this
idea took possession of his mind, he grew a little more tranquil; and,
excepting when he thought of Beatrice, awaited the final hour with
a kind of satisfaction. In this pious mood of mind, he one evening
wandered to his usual haunt on the seaside. The sun had set--the
moon and all the stars were in heaven--and the earth and the sea
were sleeping in the silver light. He set him down on a lofty rock
overhanging the sea, which was deep and still in that part; and with the
waves on his left, and the earth in all its loveliness on his right, he
raised his eyes towards heaven, and was absorbed in devotion. At that
moment, a face of unutterable beauty presented itself in the bright
moonlight before him. With a single glance, he discovered it was that
of Lucifer, but softened to angelic loveliness. Uttering a wild and
piercing shriek, he started from it towards the edge of the precipice.
Beatrice for it was she--instantly caught him by the hand to drag him
back; and pronounced his name. The words and the touch dissipated his
illusion; and with the rapidity of lightning revealed to his mind the
fatal secret of his misery. He now saw that, having been occupied with
thoughts of her when he painted his picture, he had lent a portion of
her beauty to the fallen archangel; and hence the pain her looks had
occasionally inflicted on him. While this conviction darted into his
mind, he was already falling over the precipice; but he still grappled
at the rock, and made desperate efforts to recover himself. Beatrice,
also, finding that he was going and drawing her after him, for she still
held him by the hand, caught hold of a tuft of grass which grew on the
edge of the cliff and grasped it convulsively. In this situation they
hung for an instant, suspended over the abyss; but the grass-tuft by
which she clung gradually gave way; and in another instant a sullen
plunge in the deep waters below told that the loves and miseries of