"The dances which animated the others made her sad. She left the ball
and wandered on the hillside. There, beneath the hedge of a sunken
road, she recognized her beauteous Fritz. Poor Fritz! he was refusing
himself the pleasure of the dance which he might not partake with her.
Ah, the time for temporizing is over! Bettina determines that to-day,
in the eyes of every one, they shall dance together, and he shall be
recognized as her _verlobter_. She looks hastily around for flowers.
The hill is bare, the road is stony: an enclosure at the left offers
some promise, and Bettina enters.

"It was a cemetery. Animated with her new resolve, she thought little
of the profanation, and crowned herself with flowers from the nearest
grave. In an hour the villagers from Ettlingen saw her leaning on
Fritz's shoulder in the waltz. That night the shade of Wilhelm stood
at her bed-head: 'You have accepted the flowers growing on my grave
and nourished from my heart. I am once more your _verlobter_.'

"Next day Fritz came, radiant, with a silver engagement-ring, which he
was to exchange for that on Bettina's finger, returned by Wilhelm at
his departure. But the ring was gone. At night Wilhelm reappeared, and
showed the ring on his finger. Some time passed, and Bettina lost a
good part of her beauty, distracted as she was between the laughing
Fritz in the daytime and the pale Wilhelm at night. She was a sensible
girl, however, and persuaded herself, with Fritz's assistance, that
the vision was created by a disordered fancy. But she caused inquiry
to be made about the grave in the cemetery at Durlach: the answer
came: 'Under the first stone in the line at the right of the gate
lies the body of Wilhelm Haussbach of Ettlingen, where he followed the
trade of baker.'