among the hills, I saw the sleigh pass, carrying the beautiful woman
and her husband; and in the same instant the enchanter also saw
it, and his face contracted, and the evil spirit lowered itself
and came between me and him. Then this picture sank and vanished.

I next beheld the same cave in the mountains which I had before seen;
and the beautiful couple together in it. Then a shadow darkened
the door of the cave; and the enchanter was there, asking admittance;
cheerfully they bade him enter, and, as he came forward with his
snake-like eyes fixed on the fair woman, I understood that he wished
to have her for his own, and was even then devising how to bear
her away. And the spirit in the air beside him seemed busy suggesting
schemes to this end. Then this picture melted and became confused,
giving place for but a brief moment to another, in which I saw the
enchanter carrying the woman away in his arms, she struggling and
lamenting, her long bright hair streaming behind her. This scene
passed from the wall as though a wind had swept over it, and there
rose up in its place a picture, which impressed me with a more vivid
sense of reality than all the rest.

It represented a market place, in the midst of which was a pile
of faggots and a stake, such as were used formerly for the burning
of heretics and witches. The market place, round which were rows
of seats as though for a concourse of spectators, yet appeared quite
deserted. I saw only three living beings present,--the beautiful
woman, the enchanter, and the evil spirit. Nevertheless, I thought
that the seats were really occupied by invisible tenants, for every
now and then there seemed to be a stir in the atmosphere as of a
great multitude; and I had, moreover, a strange sense of facing
many witnesses. The enchanter led the woman to the stake, fastened