—“Kneel,” said she, “kneel upon the stone, on which Amalberga was kneeling when seized by the sacrilegious Landenberg; kneel, and swear in the presence of God and of this chapel’s Patron-Saint, never even in thought to swerve from the strictest rules of eternal truth and unsullied virtue: so shall this place be cleansed from the pollution, which it contracted from the impure steps of the virgin’s ravisher!—May Landenberg’s fate be thine, Erwin, shouldst thou ever for one instant prove faithless to Rosanna!—Never may’st thou, Rosanna, find in the time of need such a preserver as Amalberga found in Eginhart, shouldst thou ever forget the man, to whom I now solemnly betroth thee in the face of listening Heaven.—Let nothing part you, but the grave!—And should hereafter either of you from inconstancy or caprice rend asunder the sacred bonds, with which I now unite your fates for ever, that instant shall my form (be I living, or be I dead) stand before you threatening and awful, and warn you to return to the paths of propriety and duty!—But peace, everlasting peace be with the bosoms of faith, and may the wings of angels overspread them and preserve them!”— Erwin and Rosanna, as they gazed on the lovely form, which stood before them illuminated by the pale light of the consecrated tapers, fancied themselves in the presence of some celestial being. They thought, that in her words they heard the voice of her Patron-Saint; they swore fidelity while life should last, and Mary kissed and blessed them. She then accompanied them to the Chapel-porch; and the betrothed or rather the espoused lovers (for as such they now considered themselves) bent their course homewards beneath a sky heavy with the dews of an autumnal evening. Not one syllable did they exchange, as they past along; a gentle pressure of the hand occasionally was the only manner, in which they gave token of their feelings. Yet was their joy not quite unclouded; a secret heaviness weighed down their hearts: melancholy forebodings forbade their abandoning themselves entirely to the delightful thought—“We are united for ever!”—