"Oh, yes, yes, father," exclaimed the girl. In place of Karl, who was too weak to speak, the priest added: "Take this token of the marriage vows exchanged between you." As he spoke he placed upon Helen's finger the ring given him by Karl. "I give you this ring as a sign of the marriage that you have contracted." The priest made the sign of the cross upon the bride's hand, saying in a low voice: "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen!" Stretching out his right hand towards the pair, he added, aloud: "May the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob join you together and bestow His blessing upon you. I unite you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen!" "Father," said Karl to the priest, "if you will now add to the prayers that you have just uttered for the husband the absolution for the dying, I shall have nothing more to ask of you." The priest, raising his hand, pronounced the consecrated words, as if Karl's soul had delayed until this solemn moment to depart from the body. Helen, who had raised him in her arms, felt herself drawn to him by an irresistible power. Her lips clung to those of her lover, and between them escaped the words: "Farewell, my darling wife; your blood is my blood. Farewell." His body fell back upon the pillow. Karl had breathed his last breath upon Helen's mouth. One sob only was heard from the poor girl, and the complete prostration with which she fell back upon his body showed everybody that he was dead. The spectators rose from their knees. Emma threw herself into Helen's arms, exclaiming: "Now we are doubly sisters, by birth and by affliction." Then, feeling that this sorrow required solitude, one after another slipped away, slowly, gently, and on tiptoe, leaving Helen alone with her husband's body. At the end of a couple of hours, Benedict, growing uneasy, ventured to go to her and knocked slowly at the door, saying. "It is I, sister." Helen, who had locked herself in, came to open the door. With amazement he beheld her dressed completely in bridal attire. She had put on a wreath of white roses, diamond earrings hung from her ears, and the costliest of necklaces surrounded her neck. Her fingers were loaded with valuable rings. Her arm from which the blood had been drawn to perform the miracle of resurrection was covered with bracelets. A magnificent lace shawl was thrown over her shoulders and covered a satin gown fastened with knots of pearls. "You see, my friend," she said to Benedict, "that I have tried to fulfil his wishes completely. I am dressed not as his betrothed but as his wife."