Page:Hoffmann's Strange Stories - Hoffman - 1855.djvu/89

 knees before the syren:—"Oh!" exclaimed he, "it is thou, thou alone in the world who art worthy of love, angel from heaven!—it is thou that I have sought for in my youthful dreams! I have found thee at last,—thou art my soul, my life, and my god!"

The young men looked at each other; some of them thought that Erasmus had become mad; they had never seen him thus before.

The whole night was passed amid songs of pleasure and vows of love. When morning broke each one went his way with his lady. Erasmus wanted to accompany Giulietta, but she denied his pressing entreaty, and contented herself with pointing out to him a house in which he might see her again.

Poor Spicker was obliged to regain his solitary home, escorted by a little servant armed with a torch. When he arrived in his street, the servant extinguished the torch on the flagging stones, for day already succeeded morning.

Suddenly a tall thin man, with a hooked nose and satanic look, dressed in a scarlet jacket with steel buttons, appeared before Erasmus, and said to him smilingly, and in a trembling voice—"Hallo, master Spicker! have we just escaped from some old book of plates, with this costume of past times, this cap of feathers, and this rapier? Do you want the children to cry after you in the streets? You had better go quickly back into your old book."

"What is my costume to you?" cried Erasmus. Pushing against the coxcomb, who stopped him, he tried to pass on; but the man in red stopping him, said very loudly—"Softly, my friend; do not move so quickly, and do not push people: it is not time to go to the house of the beautiful Giulietta."

The color came into the face of Erasmus; he tried to seize the red man by the collar to strangle him, but he made a spring from him and disappeared like a flash of lightning.

"Sir," said the valet, "do not mind this adventure; you have just met the marvellous doctor of Florence, Sig. Dapertutto."