Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/203

 porary and pupil of Voltaire, was honoured with the last interview which the Gnome has granted to a descendant of Adam in our times, and this was just previous to his setting out on a long visit to the interior of the earth, whence it is impossible to say when he may take it into his head to return. This lady, suffering from disordered nerves and rheumatic gout, was on her way to Carlsbad, accompanied by her two healthy, blooming daughters. The mother was in such a hurry to get to the Baths, for the sake of the cure she hoped from them, and the young ladies were in such a hurry to get to the Baths for the sake of the society, the balls, the serenades, the hundred diversions they anticipated there, that they posted on night and day. It was past sunset when they entered upon the Riesengeberg on a fine warm summer’s evening; there was not a breath of air; the darkening sky was thick set with sparkling stars; the crescent moon, with her silver rays, shed a soft light on the tall mirk firs; while innumerable glow-worms, playing about under the bushes, presented the appearance of a moving illumination. But the travellers paid small attention to this beautiful aspect of nature. Mamma, gently rocked by the carriage as it slowly ascended the mountain, was sound asleep, and her two daughters and their maid, each occupying one of the three other corners of the coach, were in a similar unsentimental condition. John alone, perched