Page:Little Ellie and Other Tales (1850).djvu/109

Rh only the Fairy of the Garden of Paradise can be. She smiled in her dream; he bent over her, and saw tears beneath her eyelashes.

“Dost thou weep for me?” he murmured: “oh, weep not, beautiful maiden!—Now, for the first time, do I comprehend the joy of Paradise! I feel it in every vein: every thought is possessed by it. I feel the cherub’s strength, and everlasting life in my mortal body; let darkness enwrap me for ever—one moment like this is enough!” And he kissed the tears from her eyes; his lips touched hers—a frightful clap of thunder was heard, so loud and terrible that none has ever heard the like. And all disappeared: the charming Fairy and the blooming Paradise sunk deep into the earth; down into dark night the Prince saw it sinking; and like a small twinkling star it shone in the far distance. An icy coldness spread over his limbs; he closed his eyes, and lay for a long while as if dead.

The cold rain fell on his face, the chill