Page:Tales of a Voyager to the Arctic Ocean, vol. 3 (1826).djvu/317

 with them, when they caught a glimpse of a light at a short distance, and wishing to obtain, if possible, something better than a draught of water, to quench their thirst, they made towards it, and arrived at the door of a residence, half cottage and half cavern, which stood under the side of one of the largest masses of rock; and they recollected that this place was the habitation of a hermit, a recluse so austere that he hardly ever suffered himself to be seen by any body.

“They knocked at the door, however, and it was opened, not by an old man, with a white beard, as they expected, but by a beautiful girl, of about sixteen, whose face and figure far excelled those of all the daughters of their native hamlet, and, in truth, of any other place they knew. She blushed at first, and seemed inclined to close the door again, but Wolfgang asked, in a tone of compliment, that she would give him a draught of milk, and Hendrick seconded him, with such gentle supplication, that she felt almost compelled to speak; and, then, not liking to refuse so small a request, she brought out a large jug, not of milk but of true Rhenish wine, which she poured out into horns, and offered to each of the huntsmen. They accepted her gift with many thanks, which she