"'An examination will be made as to whether this key is not false and a copy.'
"Several elderly gentlemen interposed mediatingly between the conflicting parties, and protested particularly against any interference on the part of the State; but the candidate, who became still more like a raging turkey cock, cried, with suppressed wrath--
"'And what is it that charms in this new doctrine? Why do the women and girls follow a banner which dared not be unfurled in the open light of day? That is effected by the charming standard bearers; that preacher who at the same time is a handsome man, combines benignity and dignity in his features, who unites distinguished and commanding bearing with ensnaring courtesy and amiability. When the manna falls, all the people stoop; but above all the daughters of Eve.'
"I admired the longsuffering of the young widow, who replied with a placid smile to all these violent onslaughts, while I even, although I did not exactly know whither all those onslaughts were directed, assumed a sharp tone towards the candidate, and condemned the intolerance which his words displayed.
"Those speeches still live in my recollection; they made a deep impression upon me at the time. That which in earlier years floated before me, the founding of a new religion, was it now being carried out in my immediate vicinity, without my knowing anything about it? And did this religion possess such graceful priestesses as that one, from whom I could not avert my gaze so long as she was within its reach? I had sometimes heard people talk of the new sect which had gained numerous adherents from the fashionable world; despite all difference of opinion about that sect, all were agreed as to the fact that the actual nature of its doctrines was a secret, and I would not force myself into such a secret.
"'You must hear him,' said the young widow, 'that preacher, of whom the Herr Candidate thinks so little. You will be amazed at the power of his eloquence; he is full of aspirations, and interprets the Bible boldly, without deviating from its words.'
"She spoke confidentially, and only to me--
"'I had quite ceased to know what a feeling of devotion is, because the pious indifference of ordinary attendance at church only seems like the compulsory recapitulation of our duty towards Heaven; but our religion whose revelations and delights penetrate to our innermost feelings, a religion that the day does not know, can alone reveal to us the secret of faith.'
"Thereupon she spoke brightly of everyday matters, and displayed such sound judgment on all topics, that I could not look upon such enthusiasm as the outflow of a diseased temperament. When the company had dispersed, I accompanied her on the short portion of our road that lay together, which here led us over the Castle bridge. It was a magic, moonlight night, and my companion had inspired me with such confidence that I initiated her into the enthusiastic emotions which nature stirred within me; I hoped to find sympathy in her, and I did find it.
"'That is a ray of the original light, which penetrates the human soul,' said she in her charming manner.