And as he worked along so diligently and with such strained
attention, he began to feel more and more at home in the solitary
room; and already he had quite fitted himself into his task, which he
now hoped to finish well, when at the stroke of three the Archivarius
called him into the side-room to a savory dinner. At table,
Archivarius Lindhorst was in special gaiety of heart; he inquired
about the student Anselmus' friends, Conrector Paulmann, and
Registrator Heerbrand, and of the latter especially he had a store
of merry anecdotes to tell. The good old Rhenish was particularly
grateful to the student Anselmus, and made him more talkative than he
was wont to be. At the stroke of four he rose to resume his labor; and
this punctuality appeared to please the Archivarius.
If the copying of these Arabic manuscripts had prospered in his hands
before dinner, the task now went forward much better; nay, he could
not himself comprehend the rapidity and ease with which he succeeded
in transcribing the twisted strokes of this foreign character. But
it was as if, in his inmost soul, a voice were whispering in audible
words: "Ah! couldst thou accomplish it wert thou not thinking of
_her_, didst thou not believe in _her_ and in her love?" Then there
floated whispers, as in low, low, waving crystal tones, through the
room: "I am near, near, near! I help thee; be bold, be steadfast, dear
Anselmus! I toil with thee, that thou mayest be mine!" And as, in
the fulness of secret rapture, he caught these sounds, the unknown
characters grew clearer and clearer to him; he scarcely required
to look on the original at all; nay, it was as if the letters were
already standing in pale ink on the parchment, and he had nothing more
to do than mark them black.
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