So did he labor on, encompassed with dear,
consoling tones as with soft, sweet breath, till the clock struck six,
and Archivarius Lindhorst entered the room. He came forward to
the table, with a singular smile; Anselmus rose in silence; the
Archivarius still looked at him, with that mocking smile; but no
sooner had he glanced over the copy than the smile passed into deep,
solemn earnestness, which every feature of his face adapted itself to
express. He seemed no longer the same. His eyes, which usually gleamed
with sparkling fire, now looked with unutterable mildness at Anselmus;
a soft red tinted the pale cheeks; and instead of the irony which at
other times compressed the mouth, the softly-curved, graceful lips now
seemed to be opening for wise and soul-persuading speech. The whole
form was higher, statelier; the wide nightgown spread itself like a
royal mantle in broad folds over his breast and shoulders; and through
the white locks, which lay on his high open brow, there was wound a
thin band of gold.
"Young man," began the Archivarius in solemn tone, "before thou
thoughtest of it, I knew thee, and all the secret relations which
bind thee to the dearest and holiest I have on earth! Serpentina loves
thee; a singular destiny, whose fateful threads were spun by hostile
powers, is fulfilled should she be thine and thou obtain, as an
essential dowry, the Golden Pot, which of right belongs to her.
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