Antonia’s case a somewhat serious but by no means dangerous attack; and she did indeed recover more quickly than her father had dared to hope.  She now clung to him with the most confiding childlike affection; she entered into his favorite hobbies—­into his mad schemes and whims.  She helped him take old violins to pieces and glue new ones together.  “I won’t sing again any more, but live for you,” she often said, sweetly smiling upon him, after she had been asked to sing and had refused.  Such appeals, however, the Councillor was anxious to spare her as much as possible; therefore it was that he was unwilling to take her into society, and solicitously shunned all music.  He well understood how painful it must be for her to forego altogether the exercise of that art which she had brought to such a pitch of perfection.  When the Councillor bought the wonderful violin that he had buried with Antonia, and was about to take it to pieces, she met him with such sadness in her face and softly breathed the petition, “What! this as well?” By some power, which he could not explain, he felt impelled to leave this particular instrument unbroken, and to play upon it.  Scarcely had he drawn the first few notes from it than Antonia cried aloud with joy, “Why, that’s me!—­now I shall sing again.”  And, in truth, there was something remarkably striking about the clear, silvery, bell-like tones of the violin; they seemed to have been engendered in the human soul.  Krespel’s heart was deeply moved; he played, too, better than ever.  As he ran up and down the scale, playing bold passages with consummate power and expression, she clapped her hands together and cried with delight, “I did that well!  I did that well.”

From this time onwards her life was filled with peace and cheerfulness.  She often said to the Councillor, “I should like to sing something, father.”  Then Krespel would take his violin down from the wall and play her most beautiful songs, and her heart was right glad and happy.  Shortly before my arrival in H——­, the Councillor fancied one night that he heard somebody playing the piano in the adjoining room, and he soon made out distinctly that B——­ was flourishing on the instrument in his usual style.  He wished to get up, but felt himself held down as if by a dead weight, and lying as if fettered in iron bonds; he was utterly unable to move an inch.  Then Antonia’s voice was heard singing low and soft; soon, however, it began to rise and rise in volume until it became an ear-splitting fortissimo; and at length she passed over into a powerfully impressive song which B—–­had once composed for her in the devotional style of the old masters.  Krespel described his condition as being incomprehensible, for terrible anguish was mingled with a delight he had never experienced before.  All at once he was surrounded by a dazzling brightness, in which he beheld B—–­and Antonia locked in a close embrace, and gazing at each other in a rapture of ecstasy.  The music of the song