He only needed to say this and his request would have been fulfilled, for
the last wishes of the dying and of those condemned to death are sacred,
and will never be denied, if it is possible to grant them.

But he had the strength to repress this most sacred, deepest desire of his
heart, for such a message would have compromised _her_. Perhaps she, too,
might have been dragged into the investigation, punished as a criminal,
though she was innocent.

No, he dared not send to her! His Leonore, the beloved, worshipped idol of
his heart, should not suffer a moment's anxiety through him. He loved her
so fervently that for her sake he joyfully sacrificed even his longing for
her. Let her think of him as one who had vanished! Let her never learn that
Baron von Moudenfels, the man who would be shot in a few hours, was the man
whom she loved. He would meet death calmly and joyfully, for he would leave
her hope! Hope of a meeting--not yonder, but here on earth! She would
expect him, she would watch for him daily in love and loyalty, and
gradually, gently and easily, she would become accustomed to the thought of
seeing him no more. Yet, while doing so, she would not deem him faithless,
would not suppose that he had abandoned her, but would know that it was
destiny which severed them--that if he did not return to her, he had gone
to the place whence there is no return.

"Oh, Leonore, dearly loved one! Never to see you again, never again to hear
from your lips those sweet, sacred revelations of love; never again to look
into your eyes, those eyes which shine more brightly than all the stars in
heaven."

It was already growing lighter. Dawn was approaching. Yonder, in the dark
night sky a dull golden streak appeared, the harbinger of day. The sun was