“I passed on in my course，” said the Wind， “and he passed away also. He was not allowedto remain， and little Ida got over it， because she was obliged to do so. Proud， blackhorses， worth looking at， were neighing in the stable. And they were locked up; for theadmiral， who had been sent by the king to inspect the new ship， and make arrangements forits purchase， was loud in admiration of these beautiful horses. I heard it all，” said theWind， “for I accompanied the gentlemen through the open door of the stable， and strewedstalks of straw， like bars of gold， at their feet. Waldemar Daa wanted gold， and the admiralwished for the proud black horses; therefore he praised them so much. But the hint was nottaken， and consequently the ship was not bought. It remained on the shore covered withboards，—a Noah's ark that never got to the water—Whir-r-r-r—and that was a pity.
“In the winter， when the fields were covered with snow， and the water filled with largeblocks of ice which I had blown up to the coast，” continued the Wind， “GREat flocks of crowsand ravens， dark and black as they usually are， came and alighted on the lonely， desertedship. Then they croaked in harsh accents of the forest that now existed no more， of the manypretty birds' nests destroyed and the little ones left without a home; and all for the sake ofthat great bit of lumber， that proud ship， that never sailed forth. I made the snowflakeswhirl till the snow lay like a great lake round the ship， and drifted over it. I let it hear myvoice， that it might know what the storm has to say. Certainly I did my part towards teachingit seamanship.
“That winter passed away， and another winter and summer both passed， as they are stillpassing away， even as I pass away. The snow drifts onwards， the apple-blossoms arescattered， the leaves fall，—everything passes away， and men are passing away too. But theGREat man's daughters are still young， and little Ida is a rose as fair to look upon as on theday when the shipbuilder first saw her. I often tumbled her long， brown hair， while she stoodin the garden by the apple-tree， musing， and not heeding how I strewed the blossoms on herhair， and dishevelled it; or sometimes， while she stood gazing at the red sun and the goldensky through the opening branches of the dark， thick foliage of the garden trees. Her sisterJoanna was bright and slender as a lily; she had a tall and lofty carriage and figure，though， like her mother， rather stiff in back. She was very fond of walking through the greathall， where hung the portraits of her ancestors. The women were represented in dresses ofvelvet and silk， with tiny little hats， embroidered with pearls， on their braided hair. Theywere all handsome women. The gentlemen appeared clad in steel， or in rich cloaks lined withsquirrel's fur; they wore little ruffs， and swords at their sides. Where would Joanna's place beon that wall some day? and how would he look，—her noble lord and husband? This is whatshe thought of， and often spoke of in a low voice to herself. I heard it as I swept into the longhall， and turned round to come out again. Anna Dorothea， the pale hyacinth， a child offourteen， was quiet and thoughtful; her large， deep， blue eyes had a dreamy look， but achildlike smile still played round her mouth. I was not able to blow it away， neither did I wish todo so. We have met in the garden， in the hollow lane， in the field and meadow， where shegathered herbs and flowers which she knew would be useful to her father in preparing thedrugs and mixtures he was always concocting. Waldemar Daa was arrogant and proud， buthe was also a learned man， and knew a great deal. It was no secret， and many opinions wereexpressed on what he did. In his fireplace there was a fire， even in summer time. He wouldlock himself in his room， and for days the fire would be kept burning; but he did not talkmuch of what he was doing. The secret powers of nature are generally discovered in solitude，and did he not soon expect to find out the art of making the greatest of all good things—theart of making gold? So he fondly hoped; therefore the chimney smoked and the fire crackledso constantly. Yes， I was there too，” said the Wind. “'Leave it alone，' I sang down thechimney; 'leave it alone， it will all end in smoke， air， coals， and ashes， and you will burnyour fingers.' But Waldemar Daa did not leave it alone， and all he possessed vanished likesmoke blown by me. The splendid black horses， where are they? What became of the cows inthe field， the old gold and silver vessels in cupboards and chests， and even the house andhome itself? It was easy to melt all these away in the gold-making crucible， and yet obtain nogold. And so it was. Empty are the barns and store-rooms， the cellars and cupboards; theservants decreased in number， and the mice multiplied. First one window became broken， andthen another， so that I could get in at other places besides the door. 'Where the chimneysmokes， the meal is being cooked，' says the proverb; but here a chimney smoked thatdevoured all the meals for the sake of gold. I blew round the courtyard，” said the Wind， “likea watchman blowing his home， but no watchman was there. I twirled the weather-cock roundon the summit of the tower， and it creaked like the snoring of a warder， but no warder wasthere; nothing but mice and rats. Poverty laid the table-cloth; poverty sat in the wardrobeand in the larder. The door fell off its hinges， cracks and fissures made their appearanceeverywhere; so that I could go in and out at pleasure， and that is how I know all about it.Amid smoke and ashes， sorrow， and sleepless nights， the hair and beard of the master ofthe house turned gray， and deep furrows showed themselves around his temples; his skinturned pale and yellow， while his eyes still looked eagerly for gold， the longed-for gold， andthe result of his labor was debt instead of gain. I blew the smoke and ashes into his face andbeard; I moaned through the broken window-panes， and the yawning clefts in the walls; Iblew into the chests and drawers belonging to his daughters， wherein lay the clothes that hadbecome faded and threadbare， from being worn over and over again. Such a song had notbeen sung， at the children's cradle as I sung now. The lordly life had changed to a life ofpenury. I was the only one who rejoiced aloud in that castle，” said the Wind. “At last Isnowed them up， and they say snow keeps people warm. It was good for them， for they hadno wood， and the forest， from which they might have obtained it， had been cut down. Thefrost was very bitter， and I rushed through loop-holes and passages， over gables and roofswith keen and cutting swiftness. The three high-born daughters were lying in bed because ofthe cold， and their father crouching beneath his leather coverlet. Nothing to eat， nothing toburn， no fire on the hearth! Here was a life for high-born people! 'Give it up， give it up!'But my Lord Daa would not do that. 'After winter， spring will come，' he said， 'after want，good times. We must not lose patience， we must learn to wait. Now my horses and lands areall mortgaged， it is indeed high time; but gold will come at last—at Easter.'