Florentina who tells them a tale about her dead sister Seraphina. Seraphina would look off dazed for long periods of time. On one occasion Florentina saw Seraphina looking out the window in the garden. When Florentina looked out past her she saw her father and Seraphina walking together. When Florentina embraced her sister the likeness walking with her father in the garden disappeared. Later, Florentina goes to the upper story to get a garment from the wardrobe and comes back much later looking pale. She reveals that while upstairs she encounters an illuminated version of herself (her spirit). The spirit foretells her many things. One is that she will die at nine o'clock, which she does. Next her father, who had talked to Seraphina about her encounter has to leave his job (in a possible scandal) and says to Florentina that her sister's prophecy was right. She had predicted this. And later he becomes ill and tells Florentina that her sister predicted this as well and that at nine he would die, and so he does. Before he dies he tell Florentina that her sister said she would die if she married so he tells her to never marry. Maria and Amelia know that she is to marry a Count and Florentina says that she will die at nine. They see the clock is set to strike nine and Florentina gets up and the door opens by itself and she embraces an illuminated figure of her sister Seraphina and dies as the clock strikes nine, the fated hour. The Death's Head Calzolaro (whose real name is Schruster) arrives with his troop of performers at the inn of colonel Keilholm. He has come to the inn because it is in his home town and he is there to see about his inheritance. His father, the schoolmaster, had just died. The pastor informs him that his father disproved of this lifestyle, not following him in becoming a schoolmaster, and gave all his inheritance to a female relative. Calzolaro disputes her claim. Kielholm asks if Calzolaro would perform for the townspeople, especially since he is known to be an expert ventriloquist. He agrees and they set a stage at midnight with a human skull that he can manipulate and thus "talk" to the dead. However, at the performance he spears the skull on his sword and lifts it up to speak to it