ere sitting on this seat, so far away from my little boy, watching his arms get tired f
ite boat, though threatening to upset it, and kissed Rafael seve
ith rests like this we make very little progre
eam over the moonlit water, as if to vouchsafe the groves
e afternoons, in the presence of do?a Pepa and the maid, and on every night, as he passed th
mood of delicious abstraction. The city no longer existed for him. The people that moved about him seemed like so many spect
might finish supper and leave him free to go to his room, whence he would c
his mother. She had noticed that his door was locked all morning while he slept off the fatigue of a
rking nights; an import
oom, to find the door locked and the keyhole dark. Her son was not inside. She would lie awake for him now; and every morning,
he recrudescence of a madness that was upsetting all her plans. Through his numerous henchmen the counselor kept
He'll wind up by bringing her into this house! Can it be
to speak to Remedios, or look at her, as with her head bowed like a sulky goat, she went around stif
ed him. The one thing that annoyed him was the necessity of hiding his joy-his ina
the Roman decadence, when the love affairs of t
y arms, and appear upon the bridge at high noon, before a concourse stupefied by your beauty: 'Am I or am I not your "quefe"?' I'd ask. 'Well, if I am, adore this woman
lied, showering him with kisses, brushing h
ken by sudden impulses of affection, and their lips were tightly
g whim. This is unworthy of you. You are Love, who came to seek me out on the most beautiful of n
hen they were only friends-that islet with its curtains of reeds, the willows bending ov
not to make people do the foolish things that sweeten life?... Carry me off in your boat! The bark that bore y
the river, through the slumbering countryside, unfastened his boat at mid
rm in arm, laughing at the mischievous escapade, disturbing th
, lulled by the murmur of the river as it glided between the high mudbanks cove
ead. She unbuttoned her light traveling coat, and inhaled with deep enjoyment the moist, somewhat muggy breeze
ssion, which in its enthusiasm had broken its chains and left its mysterious lair to have the heavens and the fields for sympathetic witnesses. Leonora would have wished that the night should never end; that the waning moon, which seemed to have been slashed by a s
el!... I'm happy, so happy. Never have I had such a night as this. But wh
off by the encircling waters, dreaming that he was an adventurer on the virgin prairies or the vast r
. At the confluence rose the island-a tiny piece of land almost level with the water, but as fresh as green and fragrant as an aquatic bouquet. The banks were l
ches concealed them from the river; a bare tear of mo
sible animals took to the water with dull splashes as they heard the boat's bow to
ing and get out. Careful, careful! Don't you want
scendo of the musical whirl-pool into a plaint as soft and long-sustained as a golden thread stretched in the silence of the night across the river, that seemed to be applaudi
reeds or received the rude caresses of the branches that snapped back, as Rafael went ahead, and brushed against her face. She called for help in a muff
he had heard the rustle of their clothing as they sat down at the foot of
nding in one majestic calm; the murmur of the water, the stirring of the foliage, the mysterious movements of uns
xious rests between them-love sighs they seemed, broken by sobs of passion. Then gradually he took courage, regained self-confidence, and ent
st see him up there in the thick darkness, panting, ardent, in the spasm of his musical inspiration, ut
e to which they had fallen asleep. Leonora was resting a dishevelled head on Rafael's shoulder, caressing his neck wi
oked out from her balcony upon the river winding down through the slumbering countryside; and she had thought with rapture
don't know how it began: It must have been when you were away in Madrid. When I saw you again I knew that I was lost. If I still resisted, it was because I was a wise woman; because I saw things clearly. Now I'm mad and I've
her head back to kiss him avidly on the face, the forehead, the eyes, the lips, nibbling playfully, tende
ered, smiling. "Y
im out of her two great eyes
king, my god.... What have you given me, tell me, little boy? How have you bee
they fel
his lover's arms,
many hours have we bee
answered sadly. "Hours of
hand, groping their way along, they reached the boat. The s
d gloomily in the willow wood, as i
oor little fellow is bidding us good-bye.
ue, Leonora felt the flames of art flaring up within
ntle as the Eternal Father, steps out on the platform for the contest in poetry. It was the song that the poet-minstrel, the friend of Albrecht Dürer, wrote
e spunta il
olto in me
oso un
noi l'aman
ightingale trilled an answer that was like a fainting sigh. Leonora tried to reproduce with her lips the majestic sonorousness of the Wagnerian chorus, mimicking the rumbling accompaniment of th
was not so strong. At times low branches brushed the heads of the lovers, and drops of dew fell on their faces. Many a time the boat glided through one of the verdant archways of foliage
ans Sachs' song-but at any moment the rosy
the whole countryside. In one cottage a window lighted up. Several times along the river-bank, as they rowed past the
r stop singing; they'll recogniz
ed ashore. They must separate there; for she insisted on go
e kiss. Until tomorrow
k, and then suddenly ran back to
y prince ..
Shakespere's lovers at Verona, but by the sound of carts, creaking over cou
Now I must really go
urried away, waving a final farew
windows of the river houses were opening. Over the bridge carts laden with produce for the market were rumbling, and orchard women were going by with huge baskets on their heads. All these people looked down with interest on their deputy
was attracting annoyed him. His mother wou
his arms numb from rowing, to th
of those yellow eyes of his, scowling through h
to follow you and find out just where you went. You've been on the island all night; that woman was singing away like a lunatic.... God of Gods, boy!
discovered in his "weaknesses." Was it anger or envy that he felt on seeing a couple enough in love with each other to be fearless of gossip
you've been up to, these nights past. She knows you haven't
the danger to the future of the House, of the obligations they were under to d
man rudely awakened by a tactless servant in the middle of a sweet dream. His lips were still tingling with Leonora's kisses! His whole body was aglow with her gentle warmth! And here was this old curmudgeon comin
Brull mansion. Rafael was fumbling
to say to all this? What do you propose to do? A
g man energetically-"
afael had changed!... Never before had he seen that gleam of
n you since you were born? Is that the tone of voice you u
p any longer with this comedy of being a somebody on the street and a baby in my own
of the closed house, illumined only by the light that entered through the window grati
nd without a tremor, like a proprietor who had been away from home for