The Torrent

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