The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5

ield of submerged papyrus which, leafy at their base, sent up on either hand their straight stalks six

ow road. There was no moon that night, and the thick papyrus would in any cas

hat he pushed aside slapped her in the face; but she paid no attention to this. A feeling of burning jealousy drove her to seek the solution of the mystery, which she did not interpret as did the servants in the house. Not for one moment had she believed that the young Hebrew went out thus every night to perform any infamous and profane rite; she believed that a woman was at the bottom of these

nk, above which the top of her head alone showed, saw to her great despair that the mysterious stroller was casting off a light papyrus bark, narrow and long like a fish, and that he

de up her mind. It was useless to think of looking for another boat. She let herself down the bank, drew off her dress in a twinkling, and fastened it in a roll upon her head; then she boldly plunged into the river, taking care not to splash. As supple as a water-snake, she stretched

her. Sometimes a higher wave lapped with its foam her half-open lips, wetted her hair, and even reached her dress rolled up in a bundle. Happily for her,-for her strength was beginning to give way,-she soon found herself in stiller water. A bundle of reeds coming down the river touched her as it pa

the work going on along the quays drove away the crocodiles, which went to shores less frequ

this form of peril, she would have braved it, timid though she was, and frightened

around him. He had perceived the whitish spot made on the water by Tahoser's rolled up dress. Thinking she was discovered, the intre

o would venture into the Nile at such a time as this? I must have been crazy. I mistook for a human hea

dling the scull with the imperturbable phlegm of the allegorical personages who row the barge of Maut on the bassi-relievi and the paintings of the temples. The bank was only a few strokes off; the vast shadow of the pylons and the huge walls of the N

to a post so as to find it on his return. Then he took his pa

ating heart, the other placed on her head to steady her rolled up and soaked dress. After having noticed the direction in which Po?ri was walking, she sat down on top of the bank, untied her dress, and put it on. The contact of the wet stuff made her shudder slightly, yet the night air was soft and the southern breeze bl

design disappeared; low huts showed around like blisters or warts upon lonely places, upon waste fields, and were changed by the darkness into monstrous shapes. Pieces of wood and moulded bricks arranged in heaps obstructed the way. Out of the s

of the place. "Is it possible that Po?ri comes here to sacrifice a child to those barbaro

of walls, the clumps of vegetation, and the unevenness

to see the priest, his hands red with blood, draw from the little body the smoking heart, I should go on to the end," said Tahoser

r glance to penetrate the interior. A small lamp lighted the room, which was less bare than might have been supposed from the outward appearance of the cabin. The smooth walls were as polished as stucco. On wooden pedestals, painted in various colours, were placed vases of gold and silver; jewels sparkled in half-open coffers; dishes of brilliant met

e nostrils of which were as rosy as the interior of a shell; her eyes were like doves' eyes, bright and languorous; her lips were like two bands of purple, and as they parted showed rows of pearls; her hair hung on either side of her rosy cheeks in black, lustrous locks like two bunches of ripe grapes. Earrings shimmered in her ears

stand, but the meaning of which she unfortunately guessed too well; for Po?ri and Ra'hel spoke in the

es to see her in secret, being unwilling that it sho

hythmic language, every syllable of which held a secret which she would have given her life to learn, and w

strange and charming face with its red lips and its pale complexion that was set off by or

loved Ra'hel!" rep

him whisper that name while sh

ld felt in her breast a sharp pang as if all the ur?us snakes of the entablatures, al

an touched the hair of the lovely Jewess, who fell back slowly, yielding her brow and half-closed eyes to his ear

blood in a cup of black ware, rubbing his face with it? It seems to me that I should have suffered less than at the sight of th

k on her knees. Darkness came over her, he

from the hut, giving