—­Sometimes.

—­Well!  I had a presentiment as it were of this visit.  Yes, shall I dare to tell you so?  The whole day I have been wild with joy!  I had an intuition of an approaching happiness, a very rare event with me, Mademoiselle.

—­Of what happiness?

—­Why of this, of this which I enjoy at this moment; this of seeing you sitting at my hearth, in front of me, near to me, this of hearing your sweet voice, and reading your pure eyes.  But what am I saying?  Pardon me, Mademoiselle.  See how happiness make us egotistic!  I talk to you about myself, while it is about you that we ought to occupy ourselves, of you, and of your future.

And he looked at her with such glowing eyes, that she was a little frightened.

XXXVIII

THE KISS.

  “That strange kiss makes me shudder
  still.”

  A. DE MUSSET (Premieres poesies).

—­Are you not cold? said Marcel; and he stooped down to draw up the fire.

But on sitting down again it happened that his seat was quite close to that of Suzanne, so close that their knees were touching, and that he had only to make a slight movement to take one of her hands.

—­Dear, dear child.

And he began to talk to her of God in his unctuous voice.  He talked to her also of her duties as a Christian, and of the probable struggles she would have to undergo.  He talked to her again of the purity of her heart and compared her to the angels.

And while he talked, he began to fondle this little soft white hand, lifting delicately the slender fingers with their rosy nails, drawing over the soft and satiny tips his brown and muscular fingers.

Soon his warm hand became burning.  Magnetic influences were evolved.  Invisible sparks broke forth suddenly at the contact of these two epidermises, ran through his veins, inflamed his heart and set his brain a-blaze.

[PLATE II:  THE KISS.  She tried to release her imprisoned hand, but he bent over it, and pressed it to his lips.]

[Illustration]

He lost his presence of mind, his will wavered and sank in the molten lava of his desires; he lost perception of his surroundings, of all those formidable things which until then had bound him with the strong bands of moral authority; he thought no longer of anything, he paused no longer at anything, he saw nothing but this fair young girl whom he coveted, who was alone with him, her hand in his, sitting by his fire-side, in the silence and the mystery of the night.  His clasp became convulsive.  Under the fire of his burning gaze Suzanne raised her head, and a second time fell back in dismay.  She tried to release her imprisoned hand, but he bent over it, and pressed it to his lips.

The door opened wide.

—­Don’t get impatient, said Marianne, there is the hot wine.  I have been a long time, but the wood was green.  Are you better?