"Où sont aujourd'hui la croix et l'ombrage
Qui marquaient la tombe de ma pauvre mère."
"That's not exactly the way that Pouchkina[5] expressed himself," I
said.
[Footnote 5: Instead of "mère," the Russian text says "nourrice."]
"I should like to be Tatiana,"[6] continued she, still pensive. "Come,
speak," she said with vivacity.
[Footnote 6: Heroine of the poem.]
But that was far from my thoughts. I looked at her; inundated by the
warm light of the sun, she seemed to me so calm, so serene.--About us,
at our feet, above our heads, the country, the river, the heavens,--all
were radiant; the air seemed to me quite saturated with splendor.
"See, how beautiful it is," I said, lowering my voice involuntarily.
"Oh, yes, very beautiful," she replied in the same tone, without looking
at me. "If you and I were birds, how we would dart forth into
space--into all that infinite blue! But we are not birds."
"Yes, but we can bring forth wings."
"How's that?"
"Life will teach you. There are many feelings that will raise you above
this earth; never fear, the wings will come to you."
"Have you had any?"
"What shall I say? I don't think that I have taken wing so far."
Annouchka became thoughtful once more. I was leaning over her.
"Can you waltz?" she said to me suddenly.
"Yes," I replied, a little surprised at the question.
"Then come quickly; come. I am going to beg my brother to play us a
waltz. We will pretend that the wings have appeared, and that we are
flying into space."
She ran towards the house. I quickly followed her, and a few moments had
hardly elapsed before we were whirling about the narrow room, to the
sounds of a waltz of Lanner's. Annouchka danced with much grace and
animation. I do not know what womanly charm suddenly appeared upon her
girlish face. Long afterwards the charm of her slender figure still
lingered about my hand; for a long time I felt her quick breathing near
me, and I dreamed of her dark eyes, motionless and half closed, with her
face animated, though pale, about which waved the curls of her sweet
hair.