.

Iring, so inconsolable. All the blood had abandoned her charming face,
leaving it whiter than marble; her beautiful arms hung lifelessly on
either side of her body as though their muscles had suddenly relaxed,
and she sought the support of a pillar, for her yielding limbs almost
betrayed her. As for myself, I staggered toward the door of the church,
livid as death, my forehead bathed with a sweat bloodier than that of
Calvary; I felt as though I were being strangled; the vault seemed to
have flattened down upon my shoulders, and it seemed to me that my head
alone sustained the whole weight of the dome. As I was about to cross
the threshold a hand suddenly caught mine--a woman's hand! I had never
till then touched the hand of any woman. It was cold as a serpent's
skin, and yet its impress remained upon my wrist, burnt there as though
branded by

---Adjuntos---