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My earlier days had been so different. There 
hadnt been the comfort, the sense of 
indulgence, or of adventure, that there was 
now. I bit into the last of the oysters and 
someone carried away the shells. It had been, as 
I say, so different. Cascading down the 
bombazine of my great aunts knee, what 
futility! When all her desire had been to give 
me a lap. What frustration of her, and 
incidentally of myself, when to be nursed by 
her and to submit to her stories had meant 
access to that secret caddis-hoard of Devona or 
of minty humbugs. I wondered what Henry 
would think of next. I had plenty of time, my 
watch said. My eyes had groped foolishly at the 
barren moon of the near-by clock, and then 
fallen away. My watch must be my mentor. I 
felt perhaps sillily ready for some sort of 
cardiac revelation, or revaluation at least. 

Yet now my heart leaps, O beloved! 
Gods child with his dew 
On they gracious gold hair, and those lilies still 
living and blue 
Just broken to twine round they harp-strings, as if 
no wild beat 
Were now raging to torture the desert! Then I, 
as was meet 

I assure you I had not seen her enter  but 
suddenly I was electrically aware that she was 
sitting near me. What could come next? I had 
let Henry guide me. She was very tall ; 
sometimes, I think, tallness is an excellent thing 
in women. Julienne? Yes, she looked as if her 
name would be of the sort. And I surmised 
dark eyes under golden lashes. I hardly liked to 
disturb the surface for the first time. Her voice 
purred in my quick ears ; I thought of a jaguar 
on a lean bough, and envied Henry. The surface 
was clear brown, and I discerned white figures 
within ; stars, and a little heart, mirabile dictu, 
were moving inside. She lit a cigarette and 
poured down cocktail after cocktail ; 
sometimes she made little dabbings with a 
butterfly of white lace to her mouth.

My earlier days had been so different. There 
hadnt been the comfort, the sense of 
indulgence, or of adventure, that there was 
now. I bit into the last of the oysters and 
someone carried away the shells. It had been, as 
I say, so different. Cascading down the 
bombazine of my great aunts knee, what 
futility! When all her desire had been to give 
me a lap. What frustration of her, and 
incidentally of myself, when to be nursed by 
her and to submit to her stories had meant 
access to that secret caddis-hoard of Devona or 
of minty humbugs. I wondered what Henry 
would think of next. I had plenty of time, my 
watch said. My eyes had groped foolishly at the 
barren moon of the near-by clock, and then 
fallen away. My watch must be my mentor. I 
felt perhaps sillily ready for some sort of 
cardiac revelation, or revaluation at least. 

Yet now my heart leaps, O beloved! 
Gods child with his dew 
On they gracious gold hair, and those lilies still 
living and blue 
Just broken to twine round they harp-strings, as if 
no wild beat 
Were now raging to torture the desert! Then I, 
as was meet 

I assure you I had not seen her enter  but 
suddenly I was electrically aware that she was 
sitting near me. What could come next? I had 
let Henry guide me. She was very tall ; 
sometimes, I think, tallness is an excellent thing 
in women. Julienne? Yes, she looked as if her 
name would be of the sort. And I surmised 
dark eyes under golden lashes. I hardly liked to 
disturb the surface for the first time. Her voice 
purred in my quick ears ; I thought of a jaguar 
on a lean bough, and envied Henry. The surface 
was clear brown, and I discerned white figures 
within ; stars, and a little heart, mirabile dictu, 
were moving inside. She lit a cigarette and 
poured down cocktail after cocktail ; 
sometimes she made little dabbings with a 
butterfly of white lace to her mouth.

La mia infanzia era stata molto diversa, priva com'era del comfort, della sensazione di appagamento o di avventura che provavo adesso. Addentai l'ultima ostrica e qualcuno portò via i gusci. Come dico, era stata molto diversa. Calarmi lungo la bambagina che copriva il ginocchio della prozia, che futilità! Quando lei desiderava soltanto che le sedessi in grembo.
Che frustrazione da parte sua, e incidentalmente anche da parte mia, quando sottostare alle sue coccole e ascoltare le sue storie significava avere accesso al vaso segreto con la scorta di caramelle Devona o di mentine. Mi chiesi quale sarebbe stata la proposta successiva di Henry. Il mio orologio diceva che avevo molto tempo. I miei occhi si erano posati lascivi sulla spoglia sfera della pendola lì vicino, poi avevano capitolato. L'orologio deve essere il mio mentore.

Forse stupidamente, mi sentivo incline a una sorta di rivelazione cardiaca, o almeno a una rivalutazione.
Balza il mio cuore, ebbro d'amore! Dal figlio di
Dio scende il tepore
Irrora quei tuoi graziosi capelli d'oro e i gigli azzurri
e ancor vivi in coro
Cantano avvolti alle corde della tua arpa, come se
un grido selvaggio
non impazzasse sul deserto con coraggio! E p oi
vengono a me . . .
Non l'avevo vista entrare, ve l 'asskuro ; eppure all'improvviso sentivo, come una scossa elettrica, che lei era seduta accanto a me. E adesso, cos'altro sarebbe accaduto? Avevo lasciato che fosse Henry a consigliarmi. Lei era molto alta ; a volte penso che l'altezza sia una caratteristica eccellente i n una donna. J ulienne? Sì, si sarebbe detto un nome adatto a lei. E immaginai occhi scuri sotto ciglia dorate. Non mi andava di incresparne subito la superficie. La sua voce faceva le fusa al mio orecchio attento ; pensai a un giaguaro su un ramo sottile e invidiai Henry. La superficie era di un nitido marrone, e vi distinsi figure bianche ; stelline, e un piccolo cuore, mirabile dictu , si muovevano al suo interno. Lei accese una sigaretta e ingollò
 n cocktail dopo l'altro ; a tratti si tamponava leggermentela bocca con una farfalla di pizzo bianco.