Day after day
he lay with little apparent change; no pain, but a weakness so great
that it was almost harder to bear than sharp suffering would have
been. Nearly every day Alessandro was sent for to play or sing to
him. It seemed to be the only thing that roused him from his half
lethargic state. Sometimes he would talk with Alessandro on
matters relative to the estate, and show for a few moments
something like his old animation; but he was soon tired, and would
close his eyes, saying: "I will speak with you again about this,
Alessandro; I am going to sleep now. Sing."
The Senora, seeing Felipe's enjoyment of Alessandro's presence,
soon came to have a warm feeling towards him herself; moreover,
she greatly liked his quiet reticence. There was hardly a surer road
to the Senora's favor, for man or woman, than to be chary of
speech and reserved in demeanor. She had an instinct of kinship to
all that was silent, self-contained, mysterious, in human nature.
The more she observed Alessandro, the more she trusted and
approved him. Luckily for Juan Can, he did not know how matters
were working in his mistress's mind.
Pages:
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196