The Andante, calm, broad and solemn, dominated by a wonderful and
pathetic melody, had ended in a sudden outburst of grief. The Finale
lingered in a certain rhythmic monotony full of plaintive weariness.
'Now comes your favourite Bach,' said Donna Maria.
And when the music commenced they both felt an instinctive desire to
draw closer to each other. Their shoulders touched; at the end of each
part Andrea leant over her to read the programme which she held open in
her hands, and in so doing pressed against her arm, inhaling the perfume
of her violets, and sending a wild thrill of ecstasy through her. The
Adagio rose with so exultant a song, soared with so jubilant a strain to
the topmost summits of rapture, and flowed wide into the Infinite, that
it seemed like the voice of some celestial being pouring out the joy of
a deathless victory. The spirits of the audience were borne along on
that irresistible torrent of sound. When the music ceased, the tremor of
the instruments continued for a moment in the hearers. A murmur ran from
one end of the hall to the other. A moment later and the applause broke
forth vehemently.
The lovers turned simultaneously and looked at one another with swimming
eyes.
The music continued; the light began to fade; a gentle warmth pervaded
the air, and Donna Maria's violets breathed a fuller fragrance.
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