The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume 3 (of 8) eBook
Guy de Maupassant
“And then, here are two lovers, who for the
first time are flesh to flesh together in that tabernacle
of life. They tremble; but transported with delight,
they have the delicious sensation of being close together,
and by degrees their lips meet. That divine kiss
makes them one, that kiss, which is the gate of a
terrestrial heaven, that kiss which speaks of human
delights, which continually promises them, announces
them, and precedes them. And their bed is agitated
like the tempestuous sea, and it bends and murmurs,
and itself seems to become animated and joyous, for
the maddening mystery of love is being accomplished
on it. What is there sweeter, what more perfect
in this world than those embraces, which make one
single being out of two, and which give to both of
them at the same moment the same thought, the same
expectation, and the same maddening pleasure, which
descends upon them like a celestial and devouring
fire?
“Do you remember those lines from some old poet,
which you read to me last year? I do not remember
who wrote them, but it may have been Rousard:
“When you and I in bed
shall lie,
Lascivious we shall be,
Enlaced, playing a thousand
tricks,
Of lovers, gamesomely.
“I should like to have that verse embroidered
on the top of my bed, where Pyramus and Thisbe are
continually looking at me out of their tapestry eyes.
“And think of death, my friend; of all those
who have breathed out their last sigh to God in this
bed. For it is also the tomb of hopes ended,
the door which closes everything, after having been
the one which lets in the world. What cries,
what anguish, what sufferings, what groans, how many
arms stretched out towards the past; what appeals to
happiness that has vanished for ever; what convulsions,
what death-rattles, what gaping lips and distorted
eyes have there not been in this bed, from which I
am writing to you, during the three centuries that
it has sheltered human beings!
“The bed, you must remember, is the symbol of
life; I have discovered this within the last three
days. There is nothing good except the bed, and
are not some of our best moments spent in sleep?
“But then again, we suffer in bed! It is
the refuge of those who are ill and suffering; a place
of repose and comfort for worn-out bodies, and, in
a word, the bed is part and parcel of humanity.
“Many other thoughts have struck me, but I have
no time to note them down for you, and then, should
I remember them all? Besides that, I am so tired
that I mean to retire to my pillows, stretch myself
out at full length, and sleep a little. But be
sure and come to see me at three o’clock to-morrow;
perhaps I may be better, and able to prove it to you.
“Good-bye, my friend; here are my hands for
you to kiss, and I also offer you my lips.”
