Кармілла
Her Habits — A Saunter
"Whydoesyourpapaliketofrightenus?"saidtheprettygirlwithasighandalittleshudder.
"Hedoesn’t,dearCarmilla,itistheveryfurthestthingfromhismind."
"Areyouafraid,dearest?"
"IshouldbeverymuchifIfanciedtherewasanyrealdangerofmybeingattackedasthosepoorpeoplewere."
"Youareafraidtodie?"
"Yes,everyoneis."
"Buttodieasloversmay—todietogether,sothattheymaylivetogether.
"Girlsarecaterpillarswhiletheyliveintheworld,tobefinallybutterflieswhenthesummercomes;butinthemeantimetherearegrubsandlarvae,don’tyousee—eachwiththeirpeculiarpropensities,necessitiesandstructure.SosaysMonsieurBuffon,inhisbigbook,inthenextroom."
Laterinthedaythedoctorcame,andwasclosetedwithpapaforsometime.
Hewasaskilfulman,ofsixtyandupwards,heworepowder,andshavedhispalefaceassmoothasapumpkin.Heandpapaemergedfromtheroomtogether,andIheardpapalaugh,andsayastheycameout:
"Well,Idowonderatawisemanlikeyou.Whatdoyousaytohippogriffsanddragons?"
Thedoctorwassmiling,andmadeanswer,shakinghishead—
"Neverthelesslifeanddeatharemysteriousstates,andweknowlittleoftheresourcesofeither."
Andsothewalkedon,andIheardnomore.Ididnotthenknowwhatthedoctorhadbeenbroaching,butIthinkIguessitnow.
