And yet the parting had hurt
him, as if his body had been wrenched in the middle by some resistless
force.
Women feel parting differently. Shall we men ever understand them? To a
man, first love is a victory, to a girl it is a sweet wonder, and a joy,
and a tender longing, all in one. And when partings come, as come they
must in life until death brings the last, it is always the man who
leaves, and the woman who is left, even though in plain fact it be the
man that stays behind; and we men feel a little contemptuous pity for
one who seems to cry out after the woman he loves, asking why she has
left him, and beseeching her to come back to him, but our compassion for
the woman in like case is always sincere. In such small things there are
the great mysteries of that prime difference, which neither man nor
woman can ever fully understand, but which, if not understood a little,
is the cause of much miserable misunderstanding in life.
Zorzi had to face the future at once, for it was upon him, and the old
life was over, perhaps never to come again. He stood still, where he
was, for any useless movement was an effort, and he tried to collect his
thoughts and determine just what he should do, and how it was to be
done. His eye fell on the piece of gold Giovanni had paid for the
beaker.
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