Armando Palacio Valdés

“ One evening Julia, on entering the theatre, saw her cousin in the box of a duchess famous at that time for her beauty, her discretion, as well as her conquests.
The position which the two occupied, in the rear of the box, and bending toward each other until their cheeks almost touched, the insinuating smile on his face, and the flattered vanity which was expressed in hers, all made on the young girl such an impression that, for the moment, she was afraid of falling, and it was by mere force of will that she managed to reach their seats. ”

“ Miguel walked ceaselessly up and down the corridor, pale as a ghost. Soon he paused and wanted to enter his wife's room. The widow, the curé, and the doctor, tried to keep him back.
"No; don't go in, Rivera!"
"I know all; let me pass!"
By his face and manner they knew that it was useless to oppose him.
He threw himself on his wife's form, from which as yet not all the warmth and life had departed, and kissed her wildly for several minutes.
"Enough! enough! you are only killing yourself," they said to him. ”

“ After he came out of the Ministerio, or from Congress, Mendoza was in the habit of riding in an open carriage through the Retiro. Miguel accompanied him. After whirling for a while among the throng of carriages the minister would begin to feel drowsy and would drop off to sleep, lulled by the gentle motion of the carriage. Miguel, almost always neglectful of the curious and gay sights of the promenade, would meditate, with his eyes fixed on the sky or on the landscape.
It was a mild afternoon, the mildest and most brilliant that spring had as yet bestowed that year on the citizens of Madrid. ”