The character of the breathing changed toward two o clock in
the morning. At once the priest was on his feet， while one of
the female figures in the background melted from the room
with the peculiar urgency of the summoner. Of the other two
left there one was a uniformed nurse， the other a very old
woman， servant of the dying one. Both， as well as the priest，
had risen at the warning note of respiration; the nurse taking
a sort of quick obligatory step toward the bed， then stopping
as quickly in a manner that said， No use. The priest on the
other hand approached more closely， but his attitude was not
of help， only observation. Was this really the moment， the
time for the final farewell... ? As if in answer the breathing
became different again， no longer breathing but another
sound， harsh， awful， punctuating the silence with a rhythm
strangely regular but running down..， no longer any doubt，
one could not question the death-rattle. At this moment， and
just in time， the summoner returned in the wake of two eld-
erly figures in dressing-gowns hastily and irregularly buttoned
up. The moment they cleared the doorway they fell on their
knees; already the priest was intoning the great exordium of
the Church， Profitiseere anirna ehristiana de hoe mundo . . .
\"Go forth， Christian soul， out of this world in the name of
God the Father Almighty who created you; in the name of
13
qt
|
内容加载中，请稍后...
商品评论（0条）