"I have seen Mont Saint-Michel, that monstrous granite jewel, ascend out of the sand at sunrise.
"I have seen, in the Pafri Islands, the sulphur crater of the Volcano, a giant flower which smokes and burns, an enormous yellow flower, opening out in the midst of the sea, whose stem is a volcano.
"But I have seen nothing more wonderful than Flieur, standing against the Alps in the setting sun.
A beautiful dark skinned woman, who walked past, caused our conversation to stop.
“That’s Madame Felicidad, you know,” said Monsieur Vieira, with a hint of mystery in his voice.
“No, I don’t, who is she?” I replied
He seemed quite shocked that I did not know the story, “She was married to General Felicidad, until he got killed in the war. The General was one of those little fat men who tried to compensate by speaking very loudly. When her husband was away fighting she met Monsieur de Carlmin. How did they come to love each other? Who knows? They met, they looked at each other, and when out of sight they doubtless thought of each other.
The image of the young woman with the brown eyes, the black hair, the dark skin, this fresh, handsome Southerner, floated before the eyes of the officer as he would parade; and the image of the commanding officer, in his close- fitting coat, covered with gold lace, and his red trousers, and a blond moustache, would form before the eyes of Madame Felicidad, when her husband, half shaven, short-legged and big-bellied, came home to supper in the evening.” He paused as if to let the image form in my mind. “She was very beautiful, and although many men have tried to win her affections, none have succeeded.”
“They spent the evenings together talking about the intimate things that lovers do. She enjoyed these intimate moments, but he wanted more. And every day he urged her more hotly to give in to his passionate desires.
She resisted, would not hear of it, seemed determined not to give way.
But one evening she said to him casually, my husband has just gone to Marseilles.
He will be away four days. He begged her to let him come at eleven o’clock that very night, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
On going in to breakfast he found an envelope under his napkin with these four words: "To-night at ten." And he gave one hundred centimes without any reason to the waiter. The day seemed endless to him. He passed part of it in showering and perfuming himself. Then he was informed that her husband had finished his business early and was returning tonight.
He certainly wanted her, that very, evening at whatever cost; and he would have her. He would resort to any means, even to arresting and imprisoning the husband.
The train from Marseilles arrived at the station at nine o'clock sharp, left two passengers on the platform and went on toward Nice.
One of them, tall and thin, was Monsieur Saribe, the oil merchant, and the other, short and fat, was General Felicidad. Together they set out, with their valises, to reach the city. But on arriving at the gate of the port the guards crossed their bayonets, commanding them to retire.
Frightened they retired to deliberate; then, after having taken counsel one with the other, they came back, giving their names.
But the soldiers evidently had strict orders, for they threatened to shoot; and the two scared travellers ran off.
The people of Antibes were scared to death, what did this new ban mean, most thought it meant invasion and stayed locked away in their homes. No-one ever found out what happened to General Felicidad; and a year later Monsieur de Carlmin was transferred to another base.” He lit his pipe as he always did; he had finished his story.
Madame Felicidad returned, her saunter, ended. She passed gravely near me, with her eyes fixed on the Alps, whose summits now gleamed rosy in the last rays of the setting sun.
I longed to speak to her, this poor, sad woman, who would ever be thinking of that night of love, now long past, and of the valiant man.
Had she seen him again? Did she still love him?
And by now he had probably forgotten her, if he did not relate this audacious, comical and tender farce to his comrades over their cups.
