She had felt lonely then in the soft
light of the fading day. She felt far more lonely now in the brilliant
sunshine of morning. And for an instant she saw herself travelling
steadily along a straight road, from which she could not diverge. She
passed milestone after milestone. And now, not far off, she saw in the
distance a great darkness in which the road ended. And the darkness
was the ultimate loneliness which can encompass on earth the human
spirit.
The tram-bell sounded. She lifted her head mechanically. A moment
later she was rushing down towards Naples. Before the tram reached the
harbor of Mergellina, on the hill opposite the Donn' Anna, Hermione
got out. Something in her desired delay; there was plenty of time. She
would walk a little way among the lively people who were streaming to
the Stabilimenti to have their morning dip.
In the tram she had scarcely thought at all. She had given herself to
the air, to speed, to vision. Now, at once, with physical action came
an anxiety, a restlessness, that seemed to her very physical too.
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