And when they had stepped out on the shore, the palms of
each burned from the oars, the muscles of the arms and legs ached
pleasantly, and suffusing the whole body was a blissful, healthy
fatigue.
Then they had escorted the young women to their homes and at the
garden-gates and entrances had taken leave of them long and
cordially, with laughter and with such swinging hand-shakes as if
they were working the lever of a pump.
The whole day had passed in gaiety and noise, even a trifle
clamorously, and just the least wee bit tiresomely, but with
youth-like continence; without intoxication, and, which happens
especially rarely, without the least shadow of mutual affronts, or
jealousy, or unvoiced mortifications. Of course, such a benign
mood had been helped by the sun, the fresh river breeze, the sweet
exhalations of the grasses and the water, the joyous sensation of
the strength and alertness of one's body while bathing and rowing,
and the restraining influence of the clever, kind, pure and
handsome girls from families they were acquainted with. But,
almost without the knowledge of their consciousness, their
sensuousness--not imagination, but the simple, healthy,
instinctive sensuousness of young playful males--kindled from
chance encounters of their hands with feminine hands and from
comradely obliging embraces, when the occasion arose to help the
young ladies enter a boat or jump out on shore; from the tender
odour of maiden apparel, warmed by the sun; from the feminine
cries of coquettish fright on the river; from the sight of
feminine figures, negligently half-reclining with a naive
immodesty on the green grass around the samovar--from all these
innocent liberties, which are so usual and unavoidable on picnics,
country outings and river excursions, when within man, in the
infinite depth of his soul, secretly awakens from the care-free
contact with earth, grasses, water and sun, the beast-ancient,
splendid, free, but disfigured and intimidated of men.
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