There were the usual calls and expressions of condolence. It is difficult to speak without striking a pose; and sad memories which were thus stirred up within her were left to settle in an awkward silence. She carried her head high, and without faltering she uttered the word everyone was careful side-stepping - death. She wasn't going to let them catch in her own speech echoes of their own tentative phrases. She looked them straight in the eyes, so that they would not dare look at her, but as soon as she lowered her own...
Then there were others - those who walked with a calm, tranquil step across the hall, but who, on entering the drawing-room, took several hurried steps and fill into her arms. She offered them not a word. They choked her grief, pressing to their bosoms a contorted child.
[Southern Mail, Saint-Exupery, A. d.]
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