e was full of rebellious thoughts; she surely might gaze out of the
window, if she were not to be taken for a walk. So she opened it, and
leaned out like a grown-up person--in imitation of her mother when she
ensconced herself there and lapsed into silence.

The air was mild, and moist in its mildness, which seemed to her
delightful. A darkness slowly rising over the horizon induced her to
lift her head. To her imagination it seemed as if some gigantic bird
with outstretched wings were hovering on high. At first she saw
nothing; the sky was clear; but at last, at the angle of the roof, a
gloomy cloud made its appearance, sailing on and speedily enveloping
the whole heaven. Another squall was rising before a roaring west
wind. The daylight was quickly dying away, and the city grew dark,
amidst a livid shimmer, which imparted to the house-fronts a rusty
tinge.

Almost immediately afterwards the rain fell. The streets were swept by
it; the umbrellas were again opened; and the passers-by, fleeing in
every direction, vanished like chaff. One old lady gripped her skirts
with both hands, while the torrent beat down on her bonnet as though
it were falling from a spout. And the rain travelled on; the cloud
kept pace with the water ragefully falling upon Paris; the big drops
enfiladed the avenues of the quays, with a gallop like that of a
runaway horse, raising a white dust which rolled along the ground at a
prodigious speed. They also descended the Champs-Elysees, plunged into
the long narrow streets of the Saint-Germain district, and at a bound
filled up all the open spaces and deserted squares. In a few seconds,
behind this veil which grew thicker and thicker, the city paled and
seemed to melt away. It was as though a curtain were being drawn
obliquely from heaven to earth. Masses of vapor arose too; and the
vast, splashing pit-a-pat was as deafening as any rattle of old iron.

Jeanne, giddy with the noise, started back. A leaden wall seemed to
have been built up before her. But she was fond of rain; so she
returned, leaned out again, and stretched out her arms to feel the
big, cold rain-drops splashing on her hands. This gave her some
amusement, and she got wet to the sleeves. Her doll must, of course,
like herself, have a headache, and she therefore hastened to put it
astride the window-rail, with its back against the side wall. She
thought, as she saw the drops pelting down upon it, that they were
doing it some good. Sti