Dom Casmurro

by Machado de Assis

CXVI - Son of the Man

I appraised Jose Dias about my mother's new ways; He was astonished. There was nothing, nor could there be anything, so many were the incessant praises that he heard "the beautiful and virtuous Capitú."

"Now, when I hear them, I enter the chamber, but at the beginning I was ashamed. To those who came, as I did, to deny this marriage, it was hard to confess that it was a true blessing of heaven. What a worthy lady we left the mischievous growth of Matacavallos! The father is who separated us a little, in that we did not know each other, but everything turned out well. Well, yes, sir, when D. Gloria praises her daughter-in-law and mother-in-law ...

"So, Mom?"

-Perfectly!

"But why do not you visit us for so long?"

"I think you've been stumbling over your rheumatisms." This year has been very cold ... Imagine the affliction of her, who walked all day; now she is obliged to be quiet, at the foot of her brother, who has her evil ...

To observe that this reason explained the interruption of the visits, not the coldness when we went to Matacavallos; but I did not extend the intimacy of the addict so far. Joseph Dias asked to see our "little prophet" (so he called Ezekiel) and made him the usual feasts. This time he spoke to the Bible mode (he had been browsing the book of Ezekiel, as he learned later), and asked him, "How is it, son of man?" "Tell me, son of man, where are your Do you want to eat sweet, son of man? "

"What son of man is that," Capitú asked in frustration.

"These are the ways of saying the Bible.

"I do not like them," she replied harshly.

"You're right, Capitú," agreed the addressee. You can not imagine how the Bible is full of crude and crude expressions. I used to say that for a change ... How are you, my angel? My angel, how do I walk on the street?

"No," said Capitú; I have taken away this custom from imitating others.

"But it's very funny; to me, when he copies my gestures, it seems to me that I am myself, little one.

Another day he made a gesture of D. Gloria, so good that she kissed him in return. Come on, how do I walk?

"No, Ezekiel, I said, Mother does not want to.

I myself thought it was ugly. Some of the gestures were already becoming more repeated, like Escobar's hands and feet; lately, he had even learned how to get back from his head when he spoke, and let him fall when he laughed. Capitú scolded. But the boy was mischievous, like the devil; we just started talking about something else, jumped in the middle of the room, saying to José Dias:

"You're like this.

We can not stop laughing, I more than anyone. The first person who closed the face, who reproached him and called him was Capitú.

"I do not want that, do you?"