[General] Sentence meaning — But in the end that presence amounted to no more than a cup ...

[sasibhaskar]

But in the end that presence amounted to no more than a cup spilled over a Paris dress after the anniversary ball given by the Governor of the Colony.

The above sentence is from a short story by Alejo Carpentier, can anyone give an explanation of what does it exactly mean? The 'presence' here is the presence of water, flood...

 

[Tarheel]

I worry about whether I understand it correctly, but it seems to me that the writer is saying it's nothing more than something spilled on somebody's dress--no big deal.

 

[sasibhaskar]

Then the May rains came and overflowed the lake. And the old Negress who unhappily was a maroon and kept pigeons under her bed wandered through the patio, muttering to herself: "Never trust rivers, my girl; never trust anything green and flowing!" Not a day passed without water making its presence felt. But in the end that presence amounted to no more than a cup spilled over a Paris dress after the anniversary ball given by the Governor of the Colony.

Here is the full paragraph containing the sentence.

 

[Raymott]

Yes, it means what Tarheel said.