Thepivotalgirlcameinsight，tiltingandturninginararemomentofisolationatthecornerofthemusic-room，andhebowedabruptly，andhurriedofftojoinher。
MissTriscoedidnotlinger；sheallegedthenecessityoflookingupherfather，andwentawaywithasmilesofriendlythatMrs。MarchmighteasilyhaveconstruedittomeanthatnoblameattacheditselftoherinMissTriscoe’smind。
“Thenyoudon’tfeelthatitwasaverydistinctsuccess？”herhusbandaskedonhisreturn。
“Notonthesurface。”shesaid。
“Betterletillenoughalone。”headvised。
Shedidnotheedhim。“Allthesameshecaresforhim。Theveryfactthatshewassocoldshowsthat。”
“Anddoyouthinkherbeingcoldwillmakehimcareforher？”
“Ifshewantsitto。”
Atdinnerthatdaythequestionof’TheMaidenKnight’wasdebatedamongthenoisesandsilencesoftheband。YoungMrs。Leffershadbroughtthebooktothetablewithher；shesaidshehadnotbeenabletolayitdownbeforethelasthornsounded；infactshecouldhavebeenseenreadingittoherhusbandwherehesatunderthesameshawl，thewholeafternoon。
“Don’tyouthinkit’sperfectlyfascinating。”sheaskedMrs。Adding，withherpettedmouth。
“Well。”saidthewidow，doubtfully，“it’snearlyaweeksinceIreadit，andI’vehadtimetogetovertheglow。”
“Oh，Icouldjustreaditforever！”thebrideexclaimed。
“Ilikeabook。”saidherhusband，“thattakesmeoutofmyself。Idon’twanttothinkwhenI’mreading。”
Marchwasgoingtoattackthisideal，buthereflectedintimethatMr。
Leffershadreallystatedhisownmotiveinreading。Hecompromised。
“Well，Iliketheauthortodomythinkingforme。”
“Yes。”saidtheother，“thatiswhatImean。”
“Thequestioniswhether’TheMaidenKnight’fellowdoesit。”saidKenby，takingduckandpeasefromthestewardathisshoulder。
“Whatmywifelikesinitistoseewhatonewomancandoandbesingle-
handed。”saidMarch。
“No。”hiswifecorrectedhim，“whatamanthinksshecan。”
“Isuppose。”saidMr。Triscoe，unexpectedly，“thatwe’reliketheEnglishinourhabitofgoingoffaboutabooklikeatrainofpowder。”
“Ifyou’llsayarowofbricks。”Marchassented，“I’llagreewithyou。
It’scertainlyAnglo-Saxontofalloveroneanotheraswedo，whenwegetgoing。Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowjusthowmuchlikingthereisinthepopularityofagivenbook。”
“It’sliketherunofasong，isn’tit？”Kenbysuggested。“Youcan’tstandeither，whenitreachesagivenpoint。”
HespoketoMarchandignoredTriscoe，whohadhithertoignoredtherestofthetable。
“It’sverycurious。”Marchsaid。“Thebookorthesongcatchesamood，orfeedsacraving，andwhenonepassesortheotherisglutted——“
“Thediscouragingpartis。”Triscoeputin，stilllimitinghimselftotheMarches，“thatit’sneveraquestionofrealtaste。Thethingsthatgodownwithusaresocrude，socoarselyspiced；theyticklesuchavulgarpalate——NowinFrance，forinstance。”hesuggested。
“Well，Idon’tknow。”returnedtheeditor。“Afterall，weeatagooddealofbread，andwedrinkmorepurewaterthananyotherpeople。Evenwhenwedrinkiticed，Ifancyitisn’tsobadasabsinthe。”
Theyoungbridelookedathimgratefully，butshesaid，“Ifwecan’tgetice-waterinEurope，Idon’tknowwhatMr。Lefferswilldo。”andthetalkthreatenedtopassamongtheladiesintoacomparisonofAmericanandEuropeancustoms。
Burnamycouldnotbeartoletit。“Idon’tpretendtobeverywellupinFrenchliterature。”hebegan，“butIthinksuchabookas’TheMaidenKnight’isn’tsuchabadpieceofwork；peoplearelikingaprettywell-
builtstorywhentheylikeit。Ofcourseit’ssentimental，anditbegsthequestionagooddeal；butitimaginessomethingheroicincharacter，anditmakesthereaderimagineittoo。Themanwhowrotethatbookmaybeadonkeyhalfthetime，buthe’sageniustheotherhalf。By-and-byhe’lldosomething——afterhe’scometoseethathis’MaidenKnight’wasafool——thatIbelieveevenyouwon’tbedownon，Mr。March，ifhepaintsaheroictypeaspowerfullyashedoesinthisbook。”
Hespokewiththeauthorityofajournalist，andthoughhedeferredtoMarchintheend，hedeferredwithauthoritystill。Marchlikedhimforcomingtothedefenceofayoungwriterwhomhehadnothimselflearnedtolikeyet。“Yes。”hesaid，“ifhehasthepoweryousay，andcankeepitafterhecomestohisartisticconsciousness！”
Mrs。Leffers，asifshethoughtthingsweregoingherway，smiled；RoseAddinglistenedwithshiningeyesexpectantlyfixedonMarch；hismotherviewedhisrapturewithtenderamusement。ThestewardwasatKenby’sshoulderwiththesaladandhisentreating“Bleace！”andTriscoeseemedtobequestioningwhetherheshouldtakeanynoticeofBurnamy’sgeneraldisagreement。Hesaidatlast：“I’mafraidwehaven’tthedocuments。
Youdon’tseemtohavecaredmuchforFrenchbooks，andIhaven’tread’TheMaidenKnight’。”HeaddedtoMarch：“ButIdon’tdefendabsinthe。
Ice-waterisbetter。WhatIobjecttoisourindiscriminatetastebothforrawwhiskey——andformilk-and-water。”
Noonetookupthequestionagain，anditwasKenbywhospokenext。
“Thedoctorthinks，ifthisweatherholds，thatweshallbeintoPlymouthWednesdaymorning。Ialwaysliketogetaprofessionalopinionontheship’srun。”
Intheevening，asMrs。Marchwasputtingawayinherportfoliothejournal-letterwhichshewaswritingtosendbackfromPlymouthtoherchildren，MissTriscoedriftedtotheplacewhereshesatattheirtableinthedining-roombyacoincidencewhichtheybothrespectedascasual。
“Wehadquitealiterarydinner。”sheremarked，hoveringforamomentnearthechairwhichshelatersankinto。“Itmusthavemadeyoufeelverymuchathome。Orperhapsyou’resotiredofitathomethatyoudon’ttalkaboutbooks。”
“Wealwaystalkshop，insomeformorother。”saidMrs。March。
“Myhusbandnevertiresofit。Agoodmanyofthecontributorscometous，youknow。”
“Itmustbedelightful。”saidthegirl。Sheaddedasifsheoughttoexcuseherselfforneglectinganadvantagethatmighthavebeenhersifshehadchosen，“I’msorryoneseessolittleoftheartisticandliteraryset。ButNewYorkissuchabigplace。”
NewYorkpeopleseemtobeveryfondofit。”saidMrs。March。“Thosewhohavealwayslivedthere。”
“Wehaven’talwayslivedthere。”saidthegirl。“ButIthinkonehasagoodtimethere——thebesttimeagirlcanhave。It’sallverywellcomingoverforthesummer；onehastospendthesummersomewhere。Areyougoingoutforalongtime？”
“Onlyforthesummer。FirsttoCarlsbad。”
“Oh，yes。IsupposeweshalltravelaboutthroughGermany，andthengotoParis。Wealwaysdo；myfatherisveryfondofit。”
“Youmustknowitverywell。”saidMrs。March，aimlessly。
“Iwasbornthere，——ifthatmeansknowingit。Ilivedthere——tillIwaselevenyearsold。Wecamehomeaftermymotherdied。”
“Oh！”saidMrs。March。
Thegirldidnotgofurtherintoherfamilyhistory；butbyoneofthoseleapswhichseemtowomenaslogicalasotherprogressions，shearrivedatasking，“IsMr。Burnamyoneofthecontributors？”
Mrs。Marchlaughed。“Heisgoingtobe，assoonashispoemisprinted。”
“Poem？”
“Yes。Mr。Marchthinksit’sverygood。”
“Ithoughthespokeverynicelyabout’TheMaidenKnight’。Andhehasbeenverynicetopapa。Youknowtheyhavethesameroom。”
“IthinkMr。Burnamytoldme。”Mrs。Marchsaid。
Thegirlwenton。“Hehadthelowerberth，andhegaveituptopapa；
he’sdoneeverythingbutturnhimselfoutofdoors。”
“I’msurehe’sbeenveryglad。”Mrs。MarchventuredonBurnamy’sbehalf，butverysoftly，lestifshebreatheduponthesebuddingconfidencestheyshouldshrinkandwitheraway。