ThebirthdayoftheEmperorcomesconveniently，inlateAugust，inthegoodweatherwhichisprettysuretofallthen，ifeverintheAustriansummer。Foraweekpast，atCarlsbad，theworkmenhadbeenbuildingascaffoldingfortheilluminationinthewoodsonaheightoverlookingthetown，andmakingunobtrusivepreparationsatpointswithinit。
ThedaywasimportantasthelastofMarch’scure，anditspleasuresbeganforhimbyarenewalofhisacquaintanceinitsfirstkindlinesswiththeEltwins。Hehadmetthemsoseldomthatatonetimehethoughttheymusthavegoneaway，butnowafterhisfirstcuphesawthequiet，sadoldpair，sitting，togetheronabenchintheStadtPark，andheaskedleavetositdownwiththemtillitwastimeforthenext。Eltwinsaidthatthiswastheirlastday，too；andexplainedthathiswifealwayscamewithhimtothesprings，whilehetookthewaters。
“Well。”heapologized，“we’reallthat’sleft，andIsupposeweliketokeeptogether。”Hepaused，andatthelookinMarch’sfacehesuddenlywenton。“Ihaven’tbeenwellforthreeorfouryears；butIalwaysfoughtagainstcomingouthere，whenthedoctorswantedmeto。IsaidI
couldn’tleavehome；and，Idon’tsupposeIevershould。Butmyhomeleftme。”
Ashespokehiswifeshranktenderlynearhim，andMarchsawherstealherwitheredhandintohis。
“We’dhadalargefamily，butthey’dalldiedoff，withonethingoranother，andhereinthespringwelostourlastdaughter。Seemedperfectlywell，andallatonceshedied；heart-failure，theycalledit。
Itbrokemeup，andmother，here，gotatmetogo。Andsowe’rehere。”
Hisvoicetrembled；andhiseyessoftened；thentheyflashedup，andMarchheardhimadd，inatonethatastonishedhimlesswhenhelookedroundandsawGeneralTriscoeadvancingtowardthem，“Idon’tknowwhatitisalwaysmakesmewanttokickthatman。”
Thegeneralliftedhishattotheirgroup，andhopedthatMrs。Eltwinwaswell，andMajorEltwinbetter。Hedidnotnoticetheirreplies，butsaidtoMarch，“TheladiesarewaitingforyouinPupp’sreadingroom，togowiththemtothePosthofforbreakfast。”
“Aren’tyougoing，too？”askedMarch。
“No，thankyou。”saidthegeneral，asifitweremuchfinernot；
“Ishallbreakfastatourpension。”Hestrolledoffwiththeairofamanwhohasdonemorethanhisduty。
“Idon’tsupposeIoughttofeelthatway。”saidEltwin，witharemorsewhichMarchsuspectedareproachfulpressureofhiswife’shandhadpromptedinhim。“Ireckonhemeanswell。”
“Well，Idon’tknow。”Marchsaid，withacandorhecouldnotwhollyexcuse。
Onhiswaytothehotelhefanciedmockinghiswifeforherinterestintheromanticwoesofherlovers，inaworldwheretherewassuchrealpathosasthesepooroldpeople’s；butinthecompanyofMissTriscoehecouldnotgivehimselfthispleasure。HetriedtoamuseheronthewayfromPupp’s，withthedoubthealwaysfeltinpassingtheCafeSans-
Souci，whetherheshouldlivetoreachthePosthofwherehemeanttobreakfast。Shesaid，“PoorMr。March！”andlaughedinattentively；whenhewentontophilosophizethecommonnessofthesparsecompanyalwaysobservableattheSans-SouciasajusteffectofitsLaodiceansituationbetweenPupp’sandthePosthof，thegirlsighedabsently，andhiswifefrownedathim。
Theflower-womanatthegateofhergardenhadnowonlyautumnalbloomsforsaleinthevaseswhichflankedtheentrance；thewindrowsoftherowen，leftsteepinginthedewsovernight，exhaledafaintfragrance；apoorremnantofthemidsummermultitudestraileditselfalongtothevariouscafesofthevalley，itspinkpaperbagsofbreadrustlinglikeserefoliageasitmoved。
AtthePosthofthe’schone’Lilialonewasasgay，asintheprimeofJuly。Sheplayedarchlyabouttheguestsshewelcomedtoatableinasunnyspotinthegallery。“YouaretiredofCarlsbad？”shesaidcaressinglytoMissTriscoe，assheputherbreakfastbeforeher。
“NotofthePosthof。”saidthegirl，listlessly。
“Posthof，andverylittleLili？”Sheshowed，withoneforefingeronanother，howverylittleshewas。
MissTriscoelaughed，notcheerily，andLilisaidtoMrs。March，withabruptseriousness，“Augustawasfindingahandkerchiefunderthetable，andshewaswashingitandironingitbeforeshedidbringit。Ihavescoldedher，andIhavemadehergiveittome。”
Shetookfromunderherapronaman’shandkerchief，whichsheofferedtoMrs。March。Itbore，asshesawMissTriscoesaw，theinitialsL。J。B。
But，“Whosecanitbe？”theyaskedeachother。
“Why，Burnamy’s。”saidMarch；andLili’seyesdanced。“Giveithere！”
Hiswifecaughtitfartheraway。“No，I’mgoingtoseewhoseitis，first；ifit’shis，I’llsendittohimmyself。”
Shetriedtoputitintothepocketwhichwasnotinherdressbyslidingitdownherlap；thenshehandedittothegirl，whotookitwithacarelessair，butkeptitafteralikefailuretopocketit。
Mrs。MarchhadcomeoutinherIndia-rubbersandals，butforonceinCarlsbadtheweatherwastoodryforthem，andshehadtakenthemoffandwasholdingtheminherlap。Theyfelltothegroundwhenshenowrosefrombreakfast，andshestoopedtopickthemup。MissTriscoewastooquickforher。
“Oh，letmecarrythemforyou！”sheentreated，andafteratenderstruggleshesucceedinenslavingherselftothem，andwentawaywearingthemthroughtheheel-bandslikemanaclesonherwrist。Shewasnotthekindofgirltooffersuchprettydevotions，andMrs。Marchwasnotthekindofwomantosufferthem；buttheyplayedthecomedythrough，andletMarchgooffforhislasthill-climbwiththepromisetomeethimintheStadtParkwhenhecametotheKurhausforhislastmineralbath。
Mrs。Marchinthemeantimewentaboutsomefinalshopping，andinvitedthegirl’sadvicewithafondnesswhichdidnotpreventherrejectingitineverycase，withMissTriscoe’seagerapproval。IntheStadtParktheysatdownandtalked；fromtimetotimeMrs。Marchmadepolitefeintsofrecoveringhersandals，butthegirlkeptthemwithincreasedeffusion。
Whentheyrose，andstrolledawayfromthebenchwheretheyhadbeensitting，theyseemedtobefollowed。Theylookedroundandsawnoonemorealarmingthanaverysevere-lookingoldgentleman，whosehatbriminspiteofhisseveritywaslimpwithmuchlifting，asallAustrianhatbrimsare。Hetouchedit，andsayinghaughtilyinGerman，“Somethingleftlying。”passedon。
Theystaredateachother；then，aswomendo，theyglanceddownattheirskirtstoseeiftherewasanythingamisswiththem，andMissTriscoeperceivedherhandsemptyofMrs。March’ssandalsandofBurnamy’shandkerchief。
“Oh，Iputitinoneofthetoes！”shelamented，andshefledbacktotheirbench，alarminginhercoursethefearsofagendarmeforthepublicsecurity，andputtingababyinitsnurse’sarmsintosuchdoubtsofitspersonalsafetythatitburstintoadesolatecry。ShelaughedbreathlesslyassherejoinedMrs。March。“Thatcomesofhavingnopocket；Ididn’tsupposeIcouldforgetyoursandals，Mrs。March！Wasn’titabsurd？”
“It’soneofthosethings。”Mrs。Marchsaidtoherhusbandafterwards，“thattheycanalwayslaughovertogether。”
“They？AndwhataboutBurnamy’sbehaviortoStoller？”
“Oh，Idon’tcallthatanythingbutwhatwillcomeright。Ofcoursehecanmakeituptohimsomehow。AndIregardhisrefusaltodowrongwhenStollerwantedhimtoasquitewipingoutthefirstoffence。”
“Well，mydear，youhaveburntyourshipsbehindyou。Myonlyhopeisthatwhenweleaveheretomorrow，herpessimisticpapa’spoisonwillneutralizeyourssomehow。”
OneofthepleasantestincidentsofMarch’ssojourninCarlsbadwashisintroductiontothemanagerofthemunicipaltheatrebyacommonfriendwhoexplainedtheeditorinsuchtermstothemanagerthatheconceivedofhimasabrotherartist。ThisledtomuchbowingandsmilingfromthemanagerwhentheMarchesmethiminthestreet，orintheirfrequentvisitstothetheatre，withwhichMarchfeltthatitmightwellhaveended，andstillbeenfarbeyondhisdesert。HehadnotthoughtofgoingtotheoperaontheEmperor’sbirthnight，butafterdinneraboxcamefromthemanager，andMrs。Marchagreedwithhimthattheycouldnotindecencyacceptsogreatafavor。Atthesametimeshearguedthattheycouldnotindecencyrefuseit，andthattoshowtheirsenseofthepleasuredonethem，theymustadorntheirboxwithallthebeautyanddistinctionpossible；inotherwords，shesaidtheymustaskMissTriscoeandherfather。
“AndwhynotMajorEltwinandhiswife？OrMrs。AddingandRose？”
Shebeggedhim，simplyinhisowninterest，nottobefoolish；andtheywentearly，soastobeintheirboxwhentheirguestscame。Thefoyerofthetheatrewasbankedwithflowers，andagainstacurtainofevergreensstoodahigh-pedestalledbustofthepaternalCaesar，withwhoseside-whiskersalaurelcrowncomporteditselfaswellasitcould。
Atthefootofthegrandstaircaseleadingtotheboxesthemanagerstoodineveningdress，receivinghisfriendsandtheirfelicitationsuponthehonorwhichthetheatrewassuretodoitselfonanoccasionsoaugust。
TheMarchesweresocordialintheirpropheciesthatthemanageryieldedtoanartist’simpulseandbeggedhisfellow-artisttodohimthepleasureofcomingbehindthescenesbetweentheactsoftheopera；hebowedaheart-feltregrettoMrs。Marchthathecouldnotmaketheinvitationincludeher，andhopedthatshewouldnotbetoolonelywhileherhusbandwasgone。
Sheexplainedthattheyhadaskedfriends，andsheshouldnotbealone，andthenheentreatedMarchtobringanygentlemanwhowashisguestwithhim。Onthewayuptotheirbox，shepressedhisarmassheusedintheiryoungmarrieddays，andaskedhimifitwasnotperfect。“Iwishweweregoingtohaveitalltoourselves；nooneelsecanappreciatethewholesituation。DoyouthinkwehavemadeamistakeinhavingtheTriscoes？”
“We！”beretorted。“Oh，that’sgood！I’mgoingtoshirkhim，whenitcomestogoingbehindthescenes。”
“No，no，dearest。”sheentreated。“Snubbingwillonlymakeitworse。Wemuststandittothebitterend，now。”
ThecurtainroseuponanotherlaurelledbustoftheEmperor，withachorusofmenformedoneitherside，whobrokeintothegraveandnoblestrainsoftheAustrianHymn，whileeveryonestood。Thenthecurtainfellagain，andintheintervalbeforetheoperacouldbegin，GeneralTriscoeandhisdaughtercamein。
Mrs。Marchtookthesplendorinwhichthegirlappearedasatributetoherhospitality。ShehadhithertobeenalittledisappointedoftheopenhomagetoAmericangirlhoodwhichherreadingsofinternationalromancehadtaughthertoexpectinEurope，butnowherpatrioticvanityfeastedfull。FathighhotesofherownsexlevelledtheirlorgnettesatMissTriscoeallaroundthehorseshoe，withcriticalglanceswhichfellbluntedfromhercomplexionandcostume；thehousewasbrilliantwiththemilitaryuniforms，whichwehavenotyettominglewithourunrivalledmillinery，andtheardentgazeoftheyoungofficersdweltontheperfectmouldofhergirlisharmsandneck，andthewinninglinesofherface。