“Forheaven’ssake，whatareyoudrivingat？”Marchbrokein，andsheansweredhimasvehemently：
“He’saskedhertomarryhim！”
“Kenby？Mrs。Adding？”
“Yes！”
“Well，now，Isabel，thiswon’tdo！Theyoughttobeashamedofthemselves。Withthatmorbid，sensitiveboy！It’sshocking——“
“Willyoulisten？Ordoyouwantmetostop？”Hearrestedhimselfatherthreat，andsheresumed，aftergivinghercontemptofhisturbulencetimetosinkin，“Sherefusedhim，ofcourse！”
“Oh，allright，then！”
“YoutakeitinsuchawaythatI’veagreatmindnottotellyouanythingmoreaboutit。”
“Iknowyouhave。”hesaid，stretchinghimselfoutagain；“butyou’lldoit，allthesame。You’dhavebeenawfullydisappointedifIhadbeencalmandcollected。”
“Sherefusedhim。”shebeganagain，“althoughsherespectshim，becauseshefeelsthatsheoughttodevoteherselftoherson。Ofcourseshe’sveryyoung，still；shewasmarriedwhenshewasonlynineteentoamantwiceherage，andshe’snotthirty-fiveyet。Idon’tthinksheevercaredmuchforherhusband；andshewantsyoutofindoutsomethingabouthim。”
“Ineverheardofhim。I——“
Mrs。Marchmadea“tchck！”thatwouldhaverecalledthemostconsequentofmenfromthemostlogicalandcoherentinterpretationtothetrueintentofherwords。Heperceivedhismistake，andsaid，resolutely：
“Well，Iwon’tdoit。Ifshe’srefusedhim，that’stheendofit；sheneedn’tknowanythingabouthim，andshehasnorightto。”
“NowIthinkdifferently。”saidMrs。March，withaninductiveair。
“Ofcourseshehastoknowabouthim，now。”Shestopped，andMarchturnedhisheadandlookedexpectantlyather。“Hesaidhewouldnotconsiderheranswerfinal，butwouldhopetoseeheragainand——She’safraidhemayfollowher——Whatareyoulookingatmesofor？”
“Ishecominghere？”
“AmItoblameifheis？Hesaidhewasgoingtowritetoher。”
Marchburstintoalaugh。“Well，theyhaven’tbeenbeatingaboutthebush！WhenIthinkhowMissTriscoehasbeenpursuingBurnamyfromthefirstmomentsheseteyesonhim，withthesettledbeliefthatshewasrunningfromhim，andheimaginesthathehasbeenboldlyfollowingher，withouttheleasthopefromher，Ican’thelpadmiringthesimpledirectnessoftheseelders。”
“AndifKenbywantstotalkwithyou，whatwillyousay？”shecutineagerly。
“I’llsayIdon’tlikethesubject。WhatamIinCarlsbadfor？Icameforthecure，andI’mspendingtimeandmoneyonit。ImightaswellgoandtakemythreecupsofFelsenquelleonafullstomachastolistentoKenby。”
“Iknowit’sbadforyou，andIwishwehadneverseenthosepeople。”
saidMrs。March。“Idon’tbelievehe’llwanttotalkwithyou；butif——“
“IsMrs。Addinginthishotel？I’mnotgoingtohavethemroundinmybread-trough！”
“Sheisn’t。She’satoneofthehotelsonthehill。”
“Verywell，letherstaythere，then。Theycanmanagetheirlove-affairsintheirownway。TheonlyoneIcaretheleastforistheboy。”
“Yes，itisforlornforhim。ButhelikesMr。Kenby，and——No，it’shorrid，andyoucan’tmakeitanythingelse！”
“Well，I’mnottryingto。”Heturnedhisfaceaway。“Imustgetmynap，now。”Aftershethoughthemusthavefallenasleep，hesaid，“Thefirstthingyouknow，thoseoldEltwinswillbecomingroundandtellingusthatthey’regoingtogetdivorced。”Thenhereallyslept。
Themid-daydinneratPupp’swasthetimetoseetheCarlsbadworld，andtheMarcheshadthehabitofsittinglongattabletowatchit。
Therewasonefamilyinwhomtheyfanciedasortofliteraryquality，asiftheyhadcomeoutofsomepleasantGermanstory，buttheyneverknewanythingaboutthem。ThefatherbyhisdressmusthavebeenaProtestantclergyman；themotherhadbeenabeautyandwasstillveryhandsome；thedaughterwasgood-looking，andofagood-breedingwhichwasbothgirlishandladylike。Theycommendedthemselvesbyalwaystakingthetabled’hotedinner，astheMarchesdid，andeatingthroughfromthesoupandtherankfresh-waterfishtothesweet，uponthesameprinciple：thehusbandateallthecompoteandgavetheothershisdessert，whichwasnotgoodforhim。Ayounggirlofadifferentfascinationremainedasmuchamystery。Shewassmallandofanextremetenuity，whichbecamemorebewilderingassheadvancedthroughhermeal，especiallyatsupper，whichshemadeofalongcucumberpickle，aFrankfortsausageoftwicethepickle’slength，andatoweringgobletofbeer；inherlapsheheldashiveringlittlehound；shewasinthedecorouskeepingofanelderlymaid，andhadeveryeffectofbeingagraciousFraulein。AcuriouscontrasttoherTeutonicvoracitywasthetemperanceofayoungLatinswell，imaginablyfromTrieste，whosatlongoverhissmallcoffeeandcigarette，andtranquillymuseduponthepagesofanItaliannewspaper。
Atanothertabletherewasaverynoisylady，shortandfat，inflowingdraperiesofwhite，whocommandedasallowfamilyofSouth-Americans，andloudlyharanguedtheminSouth-AmericanSpanish；sheflaredoutinapicturewhichnowherelackedstrongeffects；andinherbackgroundlurkedamysteriousblackfaceandfigure，ironicallysubservienttotheoldman，themildboy，andtheprettyyounggirlinthemiddledistanceofthefamilygroup。
Amidsttheshowsofahardenedworldlinessthereweretouchingglimpsesofdomesticityandheart：ayoungbridefedherhusbandsoupfromherownplatewithherspoon，unabashedbythepublicity；amotherandhertwoprettydaughtershungaboutahandsomeofficer，whomusthavebeennewlybetrothedtooneofthegirls；and，thewholefamilyshowedahelplessfondnessforhim，whichhedidnotdespise，thoughhehelditincheck；
thegirlsdressedalike，andseemedtohavefortheirwholechangeofcostumeadifferencefromtimetotimeinthecoloroftheirsleeves。
TheMarchesbelievedtheyhadseenthegrowthoftheromancewhichhadeventuatedsohappily；andtheysawotherromanceswhichdidnotinanywiseeventuate。CarlsbadwasevidentlyoneofthegreatmarriagemartsofmiddleEurope，wheremothersbroughttheirdaughterstobeadmired，andeverywherethefloweroflifewasbloomingforthehandoflove。
Itblewbyonallthepromenadesindressesandhatsasprettyastheycouldbeboughtorimagined；butitwaschieflyatPupp’sthatitflourished。Forthemostpartitseemedtoflourishinvain，andtobedestinedtobeputbyforanotherseasontodream，bulblike，ofthecomingsummerinthequietofMoldavianandTransylvanianhomes。
Perhapsitwasofteneroffortunateeffectthanthespectatorsknew；butfortheirownpleasuretheywouldnothavehadtheirpangforitless；
andMarchobjectedtohavingamoreexplicitdemanduponhissympathy。
“Wecouldhavemanaged。”hesaid，atthecloseoftheirdinner，ashelookedcompassionatelyroundupontheparterreofyounggirls，“wecouldhavemanagedwithBurnamyandMissTriscoe；buttohaveMrs。AddingandKenbylauncheduponusistoomuch。OfcourseIlikeKenby，andifthewidowalonewereconcernedIwouldgivehimmyblessing：awifemoreorawidowlessisnotgoingtodisturbtheequilibriumoftheuniverse；
but——“Hestopped，andthenhewenton：“Menandwomenarewellenough。
Theycomplementeachotherveryagreeably，andtheyhaveverygoodtimestogether。Butwhyshouldtheygetinlove？——Itissuretomakethemuncomfortabletothemselvesandannoyingtoothers。”Hebrokeoff，andstaredabouthim。“Mydear，thisisreallycharming——almostascharmingasthePosthof。”Thecrowdspreadfromtheopenvestibuleofthehotelandtheshelterofitsbranchingpavilionroofsuntilitwasdimmedintheobscurityofthelowgroveacrossthewayinanultimatedepthwherethemusiciansweregivingtheafternoonconcert。Betweenitstwostationarydivisionsmovedacurrentofpromenaders，withsomesucheffectasifthecolorsofalovelygardenshouldhaveliquefiedandflowedinmingledroseandlilac，pinkandyellow，andwhiteandorange，andallthemiddletintsofmodernmillinery。Aboveononesideweretheagreeablebulksofarchitecture，inthebuffandgrayofCarlsbad；andfarbeyondontheotherweretheuplandslopes，withvillasandlongcurvesofcountryroads，beltedinwithmilesofwall。“Itwouldbeaboutasoffensivetohavealove-interestthatonepersonallyknewaboutintrudedhere。”hesaid，“astohaveatwo-spannercarriagedriventhroughthiscrowd。Itoughttobeforbiddenbythemunicipality。”
Mrs。Marchlistenedwithherears，butnotwithhereyes，andsheanswered：“SeethathandsomeyoungGreekpriest！Isn’theanarchimandrite？Theportiersaidhewas。”
“Thenlethimpassforanarchimandrite。Now。”herecurredtohisgrievanceagain，dreamily，“IhavegottotakePapaTriscoeinhand，andpoisonhismindagainstBurnamy，andIshallhavetoinstilafewdropsofvenomoussuspicionagainstKenbyintotheheartofpoorlittleRoseAdding。Oh；“hebrokeout，“theywillspoileverything。They’llbewithusmorning，noon，andnight。”andhewentontoworkthejokeofrepiningathislot。Theworstthing，hesaid，wouldbethelovers’pretenceofbeinginterestedinsomethingbesidesthemselves，whichtheywerenomorecapableofthansomanylunatics。Howcouldtheycareforprettygirlsplayingtennisonanuplandlevel，inthewaningafternoon？Oracartfulofpeasantwomenstoppingtocrossthemselvesataway-sideshrine？Orawhistlingboywithholesinhistrouserspausingfromsomewaysideraspberriestotouchhishatandsaygood-morning？Orthosepreposterousmaidenssprinklinglinenonthegrassfromwatering-potswhiletheskieswerefullofrain？OrthatblacksmithshopwherePetertheGreatmadeahorseshoe。Orthemonumentoftheyoungwarrior-poetKoerner，withagentle-lookinggirlandhermotherreadingandknittingonabenchbeforeit？Thesesimplepleasuressufficedthem，butwhatcouldloversreallycareforthem？Apeasantgirlflungdownonthegrassyroad-side，fastasleep，whileheryoke-fellow，thegrayolddog，layinhisharnessnearherwithonedrowsyeyehalfopenforherandtheotherforthecontentsoftheircart；aboychasingaredsquirrelintheolduppertownbeyondtheTepl，andenlistingtheinterestofalltheneighbors；thenegrodoor-keeperattheGoldenShieldwhooughttohavespokenourSouthernEnglish，butwhospokebadGermanandwasfromCairo；thesweetafternoonstillnessinthewoods；thegoodGermanmotherscrochetingatthePosthofconcerts。Burnamyasayoungpoetmighthatefeltthepreciousqualityofthesethings，ifhissenseshadnotbeenholdenbyMissTriscoe；andshemighthavefeltitifonlyhehaddoneso。Butasitwasitwouldbelostupontheirpreoccupation；withMrs。AddingandKenbyitwouldbehopeless。