“No；itgoesdeeperthanthat。Ithinkit’sEuropethat’sturnedhismindinthedirectionofreform。Atanyratehethinksnowhewillbeareformer。”
“Really！Whatkindofone？Notreligious，Ihope？”
“No。Hisreformhasareligiousbasis，butitsobjectsaresocial。
Idon’tmakeitout，exactly；butIshall，assoonasRosedoes。Hetellsmeeverything，andsometimesIdon’tfeelequaltoit，spirituallyorevenintellectually。”
“Don’tlaughathim，Mrs。Adding！”Mrs。Marchentreated。
“Oh，hedoesn’tmindmylaughing。”saidthemother，gayly。Rosecameshylybackintotheroom，andshesaid，“Well，didyourebukethosebadbicyclers？”andshelaughedagain。
“They’reonlyacustom，too，Rose。”，saidMarch，tenderly。“Likethemanrestingwhilethewomenworked，andtheEmperor，andalltherestofit。”
“Oh，yes，Iknow。”theboyreturned。
“Theyridemodernmachines，buttheyliveinthetenthcentury。That’swhatwe’realwaysforgettingwhenwecometoEuropeandseethesebarbariansenjoyingallourup-to-dateimprovements。”
There，doesn’tthatconsoleyou？”askedhismother，andshetookhimawaywithher，laughingbackfromthedoor。“Idon’tbelieveitdoes，abit！”
“Idon’tbelievesheunderstandsthechild。”saidMrs。March。“Sheisverylight，don’tyouthink？”Idon’tknow，afterall，whetheritwouldn’tbeagoodthingforhertomarryKenby。Sheisveryeasygoing，andshewillbesuretomarrysomebody。”
Shehadfallenintoatoneofmusingcensure，andhesaid，“Youmightputtheseideastoher。”
Withthepassageofthedaysandweeks，thestrangefaceswhichhadfamiliarizedthemselvesatthespringsdisappeared；evensomeofthosewhichhadbecomethefacesofacquaintancebegantogo。InthediminishingcrowdthesmileofOttersonwasnolongertobeseen；thesad，severevisageofMajorEltwin，whoseemednevertohavequitegothisbearingsafterhiserrorwithGeneralTriscoe，seldomshoweditself。
TheTriscoesthemselveskeptoutoftheMarches’way，ortheyfanciedso；
Mrs。AddingandRosealoneremainedoftheirdailyencounter。
Itwasfullsummer，asitiseverywhereinmid-August，butatCarlsbadthesunwassolategettingupoverthehillsthataspeoplewenttotheirbreakfastsatthecafesupthevalleyoftheTepltheyfoundhimlookingveryobliquelyintoitateighto’clockinthemorning。Theyellowleaveswerethickeraboutthefeetofthetrees，andthegrasswassilverygraywiththebelateddews。Thebreakfasterswerefewerthantheyhadbeen，andthereweremorelittlebarefootedboysandgirlswithcupsofredraspberrieswhichtheyofferedtothepasserswithcriesof“Himbeeren！Himbeeren！”plaintiveasthenotesofbirdsleftsonglessbytherecedingsummer。
Marchwasforbiddenthefruit，buthiswifeandMrs。Addingboughtrecklesslyofit，andateitunderhiseyeswiththeircoffeeandbread，pouringoveritpotsofclottedcreamthatthe’schone’Lilibroughtthem。Rosepretendedanindifferencetoit，whichhismotherbetrayedwasasacrificeinbehalfofMarch’sinability。
Lili’sdelaysincomingtobepaidhadbeensuchthattheMarchesnowtriedtopayherwhenshebroughttheirbreakfast，buttheysometimesforgot，andthentheycaughtherwhenevershecamenearthem。Inthiseventshelikedtocoquetwiththeirimpatience；shewouldleanagainsttheirtable，andsay：“Oh，no。Youstayalittle。Itissonice。”Onedayaftersuchanentreaty，shesaid，“Thequeenishere，thismorning。”
Mrs。Marchstarted，inthehopeofhighhotes。“Thequeen！”
“Yes；theyounglady。Mr。Burnamywassayingshewasaqueen。Sheistherewithherfather。”Shenoddedinthedirectionofadistantcorner，andtheMarchesknewthatshemeantMissTriscoeandthegeneral。“Sheisnotseemingsogaylyasshewasbeing。”
Marchsmiled。“Wearenoneofussogaylyaswewerebeing，Lili。Thesummerisgoing。”
“ButMr。Burnamywillbereturning，nottrue？”thegirlasked，restinghertrayonthecornerofthetable。
“No，I’mafraidhewon’t。”Marchreturnedsadly。
“Hewasverygood。HewaspayingtheproprietorforthedishesthatAugustadidbreakwhenshewasfallingdown。Hewaspayingbeforehewentaway，whenhewasknowingthattheproprietorwouldmakeAugustatopay。”
“Ah！”saidMarch，andhiswifesaid，“Thatwaslikehim！”andsheeagerlyexplainedtoMrs。AddinghowgoodandgreatBurnamyhadbeeninthischaracteristicinstance，whileLiliwaitedwiththetraytoaddsomepatheticfactsaboutAugusta’spovertyandgratitude。“IthinkMissTriscoeoughttoknowit。Theregoesthewretch，now！”shebrokeoff。
“Don’tlookathim！”ShesetherhusbandtheexampleofavertinghisfacefromthesightofStollersullenlypacingupthemiddleaisleofthegrove，andlookingtotherightandleftforavacanttable。“Ugh！I
hopehewon’tbeabletofindasingleplace。”
Mrs。Addinggaveoneofherpealinglaughs，whileRosewatchedMarch’sfacewithgravesympathy。“Hecertainlydoesn’tdeserveone。Don’tletuskeepyoufromofferingMissTriscoeanyconsolationyoucan。”Theygotup，andtheboygatheredupthegloves，umbrella，andhandkerchiefwhichtheladiesletdropfromtheirlaps。
“Haveyoubeentelling？”Marchaskedhiswife。
“HaveItoldyouanything？”shedemandedofMrs。Addinginturn。
“Anythingthatyoudidn’tasgoodasknow，already？”
“Notasyllable！”Mrs。Addingrepliedinhighdelight。“Come，Rose！”
“Well，Isupposethere’snousesayinganything。”saidMarch，aftersheleftthem。
“Shehadguessedeverything，withoutmytellingher。”saidhiswife。
“AboutStoller？”
“Well-no。Ididtellherthatpart，butthatwasnothing。ItwasaboutBurnamyandAgathathatsheknew。Shesawitfromthefirst。”
“IshouldhavethoughtshewouldhaveenoughtodotolookafterpooroldKenby。”
“I’mnotsure，afterall，thatshecaresforhim。Ifshedoesn’t，sheoughtn’ttolethimwritetoher。Aren’tyougoingovertospeaktotheTriscoes？”
“No，certainlynot。I’mgoingbacktothehotel。Thereoughttobesomesteamerlettersthismorning。Hereweare，worryingaboutthesestrangersallthetime，andwenevergiveathoughttoourownchildrenontheothersideoftheocean。”
“Iworryaboutthem，too。”saidthemother，fondly。“Thoughthereisnothingtoworryabout。”sheadded。
“It’sourdutytoworry。”heinsisted。
Atthehoteltheportiergavethemfourletters。Therewasonefromeachoftheirchildren：oneverybuoyant，nottosayboisterous，fromthedaughter，celebratingherhappinessinherhusband，andthelovelinessofChicagoasasummercity“Youwouldthinkshewasbornoutthere！”
sighedhermother；andonefromtheson，boastinghiswell-beinginspiteoftheheattheywerehaving“Andjustthinkhowcoolitishere！”
hismotherupbraidedherself，andtheprosperityof’EveryOtherWeek’。
TherewasalinefromFulkerson，praisingtheboy’seditorialinstinct，andironicallyproposingMarch’sresignationinhisfavor。
“Idobelievewecouldstayallwinter，justaswellasnot。”saidMrs。
March，proudly。“Whatdoes’Burnamysay？”
“Howdoyouknowit’sfromhim？”
“Becauseyou’vebeenkeepingyourhandonit！Giveithere。”
“WhenI’vereadit。”
TheletterwasdatedatAnsbach，inGermany，anddealt，exceptforsomemessagesofaffectiontoMrs。March，withaschemeforapaperwhichBurnamywishedtowriteonKasparHauser，ifMarchthoughthecoulduseitin’EveryOtherWeek’。HehadcomeuponabookaboutthathaplessfoundlinginNuremberg，andafterlookingupallhistracestherehehadgoneontoAnsbach，whereKasparHausermethisdeathsopathetically。
BurnamysaidhecouldnotgiveanynotionoftheenchantmentofNuremberg；buthebesoughtMarch，ifhewasgoingtotheTyrolforhisafter-cure，nottofailstayingadayorsointhewonderfulplace。HethoughtMarchwouldenjoyAnsbachtoo，initsway。
“And，notaword——notasyllable——aboutMissTriscoe！”criedMrs。March。
“Shallyoutakehispaper？”
“Itwouldbeservinghimright，ifIrefusedit，wouldn’tit？”
TheyneverknewwhatitcostBurnamytokeephernameoutofhisletter，orbywhataneffortofthewillheforbadehimselfeventotellofhispartinginterviewwithStoller。HehadrecoveredfromhisremorseforlettingStollergivehimselfaway；hewasstillsorryforthat，buthenolongersuffered；yethehadnotreachedthepsychologicalmomentwhenhecouldcelebratehisfinalvirtueinthematter。Hewasgladhehadbeenabletoholdoutagainstthetemptationtoretrievehimselfbyanotherwrong；buthewashumblyglad，andhefeltthatuntilhappierchancebroughthimandhisfriendstogetherhemustleavethemtotheirmercifulconjectures。Hewasyoung，andhetookthechance，withanachingheart。
Ifhehadbeenolder，hemightnothavetakenit。