andinfactshehadalreadyaplanforcomingtoStoller’sassistancebygettingatBurnamythroughMissTriscoe，whomshesuspectedofknowingwherehewas。Therehadbeennochanceforthemtospeakofhimeitherthatmorningortheeveningbefore，andafteragreatdealofcontroversywithherselfinherhusband’spresenceshedecidedtowaittilltheycamenaturallytogetherthenextmorningforthewalktotheCapuchinChurchonthehillbeyondtheriver，whichtheyhadagreedtotake。ShecouldnotkeepfromwritinganotetoMissTriscoebegginghertobesuretocome，andhintingthatshehadsomethingveryimportanttospeakof。
Shewasnotsurebutshehadbeenrathersillytodothis，butwhentheymetthegirlconfessedthatshehadthoughtofgivingupthewalk，andmightnothavecomeexceptforMrs。March’snote。ShehadcomewithRose，andhadlefthimbelowwithMarch；Mrs。AddingwascominglaterwithKenbyandGeneralTriscoe。
Mrs。Marchlostnotimeintellingherthegreatnews；andifshehadbeenindoubtbeforeofthegirl’sfeelingforBurnamyshewasnowinnone。Shehadthepleasureofseeingherflushwithhope，andthenthepainwhichwasalsoapleasure，ofseeingherblanchwithdismay。
“Idon’tknowwhereheis，Mrs。March。Ihaven’theardawordfromhimsincethatnightinCarlsbad。Iexpected——Ididn’tknowbutyou——“
Mrs。Marchshookherhead。ShetreatedthefactskillfullyassomethingtoberegrettedsimplybecauseitwouldbesucharelieftoBurnamytoknowhowMr。Stollernowfelt。Ofcoursetheycouldreachhimsomehow；
youcouldalwaysgetletterstopeopleinEurope，intheend；and，infact，itwasaltogetherprobablethathewasthatveryinstantinWurzburg；foriftheNewYork-ParisChroniclehadwantedhimtowriteuptheWagneroperas，itwouldcertainlywanthimtowriteupthemanoeuvres。SheestablishedhispresenceinWurzburgbysuchanirrefragablechainofreasoningthat，ataknockoutside，shewasjustabletokelpbackascream，whilesherantoopenthedoor。ItwasnotBurnamy，asincompliancewitheverynerveitoughttohavebeen，butherhusband，whotriedtojustifyhispresencebysayingthattheywereallwaitingforherandMissTriscoe，andaskedwhentheywerecoming。
Shefrownedhimsilent，andthenshutherselfoutsidewithhimlongenoughtowhisper，“Sayshe’sgotaheadache，oranythingyouplease；
butdon’tstoptalkingherewithme，orIshallgowild。”Shethenshutherselfinagain，withtheeffectofholdinghimaccountableforthewholeaffair。
GeneralTriscoecouldnotkeephisirritation，athearingthathisdaughterwasnotcoming，outoftheexcuseshemadetoMrs。Adding；
hesaidagainandagainthatitmustseemlikeadiscourtesytoher。
Shegaylydisclaimedanysuchnotion；shewouldnothearofputtingofftheirexcursiontoanotherday；ithadbeenrainingjustlongenoughtogivethemareasonablehopeofafewhours’drought，andtheymightnothaveanotherdryspellforweeks。Sheslippedoffherjacketaftertheystarted，andgaveittoKenby，butsheletGeneralTriscoeholdherumbrellaoverher，whilehelimpedbesideher。SheseemedtoMarch，ashefollowedwithRose，tobeplayingthetwomenoffagainsteachother，withaneasewhichhewishedhiswifecouldbetheretosee，andtojudgearight。
TheycrossedbytheOldBridge，whichisoftheearliestyearsoftheseventhcentury，betweenrowsofsaintswhosestatuessurmountthepiers。
Somearebishopsaswellassaints；onemusthavebeenatRomeinhisday，forheworehislongthickbeardinthefashionofMichelangelo’sMoses。Hestretchedouttowardthepasserstwofingersofblessingandwasunawareofthesparrowwhichhadlightedonthemandwasgivinghimtheeffectofofferingittothepublicadmiration。Squadsofsoldierstrampingbyturnedtolookandsmile，andthedullfacesofcitizenslightedupatthequaintsight。Somechildrenstoppedandremainedveryquiet，nottoscareawaythebird；andacold-faced，spiritual-lookingpriestpausedamongthemasifdoubtingwhethertorescuetheabsent-
mindedbishopfromasituationderogatorytohisdignity；buthepassedon，andthenthesparrowsuddenlyflewoff。
RoseAddinghadlingeredfortheincidentwithMarch，buttheynowpushedon，andcameupwiththeothersattheendofthebridge，wheretheyfoundtheminquestionwhethertheyhadnotbettertakeacarriageanddrivetothefootofthehillbeforetheybegantheirclimb。Marchthankedthem，butsaidhewaskeepingupthetermsofhiscure，andwasgettinginallthewalkinghecould。Rosebeggedhismothernottoincludehiminthedrivingparty；heprotestedthathewasfeelingsowell，andthewalkwasdoinghimgood。Hismotherconsented，ifhewouldpromisenottogettired，andthenshemountedintothetwo-spannerwhichhaddriveninstinctivelyuptotheirpartywhentheirparleybegan，andGeneralTriscoetooktheplacebesideher，whileKenby，withsmilingpatience，seatedhimselfinfront。
RosekeptontalkingwithMarchaboutWurzburganditshistory，whichitseemedhehadbeenreadingthenightbeforewhenhecouldnotsleep。Heexplained，“Wegetlittlehistoriesoftheplaceswhereverwego。That’swhatMr。Kenbydoes，youknow。”
“Oh，yes。”saidMarch。
“Idon’tsupposeIshallgetachancetoreadmuchhere。”Rosecontinued，“withGeneralTriscoeintheroom。Hedoesn’tlikethelight。”
“Well，well。He’sratherold，youknow。Andyoumusn’treadtoomuch，Rose。Itisn’tgoodforyou。”
“Iknow，butifIdon’tread，Ithink，andthatkeepsmeawakeworse。Ofcourse，IrespectGeneralTriscoeforbeinginthewar，andgettingwounded。”theboysuggested。
“Agoodmanydidit。”Marchwastemptedtosay。
Theboydidnotnoticehisinsinuation。“Isupposethereweresomethingstheydidinthearmy，andthentheycouldn’tgetoverthehabit。
ButGeneralGrantsaysinhis’Life’thatheneverusedaprofaneexpletive。”
“DoesGeneralTriscoe？”
Roseansweredreluctantly，“Ifanythingwakeshiminthenight，orifhecan’tmaketheseGermanbedsovertosuithim——“
“Isee。”Marchturnedhisfacetohidethesmilewhichhewouldnothavelettheboydetect。HethoughtbestnottoletRoseresumehisimpressionsofthegeneral；andintalkofweightiermatterstheyfoundthemselvesatthatpointoftheclimbwherethecarriagewaswaitingforthem。Fromthispointtheyfollowedanalleythroughivied，gardenwalls，tilltheyreachedthefirstofthebalustradedterraceswhichascendtothecrestofthehillwherethechurchstands。Eachterraceisplantedwithsycamores，andthefaceoftheterracewallsupportsabass-
reliefcommemoratingwiththedramaofitslifesizefiguresthestationsofthecross。
Monksandpriestswerecomingandgoing，anddroppedonthestepsleadingfromterracetoterracewerewomenandchildrenontheirkneesinprayer。
ItwasallrichlyreminiscentofpilgrimscenesinotherCatholiclands；
butheretherewasatouchofearnestintheNorthernfaceoftheworshiperswhichtheSouthhadneverimparted。Eveninthebeautifulrococointeriorofthechurchatthetopofthehilltherewasasenseofsomethingdeeperandtruerthanmereecclesiasticism；andMarchcameoutofitinaseriousmusewhiletheboyathissidedidnothingtointerrupt。Avagueregretfilledhisheartashegazedsilentlyoutovertheprospectofriverandcityandvineyard，purplingtogetherbelowthetopwherehestood，andmixedwiththisregretwasavagueresentmentofhiswife’sabsence。Sheoughttohavebeentheretosharehispangandhispleasure；theyhadsolongenjoyedeverythingtogetherthatwithoutherhefeltunabletogetoutofeitheremotionalltherewasinit。
TheforgottenboystolesilentlydowntheterracesaftertherestofthepartywhohadlefthimbehindwithMarch。Atthelastterracetheystoppedandwaited；andafteradelaythatbegantobelongtoMrs。
Adding，shewonderedaloudwhatcouldhavebecomeofthem。
Kenbypromptlyofferedtogobackandsee，andsheconsentedinseemingtorefuse：“Itisn’tworthwhile。RosehasprobablygotMr。Marchintosomedeepdiscussion，andthey’veforgottenallaboutus。Butifyouwillgo，Mr。Kenby，youmightjustremindRoseofmyexistence。”Shelethimlayherjacketonhershouldersbeforehelefther，andthenshesatdownononeofthesteps，whichGeneralTriscoekeptstrikingwiththepointofherumbrellaashestoodbeforeher。
“Ireallyshallhavetotakeitfromyouifyoudothatanymore。”shesaid，laughingupinhisface。“I’mserious。”
Hestopped。“IwishIcouldbelieveyouwereserious，foramoment。”
“Youmay，ifyouthinkitwilldoyouanygood。ButIdon’tseewhy。”
Thegeneralsmiled，butwithakindoftremulouseagernesswhichmighthavebeenpathetictoanyonewholikedhim。“DoyouknowthisisalmostthefirsttimeIhavespokenalonewithyou？”
“Really，Ihadn’tnoticed。”saidMrs。Adding。
GeneralTriscoelaughedinratheraghastlyway。“Well，that’sencouraging，atleast，toamanwho’shadhisdoubtswhetheritwasn’tintended。”
“Intended？Bywhom？Whatdoyoumean，GeneralTriscoe？Whyintheworldshouldn’tyouhavespokenalonewithmebefore？”
Hewasnot，withallhiseagerness，readytosay，andwhileshesmiledpleasantlyshehadthelookinhereyesofbeingbroughttobayandbeingprepared，ifitmustcometothat，tohavetheworstover，thenandthere。Shewasnothalfhisage，buthewasawareofherhavingnorespectforhisyears；comparedwithheraverageAmericanpastasheunderstoodit，hissocialplacewasmuchhigher，but，shewasnotintheleastawedbyit；inspiteofhiswarrecordshewasmakinghimbehavelikeacoward。Hewasinafalseposition，andifhehadanyonebuthimselftoblamehehadnother。Hereadherequalknowledgeofthesefactsinthecleareyesthatmadehimflushandturnhisownaway。
Thenhestartedwithaquick“Hello！”andstoodstaringupatthestepsfromtheterraceabove，whereRoseAddingwasstayinghimselfweaklybyaclutchofKenbyononesideandMarchontheother。
Hismotherlookedroundandcaughtherselfupfromwhereshesatandrantowardhim。“Oh，Rose！”