“Oh，Ithinkshe’llcomenow。”saidBurnamy。MarchprotestedthathehadonlybeenamusedatLili’sdelay；buthiswifescoldedhimforhisimpatience；shebeggedBurnamy’spardon，andrepeatedcivilitiespassedbetweenthem。SheaskedifhedidnotthinksomeoftheyoungladieswereprettybeyondtheEuropeanaverage；averyfewhadstyle；themothersweremostlyfat，andnotstylish；itwaswellnottoregardthefatherstooclosely；severaloldgentlemenwereclearingtheirthroatsbehindtheirnewspapers，withnoisesthatmadeherquail。TherewasnoonesoeffectiveastheAustrianofficers，whoputthemselvesagooddealonshow，bowingfromtheirhipstofavoredgroups；withthesunglintingfromtheireyeglasses，andtheirhandspressingtheirsword-hilts，theymovedbetweenthetableswiththegaitoftight-lacedwomen。
“Theyallwearcorsets。”Burnamyexplained。
“Howmuchyouknowalready！”saidMrs。March。“IcanseethatEuropewon’tbelostonyouinanything。Oh，who’sthat？”Aladywhosecostumeexpressedsarisateverypointglidedupthemiddleaisleofthegrovewithagracefultilt。Burnamywassilent。“ShemustbeanAmerican。Doyouknowwhosheis？”
“Yes。”Hehesitated，alittletonameawomanwhosetragedyhadoncefilledthenewspapers。
Mrs。Marchgazedafterherwiththefascinationwhichsuchtragediesinspire。“Whatgrace！Isshebeautiful？”
“Very。”Burnamyhadnotobtrudedhisknowledge，butsomehowMrs。Marchdidnotlikehisknowingwhoshewas，andhowbeautiful。SheaskedMarchtolook，butherefused。
“Thosethingsaretoosqualid。”hesaid，andshelikedhimforsayingit；
shehopeditwouldnotbelostuponBurnamy。
Oneofthewaitressestrippedonthestepsnearthemandflungtheburdenoffhertrayonthestonefloorbeforeher；someofthedishesbroke，andthebreakfastwaslost。Tearscameintothegirl’seyesandrolleddownherhotcheeks。“There！ThatiswhatIcalltragedy。”saidMarch。
“She’llhavetopayforthosethings。”
“Oh，giveherthemoney，dearest！”
“HowcanI？”
ThegirlhadjustgotawaywiththeruinwhenLiliandherhirelingbehindhercamebearingdownuponthemwiththeirthreesubstantialbreakfastsontwowell-ladentrays。SheforestalledBurnamy’sreproachesforherdelay，laughingandbridling，whileshesetdownthedishesofhamandtongueandegg，andthelittlepotsofcoffeeandfrothedmilk。
“IcouldnotsosoonIwanted，becauseIwastoserveanAmericanprincess。”
Mrs。Marchstartedwithproudconjectureofoneofthosenobleinternationalmarriageswhichfillourwomenwithvaingloryforsuchoftheircompatriotsasmakethem。
“Oh，comenow，Lili！”saidBurnamy。“WehavequeensinAmerica，butnothingsolowasprincesses。Thiswasaqueen，wasn’tit？”
Shereferredthecasetoherhireling，whoconfirmedher。“Allpeoplesayitisprincess。”sheinsisted。
“Well，ifshe’saprincesswemustlookherupafterbreakfast。”saidBurnamy。“Whereisshesitting？”
Shepointedatacornersofaroffontheothersidethatnoonecouldbedistinguished，andthenwasgone，withasmileflashedoverhershoulder，andherhirelingtryingtokeepupwithher。
“We’reallveryproudofLili’shavingahiredman。”saidBurnamy。
“Wethinkitreflectscreditonhercustomers。”
Marchhadbegunhisbreakfastwith-thevoraciousappetiteofanearly-
risinginvalid。“Whatcoffee！”
Hedrewalongsighafterthefirstdraught。
“It’ssaidtobemadeofburntfigs。”saidBurnamy，fromtheinexhaustibleadvantageofhisfewdays’priorityinCarlsbad。
“Thenlet’shaveburntfigsintroducedathomeassoonaspossible。Butwhyburntfigs？Thatseemsoneofthosedoubtswhicharemuchmoredifficultthanfaith。”
It’snotonlyburntfigs。”saidBurnamy，withamiablesuperiority，“ifitisburntfigs，butit’smadeafteraformulainventedbyaconsensusofphysicians，andenforcedbythemunicipality。Everycaf？inCarlsbadmakesthesamekindofcoffeeandchargesthesameprice。”
“Youareleavingusverylittletofindoutforourselves。”sighedMarch。
“Oh，Iknowalotmorethings。Areyoufondoffishing？”
“Notvery。”
“YoucangetapermittocatchtroutintheTepl，buttheysendanofficialwithyouwhokeepscount，andwhenyouhavehadyoursport，thetroutbelongtothemunicipalityjustastheydidbeforeyoucaughtthem。”
“Idon’tseewhythatisn’tagoodnotion：thelastthingIshouldwanttodowouldbetoeatafishthatIhadcaught，andthatIwaspersonallyacquaintedwith。Well，I’mnevergoingawayfromCarlsbad。Idon’twonderpeoplegettheirdoctorstotellthemtocomeback。”
BurnamytoldthemanumberoffactshesaidStollerhadgottogetherabouttheplace，andhadgivenhimtoputinshape。Itwasrunintheinterestofpeoplewhohadgotoutoforder，sothattheywouldkeepcomingtogetthemselvesinorderagain；youcouldhardlybuyanunwholesomemealinthetown；allthecookingwas’kurgemass’。Hewonsuchfavorwithhisfactsthathecouldnotstopintime：hesaidtoMarch，“Butifyouevershouldhaveafancyforafishofyourpersonalacquaintance，there’sarestaurantuptheTepl，wheretheyletyoupickoutyourtroutinthewater；thentheycatchhimandbroilhimforyou，andyouknowwhatyouareeating。”
“Isitamunicipalrestaurant？”
“Semi-municipal。”saidBurnamy，laughing。
We’lltakeMrs。March。”saidherhusband，andinhergravityBurnamyfeltthelimitationsofawoman’ssenseofhumor，whichalwaysdefinethemselvesformensounexpectedly。
Hedidwhathecouldtogetbackintohergoodgracesbytellingherwhatheknewaboutdistinctionsanddignitiesthathenowsawamongthebreakfasters。Thecrowdhadnowgrowndensertillthetablesweresettogetherinsuchlabyrinthsthatanyonewholeftthecentralaislewaslostinthem。Theserving-girlsranmoreswiftlytoandfro，respondingwithamorenervousshrillnesstothecallsof“Fraulein！Fraulein！”thatfollowedthem。Theproprietor，inhisbarehead，stoodlikeoneparalyzedbyhisprosperity，whichsentupallroundhimtheclashofknivesandcrockery，andtheconfusionoftongues。ItwasmorethananhourbeforeBurnamycaughtLili’seye，andthreetimesshepromisedtocomeandbepaidbeforeshecame。Thenshesaid，“Itissonice，whenyoustayalittle。”andwhenhetoldherofthepoorFrauleinwhohadbrokenthedishesinherfallnearthem，shealmostweptwithtenderness；
shealmostwinkedwithwickednesswhenheaskediftheAmericanprincesswasstillinherplace。
“Dogoandseewhoitcanbe！”Mrs。Marchentreated。“We’llwaithere。”
andheobeyed。“IamnotsurethatIlikehim。”shesaid，assoonashewasoutofhearing。“Idon’tknowbuthe’scoarse，afterall。Doyouapproveofhisknowingsomanypeople’s’taches’already？”
“Woulditbeanybetterlater？”heaskedintern。“Heseemedtofindyouinterested。”
“It’sverydifferentwithus；we’renotyoung。”sheurged，onlyhalfseriously。
Herhusbandlaughed。“Iseeyouwantmetodefendhim。Oh，hello！”
hecried，andshesawBurnamycomingtowardthemwithayounglady，whowasnoddingtothemfromasfarasshecouldseethem。“ThisistheeasykindofthingthatmakesyouBlushfortheauthorifyoufinditinanovel。”
Mrs。MarchfairlytookMissTriscoeinherarmstokissher。“DoyouknowIfeltitmustbeyou，allthetime！Whendidyoucome？Whereisyourfather？Whathotelareyoustayingat？”
Itappeared，whileMissTriscoewasshakinghandswithMarch，thatitwaslastnight，andherfatherwasfinishinghisbreakfast，anditwasoneofthehotelsonthehill。OnthewaybacktoherfatheritappearedthathewishedtoconsultMarch’sdoctor；notthattherewasanythingthematter。
Thegeneralhimselfwasnotmuchsoftenedbythereunionwithhisfellow-
Americans；heconfidedtothemthathiscoffeewaspoisonous；butheseemed，standingupwiththeParis-NewYorkChroniclefoldedinhishand，tohavedrunkitall。WasMarchgoingoffonhisforenoontramp？Hebelievedthatwaspartofthetreatment，whichwasprobablyallhumbug，，thoughhethoughtoftryingit，nowhewasthere。Hewastoldthewalkswerefine；helookedatBurnamyasifhehadbeenpraisingthem，andBurnamysaidhehadbeenwonderingifMarchwouldnotliketotryamountainpathbacktohishotel；hesaid，notsosincerely，thathethoughtMrs。Marchwouldlikeit。
“Ishalllikeyouraccountofit。”sheanswered。“ButI’llwalkbackonalevel，ifyouplease。”
“Oh，yes。”MissTriscoepleaded，“comewithus！”
SheplayedalittlecomedyofmeaningtogobackwithherfathersogracefullythatMrs。Marchherselfcouldscarcelyhavetoldjustwherethegirl’srealpurposeofgoingwithBurnamybegantobeevident，orjusthowshemanagedtomakeGeneralTriscoebegtohavethepleasureofseeingMrs。Marchbacktoherhotel。
