“Ontheshelf。”
ItseemedalongtimebeforeBurnamysaidwithalongsigh，asoffinalrecollection，“Oh，yes。”andthenhesaidnothing；andtheydidnotsitdown，butstoodlookingateachother。
“Wasitsomethingyougotforme，andforgottogiveme？”sheaskedinavoicewhichwouldnothavemisledawoman，butwhichdiditsworkwiththeyoungman。
Helaughedandsaid，“Well，hardly！Thegeneralhasbeenintheroomeversinceyoucame。”
“Oh，yes。Thenperhapssomebodyleftittherebeforeyouhadtheroom？”
Burnamywassilentagain，butatlasthesaid，“No，IflungitupthereI
hadforgottenallaboutit。”
“Andyouwishmetoforgetaboutit，too？”Agathaaskedinagayetyoftonethatstilldeceivedhim。
“Itwouldonlybefair。Youmademe。”herejoined，andtherewassomethingsocharminginhiswordsandway，thatshewouldhavebeengladtodoit。
Butshegovernedherselfagainstthetemptationandsaid，“Womenarenotgoodatforgetting，atleasttilltheyknowwhat。”
“Oh，I’lltellyou，ifyouwanttoknow。”hesaidwithalaugh，andatthewordsshe——sankprovisionallyintheiraccustomedseat。Hesatdownbesideher，butnotsonearasusual，andhewaitedsolongbeforehebeganthatitseemedasifhehadforgottenagain。“Why，it’snothing。
MissEtkinsandhermotherwereherebeforeyoucame，andthisisabouquetthatImeanttogiveheratthetrainwhensheleft。ButI
decidedIwouldn’t，andIthrewitontotheshelfinthecloset。”
“MayIaskwhyyouthoughtoftakingabouquettoheratthetrain？”
“Well，sheandhermother——Ihadbeenwiththemagooddeal，andI
thoughtitwouldbecivil。”
“Andwhydidyoudecidenottobecivil？”
“Ididn’twantittolooklikemorethancivility。”
“Weretheyherelong？”
“Aboutaweek。TheyleftjustaftertheMarchescame。”
Agathaseemednottoheedtheanswershehadexacted。Shesatreclinedinthecorneroftheseat，withherheaddrooping。AfteranintervalwhichwaslongtoBurnamyshebegantopullataringonthethirdfingerofherlefthand，absently，asifshedidnotknowwhatshewasdoing；
butwhenshehadgotitoffsheheldittowardsBurnamyandsaidquietly，“Ithinkyouhadbetterhavethisagain。”andthensheroseandmovedslowlyandweaklyaway。
Hehadtakentheringmechanicallyfromher，andhestoodamomentbewildered；thenhepressedafterher。
“Agatha，doyou——youdon’tmean——“
“Yes。”shesaid，withoutlookingroundathisface，whichsheknewwasclosetohershoulder。“It’sover。Itisn’twhatyou’vedone。It’swhatyouare。Ibelievedinyou，inspiteofwhatyoudidtothatman——
andyourcomingbackwhenyousaidyouwouldn’t——and——ButIseenowthatwhatyoudidwasyou；itwasyournature；andIcan’tbelieveinyouanymore。”
“Agatha！”heimplored。“You’renotgoingtobesounjust！Therewasnothingbetweenyouandmewhenthatgirlwashere！Ihadarightto——“
“Notifyoureallycaredforme！DoyouthinkIwouldhaveflirtedwithanyonesosoon，ifIhadcaredforyouasyoupretendedyoudidformethatnightinCarlsbad？Oh，Idon’tsayyou’refalse。Butyou’refickle——“
“ButI’mnotfickle！FromthefirstmomentIsawyou，Inevercaredforanyonebutyou！”
“Youhavestrangewaysofshowingyourdevotion。Well，sayyouarenotfickle。Say，thatI’mfickle。Iam。Ihavechangedmymind。Iseethatitwouldneverdo。Ileaveyoufreetofollowalltheturningandtwistingofyourfancy。”Shespokerapidly，almostbreathlessly，andshegavehimnochancetogetoutthewordsthatseemedtochokehim。Shebegantorun，butatthedoorofthehotelshestoppedandwaitedtillhecamestupidlyup。“Ihaveafavortoask，Mr。Burnamy。Ibegyouwillnotseemeagain，ifyoucanhelpitbeforewegoto-morrow。MyfatherandIareindebtedtoyoufortoomanykindnesses，andyoumustn’ttakeanymoretroubleonouraccount。Augustcanseeusoffinthemorning。”
Shenoddedquickly，andwasgonein-doorswhilehewasyetstrugglingwithhisdoubtoftherealityofwhathadallsoswiftlyhappened。
GeneralTriscoewasstillignorantofanychangeinthestatustowhichhehadreconciledhimselfwithsomuchdifficulty，whenhecamedowntogetintotheomnibusforthetrain。TillthenhehadbeentooproudtoaskwhathadbecomeofBurnamy，thoughhehadwondered，butnowhelookedaboutandsaidimpatiently，“Ihopethatyoungmanisn’tgoingtokeepuswaiting。”
Agathawaspaleandwornwithsleeplessness，butshesaidfirmly，“Heisn’tgoing，papa。Iwilltellyouinthetrain。Augustwillseetotheticketsandthebaggage。”
Augustconspiredwiththetraegertogetthemafirst-classcompartmenttothemselves。ButevenwiththeadvantagesofthisseclusionAgatha’sconfidencestoherfatherwerenotfull。ShetoldherfatherthatherengagementwasbrokenforreasonsthatdidnotmeananythingverywronginMr。Burnamybutthatconvincedhertheycouldneverbehappytogether。
Asshedidnotgivethereasons，hefoundanaturaldifficultyinacceptingthem，andtherewassomethinginthesituationwhichappealedstronglytohiscontrary-mindedness。Partlyfromthis，partlyfromhissenseofinjuryinbeingobligedsosoontoadjusthimselftonewconditions，andpartlyfromhiscomfortablefeelingofsecurityfromanengagementtowhichhisassenthadbeenforced，hesaid，“Ihopeyou’renotmakingamistake。”
“Oh，no。”sheanswered，andsheattestedherconvictionbyaburstofsobbingthatlastedwellonthewaytothefirststopofthetrain。
ItwouldhavebeenalwaystwiceaseasytogodirectfromBerlintotheHaguethroughHanover；buttheMarchesdecidedtogobyFrankfortandtheRhine，becausetheywishedtorevisitthefamousriver，whichtheyrememberedfromtheiryouth，andbecausetheywishedtostopatDusseldorf，whereHeinrichHeinewasborn。WithoutthisMrs。March，whokeptherhusbanduptohisearlypassionforthepoetwithafeelingthatshewasdefendinghimfromageinit，saidthattheirsilverweddingjourneywouldnotbecomplete；andhebeganhimselftothinkthatitwouldbeinteresting。
Theytookasleeping-carforFrankfortandtheywokeearlyaspeopledoinsleeping-carseverywhere。Marchdressedandwentoutforacupofthesamecoffeeofwhichsleeping-carbuffetshavetheawfulsecretinEuropeaswellasAmerica，andforaglimpseofthetwilightlandscape。Onegraylittletown，toweredandsteepledandred-roofedwithinitsmediaevalwalls，lookedasifitwouldhavebeenwarmerinsomethingmore。Therewasaheavydew，ifnotalightfrost，overall，andinplacesapalefogbegantoliftfromthelowhills。Thenthesunrosewithoutdispersingthecold，whichwasafterwardssosevereintheirroomattheRussischerHofinFrankfortthatinspiteofthesteam-radiatorstheysatshiveringinalltheirwrapstillbreakfast-time。
Therewasnosteamonintheradiators，ofcourse；whentheyimploredtheportierforatleastalamptowarmtheirhandsbyheturnedonalltheelectriclightswithoutraisingthetemperatureintheslightestdegree。
Amidstthesemoderncomfortstheyweresomiserablethattheyvowedeachothertoshun，aslongastheywereinGermany，oratleastwhilethesummerlasted，allhotelswhichweresteam-heatedandelectric-lighted。
Theyheatedthemselvessomewhatwiththeirwrath，andovertheirbreakfasttheyrelentedsofarastosufferthemselvesacertaininterestinthetroopsofallarmsbeginningtopassthehotel。Theywerefragmentsofthegreatparade，whichhadendedthedaybefore，andtheywerenowdriftingbacktotheirseveralquartersoftheempire。Manyofthemwereverypicturesque，andtheyhadfortheboysandgirlsrunningbeforeandbesidethem，thecharmwhicharmiesandcircusprocessionshaveforchildreneverywhere。Buttheirpassagefilledwithcruelanxietyalargeolddogwhomhismasterhadleftharnessedtoamilk-cartbeforethehoteldoor；fromtimetotimehelifteduphisvoice，andcalledtotheabsenteewithhoarse，deepbarksthatalmostshookhimfromhisfeet。
Thedaycontinuedblueandbrightandcold，andtheMarchesgavethemorningtoarapidsurveyofthecity，gladthatitwasatleastnotwet。
WhatafterwardschieflyremainedtothemwastheimpressionofanoldtownasquaintalmostandasGothicasoldHamburg，andanewtown，handsomeandregular，and，inthesuddenarrestofsomestreets，apparentlyoverbuilt。ThemodernarchitecturaltastewasofcourseParisian；thereisnoothertastefortheGermans；butintheprevailingabsenceofstatuestherewasarelieffromthemostoppressivecharacteristicoftheimperialcapitalwhichwasapositivedelight。
SomesortofmonumenttothenationalvictoryoverFrancetheremusthavebeen；butitmusthavebeenunusuallyinoffensive，foritleftnorecordofitselfinthetravellers’consciousness。Theywereawareofgardenedsquaresandavenues，borderedbystatelydwellings，ofdignifiedcivicedifices，andofavastaridsplendidrailroadstation，suchasthestatebuildseveninminorEuropeancities，butsuchasourpaternalcorporationshavenotyetgivenusanywhereinAmerica。TheywenttotheZoologicalGarden，wheretheyheardthecustomaryKalmucksattheirpublicprayersbehindahighboardfence；andaspilgrimsfromthemostplutrocraticcountryintheworldMarchinsistedthattheymustpaytheirdevoirsattheshrineoftheRothschilds，whosenatalbanking-housetheyreveredfromtheoutside。
