“CouldyoutoLiverpool？”hereturned。
“ToLiverpool？”shegasped。“Whatdoyoumean？”
“MerelythattheCupaniaissailingonthetwentieth，andI’vetelegraphedtoknowifwecangetaroom。I’mafraiditwon’tbeagoodone，butshe’sthefirstboatout，and——“
“No，indeed，wewon’tgotoLiverpool，andwewillnevergohometillyou’vehadyourafter-cureinHolland。”Shewasveryfirminthis，butsheadded，“Wewillstayanothernight，here，andgototheHaguetomorrow。Sitdown，andletustalkitover。Wherewerewe？”
Shelaydownonthesofa，andheputashawloverher。“WewerejuststartingforLiverpool。”
“No，noweweren’t！Don’tsaysuchthings，dearest！Iwantyoutohelpmesumitall，up。Youthinkit’sbeenasuccess，don’tyou？”
“Asacure？”
“No，asasilverweddingjourney？”
“Perfectlyhowling。”
“Idothinkwe’vehadagoodtime。Ineverexpectedtoenjoymyselfsomuchagainintheworld。Ididn’tsupposeIshouldevertakesomuchinterestinanything。Itshowsthatwhenwechoosetogetoutofourrutweshallalwaysfindlifeasfreshanddelightfulasever。Thereisnothingtopreventourcominganyyear，nowthatTom’sshownhimselfsocapable，andhavinganothersilverweddingjourney。Idon’tliketothinkofit’sbeingconfinedtoGermanyquite。”
“Oh，Idon’tknow。WecanalwaystalkofitasourGerman-SilverWeddingJourney。”
“That’strue。ButnobodywouldunderstandnowadayswhatyoumeantbyGerman-silver；it’sperfectlygoneout。Howuglyitwas！Asortofgreasyyellowishstuff，alwaysgettingwornthrough；Ibelieveitwasmadewornthrough。AuntMaryhadacastorofit，thatIcanrememberwhenIwasachild；itwentintothekitchenlongbeforeIgrewup。
WouldajokelikethatconsoleyouforthelossofItaly？”
“Itwouldgofartodoit。AndasaGerman-SilverWeddingJourney，it’scertainlybeenverycomplete。”
“Whatdoyoumean？”
“It’sgivenusarepresentativevarietyofGermancities。FirstwehadHamburg，youknow，agreatmoderncommercialcentre。”
“Yes！Goon！”
“ThenwehadLeipsic，theacademic。”
“Yes！”
“ThenCarlsbad，thesupremetypeofaGermanhealthresort；thenNuremberg，themediaeval；thenAnspach，theextinctprincelycapital；
thenWurzburg，theecclesiasticalrococo；thenWeimar，fortheliteratureofagreatepoch；thenimperialBerlin；thenFrankfort，thememoryoftheoldfreecity；thenDusseldorf，thecentreofthemostpoignantpersonalinterestintheworld——Idon’tseehowwecouldhavedonebetter，ifwe’dplanneditall，andnotactedfromsuccessiveimpulses。”
“It’sbeengrand；it’sbeenperfect！AsGerman-SilverWeddingJourneyit’sperfect——itseemsasifithadbeenordered！ButIwillneverletyougiveupHolland！No，wewillgothisafternoon，andwhenIgettoSchevleningen，I’llgotobed，andstaythere，tillyou’vecompletedyourafter-cure。”
“Doyouthinkthatwillbewildlygayfortheconvalescent？”
Shesuddenlybegantocry。“Oh，dearest，whatshallwedo？Ifeelperfectlybrokendown。I’mafraidI’mgoingtobesick——andawayfromhome！Howcouldyoueverletmeoverdo，so？”Sheputherhandkerchieftohereyes，andturnedherfaceintothesofapillow。
Thiswasratherharduponhim，whomhervividenergyandinextinguishableinteresthadnotpermittedamoment’srespitefrompleasuresincetheyleftCarlsbad。Buthehadbeenmarried，toolongnottounderstandthatherblameofhimwasonlyaformofself-reproachforherownself-
forgetfulness。Shehadnotrememberedthatshewasnolongeryoungtillshehadcometowhathesawwasanervouscollapse。Thefacthaditspathosanditspoetrywhichnoonecouldhavefeltmorekeenlythanhe。
Ifitalsohaditsinconvenienceanditsdangerherealizedthesetoo。
“Isabel。”hesaid，“wearegoinghome。”
“Verywell，thenitwillbeyourdoing。”
“Quite。DoyouthinkyoucouldstanditasfarasCologne？Wegetthesleeping-carthere，andyoucanliedowntherestofthewaytoOstend。”
“Thisafternoon？WhyI’mperfectlystrong；it’smerelymynervesthataregone。”Shesatup，andwipedhereyes。“ButBasil！Ifyou’redoingthisforme——“
“I’mdoingitformyself。”saidMarch，ashewentoutoftheroom。
Shestoodthejourneyperfectlywell，andinthepassagetoDovershesufferedsolittlefromtheroughweatherthatshewasanexampletomanyrobustmatronswhofilledtheladies’cabinwiththenoiseoftheiranguishduringthenight。ShewouldhaveinsistedupontakingthefirsttrainuptoLondon，ifMarchhadnotrepresentedthatthiswouldnotexpeditethesailingoftheCupania，andthatshemightaswellstaytheforenoonattheconvenientrailwayhotel，andrest。Itwasnotquitehisidealofreposethatthefirstpeopletheysawinthecoffee-roomwhentheywenttobreakfastshouldbeKenbyandRoseAdding，whowerehavingtheirteaandtoastandeggstogetherinthegreatestapparentgood-
fellowship。Hesawhiswifeshrinkbackinvoluntarilyfromtheencounter，butthiswasonlytogatherforceforit；andthenextmomentshewasupontheminallthejoyofthesurprise。ThenMarchallowedhimselftobeasgladastheothersbothseemed，andheshookhandswithKenbywhilehiswifekissedRose；andtheyalltalkedatonce。IntheconfusionoftonguesitwaspresentlyintelligiblethatMrs。Kenbywasgoingtobedowninafewminutes；andKenbytookMarchintohisconfidencewithasmilewhichwas，almostawinkinexplainingthatheknewhowitwaswiththeladies。HesaidthatRoseandheusuallygotdowntobreakfastfirst，andwhenhehadlistenedinattentivelytoMrs。
March’sapologyforbeingonherwayhome，hetoldherthatshewasluckynottohavegonetoSchevleningen，wheresheandMarchwouldhavefrozentodeath。HesaidthattheyweregoingtospendSeptemberatalittleplaceontheEnglishcoast，nearby，wherehehadbeenthedaybeforewithRosetolookatlodgings，andwhereyoucouldbatheallthroughthemonth。HewasnotsurprisedthattheMarchesweregoinghome，andsaid，Well，thatwastheiroriginalplan，wasn’tit？
Mrs。Kenby，appearinguponthis，pretendedtoknowbetter，aftertheoutburstofjoyfulgreetingwiththeMarches；andintelligentlyremindedKenbythatheknewtheMarcheshadintendedtopassthewinterinParis。
Shewaslookingextremelypretty，butshewishedonlytomakethemseehowwellRosewaslooking，andsheputherarmroundhisshouldersasshespoke，Schevleningenhaddonewondersforhim，butitwasfearfullycoldthere，andnowtheywereexpectingeverythingfromWestgate，wheresheadvisedMarchtocome，too，forhisafter-cure：sherecollectedintimetosay，Sheforgottheywereontheirwayhome。Sheaddedthatshedidnotknowwhensheshouldreturn；shewasmerelyapassenger，now；shelefteverythingtothemenofthefamily。Shehad，infact，theairofhavingthrownoffeveryresponsibility，butinsupremacy，notsubmission。
ShewasalwaysorderingKenbyabout；shesenthimforherhandkerchief，andherringswhichshehadlefteitherinthetrayofhertrunk，oronthepin-cushion，oronthewash-standorsomewhere，andforbadehimtocomebackwithoutthem。Heaskedforherkeys，andthenwithajoyfulscreamsheownedthatshehadleftthedoor-keyinthedoorandthewholebunchoftrunk-keysinhertrunk；andKenbytreateditallasthegreatestjoke；Rose，too，seemedtothinkthatKenbywouldmakeeverythingcomeright，andhehadlostthatlookofanxietywhichheusedtohave；atthemostheshowedafriendlysympathyforKenby，forwhosesakeheseemedmortifiedather。HewasunabletoregardhismotherasthedelightfuljokewhichsheappearedtoKenby，butthatwasmerelytemperamental；andhewasneverdistressedexceptwhenshebehavedwithunreasonablecapriceatKenby’scost。
AsforKenbyhimselfhebetrayednodissatisfactionwithhisfatetoMarch。HeperhapsnolongerregardedhiswifeasthatstrongcharacterwhichhehadsometimesweariedMarchbycelebrating；butshewasstillthemostbrilliantintelligence，andhercharmseemedonlytohavegrownwithhisperceptionofitswilfullimitations。Hedidnotwanttotalkabouthersomuch；hewantedrathertotalkaboutRose，hishealth，hiseducation，hisnature，andwhatwasbesttodoforhim。ThetwowereontermsofaconfidenceandaffectionwhichperpetuallyamusedMrs。Kenby，butwhichleftthesympatheticwitnessnothingtodesireintheirrelation。
