“DoyouthinkIwastooexactinginwantinghimtotellmeeverythingafterwewereengaged？”
“No，Idon’tsaythat。Butsupposehehadputitofftillyouweremarried？”Agathablushedalittle，butnotpainfully，“Wouldithavebeensobad？Thenyoumighthavethoughtthathisflirtinguptothelastmomentinhisdesperationwasaverygoodjoke。Youwouldhaveunderstoodbetterjusthowitwas，anditmightevenhavemadeyoufonderofhim。Youmighthaveseenthathehadflirtedwithsomeoneelsebecausehewassoheart-brokenaboutyou。”
“ThenyoubelievethatifIcouldhavewaitedtill——till——butwhenIhadfoundout，don’tyouseeIcouldn’twait？ItwouldhavebeenallverywellifIhadn’tknownittillthen。ButasIdidknowit。Don’tyousee？”
“Yes，thatcertainlycomplicatedit。”Mrs。Marchadmitted。“ButIdon’tthink，ifhe’dbeenafalsenature，he’dhaveownedupashedid。Yousee，hedidn’ttrytodenyit；andthat’sagreatpointgained。”
“Yes，thatistrue。”saidAgatha，withconviction。“Isawthatafterwards。Butyoudon’tthink，Mrs。March，thatIwasunjustor——orhasty？”
“No，indeed！Youcouldn’thavedonedifferentlyunderthecircumstances。
Youmaybesurehefeltthat——heissounselfishandgenerous——“Agathabegantoweepintoherhandkerchiefagain；Mrs。Marchcaressedherhand。
“Anditwillcertainlycomerightifyoufeelasyoudo。”
“No。”thegirlprotested。“Hecanneverforgiveme；it’sallover，everythingisover。Itwouldmakeverylittledifferencetome，whathappenednow——ifthesteamerbrokehershaft，oranything。ButifIcanonlybelieveIwasn’tunjust——“
Mrs。Marchassuredheroncemorethatshehadbehavedwithabsoluteimpartiality；andsheprovedtoherbyaprocessofreasoningquiteirrefragablethatitwasonlyaquestionoftime，withwhichplacehadnothingtodo，whensheandBurnamyshouldcometogetheragain，andallshouldbemaderightbetweenthem。Thefactthatshedidnotknowwherehewas，anymorethanMrs。Marchherself，hadnothingtodowiththeresult；thatwasameredetail，whichwouldsettleitself。Sheclinchedherargumentbyconfessingthatherownengagementhadbeenbrokenoff，andthatithadsimplyreneweditself。Allyouhadtodowastokeepwillingit，andwaiting。Therewassomethingverymysteriousinit。
“Andhowlongwasittill——“Agathafaltered。
“Well，inoureaseitwastwoyears。”
“Oh！”saidthegirl，butMrs。Marchhastenedtoreassureher。
“Butourcasewasverypeculiar。Icouldseeafterwardsthatitneedn’thavebeentwomonths，ifIhadbeenwillingtoacknowledgeatoncethatI
wasinthewrong。Iwaitedtillwemet。”
“IfIfeltthatIwasinthewrong，Ishouldwrite。”saidAgatha。
“Ishouldn’tcarewhathethoughtofmydoingit。”
“Yes，thegreatthingistomakesurethatyouwerewrong。”
Theyremainedtalkingsolong，thatMarchandthegeneralhadexhaustedallthetopicsofcommoninterest，andhadevengonethroughthosetheydidnotcarefor。Atlastthegeneralsaid，“I’mafraidmydaughterwilltireMrs。March。”
“Oh，Idon’tthinkshe’lltiremywife。Butdoyouwanther？”
“Well，whenyou’regoingdown。”
“IthinkI’lltakeaturnaboutthedeck，andstartmycirculation。”saidMarch，andhedidsobeforehewentbelow。
Hefoundhiswifeupanddressed，andwaitingprovisionallyonthesofa。
“IthoughtImightaswellgotolunch。”shesaid，andthenshetoldhimaboutAgathaandBurnamy，andthemeansshehademployedtocomfortandencouragethegirl。“Andnow，dearest，IwantyoutofindoutwhereBurnamyis，andgivehimahint。Youwill，won’tyou！Ifyoucouldhaveseenhowunhappyshewas！”
“Idon’tthinkIshouldhavecared，andI’mcertainlynotgoingtomeddle。IthinkBurnamyhasgotnomorethanhedeserved，andthathe’swellridofher。Ican’timagineabrokenengagementthatwouldmorecompletelymeetmyapproval。Asthecasestands，theyhavemyblessing。”
“Don’tsaythat，dearest！Youknowyoudon’tmeanit。”
“Ido；andIadviseyoutokeepyourhandsoff。You’vedoneallandmorethanyououghttopropitiateMissTriscoe。You’veofferedyourselfup，andyou’veofferedmeup——“
“No，no，Basil！Imerelyusedyouasanillustrationofwhatmenwere——
thebestofthem。”
“AndIcan’tobserve。”hecontinued，“thatanyoneelsehasbeenconsideredinthematter。IsMissTriscoethesolesuffererbyBurnamy’sflirtation？Whatisthematterwithalittlecompassionforthepivotalgirl？”
“Now，youknowyou’renotserious。”saidhiswife；andthoughhewouldnotadmitthis，hecouldnotbeseriouslysorryforthenewinterestwhichshetookintheaffair。Therewasnolongeranyquestionofchangingtheirstate-room。Underthetonicinfluenceoftheexcitementshedidnotgobacktoherberthafterlunch，andshewasuplaterafterdinnerthanhecouldhaveadvised。ShewasabsorbedinAgatha，butinherliberationfromherhypochondria，shebeganalsotomakeacomparativestudyoftheAmericanswells，inthelightofherlateexperiencewiththeGermanhighhotes。Itistruethatnoneoftheswellsgavehertheopportunityofexaminingthematcloserange，asthehighhoteshaddone。Theykepttotheir，state-roomsmostly，where，afterhethoughtshecouldbearit，Marchtoldherhownearhehadcometomakinghertheirequalbyanoutlayofsixhundreddollars。Shenowshudderedatthethought；butshecontendedthatintheirmagnificentexclusivenesstheycouldgivepointstoEuropeanprinces；andthatthisshowedagainhowwhenAmericansdidtrytodoathing，theybeattheworld。AgathaTriscoeknewwhotheywere，butshedidnotknowthem；
theybelongedtoanotherkindofset；shespokeofthemas“richpeople。”
andsheseemedcontenttokeepawayfromthemwithMrs。Marchandwiththeshy，silentoldwifeofMajorEltwin，towhomMarchsometimesfoundhertalking。
HeneverfoundherfathertalkingwithMajorEltwin。GeneralTriscoehadhisownfriendsinthesmoking-room，whereheheldforthinacertaincorneronthechancesoftheapproachingelectioninNewYork，andmockedtheirincredulitywhenheprophesiedthesuccessofTammanyandthereturnoftheKing。MarchhimselfmuchpreferredMajorEltwintothegeneralandhisfriends；helivedbackinthetalkoftheOhioanintohisownyoungeryearsinIndiana，andhewasamusedandtouchedtofindhowmuchthemid-Westernlifeseemedstillthesameashehadknown。Theconditionshadchanged，butnotsomuchastheyhadchangedintheEastandthefartherWest。Thepicturethatthemajordrewoftheminhisownregionwasalluring；itmadeMarchhomesick；thoughheknewthatheshouldnevergobacktohisnativesection。Therewasthecomfortofkindinthemajor；andhehadaveinofphilosophy，sparebutsweet，whichMarchliked；helikedalsothemeeknesswhichhadcomethroughsorrowuponaspiritwhichhadoncebeenproud。
Theyhadboththeelderlyman’shabitofearlyrising，andtheyusuallyfoundthemselvestogetherwaitingimpatientlyforthecupofcoffee，ingenuouslybad，whichtheyservedontheCupanianotearlierthanhalfpastsix，instrictobservanceofaruleofthelinediscouragingtopeopleoftheirhabits。Marchadmiredthevilenessofthedecoction，whichhesaidcouldnotbegotanywhereoutoftheBritishEmpire，andheaskedEltwinthefirstmorningifhehadnoticedhowinstantlyontheChannelboattheyhaddroppedtoitandtothesour，heavy，soddenBritishbread，fromthespiritedandairyContinentaltraditionofcoffeeandrolls。
Themajorconfessedthathewasnogreathandtonoticesuchthings，andhesaidhesupposedthatifthelinehadneverlostapassenger，andgotyoutoNewYorkinsixdaysithadarighttofeedyouasitpleased；hesurmisedthatiftheycouldgettheirairingoutsidebeforetheytooktheircoffee，itwouldgivethecoffeeachancetotastebetter；andthiswaswhattheyafterwardsdid。Theymet，wellbuttonedandwellminedup，onthepromenadewhenitwasyetsoearlythattheywerenotatoncesureofeachotherinthetwilight，andwatchedthemorningplanetspaleeastandwestbeforethesunrose。Sometimestherewerenopalingplanetsandnorisingsun，andablacksea，ridgedwithwhite，tossedunderalowdarkskywithdimrifts。
Onemorning，theysawthesunrisewithaserenityandmajestywhichitrarelyhasoutsideofthetheatre。Thedawnbeganoverthatseawhichwasliketherumpledcanvasimitationsoftheseaonthestage，underlongmauvecloudsbathedinsolemnlight。Abovethese，inthepaletendersky，twosilverstarshung，andthesteamer’ssmokedriftedacrossthemlikeathinduskyveil。Totherightabankofduncloudbegantoburncrimson，andtoburnbrightertillitwaslikealowhill-sidefullofgorgeousrugositiesfleecedwithadensedwarfishgrowthofautumnalshrubs。Thewholeeasternheavensoftenedandflushedthroughdiaphanousmists；thewestremainedalividmystery。Theeasternmassesandflakesofcloudbegantokindlekeenly；butthestarsshoneclearly，andthenonestar，tillthetawnypinkhidit。Allthezenithreddened，butstillthesundidnotshowexceptinthecolorofthebrilliantclouds。Atlasttheluridhorizonbegantoburnlikeaflame-shotsmoke，andafiercelybrightdiscedgepierceditslevel，andswiftlydefineditselfasthesun’sorb。
ManythoughtswentthroughMarch’smind；someofthemweresad，butinsometherewasatouchofhopefulness。Itmighthavebeenthatbeautywhichconsoledhimforhisyears；somehowhefelthimself，ifnolongeryoung，apartoftheyoungimmortalframeofthings。Hisstatewasindefinable，buthelongedtohintatittohiscompanion。
“Yes。”saidEltwin，withalongdeepsigh。“IfeelasifIcouldwalkoutthroughthatbrightnessandfindher。Ireckonthatsuchhopeswouldn’tbeallowedtolietous；thatsomanyagesofmencouldn’thavefooledthemselvesso。I’mgladI’veseenthis。”Hewassilentandtheybothremainedwatchingtherisingsuntilltheycouldnotbearitssplendor。“Now。”saidthemajor，“itmustbetimeforthatmud，asyoucallit。”Overtheircoffeeandcrackersattheendofthetablewhichtheyhadtothemselves，heresumed。“Iwasthinkingallthetime——
weseemtothinkhalfadozenthingsatonce，andthiswasoneofthem
