Thepivotalgirlcameinsight，tiltingandturninginararemomentofisolationatthecornerofthemusic-room，andhebowedabruptly，andhurriedofftojoinher。
　　MissTriscoedidnotlinger；sheallegedthenecessityoflookingupherfather，andwentawaywithasmilesofriendlythatMrs。MarchmighteasilyhaveconstruedittomeanthatnoblameattacheditselftoherinMissTriscoe’smind。
　　“Thenyoudon’tfeelthatitwasaverydistinctsuccess？”herhusbandaskedonhisreturn。
　　“Notonthesurface。”shesaid。
　　“Betterletillenoughalone。”headvised。
　　Shedidnotheedhim。“Allthesameshecaresforhim。Theveryfactthatshewassocoldshowsthat。”
　　“Anddoyouthinkherbeingcoldwillmakehimcareforher？”
　　“Ifshewantsitto。”
　　Atdinnerthatdaythequestionof’TheMaidenKnight’wasdebatedamongthenoisesandsilencesoftheband。YoungMrs。Leffershadbroughtthebooktothetablewithher；shesaidshehadnotbeenabletolayitdownbeforethelasthornsounded；infactshecouldhavebeenseenreadingittoherhusbandwherehesatunderthesameshawl，thewholeafternoon。
　　“Don’tyouthinkit’sperfectlyfascinating。”sheaskedMrs。Adding，withherpettedmouth。
　　“Well。”saidthewidow，doubtfully，“it’snearlyaweeksinceIreadit，andI’vehadtimetogetovertheglow。”
　　“Oh，Icouldjustreaditforever！”thebrideexclaimed。
　　“Ilikeabook。”saidherhusband，“thattakesmeoutofmyself。Idon’twanttothinkwhenI’mreading。”
　　Marchwasgoingtoattackthisideal，buthereflectedintimethatMr。
　　Leffershadreallystatedhisownmotiveinreading。Hecompromised。
　　“Well，Iliketheauthortodomythinkingforme。”
　　“Yes。”saidtheother，“thatiswhatImean。”
　　“Thequestioniswhether’TheMaidenKnight’fellowdoesit。”saidKenby，takingduckandpeasefromthestewardathisshoulder。
　　“Whatmywifelikesinitistoseewhatonewomancandoandbesingle-
　　handed。”saidMarch。
　　“No。”hiswifecorrectedhim，“whatamanthinksshecan。”
　　“Isuppose。”saidMr。Triscoe，unexpectedly，“thatwe’reliketheEnglishinourhabitofgoingoffaboutabooklikeatrainofpowder。”
　　“Ifyou’llsayarowofbricks。”Marchassented，“I’llagreewithyou。
　　It’scertainlyAnglo-Saxontofalloveroneanotheraswedo，whenwegetgoing。Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowjusthowmuchlikingthereisinthepopularityofagivenbook。”
　　“It’sliketherunofasong，isn’tit？”Kenbysuggested。“Youcan’tstandeither，whenitreachesagivenpoint。”
　　HespoketoMarchandignoredTriscoe，whohadhithertoignoredtherestofthetable。
　　“It’sverycurious。”Marchsaid。“Thebookorthesongcatchesamood，orfeedsacraving，andwhenonepassesortheotherisglutted——“
　　“Thediscouragingpartis。”Triscoeputin，stilllimitinghimselftotheMarches，“thatit’sneveraquestionofrealtaste。Thethingsthatgodownwithusaresocrude，socoarselyspiced；theyticklesuchavulgarpalate——NowinFrance，forinstance。”hesuggested。
　　“Well，Idon’tknow。”returnedtheeditor。“Afterall，weeatagooddealofbread，andwedrinkmorepurewaterthananyotherpeople。Evenwhenwedrinkiticed，Ifancyitisn’tsobadasabsinthe。”
　　Theyoungbridelookedathimgratefully，butshesaid，“Ifwecan’tgetice-waterinEurope，Idon’tknowwhatMr。Lefferswilldo。”andthetalkthreatenedtopassamongtheladiesintoacomparisonofAmericanandEuropeancustoms。
　　Burnamycouldnotbeartoletit。“Idon’tpretendtobeverywellupinFrenchliterature。”hebegan，“butIthinksuchabookas’TheMaidenKnight’isn’tsuchabadpieceofwork；peoplearelikingaprettywell-
　　builtstorywhentheylikeit。Ofcourseit’ssentimental，anditbegsthequestionagooddeal；butitimaginessomethingheroicincharacter，anditmakesthereaderimagineittoo。Themanwhowrotethatbookmaybeadonkeyhalfthetime，buthe’sageniustheotherhalf。By-and-byhe’lldosomething——afterhe’scometoseethathis’MaidenKnight’wasafool——thatIbelieveevenyouwon’tbedownon，Mr。March，ifhepaintsaheroictypeaspowerfullyashedoesinthisbook。”
　　Hespokewiththeauthorityofajournalist，andthoughhedeferredtoMarchintheend，hedeferredwithauthoritystill。Marchlikedhimforcomingtothedefenceofayoungwriterwhomhehadnothimselflearnedtolikeyet。“Yes。”hesaid，“ifhehasthepoweryousay，andcankeepitafterhecomestohisartisticconsciousness！”
　　Mrs。Leffers，asifshethoughtthingsweregoingherway，smiled；RoseAddinglistenedwithshiningeyesexpectantlyfixedonMarch；hismotherviewedhisrapturewithtenderamusement。ThestewardwasatKenby’sshoulderwiththesaladandhisentreating“Bleace！”andTriscoeseemedtobequestioningwhetherheshouldtakeanynoticeofBurnamy’sgeneraldisagreement。Hesaidatlast：“I’mafraidwehaven’tthedocuments。
　　Youdon’tseemtohavecaredmuchforFrenchbooks，andIhaven’tread’TheMaidenKnight’。”HeaddedtoMarch：“ButIdon’tdefendabsinthe。
　　Ice-waterisbetter。WhatIobjecttoisourindiscriminatetastebothforrawwhiskey——andformilk-and-water。”
　　Noonetookupthequestionagain，anditwasKenbywhospokenext。
　　“Thedoctorthinks，ifthisweatherholds，thatweshallbeintoPlymouthWednesdaymorning。Ialwaysliketogetaprofessionalopinionontheship’srun。”
　　Intheevening，asMrs。Marchwasputtingawayinherportfoliothejournal-letterwhichshewaswritingtosendbackfromPlymouthtoherchildren，MissTriscoedriftedtotheplacewhereshesatattheirtableinthedining-roombyacoincidencewhichtheybothrespectedascasual。
　　“Wehadquitealiterarydinner。”sheremarked，hoveringforamomentnearthechairwhichshelatersankinto。“Itmusthavemadeyoufeelverymuchathome。Orperhapsyou’resotiredofitathomethatyoudon’ttalkaboutbooks。”
　　“Wealwaystalkshop，insomeformorother。”saidMrs。March。
　　“Myhusbandnevertiresofit。Agoodmanyofthecontributorscometous，youknow。”
　　“Itmustbedelightful。”saidthegirl。Sheaddedasifsheoughttoexcuseherselfforneglectinganadvantagethatmighthavebeenhersifshehadchosen，“I’msorryoneseessolittleoftheartisticandliteraryset。ButNewYorkissuchabigplace。”
　　NewYorkpeopleseemtobeveryfondofit。”saidMrs。March。“Thosewhohavealwayslivedthere。”
　　“Wehaven’talwayslivedthere。”saidthegirl。“ButIthinkonehasagoodtimethere——thebesttimeagirlcanhave。It’sallverywellcomingoverforthesummer；onehastospendthesummersomewhere。Areyougoingoutforalongtime？”
　　“Onlyforthesummer。FirsttoCarlsbad。”
　　“Oh，yes。IsupposeweshalltravelaboutthroughGermany，andthengotoParis。Wealwaysdo；myfatherisveryfondofit。”
　　“Youmustknowitverywell。”saidMrs。March，aimlessly。
　　“Iwasbornthere，——ifthatmeansknowingit。Ilivedthere——tillIwaselevenyearsold。Wecamehomeaftermymotherdied。”
　　“Oh！”saidMrs。March。
　　Thegirldidnotgofurtherintoherfamilyhistory；butbyoneofthoseleapswhichseemtowomenaslogicalasotherprogressions，shearrivedatasking，“IsMr。Burnamyoneofthecontributors？”
　　Mrs。Marchlaughed。“Heisgoingtobe，assoonashispoemisprinted。”
　　“Poem？”
　　“Yes。Mr。Marchthinksit’sverygood。”
　　“Ithoughthespokeverynicelyabout’TheMaidenKnight’。Andhehasbeenverynicetopapa。Youknowtheyhavethesameroom。”
　　“IthinkMr。Burnamytoldme。”Mrs。Marchsaid。
　　Thegirlwenton。“Hehadthelowerberth，andhegaveituptopapa；
　　he’sdoneeverythingbutturnhimselfoutofdoors。”
　　“I’msurehe’sbeenveryglad。”Mrs。MarchventuredonBurnamy’sbehalf，butverysoftly，lestifshebreatheduponthesebuddingconfidencestheyshouldshrinkandwitheraway。