ThebirthdayoftheEmperorcomesconveniently，inlateAugust，inthegoodweatherwhichisprettysuretofallthen，ifeverintheAustriansummer。Foraweekpast，atCarlsbad，theworkmenhadbeenbuildingascaffoldingfortheilluminationinthewoodsonaheightoverlookingthetown，andmakingunobtrusivepreparationsatpointswithinit。
　　ThedaywasimportantasthelastofMarch’scure，anditspleasuresbeganforhimbyarenewalofhisacquaintanceinitsfirstkindlinesswiththeEltwins。Hehadmetthemsoseldomthatatonetimehethoughttheymusthavegoneaway，butnowafterhisfirstcuphesawthequiet，sadoldpair，sitting，togetheronabenchintheStadtPark，andheaskedleavetositdownwiththemtillitwastimeforthenext。Eltwinsaidthatthiswastheirlastday，too；andexplainedthathiswifealwayscamewithhimtothesprings，whilehetookthewaters。
　　“Well。”heapologized，“we’reallthat’sleft，andIsupposeweliketokeeptogether。”Hepaused，andatthelookinMarch’sfacehesuddenlywenton。“Ihaven’tbeenwellforthreeorfouryears；butIalwaysfoughtagainstcomingouthere，whenthedoctorswantedmeto。IsaidI
　　couldn’tleavehome；and，Idon’tsupposeIevershould。Butmyhomeleftme。”
　　Ashespokehiswifeshranktenderlynearhim，andMarchsawherstealherwitheredhandintohis。
　　“We’dhadalargefamily，butthey’dalldiedoff，withonethingoranother，andhereinthespringwelostourlastdaughter。Seemedperfectlywell，andallatonceshedied；heart-failure，theycalledit。
　　Itbrokemeup，andmother，here，gotatmetogo。Andsowe’rehere。”
　　Hisvoicetrembled；andhiseyessoftened；thentheyflashedup，andMarchheardhimadd，inatonethatastonishedhimlesswhenhelookedroundandsawGeneralTriscoeadvancingtowardthem，“Idon’tknowwhatitisalwaysmakesmewanttokickthatman。”
　　Thegeneralliftedhishattotheirgroup，andhopedthatMrs。Eltwinwaswell，andMajorEltwinbetter。Hedidnotnoticetheirreplies，butsaidtoMarch，“TheladiesarewaitingforyouinPupp’sreadingroom，togowiththemtothePosthofforbreakfast。”
　　“Aren’tyougoing，too？”askedMarch。
　　“No，thankyou。”saidthegeneral，asifitweremuchfinernot；
　　“Ishallbreakfastatourpension。”Hestrolledoffwiththeairofamanwhohasdonemorethanhisduty。
　　“Idon’tsupposeIoughttofeelthatway。”saidEltwin，witharemorsewhichMarchsuspectedareproachfulpressureofhiswife’shandhadpromptedinhim。“Ireckonhemeanswell。”
　　“Well，Idon’tknow。”Marchsaid，withacandorhecouldnotwhollyexcuse。
　　Onhiswaytothehotelhefanciedmockinghiswifeforherinterestintheromanticwoesofherlovers，inaworldwheretherewassuchrealpathosasthesepooroldpeople’s；butinthecompanyofMissTriscoehecouldnotgivehimselfthispleasure。HetriedtoamuseheronthewayfromPupp’s，withthedoubthealwaysfeltinpassingtheCafeSans-
　　Souci，whetherheshouldlivetoreachthePosthofwherehemeanttobreakfast。Shesaid，“PoorMr。March！”andlaughedinattentively；whenhewentontophilosophizethecommonnessofthesparsecompanyalwaysobservableattheSans-SouciasajusteffectofitsLaodiceansituationbetweenPupp’sandthePosthof，thegirlsighedabsently，andhiswifefrownedathim。
　　Theflower-womanatthegateofhergardenhadnowonlyautumnalbloomsforsaleinthevaseswhichflankedtheentrance；thewindrowsoftherowen，leftsteepinginthedewsovernight，exhaledafaintfragrance；apoorremnantofthemidsummermultitudestraileditselfalongtothevariouscafesofthevalley，itspinkpaperbagsofbreadrustlinglikeserefoliageasitmoved。
　　AtthePosthofthe’schone’Lilialonewasasgay，asintheprimeofJuly。Sheplayedarchlyabouttheguestsshewelcomedtoatableinasunnyspotinthegallery。“YouaretiredofCarlsbad？”shesaidcaressinglytoMissTriscoe，assheputherbreakfastbeforeher。
　　“NotofthePosthof。”saidthegirl，listlessly。
　　“Posthof，andverylittleLili？”Sheshowed，withoneforefingeronanother，howverylittleshewas。
　　MissTriscoelaughed，notcheerily，andLilisaidtoMrs。March，withabruptseriousness，“Augustawasfindingahandkerchiefunderthetable，andshewaswashingitandironingitbeforeshedidbringit。Ihavescoldedher，andIhavemadehergiveittome。”
　　Shetookfromunderherapronaman’shandkerchief，whichsheofferedtoMrs。March。Itbore，asshesawMissTriscoesaw，theinitialsL。J。B。
　　But，“Whosecanitbe？”theyaskedeachother。
　　“Why，Burnamy’s。”saidMarch；andLili’seyesdanced。“Giveithere！”
　　Hiswifecaughtitfartheraway。“No，I’mgoingtoseewhoseitis，first；ifit’shis，I’llsendittohimmyself。”
　　Shetriedtoputitintothepocketwhichwasnotinherdressbyslidingitdownherlap；thenshehandedittothegirl，whotookitwithacarelessair，butkeptitafteralikefailuretopocketit。
　　Mrs。MarchhadcomeoutinherIndia-rubbersandals，butforonceinCarlsbadtheweatherwastoodryforthem，andshehadtakenthemoffandwasholdingtheminherlap。Theyfelltothegroundwhenshenowrosefrombreakfast，andshestoopedtopickthemup。MissTriscoewastooquickforher。
　　“Oh，letmecarrythemforyou！”sheentreated，andafteratenderstruggleshesucceedinenslavingherselftothem，andwentawaywearingthemthroughtheheel-bandslikemanaclesonherwrist。Shewasnotthekindofgirltooffersuchprettydevotions，andMrs。Marchwasnotthekindofwomantosufferthem；buttheyplayedthecomedythrough，andletMarchgooffforhislasthill-climbwiththepromisetomeethimintheStadtParkwhenhecametotheKurhausforhislastmineralbath。
　　Mrs。Marchinthemeantimewentaboutsomefinalshopping，andinvitedthegirl’sadvicewithafondnesswhichdidnotpreventherrejectingitineverycase，withMissTriscoe’seagerapproval。IntheStadtParktheysatdownandtalked；fromtimetotimeMrs。Marchmadepolitefeintsofrecoveringhersandals，butthegirlkeptthemwithincreasedeffusion。
　　Whentheyrose，andstrolledawayfromthebenchwheretheyhadbeensitting，theyseemedtobefollowed。Theylookedroundandsawnoonemorealarmingthanaverysevere-lookingoldgentleman，whosehatbriminspiteofhisseveritywaslimpwithmuchlifting，asallAustrianhatbrimsare。Hetouchedit，andsayinghaughtilyinGerman，“Somethingleftlying。”passedon。
　　Theystaredateachother；then，aswomendo，theyglanceddownattheirskirtstoseeiftherewasanythingamisswiththem，andMissTriscoeperceivedherhandsemptyofMrs。March’ssandalsandofBurnamy’shandkerchief。
　　“Oh，Iputitinoneofthetoes！”shelamented，andshefledbacktotheirbench，alarminginhercoursethefearsofagendarmeforthepublicsecurity，andputtingababyinitsnurse’sarmsintosuchdoubtsofitspersonalsafetythatitburstintoadesolatecry。ShelaughedbreathlesslyassherejoinedMrs。March。“Thatcomesofhavingnopocket；Ididn’tsupposeIcouldforgetyoursandals，Mrs。March！Wasn’titabsurd？”
　　“It’soneofthosethings。”Mrs。Marchsaidtoherhusbandafterwards，“thattheycanalwayslaughovertogether。”
　　“They？AndwhataboutBurnamy’sbehaviortoStoller？”
　　“Oh，Idon’tcallthatanythingbutwhatwillcomeright。Ofcoursehecanmakeituptohimsomehow。AndIregardhisrefusaltodowrongwhenStollerwantedhimtoasquitewipingoutthefirstoffence。”
　　“Well，mydear，youhaveburntyourshipsbehindyou。Myonlyhopeisthatwhenweleaveheretomorrow，herpessimisticpapa’spoisonwillneutralizeyourssomehow。”
　　OneofthepleasantestincidentsofMarch’ssojourninCarlsbadwashisintroductiontothemanagerofthemunicipaltheatrebyacommonfriendwhoexplainedtheeditorinsuchtermstothemanagerthatheconceivedofhimasabrotherartist。ThisledtomuchbowingandsmilingfromthemanagerwhentheMarchesmethiminthestreet，orintheirfrequentvisitstothetheatre，withwhichMarchfeltthatitmightwellhaveended，andstillbeenfarbeyondhisdesert。HehadnotthoughtofgoingtotheoperaontheEmperor’sbirthnight，butafterdinneraboxcamefromthemanager，andMrs。Marchagreedwithhimthattheycouldnotindecencyacceptsogreatafavor。Atthesametimeshearguedthattheycouldnotindecencyrefuseit，andthattoshowtheirsenseofthepleasuredonethem，theymustadorntheirboxwithallthebeautyanddistinctionpossible；inotherwords，shesaidtheymustaskMissTriscoeandherfather。
　　“AndwhynotMajorEltwinandhiswife？OrMrs。AddingandRose？”
　　Shebeggedhim，simplyinhisowninterest，nottobefoolish；andtheywentearly，soastobeintheirboxwhentheirguestscame。Thefoyerofthetheatrewasbankedwithflowers，andagainstacurtainofevergreensstoodahigh-pedestalledbustofthepaternalCaesar，withwhoseside-whiskersalaurelcrowncomporteditselfaswellasitcould。
　　Atthefootofthegrandstaircaseleadingtotheboxesthemanagerstoodineveningdress，receivinghisfriendsandtheirfelicitationsuponthehonorwhichthetheatrewassuretodoitselfonanoccasionsoaugust。
　　TheMarchesweresocordialintheirpropheciesthatthemanageryieldedtoanartist’simpulseandbeggedhisfellow-artisttodohimthepleasureofcomingbehindthescenesbetweentheactsoftheopera；hebowedaheart-feltregrettoMrs。Marchthathecouldnotmaketheinvitationincludeher，andhopedthatshewouldnotbetoolonelywhileherhusbandwasgone。
　　Sheexplainedthattheyhadaskedfriends，andsheshouldnotbealone，andthenheentreatedMarchtobringanygentlemanwhowashisguestwithhim。Onthewayuptotheirbox，shepressedhisarmassheusedintheiryoungmarrieddays，andaskedhimifitwasnotperfect。“Iwishweweregoingtohaveitalltoourselves；nooneelsecanappreciatethewholesituation。DoyouthinkwehavemadeamistakeinhavingtheTriscoes？”
　　“We！”beretorted。“Oh，that’sgood！I’mgoingtoshirkhim，whenitcomestogoingbehindthescenes。”
　　“No，no，dearest。”sheentreated。“Snubbingwillonlymakeitworse。Wemuststandittothebitterend，now。”
　　ThecurtainroseuponanotherlaurelledbustoftheEmperor，withachorusofmenformedoneitherside，whobrokeintothegraveandnoblestrainsoftheAustrianHymn，whileeveryonestood。Thenthecurtainfellagain，andintheintervalbeforetheoperacouldbegin，GeneralTriscoeandhisdaughtercamein。
　　Mrs。Marchtookthesplendorinwhichthegirlappearedasatributetoherhospitality。ShehadhithertobeenalittledisappointedoftheopenhomagetoAmericangirlhoodwhichherreadingsofinternationalromancehadtaughthertoexpectinEurope，butnowherpatrioticvanityfeastedfull。FathighhotesofherownsexlevelledtheirlorgnettesatMissTriscoeallaroundthehorseshoe，withcriticalglanceswhichfellbluntedfromhercomplexionandcostume；thehousewasbrilliantwiththemilitaryuniforms，whichwehavenotyettominglewithourunrivalledmillinery，andtheardentgazeoftheyoungofficersdweltontheperfectmouldofhergirlisharmsandneck，andthewinninglinesofherface。