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Isabellookedatherhusbandandhesitated。ThensherepliedintermsthatIamproudtorecordinhonorofAmericanwomanhood:“Youmustn’tfibabout——it，Basil“(heroically)；“Icouldn’trespectyouifyoudid“
(tenderly)；“but“(withdecision)“youmustslipoutofitsomeway！“
TheladiesoftheEllisonparty，towhomsheputthecaseintheparlor，agreedwithherperfectly。TheyalsohaddonealittleshoppinginQuebec，andtheymeanttodomoreatMontrealbeforetheyreturnedtotheStates。Mrs。EllisonwasdisposedtolookuponIsabel’scompunctionsasakindoftreasontothesex，tobeforgivenonlybecausesoquicklyrepented。
TheEllisonsweregoinguptheSaguenaybeforecomingontoBoston，andurgedourfriendshardtogowiththem。“No，thatmustbeforanothertime，“saidIsabel。“Mr。Marchhastobehomebyacertainday；andweshalljustgetbackinseason。“ThenshemadethempromisetospendadaywithherinBoston，andtheColonelcomingtosaythathehadacarriageatthedoorfortheirexcursiontoLorette，thetwopartiesbadegood-bywithaffectionandmanyexplicithopesofmeetingsoonagain。
“Whatdoyouthinkofthem，dearest？“demandedIsabel，asshesalliedoutwithBasilforafinallookatQuebec。
“Theyoungladyisthenicest；andtheotheriswellenough，too。Sheisagooddeallikeyou，butwiththesenseofhumorleftout。You’veonlyenoughtosaveyou。“
“Well，herhusbandisjollyenoughforbothofthem。He’sfunnierthanyou，Basil，andhehasn’tanyofyourlittlelanguidairsandaffectations。Idon’tknowbutI’mabitdisappointedinmychoice，darling；butIdaresayIshallworkoutofit。Infact，Idon’tknowbuttheColonelisalittletoojolly。Thisdrollingeverythingisratherfatiguing。“Andhavingbegun，theydidnotstoptilltheyhadtakentheirfriendstopieces。Dismayed，then，theyhastilyreconstructedthem，andsaidthattheywereamongthepleasantestpeopletheyeverknew，andtheywerereallyverysorrytopartwiththem，andtheyshoulddoeverythingtomakethemhaveagoodtimeinBoston。
TheyweresaunteringtowardsDurhamTerracewheretheyleanedlongupontheironparapetandblestthemselveswiththebeautyoftheprospect。
Atenderhazehunguponthelandscapeandsubduedittillthescenewasasadreambeforethem。Asinadreamtheriverlay，anddream-liketheshippingmovedorrestedonitsdeep，broadbosom。Faroffstretchedthehappyfieldswiththeirdimwhitevillages；fartherstillthemellowheightsmeltedintothelowhoveringheaven。ThetinnedroofsoftheLowerTowntwinkledinthemorningsun；aroundthemoneveryhand，onthatMondayforenoonwhentheStateswerestirringfromoceantooceaninfeverishindustry，drowsedthegraycitywithinherwalls；fromtheflag-
staffofthecitadelhungtheredbannerofSaintGeorgeinsleep。
Theirheartswerestrangelyanddeeplymoved。ItseemedtothemthattheylookeduponthelaststrongholdofthePast，andthatafarofftothesouthwardtheycouldhearthemarchinghostsoftheinvadingPresent；
andasnoyoungandlovingsoulcanrelinquisholdthingswithoutapang，theysighedalongmutefarewelltoQuebec。
Nextsummertheywouldcomeagain，yes；but，ahme’everyoneknowswhatnextsummeris！
PartoftheburlesquetrouperodedownintheomnibustotheGrandTrunkFerrywiththem，andweregood-naturedtothelast，havingshakenhandsallroundwiththewaiters，chambermaids，andportersofthehotel。Theyoungfellowwiththebadamiablefacecameinacalash，andrefusedtooverpaythedriverwithagay
