第3章

BydaylightBasilandIsabelfoundthemselvesatoppositeendsofthecar，strugglingseverallywiththeproblemofthemorning’stoilet。Whenthecombatwasended，theyweresurprisedatthedecencyoftheirappearance，andIsabelsaid，“IthinkI’mpresentabletoanearlyBroadwaypublic，andI’veafancyfornotgoingtoahotel。Lucywillbeexpectingusouttherebeforenoon；andwecanpassthetimepleasantlyenoughforafewhoursjustwanderingabout。“

Shewasawomanwholovedanycheapdefianceofcustom，andshehadanagreeablesenseofadventureinwhatsheproposed。Besides，shefeltthatnothingcouldbemoreintheunconventionalspiritinwhichtheymeanttomaketheirwholejourneythanastrollaboutNewYorkathalf-

pastsixinthemorning。

“Delightful！“answeredBasil，whowasalwayscharmedwiththesesmalloriginalities。“Youlookwellenoughforaneveningparty；andbesides，youwon’tmeetoneofyourowncriticalclassonBroadwayatthishour。

Wewillbreakfastatoneofthosegildedmetropolitanrestaurants，andthengoroundtoLeonard’s，whowillbeabletogiveusjustthreeunhurriedseconds。Afterthatwe’llpushonouttohisplace。“

Atthatearlyhourtherewerenotmanypeopleastironthewideavenuedownwhichourfriendsstrolledwhentheyleftthestation；butintheaspectofthosetheysawtherewassomethingthattoldofagreaterheatthantheyhadyetknowninBoston，andtheyweresensibleofhavingreachedamoresouthernlatitude。Theair，thoughfreshenedbytheover-

night’sstorm，stillwantedthebrisknessandsparkleandpungencyoftheBostonair，whichisasdeliciousinsummerasitisterribleinwinter；

andthefacesthatshowedthemselvesweresoddenfromtheyesterday’sheatandperspiration。Acorner-grocer，seatedinasortoffiercedespondencyuponakegnearhisshopdoor，hadlightlyequippedhimselfforthestruggleofthedayinthebatteredarmorofthedaybefore，andinapairofroomypantaloons，andabaggyshirtofneutraltint——perhapshehadmadeavownottochangeitwhilstthesiegeofthehotweatherlasted，——nowconfrontedtheadvancingsunlight，beforewhichthelongshadowsofthebuildingswereslowlyretiring。Amarketingmotherofafamilypausedataprovision-store，andlookingweaklyinatthewhite-

apronedbutcheramonghismeatsandflies，passeswithoutanefforttopurchase。Hurriedandweariedshop-girlstrippedbyinthedraperiesthatbetrayedtheirsadnecessitytobebothfineandshabby；fromaboarding-housedoorissuedbrisklyoneofthosecoolyoungNewYorkerswhomnocircumstancescanoppress:breezy-coated，white-livened，clean，withagoodcigarinthemouth，alightcanecaughtupontheelbowofoneofthearmsholdingupthepaperfromwhichthemorning’snewsissnatched，whilstthepersonswayslightlywiththewalk；inthestreet-

carsthatslowlytinkledupanddownwererowsofpeoplewithbasketsbetweentheirlegsandpapersbeforetheirfaces；andallshowedbysomepeculiarityofairordresstheexcessofheatwhichtheyhadalreadyborne，andtowhichtheyseemedtolookforward，andgavebythescantinessoftheirnumberavividimpressionoftheuncountedthousandswithindoorsprolonging，beforetheday’sterrorbegan，theoblivionofsleep。

AstheyturnedintooneofthenumericalstreetstocrosstoBroadway，andfoundthemselvesinayetdeeperseclusion，Basil-begantoutterinamusingtone:

“Acityagainsttheworld’sgrayPrime，Lostinsomedesert，farfromTime，WherenoiselessAgesglidingthrough，Haveonlysiftedsandsanddew，YetstillamarbleheadofmanLyingonallthehauntedplan；

ThepassionsofthehumanheartBeatingthemarblebreastofArt，WerenotmorelonetoonewhofirstUponitsgiantsilenceburst，Thanthisstrangequiet，wherethetideOflife，upheavedoneitheraide，Hangstrembling，readysoontobeatWithhumanwavestheMorningStreet。“

“Howlovely！“saidIsabel，swiftlycatchingatherskirt，anddeftlyescapingcontactwithoneofalongrowofash-barrelspostedsentinel-

likeontheedgeofthepavement。“Whoseisit，Basil？“

“Ah！apoet’s，“answeredherhusband，“amanofwhomweshallonedayanyofusbegladtosaythatwelikedhimbeforehewasfamous。Whatanebuloussweetnessthefirstlineshave，andwhataclear，coollightofday-breakinthelast！“

“Youcouldhavebeenasgoodapoetasthat，Basil，“saidtheever-

personalandconcretely-speakingIsabel，whocouldnotlookatamountainwithoutthinkingwhatBasilmighthavedoneinthatway，ifhehadtried。

“Ono，Icouldn’t，dear。It’sverydifficultbeinganypoetatall，thoughit’seasytobelikeone。ButI’vedonewithit；IbrokewiththeMusethedayyouacceptedme。Shecameintomyoffice，lookingsoshabby，——notunlikeoneofthosepoorshop-girls；andasIwasverywelldressedfromhavingjustbeentoseeyou，why，youknow，Ifeltthedifference。’Well，mydear？’saidI，notquitelikingthelookofreproachshewasgivingme。’Youaregroinstoleaveme，’sheansweredsadly。’Well，yes；IsupposeImust。Youseetheinsurancebusinessisveryabsorbing；andbesides，ithasabadappearance，yourcomingaboutsoinofficehours，andinthoseclothes。’’O，’shemoanedout，’youusedtowelcomemeatalltimes，outinthecountry，andthoughtmeprettilydressed。’’Yes，yes；butthisisBoston；andBostonmakesagreatdifferenceinone’sideas；andI’mgoingtobemarried，too。Come，I

don’twanttoseemungrateful；wehavehadmanypleasanttimestogether，Iownit；andI’venoobjectionstoyourbeingpresentatChristmasandThanksgivingandbirthdays，butreallyImustdrawthelinethere。’Shegavemealookthatmademyheartache，andwentstraighttomydeskandtookoutofapigeonholealotofpapers，——odesuponyourcruelty，Isabel；songstoyou；sonnets，——thesonnet，amightypoorone，I’dmadethedaybefore，——andthrewthemallintothegrate。Thensheturnedtomeagain，signedadieuwithmutelips，andpassedout。Icouldhearthebottomwireofthepoorthing’shoop-skirtclickingagainsteachstepofthestairway，asshewentslowlyandheavilydowntothestreet。“

“Odon’t——don’t，Basil，“saidhiswife，“itseemslikesomethingwrong。

Ithinkyououghttohavebeenashamed。“

“Ashamed！Iwasheartbroken。Butithadtocometothat。AsIgothopefulaboutyou，theMusebecameasadbore；andmorethanonceIfoundmyselfsmilingatherwhenherbackwasturned。TheMusedoesn’tlikebeinglaughedatanymorethananotherwomanwould，andshewouldhaveleftmeshortly。No，Icouldn’tbeapoetlikeourMorning-Streetfriend。Butsee！thehumanwaveisbeginningtosprinklethepavementwithcooksandsecond-girls。“

Theywerefrowzyserving-maidsandsilent；eachsweptdownherowndoorstepsandthepavementinfrontofherownhouse，andthenknockedherbroomonthecurbstoneandvanishedintothehouse，onwhichthehandofchangehadalreadyfallen。Itwasnolongerastreetsolelydevotedtothedomesticgods，buthadbeeninvadedatmorethanonepointbythebustlingdeitiesofbusinessinsuchstreetstheirregular，inspireddoctorsanddoctressescomefirstwithinordinatedoor-plates，thenamillinerfillingtheparlorwindowwithnewbonnets；hereevenapublisherhadhunghissignbesideadoor，throughwhichthefeetofyoungladiesusedtotrip，andthefeetoflittlechildrentopatter。

Hereandtherestoodgroupsofdwellingsunmolestedasyetoutwardly；

buteventhesehadacertaincarewornandguiltyair，asiftheyknewthemselvestobecheapishboarding-housesorfurnishedlodgingsforgentlemen，andweretryingtohideit。Tothesebelongedthefrowzyserving-women；tothesetherowsofash-barrels，inwhichthedecrepitchildrenandmothersofthestreetswereclawingforbitsofcoal。

BythetimeBasilandIsabelreachedBroadwaytherewerealreadysomeomnibusesbeginningtheirlongday’stravelupanddownthehandsome，tiresomelengthofthatavenue；butforthemostpartitwasempty。

Therewas，ofcourse，ahurryoffoot-passengersuponthesidewalks，buttheseweresparseanduncharacteristic，forNewYorkproperwasstillfastasleep。Thewaiterattherestaurantintowhichourfriendssteppedwassowellawareofthis，andsoperfectlyassuredtheywerenotofthecity，thathecouldnotforbearalittlepatronageofthem，whichtheydidnotresent。HebroughtBasilwhathehadorderedinbarbaricabundance，andchargedforitwithbarbaricsplendor。Itisallbutimpossiblenottowishtostandwellwithyourwaiter:Ihavemyselfbeenoftentreatedwithconspicuousrudenessbythetribe，yetIhaveneverbeenabletowithholdthe’douceur’thatmarkedmeforagentlemanintheireyes，andentitledmetotheirdishonorableesteem。Basilwasnotsuperiortothisfolly，andleftthewasterwiththeconvictionthat，ifhewasnotaNewYorker，hewasahigh-bredmanoftheworldatanyrate。

Vexedbyasenseofhisownpitifulness，thismanoftheworldcontinuedhispilgrimagedownBroadway，whicheveninthatdesertstatewasfullofacertaininterest。Troopsoflaborersstraggledalongthepavements，eachwithhisdinner-pailinhand；andinmanyplacestheeternalbuildingupandpullingdownwasalreadygoingon；cartswerestrugglinguptheslopesofvastcellars，withloadsofdistractingrubbish；herestoodthehalf-demolishedwallsofahouse，withasadvarietyofwall-

papershowinginthedifferentrooms；thereclinkedthetroweluponthebrick，yonderthehammeronthestone；overheadswungandthreatenedthemarbleblockthatthederrickwasliftingtoitsplace。Asyettheseforcesofdemolitionandconstructionhadthebusinessofthestreetalmosttothemselves。

“Why，howshabbythestreetis！“saidIsabel，atlast。WhenIlanded，afterbeingabroad，IrememberthatBroadwayimpressedmewithitssplendor。“

“AhIbutyouweremerelycomingfromEuropethen；andnowyouarrivefromBurton，andarecontrastingthispoorBroadwaywithWashingtonStreet。Don’tbeharduponit，Isabel；everystreetcan’tbeaBostonstreet，youknow，“saidBasil。Isabel，herselfaBostonianofgreatintensitybothbybirthandconviction，believedherhusbandtheonlymanabletohavethoroughlybaffledthemalignityofthestarsincausinghimtobebornoutofBoston；yethesometimestrifledwithhishardlyachievedtriumph，andevenshowedanindifferencetoit，withaninsincerityofwhichtherecanbenodoubtwhatever。

“Ostuff！“sheretorted，“asifIhadanyofthatsillylocalpride！

ThoughyouknowwellenoughthatBostonisthebestplaceintheworld。

ButBasil！IsupposeBroadwaystrikesusassofine，oncomingashorefromEurope，becausewehardlyexpectanythingofAmericathen。“

“Well，Idon’tknow。Perhapsthestreethassomepositivegrandeurofitsown，thoughitneedsamultitudeofpeopleinittobringoutitsbesteffects。I’llallowitsdishearteningshabbinessandmeannessinmanyways；buttostandinfrontofGraceChurch，onaclearday，——adayoflateSeptember，say，——andlookdowntheswarminglengthofBroadway，onthemovementandthenumbers，whiletheNiagararoarswelledandswelledfromthosehumanrapids，wasalwayslikestrongnewwinetome。