Shehadbeensmiling。nowshewasveryserious。
Forgiveme，Albert，shesaid。Wehavebeenjoking，youandI，buttherewasatimewhenwe——whenyourfriendsdidnotjoke。Oh，Albert，ifyoucouldhaveseentheSnowplaceasIsawitthen。Itwasasifallthehopeandjoyandeverythingworthwhilehadbeencrushedoutofit。Yourgrandmother，poorlittlewoman，wasbraveandquiet，butweallknewshewastryingtokeepupforCaptainZelotes’sake。Andhe——Albert，youcanscarcelyimaginehowthenewsofyourdeathchangedhim……Ah！well，itwasahardtime，adreadfultimefor——foreveryone。
Shepausedandhe，turningtolookather，sawthatthereweretearsinhereyes。Heknewofheraffectionforhisgrandparentsandtheirsforher。Beforehecouldspeakshewassmilingagain。
Butnowthatisallover，isn’tit？shesaid。AndtheSnowsarethehappiestpeopleinthecountry，Idobelieve。ANDtheproudest，ofcourse。Sonowyoumusttellmeallaboutit，aboutyourexperiences，andaboutyourwarcross，andaboutyourliterarywork——oh，abouteverything。
Theall-inclusivenarrativewasnotdestinedtogetveryfar。OldMr。Kendallcamehurryingin，thesermononthecastingdownofBaalinhishand。Thereafterheled，guided，andtoalargeextentmonopolizedtheconversation。HisdiscoursehadproceededperhapsasfarasThirdlywhenAlbert，lookingathiswatch，wassurprisedtofinditalmostdinnertime。Mr。Kendall，stilltalking，departedtohisstudytohuntforanothersermon。Theyoungpeoplesaidgood-byinhisabsence。