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。
