The Ambassadors Book Second Chapter 2

In which Mr. Strether arrives in Paris and, after an initial flurry of restless exploration and thoughtful meditation in the Luxembourg Gardens, begins to reckon with the weight of his past, the earnest but complicated nature of his current task, and the delicate balance of youthful promise and worldly experience surrounding his acquaintance. Amid reflections on letters from home, the vivid life of the city, and his somewhat solitary position, he quietly observes from a distance those entwined in his mission, stepping deliberately into a campaign neither wholly familiar nor entirely under his control.