- Strether lets Maria Gostrey know that he and Waymarsh are going to take a train to London. But Maria schedules a train for London earlier in the day, which cleverly makes it look as if the men are following her.
- Maria tells Strether that she's not quite done with him yet. She thinks of him as a project, and she wants to teach him how to enjoy life while he's in Europe.
- Before everyone leaves, Maria, Strether, and Waymarsh take a walk together. During the walk, Strether realizes that he has an enhanced sense of how wonderful the world around him is. Cue musical number.
- He recalls being in Europe when he was younger, but feels like he didn't appreciate it at the time. This causes him to wonder if he has let life pass him by.
- At they walk along, it becomes clear that as Strether enjoys Europe more, Waymarsh enjoys it less.
- Finally, Waymarsh darts away from them and disappears into the doorway of a jewelry shop. Maria asks Strether what's going on, and Strether says that Waymarsh's best way of dealing with discomfort is to spend a bunch of money. Yup, shopping therapy was a thing back then, too.
- Waymarsh eventually comes back out of the shop with a parcel, meaning that he's just bought some sort of jewelry. Strether knows he doesn't want the jewelry itself. He just wanted to feel like he was in control of his life by spending money.
- At this point, Strether mentions to Maria that he has only known her a few hours and has know Waymarsh his whole life. But he feels closer to her. Ready for some drama?
- Maria remarks that Waymarsh is stupid.
- Strether objects and says that Waymarsh is ten times more successful than him.
- Maria reminds him that he's thinking like an American. Success in life isn't about how much money you make or how big your house is, or how much jewelry you can buy to fill up the void in your soul.
- Strether says that Maria seems like a big success because she can enjoy life. Um, zing?
- She reminds him that he has no clue what kind of ambitions she had when she was younger. Which adds to the mystery of the story and the possible dangerousness around Maria, not to mention the whole uncertainty-of-people's motives aspect (which is James' signature, after all).
- As Waymarsh walks alongside them again, Strether and Maria notice that he is finally showing signs of happiness now that he's bought something.