Chapter 27 Summary

Nathaniel calls on Mattie every day for a week, and the nightly frost continues. As word of the winter season spreads into the countryside, more and more people flock back to Philadelphia. Mattie feels as if those returning are intruding upon a solemn event. She visits the graveyard where her grandfather is buried but is unable to determine the exact location of his grave. Mattie writes and mails several letters inquiring about her mother, but postal service is not yet functioning routinely.

One day Eliza makes a thanksgiving feast and Mattie, Robert, Nathaniel, the children, and some other friends attend the dinner. The table talk centers on what will happen in the future, and speculation about Eliza and Mattie's future employment becomes the focus. Mattie ends the speculation by announcing that she intends to retain the coffeehouse and continue operating it as a...