The Pathetic Fallacy And Commissioner Desai

The pathetic fallacy is the literary pretense that nature reflects human feelings. It rains when a character is sad etc. I quoted some powerful pathetic fallacies from Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series. In The Day Of Their Return, the last passage to feature Chunderban Desai begins:

"Chimes rang from the bell tower of the University. They played the olden peals, but somehow today they sounded at peace."
-Poul Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (New York, 2010), p. 232.

And the passage ends:

"As Desai closed the door behind him, he heard the tadmouse begin singing." (p. 236)

Bells are artificial, not natural, but "...the olden peals..." should sound as before. However, Desai has just helped to prevent a war so the peals sound peaceful to him. The Aenean household pet singing confirms for the reader that, thanks to Desai and others, including the tadmouse's owner, Aeneas will remain at peace.