Rip had but one question more to ask; but he put it with a faltering voice: —
"where’s your mother? "
"oh, she too had died but a short time since; she broke a blood vessel in a fit of passion at a new england peddler."
there was a drop of comfort, at least, in this intelligence.

in this excerpt from “rip van winkle,” the reader can infer that rip is by the news of his wife’s death.

confused
relieved
unmoved
upset