disportment

A growing racket jerked him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see a group of three youths coming toward him, joking and shoving each other in lighthearted disportment.

Though largely a happy fantasy of glittering lagoons and a stylish populace whose orderly disportment anticipates Georges Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grand Jatte" - more than 220 figures are seen, including a hungry dog scavenging a lunch basket - it does not shirk from reality.