They
were going on a Christmas visit to East Chester deanery. He had been
leaning back, not noticing the passers-by, not attending to the other
inmates of the carriage, probably absorbed in the consideration of some
law case. Such were the casual glimpses Ellinor had of one with whose
life she had once thought herself bound up.
Who so proud as Miss Monro when a foreign letter came? Her correspondent
was not particularly graphic in her descriptions, nor were there any
adventures to be described, nor was the habit of mind of Ellinor such as
to make her clear and definite in her own impressions of what she saw,
and her natural reserve kept her from being fluent in communicating them
even to Miss Monro. But that lady would have been pleased to read aloud
these letters to the assembled dean and canons, and would not have been
surprised if they had invited her to the chapter-house for that purpose.
To her circle of untravelled ladies, ignorant of Murray, but laudably
desirous of information, all Ellinor's historical reminiscences and
rather formal details were really interesting. There was no railroad in
those days between Lyons and Marseilles, so their progress was slow, and
the passage of letters to and fro, when they had arrived in Rome, long
and uncertain. But all seemed going on well. Ellinor spoke of herself
as in better health; and Canon Livingstone (between whom and Miss Monro
great intimacy had sprung up since Ellinor had gone away, and Miss Monro
could ask him to tea) confirmed this report of Miss Wilkins's health from
a letter which he had received from Mrs.
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