Fanny looked round the small luxurious apartment with a feeling of bewilderment. The last half hour seemed like a dream. She had again heard kind words, again been treated with affection. It was not much, but her heart bounded with enjoyment.
Two hours passed rapidly away, and soon after Miss Elphinstone appeared, accompanied by her maid bringing in a tray of refreshments:
"You see, I have taken care you shall not be starved. Now, take a sandwich and some jelly, while Fanchette undresses me with all possible rapidity."
The two friends were soon seated over the fire, and each began their mutual history. Miss Elphinstone's had been one unbroken course of prosperity. Her father had come to Europe to recover his health, she had joined him within six months of Fanny's leaving school in the south of France. There and at Paris she had remained, till the last twelve-month. "Ever since we came to England—I can safely say, you
