whose
society I chose to pass much of my time. What sights he saw; what
unlikely corners he sought out because some poet had been born, or
died, or drunk wine there; what streets he roamed: I am sure I never
could tell. I know that all the time he kept eyes alert for a certain
face, ears keen for a certain name; but neither in the streets, nor at
the shops, nor in the parks, nor at the play, did he catch a glimpse
of Margaret; nor in the coffee-house, or tavern, or gaming-place, or
in the region of the clubs, did he hear a chance mention of the name
of Falconer. And so, presently, we set about making the tour he had
spoken of.

There was a poor family of Long Island loyalists named Doughty, that
had settled in the seacoast town of Hastings in Sussex, in order that
they might follow the fisheries, which had been their means of
livelihood at home. Considering that a short residence in the more
mild and sunny climate of the Channel might be a pleasant change for
my mother, and not disagreeable to Fanny, we arranged that, during the
absence of Phil and me, we should close our cottage, and the ladies
should board with these worthy though humble people, who would afford
them all needful masculine protection. Having seen them comfortably
established, we set forth upon our travels.

We visited the principal towns and historic places of England and
Scotland, Philip having a particular interest in Northamptonshire,
where his father's line sprang from (Sir Ralph Winwood having been a
worthy of some eminence in the reigns of Elizabeth and James),[10] and
in Edinburgh, the native place of his mother. Cathedrals, churches,
universities, castles, tombs of great folk, battle-fields--'twould
fill a book to describe all the things and places we saw; most of
which Phil knew more about than the people did who dwelt by them. From
England we crossed to France, spent a fortnight in Paris, went to
Rheims, thence to Strasburg, thence to Frankfort; came down the Rhine,
and passed through parts of Belgium and Holland before taking vessel
at Amsterdam for London. "I must leave Italy, the other German states,
and the rest till another time," said Philip. It seemed as if we had
been gone years instead of months, when at last we were all home again
in our cottage at Hampstead.

After my marriage, though Mr. Faringfield's handsome settlement would
have enabled Fanny and me to live far more pretentiously, we were
content to remain in the Hampstead