truggling at that wild pitch of excitement which may so soon turn
into fury. The Forbes girls had given place at the window to their
mother and Ellinor, who were gazing half amused, half terrified, at the
mad parti-coloured movement below; when a familiar face looked up,
smiling a recognition; and "How shall I get to you?" was asked in
English, by the well-known voice of Canon Livingstone. They saw him
disappear under the balcony on which they were standing, but it was some
time before he made his appearance in their room. And when he did, he
was almost overpowered with greetings; so glad were they to see an East
Chester face.

"When did you come? Where are you? What a pity you did not come sooner!
It is so long since we have heard anything; do tell us everything! It is
three weeks since we have had any letters; those tiresome boats have been
so irregular because of the weather." "How was everybody--Miss Monro in
particular?" Ellinor asks.

He, quietly smiling, replied to their questions by slow degrees. He had
only arrived the night before, and had been hunting for them all day; but
no one could give him any distinct intelligence as to their whereabouts
in all the noise and confusion of the place, especially as they had their
only English servant with them, and the canon was not strong in his
Italian. He was not sorry he had missed all but this last day of
carnival, for he was half blinded and wholly deafened, as it was. He was
at the "Angleterre;" he had left East Chester about a week ago; he had
letters for all of them, but had not dared to bring them through the
crowd for fear of having his pocket picked. Miss Monro was very well,
but very uneasy at not having heard from Ellinor for so long; the
irregularity of the boats must be telling both ways, for their English
friends were full of wonder at not hearing from Rome. And then followed
some well-deserved abuse of the Roman post, and some suspicion of the
carelessness with which Italian servants posted English letters. All
these answers were satisfactory enough, yet Mrs. Forbes thought she saw a
latent uneasiness in Canon Livingstone's manner, and fancied once or
twice that he hesitated in replying to Ellinor's questions. But there
was no being quite sure in the increasing darkness, which prevented
countenances from being seen; nor in the constant interruptions and
screams which were going on in the small crowded room, as wafting
handkerchiefs, puffs o