by a learned friend. Aunt Will has a
wonderful admiration for Boadicea: she was also critically examining
the history of Queen Henrietta and of Elizabeth. She thinks the
latter did not do justice to her opportunities, and that her vanity
was the mark of a feeble mind. You know aunt has no patience with
vanity and--"

"But about yourself, Eleanor?"

"I am coming to that directly. Mrs. Kenderdine had gone abroad to
get medical advice: as her health would permit her to take but
little exercise, a morning drive, with receiving and paying visits
(she is of an English family and well connected), was all she was
capable of.

"It happened in this way that the only ones of our party fit for
active duty were Fred--I mean Mr. Kenderdine--and myself. As we had
formed the habit of amusing each other on the voyage, we still
continued it. Aunt would join us when any historical site was to be
visited; but there were many places that were not historical, but
that were just as pleasant or as beautiful as if they had been, and
to these we went together. We stayed in London until the season was
over, and then started for Paris.

"You can form no idea how aunt reveled in the antiquities of Paris.
If she went to the Musee Cluny in the morning, we might be sure we
should see no more of her for that day at least. She absolutely took
rooms at Versailles for two weeks that she might study up the
_locale_ of the Pompadour, whom she regards as a female Richelieu,
and she also found a rich field of investigation in the lives of the
French queens."

"And what were you doing all this time?"

"Oh! I had professors, French, Italian and German, for the
languages, I visited the galleries, and aunt would read me her
notes, so that I was gaining much information. You see, in a foreign
country it is not the thing to sit in the house to study: you must
go about as much as possible and use your eyes, which is an
education in itself. That is what I was doing."

"About your career, I mean?"

"Don't be so impatient: I am about to tell you. We concluded to
spend the winter in Rome, aunt and I: the Kenderdines
remained in Paris. Aunt preceded me to Brussels about two weeks
to explore the libraries there, as we were to make the Rhine tour
before going to Italy. I should have accompanied her, but we were
expec