“‘She is pious, then?’
“‘Certainly; it is only a fortnight since she received the communion; she often communicates.’ [p238]
“I will not point out the contrast which presents itself to the mind. There are some facts like the drop of water, in which, as Mademoiselle de Gournay has already said, the whole sun is reflected.
“Poor child! has she travelled so far in safety on the rough voyage of the life which she leads? I hope so; it is the sincere wish of an old and unknown friend.
“C. Livet.”
The “old and unknown friend” of Erminia Chelli may feel reassured. I have eaten macaroni in the society of Mademoiselle Erminia and her family, and since her departure from France we live in the friendly intercourse of letters: the pretty equilibrist is still just the same as when he knew her. The horse filled the thoughts of poor Émilie Loisset, and so the trapeze fills the whole life of Erminia Chelli. It is her vocation; when quite small she would go under the table and swing her dolls upon a trapeze made of a hairpin and the elastic from her hair net. And, on the other hand, whenever she is not in the circus she passes her time in making bonnets for herself and her friends. This talent for millinery replaces Ingres’ violin. One has much more chance of pleasing her by saying, “How becoming your bonnet is, Erminia!” than by complimenting her upon her talent as an equilibrist.
Erminia is likely to amass a very large dowry. Do you know that £120 per month may be earned by walking head downwards upon the ceiling of a circus? In four or five years’ time she will marry. [p239]
“But there is no hurry,” she said, shaking her head, when some one mentioned this contingency to her.
