The two ladies accordingly embarked
on this expedition, and spent three months in Greece, in Turkey, in
Egypt. Isabel found much to interest her in these countries, though
Madame Merle continued to remark that even among the most classic
sites, the scenes most calculated to suggest repose and reflexion, a
certain incoherence prevailed in her. Isabel travelled rapidly and
recklessly; she was like a thirsty person draining cup after cup.
Madame Merle meanwhile, as lady-in-waiting to a princess circulating
incognita, panted a little in her rear. It was on Isabel's
invitation she had come, and she imparted all due dignity to the
girl's uncountenanced state. She played her part with the tact that
might have been expected of her, effacing herself and accepting the
position of a companion whose expenses were profusely paid. The
situation, however, had no hardships, and people who met this reserved
though striking pair on their travels would not have been able to tell
you which was patroness and which client. To say that Madame Merle
improved on acquaintance states meagrely the impression she made on
her friend, who had found her from the first so ample and so easy.
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