This is a relatively short entry in the string of novels (or, as they later became, chapters) in Richardson's
Pilgrimage. In it, the chief source of interest is the fact that Miriam's landlady, Mrs. Bailey, changes from providing lodgings to running a boarding house. This means that the residents eat and socialize together, so it is an opportunity for characterization. Some characters drift in and out, but the principals are a Spaniard named Mr. Mendizabal, with whom Miriam spends evenings socializing, and a small group of Canadian doctors studying for the summer. There is much rumination on the Canadianness of these men, particularly of one Dr. Von Heber, to whom Miriam is attracted, although in what respect they have this Canadian quality seems to vary from moment to moment. There is, however, no overt disdain for the colonials. In a chapter near the end, Miriam discovers from her landlady that there has been gossip about her relationship with Mr. Mendizabal (who has made things worse with a little Mediterranean boastfulness), and that the gossip has scared Dr. Von Heber off. In another development, Miss Eleanor Dear, she who took advantage of Miriam's good nature at the close of "The Tunnel", appears and persuades Miriam to stand surety for her when she moves on. However, Miss Dear is firmly evicted when it's discovered that's she's been attempting to perpetrate some sort of fraud on the parents of one of the Canadians, Dr. Hurd. I am getting used (again) to Richardson's habit of advancing her plot by avoiding any depiction of the actual events, but having them surface gradually through Miriam's memories, usually at the beginning of a chapter. So each chapter becomes a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.
