In the very early morning, the shadow of a quaint old tower fell transversely upon the pavement of the square, and reached almost to their door; and in the evening Lucia grew fond of watching for the fire which was nightly lighted on the same tower that it might be a guide to sailors far out at sea.

The town was quiet and dull--there was no theatre, no concerts, at present even no balls--the only public amusement of the population seemed to be listening in the still evenings to the band which played in front of the guard-house in the Place.

There they came in throngs, and promenaded slowly over the sharp-edged stones, with a keen and visible enjoyment of the fresh air, the music, and each other's company, which was in itself a pleasant thing to see.
The journey, the discomforts of the first few days, and the second moving, had tried Mrs.Costello extremely.

She spent most of her time on the sofa now, and had as yet only been able once or twice to go down and sit for a while on the sunny beach, where children were playing and building sand castles, and where the sea breeze was sweet and reviving.
There was a small colony of English people settled in the town, mostly people with small incomes and many children, or widows of poor gentlemen; but there was also a large floating population of English sailors, and for their benefit an English consul and chaplain, who supplied a temporal and spiritual leader to the community.

But the mother and daughter kept much apart from their country people, who were inclined to be sociable and friendly towards them.