in the compass of

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

So with the three passengers shut up in the narrow compass of one lumbering old mail coach; they were mysteries to one another, as complete as if each had been in his own coach and six, or his own coach and sixty, with the breadth of a county between him and the next.

in the compass of = in the borders of

V.

[shroob]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

So with the three passengers shut up in the narrow compass of one lumbering old mail coach; they were mysteries to one another, as complete as if each had been in his own coach and six, or his own coach and sixty, with the breadth of a county between him and the next.

in the compass of = in the borders of

V.

One definition of compass is, 'surround or enclose on all sides', so your definition is about right. In your example, the passengers were inside a narrow, lumbering old mail coach.