Cecil and Florence went up to their rooms together that night, and Flo followed her friend into the pretty little boudoir, where a red fire was burning with a frosty brightness. "You are not sleepy, are you, Cecil!" "No, dear, not in the least." "Then if you've no objection I'll stop for a few minutes," said Flo, seating herself in one of the pretty chintz-cushioned easy-chairs, and playing with a Chinese hand-screen. "For my own part I never feel so thoroughly awake as at this time of night. I think if people sat up for eight-and-forty hours at a stretch, they would go on getting brighter and brighter. As it is, we chop our lives up into such little bits, and are seldom either quite awake or quite asleep. How do you like Sir Nugent Evershed?" The question was asked very carelessly, and the questioner's eyes were fixed upon the fire. "I really don't know him well enough either to like or dislike him," Cecil answered. "Nonsense, Cecil! that's a lawyer's answer. Women always jump at conclusions, and I have no doubt you have jumped at yours in this case. You couldn't be half-a-dozen hours in Sir Nugent's society without forming some opinion about him." "Well, dear, I think he is very handsome." "Do you?" said Flo, lifting her eyebrows, and shrugging her shoulders. "Well, yes, I suppose he is what most people would call handsome." "But you don't call him so?" "Well, no; I have seen handsomer men. But what do you think of _him_--his manners--himself, in short?" Flo asked rather impatiently. "I think he is exactly like a great many other young men I have seen----" "Good gracious me!" cried Flo, this time very impatiently, "do you mean to tell me that the generality of young men are as elegant and accomplished as Sir Nugent Evershed?" "No, I don't mean to say that exactly. But I think the generality of young men in the present day are very accomplished. They all travel a great deal; they all read, they----" "Cecil, if you're going to talk like a blue-book, or a statistical paper, I shall go away. I see you don't like Sir Nugent." "My dear girl, I never said any thing of the kind. I only say that he seems to me like a great many young men I have seen. Rather more handsome, and rather more accomplished, and rather more elegant than the generality of them perhaps, but only differing from them in degree. Is he a great friend of Mr. Lobyer's?"