After the play Edward was in such a state of mind that his friend was actually unable to get a sensible answer from him, and, arrived at their room, he wanted the Russian to stay up and speak of the woman whom he now fairly adored; but Ben, while full of enthusiasm and admiration for the same woman, was doing some hard thinking, and he could not bring himself to believe that such a talented person could be so taken up with Edward, to be in real earnest in her actions toward him. When Edward gave him a chance to speak, he said: "Edward, my boy, you have that woman on the brain, and I am fearful of the results. In you she has found a source of diversion, and her actions now, I am afraid, are the result of a fancy which might pass away at any moment, and I advise you strongly not to let your enthusiasm run away with your heart and common sense." "What? Do you mean to say that you believe that Nellie is not sincere?" asked Edward, turning pale. "I do not say that; but, Edward, she may be misleading herself. She is impulsive by nature, and you came in her life at the proper moment to allow her erratic imagination to create a romance with you as the hero; but you know that there is something else in life besides romances and illusions." "True," answered Edward; "but this illusion, if illusion it is, is worth the reality to me, and every hour that it will last is worth a year of the life I have lived heretofore." When they retired later, Edward could not sleep. He was in that nervous state that increases the activity of the mind too much. As his excitement about Nellie began to subside, a faint picture of his first sweetheart came to his mind. First, it was only like a passing glimpse; but it persisted in coming back, and after a while Edward's mind was impressed with a vivid image of Marie Louise. Every detail was perfect. Her large blue eyes, so true and so innocent, were full of a reproachful expression which brought sorrow to his soul, and then the sad face would vanish and make place for Nellie's picture, whose large brown eyes never failed to set his brain on fire. His sleep was only a continuation of these emotions, and in the morning he was tired and nervous.