so--and he is so quiet
and pleasant in his manner, and very amusing too: that is because he has
no pretence. And grateful for small kindnesses; I suppose being so long
at sea, and not seeing so many people, he hasn't got blase. Then he
never pretends to be bored--but why are you so solemn, Nan; doesn't it
please you?'

Nan kissed her sister.

'I hope you will be very happy, dear,' she said, in her grave, kind way.

'Then I suppose I must answer his letter at once,' continued Madge, in
her excited way. 'But how am I to do it, Nan? See how my fingers are
all shaking; I couldn't write. And it would take me a month to find out
what to say--and here you are being kept in, when you are always wanting
to be out in the open air----'

'Oh, don't mind me, Madge. I will stay in with pleasure, if you want
me.'

'But you shan't stay in on my account, dear Mother Nan--not a bit of
it--not for all the men in the world. And yet I ought to send him a
message. I ought to write.'

'I think, Madge,' the elder sister said, slowly, 'if that is any trouble
to you, you might send him a message he would understand, without your
writing much--a flower, perhaps----'

'But what sort of flower?' said the younger sister, eagerly.

Nan's face flushed somewhat, and she seemed embarrassed and slow to
answer.

'You--you should know yourself,' she said, turning her eyes aside. 'Any
flower, perhaps--a bit of--of forget-me-not----'

'Of course that would do very well; but where could you get
forget-me-nots just now?'

Nan again hesitated; she seemed to be forcing herself to speak.

'There's a little bit in a button-hole in ----'s window,' she said, at
last; 'I saw it there yesterday at least.'

'Dear Mother Nan,' said Madge, enthusiastically, 'you are as clever as
twenty Vice-Chancellors! We will walk along at once, and see if it is
still there. And in the meantime I will write a word on a sheet of
paper--I can manage that anyway--and you might address an envelope----'

'Oh no, I couldn't do that,' said Nan, inadvertently shrinking back.

'Very well, I will struggle through it,' said Madge, blithely; and she
went and got writing-materials, and scrawled the few words necessary.

They went out into the beautiful clear cold morning, and walked along
through the crowd of promenaders with their fresh-coloured faces and
furs telling of the wintry weather. And in due course of time they
arrived at the florist's window, and found th