"What do you mean when you say that a young lady is fit?" said Mr. Blow.
"I mean that she is right all round, which is a great deal more than can
be said of most of them."
"The divine Florence--" began Mr. Montgomery Arbuthnot, struggling to
say something funny.
"Young man, you had better hold your tongue, and not talk of young
ladies in that language."
"I do believe that he is going to fall in love," said Mr. Blow.
"I say that Miss Mountjoy is the fittest girl I have seen for many a
day; and when a young puppy calls her the divine Florence, he does not
know what he is about."
"Why didn't you blow Mr. Blow up when he called her a Bird of Paradise?"
said Montgomery Arbuthnot. "Divine Florence is not half so disrespectful
of a young lady as Bird of Paradise. Divine Florence means divine
Florence, but Bird of Paradise is chaff."
"Mr. Blow, as a married man," said Anderson, "has a certain freedom
allowed him. If he uses it in bad taste, the evil falls back upon his
own head. Now, if you please, we'll change the conversation." From this
it will be seen that Mr. Anderson had really fallen in love with Miss
Mountjoy.
But though the week had passed in a harmless way to Sir Magnus and Lady
Mountjoy,--in a harmless way to them as regarded their niece and their
attache,--a certain amount of annoyance had, no doubt, been felt by
Florence herself.
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