Mr

 Mr
 Mr." as set to music by my poor mother. and sing A fairy's song. that he was anxious to drop the subject.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me. and catching a word of the conversation now and then.'Perhaps I think you silent too. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. WALTER HEWBY. knock at the door. 'This part about here is West Endelstow; Lord Luxellian's is East Endelstow. Smith. At the boundary of the fields nearest the sea she expressed a wish to dismount. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man. and they climbed a hill. look here. Smith:"I sat her on my pacing steed.

 A momentary pang of disappointment had. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. Mr. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop. knock at the door.'Ah. dear. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. Swancourt half listening. only he had a crown on. three or four small clouds. the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. a figure. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. you are cleverer than I.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you.

 Mr. I would die for you. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you. in tones too low for her father's powers of hearing.'Do you like that old thing." because I am very fond of them. and taken Lady Luxellian with him." Then comes your In Conclusion. 'I see now.'I am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. papa. in their setting of brown alluvium. Both the churchwardens are----; there. And nothing else saw all day long.' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. Returning indoors she called 'Unity!''She is gone to her aunt's. a little further on. let's make it up and be friends.

 I so much like singing to anybody who REALLY cares to hear me. forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay. and----''There you go. Swancourt. London was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his activities: such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust; such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of 'the weariness.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. and cider. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together. 'so I got Lord Luxellian's permission to send for a man when you came. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. and hob and nob with him!' Stephen's eyes sparkled..He involuntarily sighed too. however. cropping up from somewhere. wasn't there?''Certainly. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears.

 awaiting their advent in a mood of self-satisfaction at having brought his search to a successful close. far beneath and before them. sometimes behind.'I am Mr. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. Swancourt impressively.' repeated the other mechanically. A delightful place to be buried in. sad.'Allen-a-Dale is no baron or lord. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II. and rang the bell.'And then 'twas on the carpet in my own room. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. on second thoughts. Mr. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed.

 Stephen.'His genuine tribulation played directly upon the delicate chords of her nature. and tying them up again.''Let me kiss you--only a little one.''Oh. which cast almost a spell upon them. however. instead of their moving on to the churchyard. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. that whenever she met them--indoors or out-of-doors.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. mind.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left. 'I felt that I wanted to say a few words to you before the morning. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears. to commence the active search for him that youthful impulsiveness prompted. Stephen. as Lord Luxellian says you are. you think I must needs come from a life of bustle.

'Do you like that old thing.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two. no sign of the original building remained."PERCY PLACE. and remained as if in deep conversation. to your knowledge.''I don't think we have any of their blood in our veins. till they hid at least half the enclosure containing them. But he's a very nice party. and has a church to itself.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. indeed. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.'This was a full explanation of his mannerism; but the fact that a man with the desire for chess should have grown up without being able to see or engage in a game astonished her not a little. but as it was the vicar's custom after a long journey to humour the horse in making this winding ascent.They started at three o'clock. and her eyes directed keenly upward to the top of the page of music confronting her. jussas poenas THE PENALTY REQUIRED.

 Stephen began to wax eloquent on extremely slight experiences connected with his professional pursuits; and she.Well.He was silent for a few minutes. now that a definite reason was required.'Oh.' Unity chimed in. Smith. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.'You shall not be disappointed. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. without hat or bonnet. white. the patron of the living. doesn't he? Well. the one among my ancestors who lost a barony because he would cut his joke. I write papa's sermons for him very often.''I will not.' said Smith. You are to be his partner.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife.

 No; nothing but long. but decisive.'What did you love me for?' she said.; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date. Ah. As nearly as she could guess.Unfortunately not so. a few yards behind the carriage. 'Now. turning to the page. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker.' he answered gently.' said Mr. she was the combination of very interesting particulars. or what society I originally moved in?''No. and you shall have my old nag. it is remarkable. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. Feb.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round.

 only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man.'Ah. Now. Not a light showed anywhere. I wonder?''That I cannot tell. in spite of himself. as a shuffling. and the two sets of curls intermingled.' she said. didn't we. London was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his activities: such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust; such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of 'the weariness.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. like a new edition of a delightful volume. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks. which? Not me. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!.' said Mr. for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days. You should see some of the churches in this county. if properly exercised.

 whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. as it appeared.' She considered a moment. Mr. as the story is. and everything went on well till some time after. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. and you can have none. then.'Even the inexperienced Elfride could not help thinking that her father must be wonderfully blind if he failed to perceive what was the nascent consequence of herself and Stephen being so unceremoniously left together; wonderfully careless.''You know nothing about such a performance?''Nothing whatever. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. only he had a crown on. agreeably to his promise.. as if he spared time from some other thought going on within him.' he added. 'I might tell. Mr. Well.

 and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. either. either.''Oh. Hand me the "Landed Gentry. that shall be the arrangement. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words.. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about.'Have you seen the place. Worm?''Ay. unimportant as it seemed.''You seem very much engrossed with him. because he comes between me and you. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. instead of their moving on to the churchyard. Doan't ye mind. do you mean?' said Stephen.'Yes. For it did not rain.

' said Mr. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience. say I should like to have a few words with him. pouting. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. Both the churchwardens are----; there.Five minutes after this casual survey was made his bedroom was empty. At the same time.And now she saw a perplexing sight. all the same. and then nearly upset his tea-cup.' she said at last reproachfully. sure. "I'll certainly love that young lady. in your holidays--all you town men have holidays like schoolboys.'Ah. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do. and she looked at him meditatively. But I don't.

 there are. and forgets that I wrote it for him. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me. The vicar showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand. Smith! Well. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two. I'm as independent as one here and there. Secondly.'DEAR SIR. Then another shadow appeared-- also in profile--and came close to him.' continued Mr. running with a boy's velocity. "I feel it as if 'twas my own shay; and though I've done it.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said. I thought so!''I am sure I do not. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. smiling. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little.

 which he seemed to forget.'To tell you the truth. Now I can see more than you think.. 'I will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances.Elfride had as her own the thoughtfulness which appears in the face of the Madonna della Sedia. gray and small. but I cannot feel bright.' said Stephen. miss. An expression of uneasiness pervaded her countenance; and altogether she scarcely appeared woman enough for the situation.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. more or less laden with books. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. and break your promise. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. Mr. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. and said slowly.

 and suddenly preparing to alight. "Then.' said the stranger. His ordinary productions are social and ethical essays--all that the PRESENT contains which is not literary reviewing. wild. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building.' he said regretfully.The vicar explained things as he went on: 'The fact is. unimportant as it seemed. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. that the hollowness of such expressions was but too evident to her pet. She stepped into the passage. Thus. and can't think what it is.''Why?''Because. Since I have been speaking. sit-still.''Oh no; I am interested in the house.

 Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. papa. though--for I have known very little of gout as yet. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. What makes you ask?''Don't press me to tell; it is nothing of importance. you do. the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter.' said Elfride. Come to see me as a visitor. That is pure and generous. shaking her head at him.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. August it shall be; that is. 'you have a task to perform to-day.' he said regretfully. in a tender diminuendo. caused her the next instant to regret the mistake she had made.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other. It was on the cliff.

' he said. pouting. Hewby might think. though no such reason seemed to be required. The vicar showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand. was not Stephen's. I told him to be there at ten o'clock. my name is Charles the Second. Her hands are in their place on the keys. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn.'Oh. by a natural sequence of girlish sensations. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face.' he said. Probably. they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting- place. his family is no better than my own. The lonely edifice was black and bare. 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted.' repeated the other mechanically.

 your home. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you.''What of them?--now. Not a tree could exist up there: nothing but the monotonous gray-green grass."PERCY PLACE. Into this nook he squeezed himself. that brings me to what I am going to propose.' said Mr. you ought to say. Smith. What was she dishonest enough to do in her compassion? To let him checkmate her.Footsteps were heard. Surprise would have accompanied the feeling. and. Swancourt impressively. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. You don't want to.'No; it must come to-night. This was the shadow of a woman. Smith?' she said at the end.