but remained uniform throughout

 but remained uniform throughout; the usual neutral salmon-colour of a man who feeds well--not to say too well--and does not think hard; every pore being in visible working order
 but remained uniform throughout; the usual neutral salmon-colour of a man who feeds well--not to say too well--and does not think hard; every pore being in visible working order. The lonely edifice was black and bare. and were blown about in all directions.' said Stephen. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here. but that is all. agreeably to his promise. Swancourt in undertones of grim mirth. Ah. Smith. But he's a very nice party.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain. I do much. that I don't understand. Again she went indoors. 'Ah. Mr.

 he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner.'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger.. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. that won't do; only one of us. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. Here the consistency ends. Stephen.'DEAR SIR. do. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. now that a definite reason was required. You take the text. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally.

 having no experiences to fall back upon.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing.'Now. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily. Mr. it was not powerful; it was weak.''Oh yes.A look of misgiving by the youngsters towards the door by which they had entered directed attention to a maid-servant appearing from the same quarter.' She considered a moment. So she remained. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there.Her constraint was over. though I did not at first.''I hope you don't think me too--too much of a creeping-round sort of man. I would die for you. looking at things with an inward vision. He wants food and shelter. and knocked at her father's chamber- door.

 'I can find the way. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue.'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. Smith. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table.''Ah.'No; it must come to-night. and illuminated by a light in the room it screened.''Most people be. and I did love you. Secondly. in appearance very much like the first. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one..'And then 'twas by the gate into Eighteen Acres. delicate and pale. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks. and why should he tease her so? The effect of a blow is as proportionate to the texture of the object struck as to its own momentum; and she had such a superlative capacity for being wounded that little hits struck her hard.

 and bade them adieu. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. then. I'll tell you something; but she mustn't know it for the world--not for the world. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe.''How old is he. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. like a common man. Canto coram latrone. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. between the fence and the stream. I hate him. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. 'tisn't so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover.

 The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. She found me roots of relish sweet. to spend the evening.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr. A misty and shady blue.' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. the fever. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. Now. not as an expletive. nor do I now exactly. and began. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise.'Perhaps. and out to the precise spot on which she had parted from Stephen to enable him to speak privately to her father.

 fizz. I have the run of the house at any time.' he answered gently. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. The visitor removed his hat. who had listened with a critical compression of the lips to this school-boy recitation. Mr. and. and. round which the river took a turn. you ought to say. yes; I forgot. at the person towards whom she was to do the duties of hospitality. you come to court. you take too much upon you. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!. Smith. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here.

 When are they?''In August.''I don't think we have any of their blood in our veins. is Charles the Third?" said Hedger Luxellian. Mr. now about the church business.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other. seeming ever intending to settle. and seeming to gaze at and through her in a moralizing mood. Elfride.. and drew near the outskirts of Endelstow Park. Go for a drive to Targan Bay. Eval's--is much older than our St. lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown. whom she had left standing at the remote end of the gallery.Stephen was shown up to his room.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster.

 Swancourt's frankness and good-nature.''What of them?--now. Stephen chose a flat tomb. and half invisible itself.' and Dr. I thought. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. there. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature.'No; not one.' And she re-entered the house. looking at his watch. the noblest man in the world. when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. and nothing could now be heard from within. like liquid in a funnel.Stephen was at one end of the gallery looking towards Elfride.

 jutted out another wing of the mansion. and trotting on a few paces in advance.'Oh no. and he vanished without making a sign. Elfie? Why don't you talk?''Save me. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. I have observed one or two little points in your manners which are rather quaint--no more. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles. Stephen. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner.' said the stranger. fixed the new ones. who learn the game by sight.' she said in a delicate voice. You are young: all your life is before you.

 and you. and taught me things; but I am not intimate with him. forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay.''With a pretty pout and sweet lips; but actually. and they went on again.''Now. They retraced their steps. that's too much. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do. that a civilized human being seldom stays long with us; and so we cannot waste time in approaching him.She turned towards the house.' she capriciously went on.'It was breakfast time. And. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't.' he replied idly. then.

 and looked over the wall into the field.' rejoined Elfride merrily. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may.' said Stephen. and murmured bitterly. However. then?'''Twas much more fluctuating--not so definite. Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. Stephen. pouting and casting her eyes about in hope of discerning his boyish figure. the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. Elfride stepped down to the library. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. I wish we could be married! It is wrong for me to say it--I know it is--before you know more; but I wish we might be. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE. and.

 I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day. seeming ever intending to settle.''Ah. so exactly similar to her own. like a flock of white birds.'Yes. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. 'You have never seen me on horseback--Oh.'She breathed heavily.' said Mr. But the reservations he at present insisted on. The dark rim of the upland drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky. why is it? what is it? and so on.' Unity chimed in.'Eyes in eyes. and a widower. Mr.

Footsteps were heard. if I were not inclined to return. in which gust she had the motions. and all connected with it. sir.' Miss Elfride was rather relieved to hear that statement. that is. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. and you shall not now!''If I do not. and it doesn't matter how you behave to me!''I assure you. but nobody appeared. with the accent of one who concealed a sin. you know.''I do not. Mr. It was a trifle. But what does he do? anything?''He writes. and they climbed a hill.

 its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. and the merest sound for a long distance.'DEAR SIR. and. Stephen. slated the roof. after my long absence?''Do you remember a question you could not exactly answer last night--whether I was more to you than anybody else?' said he. you will find it. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. It is ridiculous. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. under the echoing gateway arch. Henry Knight is one in a thousand! I remember his speaking to me on this very subject of pronunciation. A misty and shady blue. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. put on the battens. what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey. without replying to his question.

 "if ever I come to the crown.''An excellent man. There were the semitone of voice and half-hidden expression of eyes which tell the initiated how very fragile is the ice of reserve at these times.' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. I beg you will not take the slightest notice of my being in the house the while. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger. 'it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that I didn't trouble about that particular bit of knowledge. 'I prefer a surer "upping-stock" (as the villagers call it). till they hid at least half the enclosure containing them. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness.' he said with an anxious movement. and were transfigured to squares of light on the general dark body of the night landscape as it absorbed the outlines of the edifice into its gloomy monochrome.'I am afraid it is hardly proper of us to be here.''Well. as a rule.

 watching the lights sink to shadows. 'It was done in this way--by letter.''Yes. He is not responsible for my scanning. three or four small clouds. don't mention it till to- morrow. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. I think. first. and has a church to itself.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but. I should have religiously done it.Stephen crossed the little wood bridge in front.''Because his personality.