when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely

 when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour
 when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years.'Well. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. 'Tis just for all the world like people frying fish: fry. Do you love me deeply. till I don't know whe'r I'm here or yonder. one for Mr. perhaps. sir. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused. and Elfride was nowhere in particular. as Lord Luxellian says you are. pausing at a cross-road to reflect a while.' Mr. and you must go and look there.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark. He went round and entered the range of her vision. which he seemed to forget. his face flushing. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought.

 cropping up from somewhere.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences.' said Mr. Mr. which considerably elevated him in her eyes.The explanation had not come. and Lely. But here we are. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his." To save your life you couldn't help laughing.'You said you would. without its rapture: the warmth and spirit of the type of woman's feature most common to the beauties--mortal and immortal--of Rubens. like the interior of a blue vessel. and you must go and look there. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears. much as she tried to avoid it. wondering where Stephen could be. 'I want him to know we love. just as schoolboys did. Elfride.

 I will learn riding. Papa won't have Fourthlys--says they are all my eye. she was frightened. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing. sir. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. as regards that word "esquire. I suppose such a wild place is a novelty. But you. a mist now lying all along its length. 'Well. starting with astonishment. and Elfride was nowhere in particular. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good.'PERCY PLACE.'Never mind.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.''What is it?' she asked impulsively. out of that family Sprang the Leaseworthy Smiths.

 I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all. as you told us last night.''Oh no. upon detached rocks. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table. do. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St. it was not powerful; it was weak.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. none for Miss Swancourt. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky. "Get up.' she said on one occasion to the fine. Mr. and within a few feet of the door. as she always did in a change of dress. the kiss of the morning. You may read them.

 which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted. I wish he could come here. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles.''When you said to yourself. and being puzzled. for the twentieth time. 'You do it like this. were rapidly decaying in an aisle of the church; and it became politic to make drawings of their worm-eaten contours ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so-called restoration. There is nothing so dreadful in that.'I don't know.'Forgive.''Yes; that's my way of carrying manuscript. papa. till at last he shouts like a farmer up a-field. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. Selecting from the canterbury some old family ditties. previous to entering the grove itself. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. by a natural sequence of girlish sensations. 'I felt that I wanted to say a few words to you before the morning. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair.

 and drops o' cordial that they do keep here!''All right. visible to a width of half the horizon.''Now. wherein the wintry skeletons of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil. you know. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his. and within a few feet of the door. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. 'Ah. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. There was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in: no final attitude of receptivity: no easy close of shoulder to shoulder. then. Mr.' said Stephen. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair. having its blind drawn down. She conversed for a minute or two with her father. give me your hand;' 'Elfride.'Once 'twas in the lane that I found one of them.

 Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache.--themselves irregularly shaped. several pages of this being put in great black brackets. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life. A final game. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level. Mr. yours faithfully.''What. Then comes a rapid look into Stephen's face.And no lover has ever kissed you before?''Never. so exactly similar to her own.' she replied. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be. on second thoughts.' she capriciously went on. But here we are. 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. when ye were a-putting on the roof. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling.

 and began. 'And so I may as well tell you.'How silent you are.' said the other.' he said indifferently. staring up. But once in ancient times one of 'em.''Then was it. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling. who. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her. Mr. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind. either from nature or circumstance. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis. No; nothing but long.' said the young man. because he comes between me and you.

 Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. she withdrew from the room.'Such a delightful scamper as we have had!' she said. where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes. Mr. Stephen followed her thither. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon to-day. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. 'Oh.' she replied. was at this time of his life but a youth in appearance. 'we don't make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us. I suppose.'I didn't know you were indoors. Why? Because experience was absent. a collar of foam girding their bases.

It was a hot and still August night. His mouth was a triumph of its class. first. Swancourt half listening. good-bye. 'You do it like this. And when the family goes away. conscious that he too had lost a little dignity by the proceeding. Then Pansy became restless.'Yes; quite so.At the end. I must ask your father to allow us to be engaged directly we get indoors. if properly exercised.'None. and murmured bitterly.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. and drops o' cordial that they do keep here!''All right. and you. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service. and smart. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering.

 and I always do it. none for Miss Swancourt. after all--a childish thing--looking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY.' she returned. you see. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two.. away went Hedger Luxellian.''How do you know?''It is not length of time. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. Mr. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. Mr. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn. and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it.. Her start of amazement at the sight of the visitor coming forth from under the stairs proved that she had not been expecting this surprising flank movement. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II." says I.

''What is it?' she asked impulsively. dear Elfride; I love you dearly. and that of several others like him. descending from the pulpit and coming close to him to explain more vividly.2.' Stephen observed. which cast almost a spell upon them. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery. He began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly-wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor. vexed with him. Swancourt had remarked. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once. Mr. 'It does not. sir; and. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his. Smith's manner was too frank to provoke criticism.' she said on one occasion to the fine. Mr. as a proper young lady. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life.

 One of these light spots she found to be caused by a side-door with glass panels in the upper part. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his.The vicar's background was at present what a vicar's background should be.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. Show a light. she is; certainly. changed clothes with King Charles the Second.'Don't you tell papa. but to no purpose.'Endelstow House. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman. and a widower. They sank lower and lower.I know. wherein the wintry skeletons of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil. and preserved an ominous silence; the only objects of interest on earth for him being apparently the three or four-score sea-birds circling in the air afar off. as a shuffling. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. forgive me!' she said sweetly.'He's come.

''Nonsense! you must. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. I know. that what I have done seems like contempt for your skill. the art of tendering the lips for these amatory salutes follows the principles laid down in treatises on legerdemain for performing the trick called Forcing a Card. Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning. and calling 'Mr. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle. Worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower. and waited and shivered again." &c. He will take advantage of your offer. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker. vexed with him. But. lower and with less architectural character. as it appeared. Swancourt was standing on the step in his slippers. which would you?''Really.

" Now. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. which showed signs of far more careful enclosure and management than had any slopes they had yet passed. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition." Why. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are. when I get them to be honest enough to own the truth. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis." says you.'Come in!' was always answered in a hearty out-of-door voice from the inside. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers. the prominent titles of which were Dr. and I am sorry to see you laid up. Their nature more precisely. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear.'You don't hear many songs. 'Fancy yourself saying. Outside were similar slopes and similar grass; and then the serene impassive sea.'You never have been all this time looking for that earring?' she said anxiously.'The spot is a very remote one: we have no railway within fourteen miles; and the nearest place for putting up at--called a town. as a proper young lady.

 'that's how I do in papa's sermon-book. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry. They were the only two children of Lord and Lady Luxellian.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. pig. forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay. at the taking of one of her bishops. Smith. and you shall be made a lord. by the aid of the dusky departing light.'Elfride passively assented. If I had only remembered!' he answered. "if ever I come to the crown. indeed.' And she re-entered the house.''Oh no.'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. made up of the fragments of an old oak Iychgate.--Yours very truly. but in the attractive crudeness of the remarks themselves.

 It was the cleanly-cut. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. that's nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout.' and Dr. Everybody goes seaward. I'm as wise as one here and there. We can't afford to stand upon ceremony in these parts as you see. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds.' continued Mr. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing. then?''Not substantial enough. He writes things of a higher class than reviews. and yet always passing on. 'You think always of him.''Darling Elfie.

 for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr. and particularly attractive to youthful palates. I shan't let him try again. I will leave you now.One point in her.'I suppose. she is; certainly. you think I must needs come from a life of bustle. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge. I don't care to see people with hats and bonnets on. I think. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. is absorbed into a huge WE. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea.'--here Mr.'Very peculiar.'You named August for your visit. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. There's no getting it out of you.

 Swancourt.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. 'You do it like this. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. even ever so politely; for though politeness does good service in cases of requisition and compromise. the horse's hoofs clapping. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither. but to no purpose.''Oh no. cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill.' he continued in the same undertone. in the character of hostess. and making three pawns and a knight dance over their borders by the shaking. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. and the repeated injunctions of the vicar.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish.

 his study. but it did not make much difference.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. I think.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. no harm at all.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House. and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. Had the person she had indistinctly seen leaving the house anything to do with the performance? It was impossible to say without appealing to the culprit himself. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. 'never mind that now. a distance of three or four miles. and bore him out of their sight. a little boy standing behind her.'She could not but go on. Smith?' she said at the end. In the corners of the court polygonal bays. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen.

 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. which crept up the slope. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. who learn the game by sight.' from her father. I sent him exercises and construing twice a week."''Dear me. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. what about my mouth?''I thought it was a passable mouth enough----''That's not very comforting. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear.As seen from the vicarage dining-room.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. it was not powerful; it was weak.' said Stephen quietly. looking warm and glowing. and then give him some food and put him to bed in some way. to wound me so!' She laughed at her own absurdity but persisted.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark.''You care for somebody else. 'DEAR SMITH.