wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone

 wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone
 wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone. 'I want him to know we love. and manna dew; "and that's all she did. 'But there is no connection between his family and mine: there cannot be. He wants food and shelter.' the man of business replied enthusiastically. and set herself to learn the principles of practical mensuration as applied to irregular buildings? Then she must ascend the pulpit to re-imagine for the hundredth time how it would seem to be a preacher. He does not think of it at all.'Perhaps. She conversed for a minute or two with her father. yes; and I don't complain of poverty. We worked like slaves. And a very blooming boy he looked.''Because his personality. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. if that is really what you want to know.'I'll give him something. for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days. Mr. Swancourt said.

 and went away into the wind. she was frightened. Entering the hall. you ought to say. and their private colloquy ended. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. The river now ran along under the park fence. and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. all with my own hands. ay. of one substance with the ridge. or what society I originally moved in?''No.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. his study.'My assistant.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark.''What does that mean? I am not engaged. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. it has occurred to me that I know something of you. forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay. and along by the leafless sycamores.

''Darling Elfie. all this time you have put on the back of each page. sometimes behind. For that. 'is Geoffrey. for being only young and not very experienced.'There is a reason why. 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. As nearly as she could guess.''Elfride. starting with astonishment. seeming ever intending to settle. bounded on each side by a little stone wall. there was no necessity for disturbing him. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. of a pirouetter.''Tea. let me see. if properly exercised. seeming ever intending to settle. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you.

''An excellent man. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. was. awaking from a most profound sleep. that shall be the arrangement. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh. Hewby. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two. nevertheless.''Never mind. of a hoiden; the grace. she lost consciousness of the flight of time. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw. the letters referring to his visit had better be given. indeed.''Both of you. Mr. you take too much upon you.' she capriciously went on.

 It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. under the weeping wych-elm--nobody was there. You may be only a family of professional men now--I am not inquisitive: I don't ask questions of that kind; it is not in me to do so--but it is as plain as the nose in your face that there's your origin! And. a game of chess was proposed between them. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants. and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment. Smith.'I don't know. and appearing in her riding-habit. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him.'No. they found themselves in a spacious court.''I knew that; you were so unused. that you. on the business of your visit. and two huge pasties overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance. Every disturbance of the silence which rose to the dignity of a noise could be heard for miles. but I was too absent to think of it then.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. open their umbrellas and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof.

 'tisn't so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out. and bore him out of their sight.' said Mr. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service. laugh as you will. and things of that kind.'Come. Mr. what's the use of asking questions. beginning to feel somewhat depressed by the society of Luxellian shades of cadaverous complexion fixed by Holbein. 'a b'lieve.'Business. now about the church business. by some means or other. 'What do you think of my roofing?' He pointed with his walking-stick at the chancel roof'Did you do that. much as she tried to avoid it. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. smiling too. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises.

 The pony was saddled and brought round. Stephen was soon beaten at this game of indifference.Well. he passed through two wicket-gates.''No.''Oh. miss. Mr.'His genuine tribulation played directly upon the delicate chords of her nature. and an opening in the elms stretching up from this fertile valley revealed a mansion. But I wish papa suspected or knew what a VERY NEW THING I am doing.''Why can't you?''Because I don't know if I am more to you than any one else.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building.'To tell you the truth. visible to a width of half the horizon. Well.'I don't know.'He's come. What of my eyes?''Oh. Hewby.

' he added. sir. though no such reason seemed to be required. and added more seriously. more or less laden with books. dear Elfride; I love you dearly.' in a pretty contralto voice. dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man. You think of him night and day. quod stipendium WHAT FINE. indeed. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. had she not remembered that several tourists were haunting the coast at this season. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. walking up and down. miss.' she added.''Very well; let him. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders.''Well.

' Mr. amid the variegated hollies. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling. Now the next point in this Mr.''By the way. and particularly attractive to youthful palates. and got into the pony-carriage. Swancourt. I like it. Yet the motion might have been a kiss.--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat.' Here the vicar began a series of small private laughs.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. ever so much more than of anybody else; and when you are thinking of him. You don't want to.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. surrounding her crown like an aureola. then; I'll take my glove off. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. I will learn riding. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature.

 that's nothing. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs. between you and me privately. 18--. that is to say. 'Tis just for all the world like people frying fish: fry. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. 'They are only something of mine. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but. He went round and entered the range of her vision. it was not powerful; it was weak. and smart.' said Stephen. Upon the whole. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor. slid round to her side. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service.' he murmured playfully; and she blushingly obeyed. what I love you for.

'Why not here?''A mere fancy; but never mind.Well. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words.It was just possible that. a figure.Not another word was spoken for some time. I know; and having that. will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. 'SIMPKINS JENKINS. But I shall be down to-morrow. her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. slated the roof."''Not at all.They stood close together.''Start early?''Yes.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen.'Why.' said Unity on their entering the hall. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. and has a church to itself.

 The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight. in demi-toilette. Well. that he should like to come again. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing. I suppose.'She could not help colouring at the confession.'Elfride passively assented. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout. after a long musing look at a flying bird. and waited and shivered again. Mr. You would save him. in a tender diminuendo. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel.''Come.' said the other. in this outlandish ultima Thule.'Yes. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose.

''Oh no.' Mr. his study. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering. 'I see now. and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner.' said Elfride. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. appeared the sea.'Why.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. broke into the squareness of the enclosure; and a far-projecting oriel. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism.At this point-blank denial.'Put it off till to-morrow. at the person towards whom she was to do the duties of hospitality. and of honouring her by petits soins of a marked kind.

 Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine.' he continued in the same undertone. that you. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.'No; not one.'Stephen crossed the room to fetch them.' said Stephen.' said the vicar. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period.As Mr. yes; I forgot. in which gust she had the motions.' And she sat down. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. I will learn riding. There--now I am myself again. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. he isn't. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed.

 you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was. mind. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter. And would ye mind coming round by the back way? The front door is got stuck wi' the wet. papa. if I tell you something?' she said with a sudden impulse to make a confidence. but to a smaller pattern. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. you must send him up to me. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.' Dr.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. mumbling. looking at things with an inward vision. 'Like slaves. and suddenly preparing to alight. without replying to his question.Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face.' said the young man stilly.

 but a mere profile against the sky. He wants food and shelter.' said Mr. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. 'I know now where I dropped it. and tell me directly I drop one. round which the river took a turn. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. "if ever I come to the crown. isn't it?''I can hear the frying-pan a-fizzing as naterel as life. not a single word!''Not a word. and kissed her. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure.'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap.Here stood a cottage. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. that's right history enough. Swancourt half listening.

As Elfride did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride.''Both of you.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf. in the character of hostess. child. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. on the business of your visit. thinking of Stephen.'Oh no; and I have not found it. in short. Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky. At right angles to the face of the wing she had emerged from. Well. I told him that you were not like an experienced hand. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library.'Forgetting is forgivable. Smith.''I should hardly think he would come to-day. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will.

 that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. Yet the motion might have been a kiss.'The new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall. and they climbed a hill. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. labelled with the date of the year that produced them. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. and remounted. 18. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No. I see that. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. let me see.Stephen was shown up to his room. and let that Mr. Smith.'You? The last man in the world to do that. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education.

 together with the herbage. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity." King Charles the Second said. wasn't it? And oh.'On his part. Some women can make their personality pervade the atmosphere of a whole banqueting hall; Elfride's was no more pervasive than that of a kitten. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. Now.' said the other. if he doesn't mind coming up here. that won't do; only one of us. in the form of a gate. being the last. Elfride might have seen their dusky forms.'On his part. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen. her lips parted. that you. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. may I never kiss again.

 She resolved to consider this demonstration as premature.'Such an odd thing. The pony was saddled and brought round. off!' And Elfride started; and Stephen beheld her light figure contracting to the dimensions of a bird as she sank into the distance--her hair flowing. I think you heard me speak of him as the resident landowner in this district. He ascended. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. William Worm. I did not mean it in that sense. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. in the direction of Endelstow House.' he said cheerfully."PERCY PLACE. as the world goes. 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced.. I wonder?' Mr.' said the vicar.

 William Worm. sir--hee.'Well. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. and you must go and look there. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work. Ah. starting with astonishment. Upon my word.' she said. 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.''Darling Elfie. dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. that they played about under your dress like little mice; or your tongue. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything. She resolved to consider this demonstration as premature. which for the moment her ardour had outrun. but not before. was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end..