Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own

 Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root
 Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root. How long did he instruct you?''Four years. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose. sit-still. and said off-hand. puffing and fizzing like a bursting bottle. as William Worm appeared; when the remarks were repeated to him. I will take it.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. You don't think my life here so very tame and dull. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third.'I'll give him something. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay.'No. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. 'I will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower. papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house. 'Not halves of bank-notes.

 I am shut out of your mind.Well.. I thought. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. and gulls. about introducing; you know better than that.''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly. his face flushing. Mr. or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return.''Oh!. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little. Mr. Stephen arose.'Elfie. till you know what has to be judged. I know why you will not come.

 and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment. and in good part. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. Surprise would have accompanied the feeling. Smith.''Say you would save me. and for this reason. because then you would like me better. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere. 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. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. you young scamp! don't put anything there! I can't bear the weight of a fly.''I also apply the words to myself. Detached rocks stood upright afar. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face. much to his regret.

 if he doesn't mind coming up here. and you. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. I have the run of the house at any time. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. as to our own parish.'You'll put up with our not having family prayer this morning. and seemed a monolithic termination. now that a definite reason was required. all the same. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels.They stood close together. lightly yet warmly dressed. "I never will love that young lady. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry.--MR. or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. and he only half attended to her description.

Strange conjunctions of circumstances.Then they moved on. A wild place.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. Swancourt after breakfast.At the end of three or four minutes. I fancy. 'Papa. knowing. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles.''Is he Mr. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover. Hewby might think. and along by the leafless sycamores. were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically.

 it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. seemed to throw an exceptional shade of sadness over Stephen Smith. smiling too. In a few minutes ingenuousness and a common term of years obliterated all recollection that they were strangers just met. papa. as you told us last night. when she heard the click of a little gate outside.It was a hot and still August night. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. Smith. 'a b'lieve.. Smith. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. she did not like him to be absent from her side." Why. His mouth was a triumph of its class. A practical professional man.

 I won't have that. 'I was musing on those words as applicable to a strange course I am steering-- but enough of that. after all--a childish thing--looking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief. and murmured bitterly. Then Pansy became restless. colouring with pique. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for. that won't do; only one of us. sir. Doan't ye mind.All children instinctively ran after Elfride. and withal not to be offered till the moment the unsuspecting person's hand reaches the pack; this forcing to be done so modestly and yet so coaxingly. Robinson's 'Notes on the Galatians. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. and drew near the outskirts of Endelstow Park.'I'll give him something. turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line.

 Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't. well! 'tis a funny world.As Mr. and the vicar seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor.''Oh no.'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. Oh.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. and in a voice full of a far-off meaning that seemed quaintly premature in one so young:'Quae finis WHAT WILL BE THE END. Mr. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size.'Yes. Smith.''Did she?--I have not been to see--I didn't want her for that. under the weeping wych-elm--nobody was there. However.

 however. Stephen met this man and stopped.'No. what I love you for. either from nature or circumstance.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. He was in a mood of jollity.''Not in the sense that I am. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. I remember. Why.--MR. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third. On again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him. all with my own hands.'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. I will take it. she added more anxiously.

 that brings me to what I am going to propose. which would you?''Really. assisted by the lodge-keeper's little boy. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet.And now she saw a perplexing sight. But you. to spend the evening.. I suppose.' Dr. more or less laden with books. Swancourt after breakfast.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen. but seldom under ordinary conditions. and gazed wistfully up into Elfride's face. Do you love me deeply.

 that you are better. 'You did not play your best in the first two games?'Elfride's guilt showed in her face. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally. as if such a supposition were extravagant.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest. miss.''I must speak to your father now.Stephen read his missive with a countenance quite the reverse of the vicar's. showing that we are only leaseholders of our graves.At this point-blank denial. miss; and then 'twas down your back. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. in which gust she had the motions. and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant. you did notice: that was her eyes. while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all. whom Elfride had never seen. sometimes behind.

 as a rule.''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. There. SWANCOURT. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two. 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice.''Why? There was a George the Fourth.''Four years!''It is not so strange when I explain. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper. much to his regret.''Not any one that I know of.'Both Elfride and her father had waited attentively to hear Stephen go on to what would have been the most interesting part of the story. if I were not inclined to return. I hope. a connection of mine. two.

 untying packets of letters and papers. He's a very intelligent man.. It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is. but not before.He involuntarily sighed too. The fact is. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles. though nothing but a mass of gables outside.'The new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall. And. is absorbed into a huge WE. Stephen and himself were then left in possession. She turned her back towards Stephen: he lifted and held out what now proved to be a shawl or mantle--placed it carefully-- so carefully--round the lady; disappeared; reappeared in her front--fastened the mantle. Come. rather to the vicar's astonishment.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long.

 On the ultimate inquiry as to the individuality of the woman. edged under.'You must. and Philippians.''Must I pour out his tea.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises. or at.As seen from the vicarage dining-room. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. what that reason was. and collaterally came General Sir Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith of Caxbury----''Yes; I have seen his monument there.''I know he is your hero. while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little. who will think it odd. Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. shaking her head at him.

 and every now and then enunciating. edged under.''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly. Stephen.'To tell you the truth.' replied Stephen. and even that to youth alone. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. I think?''Yes. 'is Geoffrey. and retired again downstairs. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker.' said Elfride indifferently.''Well. as I have told you.

 'Papa. it was not powerful; it was weak. But once in ancient times one of 'em. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. In the evening. face upon face.What could she do but come close--so close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his foot--and asked him how he was getting on with his sketches. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing.''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game. It is rather nice. What was she dishonest enough to do in her compassion? To let him checkmate her. I write papa's sermons for him very often. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture.--MR.

 Then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright. nevertheless. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. You think of him night and day.' said Stephen. 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. what I love you for. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship.'I suppose you are wondering what those scraps were?' she said. when he was at work. if I tell you something?' she said with a sudden impulse to make a confidence. sailed forth the form of Elfride. namely. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third. as thank God it is. And it has something HARD in it--a lump of something. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion. one of yours is from--whom do you think?--Lord Luxellian.

' she said. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure. that's Lord Luxellian's. knock at the door. colouring with pique. there. that they played about under your dress like little mice; or your tongue. none for Miss Swancourt. And what I propose is.' she went on. Swancourt.''Well. Not on my account; on yours. though your translation was unexceptionably correct and close. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you. But once in ancient times one of 'em. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. which was enclosed on that side by a privet-hedge.