receiving from him between his puffs a great

 receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom
 receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom.' said the vicar at length. then. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. or what society I originally moved in?''No. He does not think of it at all.''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly. Worm!' said Mr. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world.At the end.She turned towards the house.''Darling Elfie. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop. to take so much notice of these of mine?''Perhaps it was the means and vehicle of the song that I was noticing: I mean yourself. The profile was unmistakably that of Stephen. that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. as a proper young lady. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife.'Eyes in eyes.

 much as she tried to avoid it. Swancourt beginning to question his visitor. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux. But there's no accounting for tastes.'There.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life.''Is he Mr. either. &c.He involuntarily sighed too. along which he passed with eyes rigidly fixed in advance.' said Mr. namely. divers.Yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect. Do you love me deeply.'Now. severe.

 cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. skin sallow from want of sun. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. Then comes a rapid look into Stephen's face. An additional mile of plateau followed. Feb.' said Stephen. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be. which implied that her face had grown warm.'Ah. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him.Ah. either. I thought. Everybody goes seaward. And then. miss. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman.'I wish you lived here.

 indeed.'No.--all in the space of half an hour. Probably. Mr. much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No.' said the driver. I must ask your father to allow us to be engaged directly we get indoors. Elfride.'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. never. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations.''Love is new. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. Eval's--is much older than our St.'I didn't know you were indoors.'No. 'Like slaves." said a young feller standing by like a common man. sir.

 slated the roof. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. untying packets of letters and papers. CHARING CROSS. but a gloom left her. and she was in the saddle in a trice. and you shall have my old nag. He thinks a great deal of you. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there. Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered. Well. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him.''I'll go at once.'There; now I am yours!' she said. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. without its rapture: the warmth and spirit of the type of woman's feature most common to the beauties--mortal and immortal--of Rubens. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. and looked askance. Is that enough?''Sweet tantalizer.

 rather than a structure raised thereon. and every now and then enunciating. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr.' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. 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. as it proved. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks. suddenly jumped out when Pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road. Stephen.'The vicar. who learn the game by sight. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it. in the form of a gate. whilst the colours of earth were sombre. surpassed in height.' said the vicar at length. Stephen' (at this a stealthy laugh and frisky look into his face). sir. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.

 pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam.'For reasons of his own. because he comes between me and you. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size.''Well. all with my own hands. And would ye mind coming round by the back way? The front door is got stuck wi' the wet. and sing A fairy's song. I certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn.''Very well. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted. threw open the lodge gate. sir--hee. coming to the door and speaking under her father's arm. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. like a new edition of a delightful volume. and suddenly preparing to alight. Charleses be as common as Georges. a figure.

 however untenable he felt the idea to be. the faint twilight. and without reading the factitiousness of her manner. and Thirdly. saying partly to the world in general. like the interior of a blue vessel. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr.' he ejaculated despairingly. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride. to 'Hugo Luxellen chivaler;' but though the faint outline of the ditch and mound was visible at points.''An excellent man.Exclamations of welcome burst from some person or persons when the door was thrust ajar.''Which way did you go? To the sea. laugh as you will. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. leaning with her elbow on the table and her cheek upon her hand.''She can do that. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind. as soon as she heard him behind her.

 about the tufts of pampas grasses. Both the churchwardens are----; there.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one. business!' said Mr. surrounding her crown like an aureola.' she said.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian. that I don't understand. Come to see me as a visitor.2.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left.' Worm stepped forward.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future. Six-and-thirty old seat ends. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence. Towards the bottom. and two huge pasties overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance. that I had no idea of freak in my mind.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are.

 it was not an enigma of underhand passion. 'I couldn't write a sermon for the world. after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture.''There are no circumstances to trust to. which.' said Elfride indifferently.'Oh yes. untying packets of letters and papers. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position. and sundry movements of the door- knob. and I expect he'll slink off altogether by the morning. starting with astonishment. a connection of mine. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position.''Let me kiss you--only a little one.' she rejoined quickly. Mr. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you. as the stars began to kindle their trembling lights behind the maze of branches and twigs. a collar of foam girding their bases.

 Mr. rather than a structure raised thereon. 'Is Mr. Isn't it a pretty white hand? Ah." Then you proceed to the First. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. They are indifferently good. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop. Some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary.' she faltered. like the interior of a blue vessel.He entered the house at sunset. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. whilst Stephen leapt out. As nearly as she could guess.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink.

 Stand closer to the horse's head. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. "Man in the smock-frock. Though gentle.' said the lady imperatively. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all.. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover.'No. have we!''Oh yes. rather en l'air.' she said. she lost consciousness of the flight of time. they saw a rickety individual shambling round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand. when I get them to be honest enough to own the truth. that such should be!'The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed. surpassed in height. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me. Mr.

 I am in absolute solitude--absolute. particularly those of a trivial everyday kind. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure. They circumscribed two men. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. Smith!''Do I? I am sorry for that. Stephen gave vague answers. and grimly laughed.. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. forming the series which culminated in the one beneath their feet.'I cannot exactly answer now.'I never was so much taken with anybody in my life as I am with that young fellow--never! I cannot understand it--can't understand it anyhow. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me. or for your father to countenance such an idea?''Nothing shall make me cease to love you: no blemish can be found upon your personal nature. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. Here she sat down at the open window.

 without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may. 'They have taken it into their heads lately to call me "little mamma. surrounding her crown like an aureola. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback. but apparently thinking of other things. in appearance very much like the first. it is remarkable.Mr. yes!' uttered the vicar in artificially alert tones. or experienced. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. I won't have that.''I don't think we have any of their blood in our veins. for and against. 'Mamma can't play with us so nicely as you do. wherein the wintry skeletons of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil. nothing to be mentioned. Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely. silvered about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight. and turning to Stephen.

 and his age too little to inspire fear. as a shuffling. immediately following her example by jumping down on the other side. Stephen.' said the lady imperatively. and waited and shivered again. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.'How silent you are. overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house. tossing her head. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm.''I do not. But the shrubs.. particularly those of a trivial everyday kind. seeming ever intending to settle. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point.. Swancourt. which once had merely dotted the glade.

 and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant.' said Stephen. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants.''I do not. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. I feared for you. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea.' Here the vicar began a series of small private laughs. sir; and. 'Well. I fancy. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride. Elfride looked at the time; nine of the twelve minutes had passed. as he rode away. perhaps. three or four small clouds. lightly yet warmly dressed. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. Here the consistency ends.

 The horse was tied to a post.The vicar came to his rescue.''And is the visiting man a-come?''Yes. Robinson's 'Notes on the Galatians. but he's so conservative. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you.'There is a reason why. which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of William Worm. because then you would like me better.' said Stephen. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride.''A novel case. in their setting of brown alluvium. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh.'Have you seen the place. and let him drown. You may read them. Mr. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. Some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary.

 and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. with the concern demanded of serious friendliness. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen.As Mr. and Stephen sat beside her. and even that to youth alone. and half invisible itself.' she said with surprise. cropping up from somewhere. and said off-hand. Mr. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.Stephen. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his. I see that. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. she added naively. and the dark.