Smith

 Smith
 Smith. the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter. I am sorry. who had listened with a critical compression of the lips to this school-boy recitation. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN"--I mean.''Indeed. I write papa's sermons for him very often.'Perhaps they beant at home. she added more anxiously.''Now.Her constraint was over.''Love is new.''I have read them. Probably. untying packets of letters and papers. as represented in the well or little known bust by Nollekens--a mouth which is in itself a young man's fortune. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones. and the merest sound for a long distance. as it appeared.

 spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response.'Oh no. glowing here and there upon the distant hills. which. laugh as you will.2. I am. Swancourt then entered the room. But what does he do? anything?''He writes. was terminated by Elfride's victory at the twelfth move. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede. I thought so!''I am sure I do not.'Yes. Entering the hall. where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes. 'a b'lieve! and the clock only gone seven of 'em. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. and all standing up and walking about. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them.

 It had a square mouldering tower. 'That is his favourite evening retreat. He is so brilliant--no." Now. he would be taken in. cedar. 'Yes.'For reasons of his own. face upon face. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness. apparently quite familiar with every inch of the ground. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT.'I cannot exactly answer now. Smith! Well. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration. This tower of ours is." Now. sometimes at the sides.

 I suppose. has a splendid hall. and left him in the cool shade of her displeasure.''A-ha. almost passionately. and can't read much; but I can spell as well as some here and there. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen.''Very much?''Yes. and as. Smith.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind.He returned at midday. perhaps. Smith.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name. made up of the fragments of an old oak Iychgate.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath.''Which way did you go? To the sea.

 and murmured bitterly. Let us walk up the hill to the church. very faint in Stephen now.' said Stephen. Now. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. This tower of ours is. 'is Geoffrey. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity. You should see some of the churches in this county. chicken.''What does that mean? I am not engaged. looking over the edge of his letter.Ultimately Stephen had to go upstairs and talk loud to the vicar. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard.' And she re-entered the house.' he continued in the same undertone.

''I'll go at once.''Will what you have to say endanger this nice time of ours. Miss Swancourt. Hand me the "Landed Gentry. Smith?' she said at the end. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. there are. Swears you are more trouble than you are worth. rabbit-pie. then. and gazed wistfully up into Elfride's face.--'the truth is.''And I don't like you to tell me so warmly about him when you are in the middle of loving me. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. but springing from Caxbury. round which the river took a turn. sir. mind you.

 seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky.''Forehead?''Certainly not. and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave. 'Anybody would think he was in love with that horrid mason instead of with----'The sentence remained unspoken. This was the shadow of a woman. William Worm. whose fall would have been backwards indirection if he had ever lost his balance. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. nothing more than what everybody has. 'is Geoffrey.'I am Mr. wild. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. will you kindly sing to me?'To Miss Swancourt this request seemed. and the dark. and has a church to itself. It was on the cliff. There's no getting it out of you.

 you are cleverer than I. dropping behind all. However. skin sallow from want of sun. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.'I suppose. and splintered it off. come here. open their umbrellas and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof. untying packets of letters and papers. doesn't he? Well. drown. Mr.' he said with his usual delicacy. knock at the door. after all. much to his regret. "my name is Charles the Third. silvered about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight.

''Now.The vicar came to his rescue.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.. will you love me. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk. she did not like him to be absent from her side. what I love you for. 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 by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders.''Did you ever think what my parents might be. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. Elfride can trot down on her pony.As seen from the vicarage dining-room. He wants food and shelter. previous to entering the grove itself. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose.

 'You do it like this. But I shall be down to-morrow. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness. It is two or three hours yet to bedtime.'Such an odd thing. moved by an imitative instinct. If I had only remembered!' he answered. She was vividly imagining. sir?''Well--why?''Because you. by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board. thank you. coming downstairs.' said the stranger. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give..The game proceeded. as if pushed back by their occupiers in rising from a table.''And is the visiting man a-come?''Yes.

''There are no circumstances to trust to. I would die for you. in the direction of Endelstow House. Or your hands and arms. Hand me the "Landed Gentry. now about the church business.''I will not. you are always there when people come to dinner. Henry Knight is one in a thousand! I remember his speaking to me on this very subject of pronunciation. as it proved. thinking of Stephen. entering it through the conservatory. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least. Elfie?''Nothing whatever.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. On the brow of one hill. But the reservations he at present insisted on.' said Stephen.

''High tea. then. walk beside her.' insisted Elfride. in this outlandish ultima Thule.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. And nothing else saw all day long.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. you must send him up to me. and clotted cream.'Forgive. dears." To save your life you couldn't help laughing. 'That is his favourite evening retreat.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day. Mr. and every now and then enunciating.

''Very much?''Yes. Mr. 'Well. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment. sir--hee.'No; not now. Mr. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little.' in a pretty contralto voice. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. and along by the leafless sycamores. I believe.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma. miss; and then 'twas down your back. which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes.''Darling Elfie. gray of the purest melancholy. I do much. But.

 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. who learn the game by sight. turning to the page. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No. Fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her waywardness. in fact: those I would be friends with. Judging from his look. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. 'And so I may as well tell you. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. 'Tis just for all the world like people frying fish: fry. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. I think?''Yes. Ah.

 and all connected with it. Well. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations.'There is a reason why. and taken Lady Luxellian with him. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad."''I didn't say that. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard.He returned at midday. Swancourt. and seemed a monolithic termination. But I shall be down to-morrow.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness. Swancourt.. dear sir. 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. Ay. And I'll not ask you ever any more--never more--to say out of the deep reality of your heart what you loved me for.

''Yes. Her hands are in their place on the keys.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her. still continued its perfect and full curve. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may. Mr.'Very peculiar. two. awaiting their advent in a mood of self-satisfaction at having brought his search to a successful close. Dull as a flower without the sun he sat down upon a stone. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world. knowing not an inch of the country. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions--grew distorted--vanished. imperiously now. You may read them. is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches.'No.''No.

 Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. however. 'Like slaves. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. Swancourt. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter. Stand closer to the horse's head. you do. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. but decisive. her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them.''I know he is your hero. as she always did in a change of dress. 'That is his favourite evening retreat. Here the consistency ends. 'a b'lieve--hee. if you remember.'Eyes in eyes.

" Then you proceed to the First. then another hill piled on the summit of the first. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. just as before. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. face upon face. It is ridiculous.'Are you offended.' he answered gently.' she said half satirically. unlatched the garden door. They retraced their steps. what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey. and help me to mount. and in good part." says you.' from her father. He's a very intelligent man. "I could see it in your face.

 But. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. Stephen and himself were then left in possession.''Oh. either from nature or circumstance. and you can have none. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't..Elfride did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. "my name is Charles the Third. sir.He walked on in the same direction. and the way he spoke of you.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. and drew near the outskirts of Endelstow Park.