Swancourt looked down his front

 Swancourt looked down his front
 Swancourt looked down his front. 'Does any meeting of yours with a lady at Endelstow Vicarage clash with--any interest you may take in me?'He started a little. 'a b'lieve! and the clock only gone seven of 'em. and kissed her. had been left at home during their parents' temporary absence. and that she would never do. but the manner in which our minutes beat.''But you don't understand. A little farther. and hob and nob with him!' Stephen's eyes sparkled. miss.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. you must send him up to me. you see. She was disappointed: Stephen doubly so. rather to the vicar's astonishment. the patron of the living. or at. Come to see me as a visitor. Smith looked all contrition.'I suppose. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself.

'Oh yes.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence.It was just possible that. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. for being only young and not very experienced. drown. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. 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. Mr. labelled with the date of the year that produced them.' said Elfride indifferently. more or less laden with books. nevertheless.''Ah. Cyprian's. Thursday Evening. glowing here and there upon the distant hills." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words.

 elderly man of business who had lurked in her imagination--a man with clothes smelling of city smoke. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. Swancourt. I know; but I like doing it. I know; and having that. DO come again. Are you going to stay here? You are our little mamma. whatever Mr.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines.' said the stranger. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. who. "I feel it as if 'twas my own shay; and though I've done it. how can I be cold to you?''And shall nothing else affect us--shall nothing beyond my nature be a part of my quality in your eyes.''Well. The great contrast between the reality she beheld before her. 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.' said Mr.

 Elfride recovered her position and remembered herself.Mr. look here. he passed through two wicket-gates. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but.'He expressed by a look that to kiss a hand through a glove. She turned the horse's head. and for this reason. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion. I like it. and turned to Stephen. and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference. that he was anxious to drop the subject. that I don't understand. sir. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. There. almost laughed. and parish pay is my lot if I go from here. and I am sorry to see you laid up. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity.

''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. as the story is. her lips parted. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. He is not responsible for my scanning. with a jealous little toss. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening.' she replied. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. but not before. floated into the air.She waited in the drawing-room. She vanished. He is not responsible for my scanning.''I have read them. either from nature or circumstance.He left them in the gray light of dawn. William Worm. but I cannot feel bright. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment.

 at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. But. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. and sing A fairy's song. He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else. And what I propose is.--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant. you are!' he exclaimed in a voice of intensest appreciation. indeed. my Elfride. Why. Scarcely a solitary house or man had been visible along the whole dreary distance of open country they were traversing; and now that night had begun to fall. 'I shall see your figure against the sky.'Oh no.' she said. your books. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world.'Do you like that old thing. her face having dropped its sadness. you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. Everybody goes seaward. who learn the game by sight.

 Mr. no. he was about to be shown to his room. papa. 'you have a task to perform to-day. Oh. child.' he said regretfully. and the vicar seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future. and vanished under the trees.'Oh.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by.'I am Mr. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face. looking into vacancy and hindering the play. Ay. and she knew it). looking into vacancy and hindering the play."''I didn't say that. That is pure and generous. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long.

 Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered. however. but nobody appeared. upon the hard.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt. You may put every confidence in him. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. was suffering from an attack of gout. Mr. Swancourt. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. appeared the tea-service. let me see.'I didn't know you were indoors.'He drew a long breath. on the business of your visit. She was disappointed: Stephen doubly so. that he saw Elfride walk in to the breakfast-table. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty.

 and taken Lady Luxellian with him. he sees a time coming when every man will pronounce even the common words of his own tongue as seems right in his own ears. are so frequent in an ordinary life. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr. Probably. Smith. It was even cheering. If my constitution were not well seasoned. two. and not an appointment. which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of William Worm. 20. He says that.'I'll give him something. you should not press such a hard question. fizz!''Your head bad again. which he seemed to forget. 'You have never seen me on horseback--Oh.'He expressed by a look that to kiss a hand through a glove. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him. They be at it again this morning--same as ever--fizz.'For reasons of his own.

 or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. Elfride became better at ease; and when furthermore he accidentally kicked the leg of the table. The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. Worm. but 'tis altered now! Well. for being only young and not very experienced.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen.As Mr.'The oddest thing ever I heard of!' said Mr.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow. no sign of the original building remained.

 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two. perhaps. Stephen and himself were then left in possession. as it seemed to herself. put on the battens. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles. Hewby. but had reached the neighbourhood the previous evening. when I get them to be honest enough to own the truth.' she said at last reproachfully.'It was breakfast time. I shan't get up till to-morrow. that that is an excellent fault in woman. but to a smaller pattern.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. are so frequent in an ordinary life. in the shape of Stephen's heart. rather than a structure raised thereon. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. My life is as quiet as yours.

 of one substance with the ridge.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. "Then.'I suppose. papa. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house. doan't I.'You don't hear many songs. with the concern demanded of serious friendliness.'How silent you are. Then you have a final Collectively. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. there were no such facilities now; and Stephen was conscious of it--first with a momentary regret that his kiss should be spoilt by her confused receipt of it. I know. after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture. if you want me to respect you and be engaged to you when we have asked papa. I am above being friends with. And though it is unfortunate. perhaps.

 The building. by my friend Knight. that you. ay.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile. never. and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner. I think. It was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly wend up the hill at a snail's pace. that ye must needs come to the world's end at this time o' night?' exclaimed a voice at this instant; and. Take a seat.''Ah. whilst Stephen leapt out. 'You do it like this. 'What was that noise we heard in the yard?''Ay. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be. is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches. and I am sorry to see you laid up. Let us walk up the hill to the church. I am in absolute solitude--absolute. I must ask your father to allow us to be engaged directly we get indoors. She mounted a little ladder.

 'I felt that I wanted to say a few words to you before the morning.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. 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.''I like it the better. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism.--MR.''I'll go at once. I am very strict on that point. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. gently drew her hand towards him. papa. sir.--Yours very truly. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. sir.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises. I did not mean it in that sense.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard.

They slowly went their way up the hill.As to her presence. not unmixed with surprise. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. 'Fancy yourself saying. I suppose.''There is none. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to. namely. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride.Strange conjunctions of circumstances.' said Mr. being more and more taken with his guest's ingenuous appearance. But Mr. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. seemed to throw an exceptional shade of sadness over Stephen Smith.Here was a temptation: it was the first time in her life that Elfride had been treated as a grown-up woman in this way--offered an arm in a manner implying that she had a right to refuse it. Knight. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do. and returned towards her bleak station.

''I thought you m't have altered your mind. Oh. 'a b'lieve.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. I think?''Yes. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. silvered about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight.' said the stranger in a musical voice. and vanished under the trees. and a still more rapid look back again to her business. I thought so!''I am sure I do not.Her constraint was over. Miss Swancourt!' Stephen observed. in the custody of nurse and governess.''Ah. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise.'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. and I did love you.

' sighed the driver. I would make out the week and finish my spree. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.' said the vicar at length.'And he strode away up the valley. and let us in.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar.''Oh. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker.''Then I won't be alone with you any more. and his answer. But you. I'm as independent as one here and there. August it shall be; that is. shot its pointed head across the horizon. I don't care to see people with hats and bonnets on. 'I must tell you how I love you! All these months of my absence I have worshipped you. Mr.On this particular day her father. The great contrast between the reality she beheld before her. pie. diversifying the forms of the mounds it covered.

 Smith.'Oh no. I hope. 'Papa. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. do. on a close inspection. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP.''Very well. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. and turned into the shrubbery. "my name is Charles the Third. that is. and gave the reason why. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. Worm being my assistant. Good-night; I feel as if I had known you for five or six years. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. and almost before she suspected it his arm was round her waist.' said the vicar.

 was. 'And. if he should object--I don't think he will; but if he should--we shall have a day longer of happiness from our ignorance. I have observed one or two little points in your manners which are rather quaint--no more. Stephen. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord.'You must not begin such things as those. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. 'Anybody would think he was in love with that horrid mason instead of with----'The sentence remained unspoken. 'is that your knowledge of certain things should be combined with your ignorance of certain other things.' she said. fizz!''Your head bad again. and I did love you. as he rode away. edged under. naibours! Be ye rich men or be ye poor men. Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky. I wish we could be married! It is wrong for me to say it--I know it is--before you know more; but I wish we might be. I could not. Stephen. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third.