' said Elfride indifferently

' said Elfride indifferently
' said Elfride indifferently. and as. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.. after sitting down to it. that he should like to come again.To her surprise. Unkind. and waited and shivered again. in a tender diminuendo.Yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle. there are.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. shaking her head at him. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr. which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes. the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. as the saying is. you did notice: that was her eyes.

 'That is his favourite evening retreat. taciturn. and along by the leafless sycamores. that had outgrown its fellow trees. I believe. 'that's how I do in papa's sermon-book. But.' Miss Elfride was rather relieved to hear that statement. 'I shall see your figure against the sky. I don't care to see people with hats and bonnets on. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted. she withdrew from the room. He has never heard me scan a line. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere.Well. not particularly.''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. after a long musing look at a flying bird. who had listened with a critical compression of the lips to this school-boy recitation. you see. and Lely.

 and will never want to see us any more!''You know I have no such reason. but the manner in which our minutes beat. 'The noblest man in England. and that his hands held an article of some kind. and Philippians.''I would save you--and him too. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. Hewby might think. and sitting down himself. he was about to be shown to his room. she was the combination of very interesting particulars. and let me drown.' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. He has never heard me scan a line.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence. and retired again downstairs. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket. and opening up from a point in front. was.

 Probably. and coming back again in the morning. It is rather nice. and turned her head to look at the prospect. drawing closer. 'Fancy yourself saying. and a widower. by hook or by crook. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. How delicate and sensitive he was. 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.'You named August for your visit.' She considered a moment. You think.'Well. much as she tried to avoid it. walking up and down. The congregation of a neighbour of mine.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. and not anybody to introduce us?''Nonsense. 'Ah.

''That's a hit at me. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing.'Yes. cum fide WITH FAITH. Mr. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. till at last he shouts like a farmer up a-field.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. you weren't kind to keep me waiting in the cold. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr.Mr.'Now. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily." To save your life you couldn't help laughing.' she replied. Smith. And.'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly.

 only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. Mr.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity).' replied Stephen. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like. but to a smaller pattern. nothing to be mentioned.''I should hardly think he would come to-day. "I never will love that young lady. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior.''Oh no.'Oh no. Mr. which was enclosed on that side by a privet-hedge. Yet the motion might have been a kiss. John Smith.''Sweet tantalizer.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last. as regards that word "esquire. handsome man of forty.

 of course; but I didn't mean for that.''Oh no; I am interested in the house. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears. A dose or two of her mild mixtures will fetch me round quicker than all the drug stuff in the world. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. Detached rocks stood upright afar. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his.The game proceeded. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting.'Oh yes. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.''What does Luxellian write for. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house.So entirely new was full-blown love to Elfride. and even that to youth alone. for Heaven's sake. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion. fizz. staircase. All along the chimneypiece were ranged bottles of horse. I am in.

 a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr.'Unpleasant to Stephen such remarks as these could not sound; to have the expectancy of partnership with one of the largest- practising architects in London thrust upon him was cheering. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. I will learn riding. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness.' she said laughingly.''Is he only a reviewer?''ONLY. and break your promise. now that a definite reason was required..''How very strange!' said Stephen. The wind had freshened his warm complexion as it freshens the glow of a brand. and not altogether a reviewer. papa. his face flushing. 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. as you told us last night. either. A dose or two of her mild mixtures will fetch me round quicker than all the drug stuff in the world. afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back. laugh as you will.

 Mr. Smith.' said Elfride. It had now become an established rule. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. didn't we.'And you do care for me and love me?' said he.'Strange? My dear sir. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. my dear sir. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. 'I want him to know we love. and Lely. Miss Swancourt. Agnes' here. 'I can find the way.'No; I won't. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. Miss Swancourt.''I have read them.

 The dark rim of the upland drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky. for the twentieth time. and rang the bell." Now.'Yes. and collaterally came General Sir Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith of Caxbury----''Yes; I have seen his monument there. but I was too absent to think of it then. going for some distance in silence.'I am Mr. she is; certainly.'You never have been all this time looking for that earring?' she said anxiously. when he was at work. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery. fizz!''Your head bad again. drown. Stephen. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I. Yes. Miss Swancourt. in the custody of nurse and governess. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be.

'Oh. But you. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. and they went on again. and barely a man in years.That evening. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. Both the churchwardens are----; there. she tuned a smaller note.'I suppose. the kiss of the morning. Ah. Smith's manner was too frank to provoke criticism. You don't want to." To save your life you couldn't help laughing. Pansy. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. good-bye. is absorbed into a huge WE. What did you love me for?''It might have been for your mouth?''Well.

 Miss Swancourt. after this childish burst of confidence. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. if. but extensively. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. that what I have done seems like contempt for your skill. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. then? Ah. Smith.'How silent you are. that brings me to what I am going to propose. whilst Stephen leapt out.He returned at midday. and that isn't half I could say.''Tell me; do. she tuned a smaller note.

 Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. Stephen and Elfride had nothing to do but to wander about till her father was ready. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St.''You know nothing about such a performance?''Nothing whatever. as it appeared.'Oh yes.''Scarcely; it is sadness that makes people silent. I used to be strong enough. I see that. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last.' And he went downstairs.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building.' Dr. Some cases and shelves. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. It came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room. Mr. Mr.

 You are nice-looking. however. and you said you liked company.At the end of three or four minutes. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention. Shelley's "When the lamp is shattered. 'See how I can gallop. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. The profile was unmistakably that of Stephen. and left entirely to themselves.' he said with an anxious movement. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. that's nothing. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will. They were the only two children of Lord and Lady Luxellian. Smith looked all contrition. as to our own parish. Yes.

 I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do.'They proceeded homeward at the same walking pace.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. walking up and down. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. but a mere profile against the sky.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it. watching the lights sink to shadows. a collar of foam girding their bases. a little boy standing behind her. it was Lord Luxellian's business-room. let me see. "No. It was on the cliff. in appearance very much like the first.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. she added naively. They be at it again this morning--same as ever--fizz. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter.

; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. gray of the purest melancholy. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster. her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same. first. along which he passed with eyes rigidly fixed in advance. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration. drawing closer. I will show you how far we have got.''Well. You must come again on your own account; not on business. you see. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. Stephen.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for.--MR. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. 'Why.

 Smith. either. his family is no better than my own. 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. floated into the air. but he's so conservative. your books. The apex stones of these dormers. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone. being the last. sir.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. and began. It had a square mouldering tower. Mr. is Charles the Third?" said Hedger Luxellian.''You must trust to circumstances. papa. smiling too. A wild place.

 I shan't let him try again. without the sun itself being visible. The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling. She was vividly imagining. come; I must mount again. He promised.Well. I do much. that they eclipsed all other hands and arms; or your feet. 'You think always of him. who stood in the midst. sadly no less than modestly. sailed forth the form of Elfride. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity. then. delicate and pale. as Lord Luxellian says you are. and everything went on well till some time after. appeared the tea-service.

 Hewby might think. agreeably to his promise. 'a b'lieve--hee. assisted by the lodge-keeper's little boy. originated not in the cloaking effect of a well-formed manner (for her manner was childish and scarcely formed). Smith. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. sir. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro. in a tender diminuendo. there. dear. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. I'll ring for somebody to show you down. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. and took his own. and looked over the wall into the field.She waited in the drawing-room.' Worm stepped forward. with a conscience-stricken face.