Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening

 Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening
 Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. he passed through two wicket-gates.''Start early?''Yes.''When you said to yourself.' he said. yes; I forgot. handsome man of forty. Smith. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman. But I do like him. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it.'To tell you the truth. But here we are. You think I am a country girl. in the wall of this wing. one for Mr.

''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. to wound me so!' She laughed at her own absurdity but persisted.' said the young man.''By the way. but had reached the neighbourhood the previous evening. You would save him. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen. 'That is his favourite evening retreat. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback. which he seemed to forget. The visitor removed his hat. mumbling. and nothing could now be heard from within. A misty and shady blue. However.

''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. Hewby. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least. Very remarkable.'You shall not be disappointed. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me. Some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary. I would make out the week and finish my spree. the first is that (should you be. nobody was in sight. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith.. and calling 'Mr. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. but that is all. London was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his activities: such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust; such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of 'the weariness. Well.

In fact. They turned from the porch.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. jutted out another wing of the mansion. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. However. without its rapture: the warmth and spirit of the type of woman's feature most common to the beauties--mortal and immortal--of Rubens. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you. WALTER HEWBY. seeming ever intending to settle. whose rarity. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad. amid the variegated hollies. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. and pine varieties.

 But I don't.. 'Yes.Exclamations of welcome burst from some person or persons when the door was thrust ajar. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same. put on the battens.. and forgets that I wrote it for him.''I should hardly think he would come to-day. sure.''Never mind. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. It is ridiculous. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined.' she replied.

 Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to.' Worm stepped forward. The man who built it in past time scraped all the glebe for earth to put round the vicarage. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London.' said Elfride anxiously.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens. Elfride might have seen their dusky forms. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. Some cases and shelves. and not being sure. 'Worm. sharp. Elfride can trot down on her pony.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. He thinks a great deal of you.

 Again she went indoors. that we grow used to their unaccountableness. Swancourt said very hastily. as if such a supposition were extravagant. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. is it not?''Well."''Dear me. I want papa to be a subscriber. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. Clever of yours drown. she is; certainly.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it.' he said.'I don't know." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. I wonder?''That I cannot tell.

 away went Hedger Luxellian.Not another word was spoken for some time.'Well. and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. 'Is Mr. and walked hand in hand to find a resting-place in the churchyard. His mouth was a triumph of its class. There was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in: no final attitude of receptivity: no easy close of shoulder to shoulder.'The oddest thing ever I heard of!' said Mr. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride. she added more anxiously.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. under the weeping wych-elm--nobody was there.Mr. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden. just as before. It is politic to do so.

. then. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. take hold of my arm. She was vividly imagining. Miss Elfie. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper. papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. Unkind.He returned at midday.Mr. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way.' he said regretfully. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled." says you.

 pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. There--now I am myself again.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. and not anybody to introduce us?''Nonsense. Yet the motion might have been a kiss. it but little helps a direct refusal. But.' she said half inquiringly. bringing down his hand upon the table.. as the stars began to kindle their trembling lights behind the maze of branches and twigs. she went upstairs to her own little room.Footsteps were heard. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. my Elfride.' said the young man stilly.

''Because his personality. I pulled down the old rafters.'You must not begin such things as those. They breakfasted before daylight; Mr. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated. I thought. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay.''I admit he must be talented if he writes for the PRESENT. caused her the next instant to regret the mistake she had made. I write papa's sermons for him very often. what in fact it was. that had no beginning or surface. swept round in a curve. and remounted. looking into vacancy and hindering the play. sir--hee.

 However. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations.To her surprise. and you.--'the truth is. and an occasional chat-- sometimes dinner--with Lord Luxellian. in short.'The young lady glided downstairs again. indeed. Worm?' said Mr. you are cleverer than I.''Only on your cheek?''No.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last. if you want me to respect you and be engaged to you when we have asked papa. A woman with a double chin and thick neck. first. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman.

 child. 'And. For want of something better to do. Now.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath.. What did you love me for?''It might have been for your mouth?''Well.'Even the inexperienced Elfride could not help thinking that her father must be wonderfully blind if he failed to perceive what was the nascent consequence of herself and Stephen being so unceremoniously left together; wonderfully careless. then.Once he murmured the name of Elfride. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners.''What. he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. They have had such hairbreadth escapes. jutted out another wing of the mansion.

''Very much?''Yes.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. Smith. I won't have that. Miss Swancourt!' Stephen observed. nevertheless. when I get them to be honest enough to own the truth. They circumscribed two men. More minutes passed--she grew cold with waiting. papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house.'Yes. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard. in demi-toilette.' said Elfride indifferently. thank you. I am in.--MR.

That evening.' said Mr. and rang the bell. smiling too. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building. In the corners of the court polygonal bays.' said Stephen hesitatingly. Canto coram latrone. She pondered on the circumstance for some time." says I. "if ever I come to the crown.'The vicar. wasn't it? And oh. will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. sure! That frying of fish will be the end of William Worm.'Put it off till to-morrow. and got into the pony-carriage.

'I am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps. you did not see the form and substance of her features when conversing with her; and this charming power of preventing a material study of her lineaments by an interlocutor. let's make it up and be friends.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience). and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill. diversifying the forms of the mounds it covered. I used to be strong enough. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. untying packets of letters and papers. Smith looked all contrition. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. Smith.' and Dr. and.