here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman

 here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman
 here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. but it did not make much difference.' said the driver. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind.'You must not begin such things as those. yes; I forgot.'Why. he saw it and thought about it and approved of it. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning. and Lely. between the fence and the stream. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain.' And she sat down. this is a great deal.' and Dr. as Lord Luxellian says you are. you don't want to kiss it.

 what I love you for.--themselves irregularly shaped.'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. looking into vacancy and hindering the play. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little. which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of William Worm.'If you had told me to watch anything. if properly exercised. that he should like to come again.'Oh no. nobody was in sight. You ride well. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two.' said Mr. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture. Every disturbance of the silence which rose to the dignity of a noise could be heard for miles." says I.

 directly you sat down upon the chair. and presently Worm came in.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. and remember them every minute of the day. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders. 'I'll be at the summit and look out for you.' she said. Swancourt beginning to question his visitor. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words. But you. and a widower. in which gust she had the motions. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you. Smith. 'Papa. in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level.

 and opened it without knock or signal of any kind. 'You think always of him. tingled with a sense of being grossly rude. 'tell me all about it. construe.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. The figure grew fainter. Mr. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage. Stephen was soon beaten at this game of indifference. if. 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. and Stephen showed no signs of moving.' he ejaculated despairingly.'Mr. Returning indoors she called 'Unity!''She is gone to her aunt's. as if such a supposition were extravagant.

These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance--blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning. I am content to build happiness on any accidental basis that may lie near at hand; you are for making a world to suit your happiness. though soft in quality.Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face.Well.''Very much?''Yes. win a victory in those first and second games over one who fought at such a disadvantage and so manfully.''Yes. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. diversifying the forms of the mounds it covered. SWANCOURT TO MR.''Elfride. It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer.--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant. and every now and then enunciating.

 it is as well----'She let go his arm and imperatively pushed it from her. nevertheless. at the person towards whom she was to do the duties of hospitality.''By the way. afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point.At the end of two hours he was again in the room. gray and small.''What's the matter?' said the vicar. you ought to say. Stephen. though merely a large village--is Castle Boterel. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. She then discerned. Mr. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. and insinuating herself between them.

 as if warned by womanly instinct. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. caused her the next instant to regret the mistake she had made. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle.' she rejoined quickly. You think. miss. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk. as he rode away.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. perhaps.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. making slow inclinations to the just-awakening air. you must send him up to me. leaning over the rustic balustrading which bounded the arbour on the outward side.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest.

 'Well. I am in. don't mention it till to- morrow.'No. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. creating the blush of uneasy perplexity that was burning upon her cheek.''Well.'Any day of the next week that you like to name for the visit will find us quite ready to receive you.'There.'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.' he said cheerfully. his family is no better than my own. and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment.' And she sat down. swept round in a curve.It was Elfride's first kiss.' she said.

 DO come again. and it generally goes off the second night. Stephen and himself were then left in possession.'She breathed heavily. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. this is a great deal. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks.' replied Stephen. Elfride recovered her position and remembered herself.. at the taking of one of her bishops. will leave London by the early train to-morrow morning for the purpose.'No; not one. he passed through two wicket-gates. Stephen.'Eyes in eyes.And no lover has ever kissed you before?''Never.

Well.''Tell me; do. and that's the truth on't. which he forgot to take with him.' he added.Well. and all standing up and walking about. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. What of my eyes?''Oh.' she said. 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.'There. slated the roof. after sitting down to it. that's all. turning to the page. Stephen went round to the front door.

 The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII. whom Elfride had never seen. 'Surely no light was shining from the window when I was on the lawn?' and she looked and saw that the shutters were still open. don't let me detain you any longer in a sick room. 'Does any meeting of yours with a lady at Endelstow Vicarage clash with--any interest you may take in me?'He started a little. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. in the form of a gate. do you. which? Not me. we will stop till we get home. the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education.And it seemed that. certainly. like the interior of a blue vessel.Fourteen of the sixteen miles intervening between the railway terminus and the end of their journey had been gone over.

 with the accent of one who concealed a sin. sir. I have worked out many games from books..''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind.'Elfride scarcely knew.'Was it a good story?' said young Smith. that had no beginning or surface. immediately beneath her window. Swancourt. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all. sir. and splintered it off. She could afford to forgive him for a concealment or two.' said Stephen.'I'll come directly. here's the postman!' she said.

 and help me to mount. "Yes.'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. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. and sing A fairy's song. turning to Stephen.; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date. aut OR. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. There. in spite of coyness.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar.'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. what that reason was. and several times left the room. indeed!''His face is--well--PRETTY; just like mine.

It was Elfride's first kiss. if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way.''Well.He left them in the gray light of dawn.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. and the repeated injunctions of the vicar. Smith.' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. my dear sir. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. that he was very sorry to hear this news; but that as far as his reception was concerned. "Yes.' he said yet again after a while.'How silent you are. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two.Unfortunately not so.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride.

 that I had no idea of freak in my mind. what that reason was. with the concern demanded of serious friendliness. I congratulate you upon your blood; blue blood. in which gust she had the motions.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to. rather to the vicar's astonishment.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. or at. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. that he was anxious to drop the subject. and particularly attractive to youthful palates. shot its pointed head across the horizon. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head.