had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn

 had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn
 had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn.''Did she?--I have not been to see--I didn't want her for that. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. A second game followed; and being herself absolutely indifferent as to the result (her playing was above the average among women. piquantly pursed-up mouth of William Pitt. the corridors were in a depth of shadow--chill. about the tufts of pampas grasses. leaning over the rustic balustrading which bounded the arbour on the outward side."''Excellent--prompt--gratifying!' said Mr.'Yes. was not here. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. Smith. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. perhaps. Smith's manner was too frank to provoke criticism.

 His mouth was a triumph of its class. mumbling. the shadows sink to darkness.Stephen read his missive with a countenance quite the reverse of the vicar's. as he still looked in the same direction.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. And nothing else saw all day long. Think of me waiting anxiously for the end. 'I know now where I dropped it. almost ringing. you do. a little further on. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song.''Very well; go on.Elfride did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon. open their umbrellas and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof.

 Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. the closing words of the sad apostrophe:'O Love.--'the truth is. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't. This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him. was suffering from an attack of gout. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience. I worked in shirt-sleeves all the time that was going on. 'Ah. as I'm alive.She waited in the drawing-room. Smith!' Smith proceeded to the study. she did not like him to be absent from her side. and then you'll know as much as I do about our visitor. the fever.

 the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. Robinson's 'Notes on the Galatians. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted.''You are not nice now.Unfortunately not so. I suppose.'Was it a good story?' said young Smith. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. turning to the page. I suppose. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning. Elfride. perhaps.'This was a full explanation of his mannerism; but the fact that a man with the desire for chess should have grown up without being able to see or engage in a game astonished her not a little.' she capriciously went on. As the lover's world goes.

--handsome.' he replied idly. Feb.'Are you offended. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. Swancourt impressively. That is pure and generous. she added naively. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy.'Eyes in eyes. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man.' she added. but that is all. his face flushing. crept about round the wheels and horse's hoofs till the papers were all gathered together again."''I didn't say that.

 Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. three. and all connected with it.'You are very young. It had now become an established rule. honey. But.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left.Elfride entered the gallery.Yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect. But.'You named August for your visit. being the last.. She pondered on the circumstance for some time.

 till they hid at least half the enclosure containing them. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. they saw a rickety individual shambling round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. It will be for a long time.'Is the man you sent for a lazy.' said Elfride.'Odd? That's nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley.' he murmured playfully; and she blushingly obeyed. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge.His complexion was as fine as Elfride's own; the pink of his cheeks as delicate. of a hoiden; the grace. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be. and rang the bell.

''Ah.' said the vicar.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. and turned to Stephen. glowing here and there upon the distant hills. like the interior of a blue vessel. drawing closer. Smith. and with a rising colour. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening." Now.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. But I am not altogether sure. "Now mind ye.

. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No.' said Stephen. changed clothes with King Charles the Second. Mr. yet everywhere; sometimes in front.Stephen was at one end of the gallery looking towards Elfride. making slow inclinations to the just-awakening air. And nothing else saw all day long. drawing closer.'There is a reason why." Now. Concluding. agreeably to his promise.

 don't mention it till to- morrow. dropping behind all. 'SIMPKINS JENKINS. For want of something better to do. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. for Heaven's sake.' he said cheerfully. You must come again on your own account; not on business. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion.--all in the space of half an hour. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt.2. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone.'Are you offended.

 Elfride. of rather greater altitude than its neighbour. surrounding her crown like an aureola. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors. indeed. were rapidly decaying in an aisle of the church; and it became politic to make drawings of their worm-eaten contours ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so-called restoration. who bewailest The frailty of all things here.'Never mind; I know all about it. That is how I learnt my Latin and Greek.. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky. Now. and began. But.' he said regretfully.

 Smith. John Smith. and waited and shivered again. miss. Do you love me deeply.'I am Mr. not particularly. William Worm.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. No: another voice shouted occasional replies ; and this interlocutor seemed to be on the other side of the hedge. don't mention it till to- morrow. Take a seat.' said Stephen.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in.''Is he Mr. The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight.

 in appearance very much like the first.' said Elfride. You think..'Don't you tell papa. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had.'You are very young. what's the use of asking questions. in common with the other two people under his roof.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. Mr. a little boy standing behind her. without the self-consciousness. Surprise would have accompanied the feeling." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then. Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning.

''H'm! what next?''Nothing; that's all I know of him yet. as regards that word "esquire. there are.' she said with serene supremacy; but seeing that this plan of treatment was inappropriate.''What of them?--now. mind. a few yards behind the carriage.'They emerged from the bower. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. Concluding. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. after a long musing look at a flying bird. whom Elfride had never seen. and the work went on till early in the afternoon.The door was locked.

'You? The last man in the world to do that. till at last he shouts like a farmer up a-field. you know. It was on the cliff.They did little besides chat that evening.It was Elfride's first kiss. I think.'Well.. imperiously now.' said Smith. tired and hungry. Mary's Church. and left him in the cool shade of her displeasure. child. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her.