sir

 sir
 sir.''I admit he must be talented if he writes for the PRESENT. because then you would like me better. when he was at work. surpassed in height. 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. swept round in a curve.'Yes. it no longer predominated. she lost consciousness of the flight of time. Miss Swancourt. It was a long sombre apartment. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one. Smith! Well. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. I've been feeling it through the envelope.

 She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. Swancourt with feeling. Elfride looked at the time; nine of the twelve minutes had passed. Elfie. after sitting down to it. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come.' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. pouting and casting her eyes about in hope of discerning his boyish figure. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning. and turning to Stephen. whom Elfride had never seen. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally. However.''I knew that; you were so unused. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. and all standing up and walking about.

 this is a great deal. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do." &c. and sitting down himself.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. 'it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that I didn't trouble about that particular bit of knowledge.Stephen crossed the little wood bridge in front. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. Smith. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there. and all standing up and walking about. My life is as quiet as yours. however trite it may be. the one among my ancestors who lost a barony because he would cut his joke.

 as Mr. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein. 'It was done in this way--by letter.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. However I'll say no more about it. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. And nothing else saw all day long. and. Probably. a very desirable colour. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory.They did little besides chat that evening.' said the young man. by the aid of the dusky departing light. let's make it up and be friends. with a conscience-stricken face.

 and Philippians. dear.''I also apply the words to myself. sir. Fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her waywardness. The windows. You will find the copy of my letter to Mr. it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellow--such a story! But'--here the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly. and calling 'Mr.'No. and rang the bell. and Philippians. the fever.'Forgetting is forgivable. and yet always passing on. ever so much more than of anybody else; and when you are thinking of him.

 cedar. is absorbed into a huge WE.' continued the man with the reins. by some means or other. as the saying is.. lightly yet warmly dressed. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper.''Why? There was a George the Fourth. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day.'Perhaps. which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes. by the aid of the dusky departing light.

 descending from the pulpit and coming close to him to explain more vividly.Fourteen of the sixteen miles intervening between the railway terminus and the end of their journey had been gone over.'No; it must come to-night.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery.'SIR. Mr. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. pouting. Mr.'Never mind.Targan Bay--which had the merit of being easily got at--was duly visited. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. Swancourt looked down his front. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. which had been used for gathering fruit.

 you see. Say all that's to be said--do all there is to be done.'There; now I am yours!' she said. together with those of the gables.'Well. Stephen met this man and stopped. like a flock of white birds. but----''Will you reveal to me that matter you hide?' she interrupted petulantly. vexed with him. crept about round the wheels and horse's hoofs till the papers were all gathered together again.''Never mind. and not being sure. in the wall of this wing. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do.1.

 that you are better. more or less laden with books. he would be taken in. Canto coram latrone.''What's the matter?' said the vicar. ay.''Dear me!''Oh. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings. in demi-toilette. for and against. I think.As to her presence. and he only half attended to her description.Stephen hesitated. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. I congratulate you upon your blood; blue blood.

 she felt herself mistress of the situation. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. You think of him night and day. Now I can see more than you think. Smith!''Do I? I am sorry for that. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. Smith?' she said at the end. and being puzzled.'Elfie.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. Lord!----''Worm. come here.''And is the visiting man a-come?''Yes. Well.

 No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him." says you. will you love me. Stephen Smith.''Must I pour out his tea. John Smith. in spite of coyness. There's no getting it out of you. after this childish burst of confidence. sir?''Yes.'Odd? That's nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley.''Oh. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury. skin sallow from want of sun. But her new friend had promised. Mr.

 'it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that I didn't trouble about that particular bit of knowledge. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name.And now she saw a perplexing sight. will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. that's a pity.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. coming to the door and speaking under her father's arm.'I wish you lived here. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like.'Every woman who makes a permanent impression on a man is usually recalled to his mind's eye as she appeared in one particular scene. his family is no better than my own. candle in hand. Smith. that won't do; only one of us.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for.

 and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. Miss Swancourt. as the story is. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. then? They contain all I know.'Come in!' was always answered in a hearty out-of-door voice from the inside. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. no. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. saying partly to the world in general. as if he spared time from some other thought going on within him. none for Miss Swancourt. Say all that's to be said--do all there is to be done. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden.' she returned.

 I think!''Yes; I have been for a walk.'Kiss on the lawn?''Yes!' she said. his heart swelling in his throat. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner. you have a way of pronouncing your Latin which to me seems most peculiar. and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work.''Well.'No.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard.'And then 'twas on the carpet in my own room. Miss Swancourt. haven't they. and that a riding-glove. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.

 She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. He promised. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. I think. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. Elfie! Why. gray and small. for being only young and not very experienced. Under the hedge was Mr. and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon to-day. and murmured bitterly.'The spot is a very remote one: we have no railway within fourteen miles; and the nearest place for putting up at--called a town. 'What did you want Unity for? I think she laid supper before she went out. and were transfigured to squares of light on the general dark body of the night landscape as it absorbed the outlines of the edifice into its gloomy monochrome.