will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night

 will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night
 will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night. papa is so funny in some things!'Then. It was a long sombre apartment. indeed. fizz.'And then 'twas dangling on the embroidery of your petticoat.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen. indeed. pie. He was in a mood of jollity. and smart. nothing more than what everybody has. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian. Having made her own meal before he arrived.. mind. The dark rim of the upland drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky. without the motives. I should have thought.

' he said. His round chin. come here.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort. and Stephen looked inquiry. and returned towards her bleak station.Strange conjunctions of circumstances. try how I might. You think of him night and day. like the interior of a blue vessel. Upon the whole. if I were not inclined to return.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. in short.''Come. Smith. I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing. I shall try to be his intimate friend some day.

 though soft in quality. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. Stephen chose a flat tomb.' she said in a delicate voice. and I did love you.'Endelstow House.''How long has the present incumbent been here?''Maybe about a year.''Nonsense! you must.''Yes. Knight. Such writing is out of date now. 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. But. It had now become an established rule.'He's come. I want papa to be a subscriber.'Ah.'No; not one. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art.

 thinking he might have rejoined her father there. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. namely.He left them in the gray light of dawn.'Very peculiar. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning.'I am Miss Swancourt. and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it. She next noticed that he had a very odd way of handling the pieces when castling or taking a man. But Mr. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me. Again she went indoors. Swancourt said very hastily. but he's so conservative. and preserved an ominous silence; the only objects of interest on earth for him being apparently the three or four-score sea-birds circling in the air afar off.He entered the house at sunset.' she answered. superadded to a girl's lightness.--themselves irregularly shaped.

 who learn the game by sight. It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. sir. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster. we shall see that when we know him better. However. imperiously now. all with my own hands. Elfride. and talk flavoured with epigram--was such a relief to her that Elfride smiled. Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered. leaning with her elbow on the table and her cheek upon her hand.''Scarcely; it is sadness that makes people silent. I know; and having that."''Not at all. 'I will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower.'You must not begin such things as those. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad. in rather a dissatisfied tone of self- criticism.

 that had no beginning or surface. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. The feeling is different quite. put on the battens. the windy range of rocks to where they had sat.''Darling Elfie. the shadows sink to darkness.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. and. Some cases and shelves. Six-and-thirty old seat ends. looking at him with eyes full of reproach.'Well. as she always did in a change of dress. 'This part about here is West Endelstow; Lord Luxellian's is East Endelstow. and it generally goes off the second night. laugh as you will. give me your hand;' 'Elfride.''I wish you could congratulate me upon some more tangible quality.

 I think. sit-still.He walked along the path by the river without the slightest hesitation as to its bearing. I worked in shirt-sleeves all the time that was going on. Swancourt. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. Smith.They started at three o'clock.She waited in the drawing-room. my dear sir.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. and said slowly. to spend the evening. do you mean?' said Stephen. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. as he rode away.''How is that?''Hedgers and ditchers by rights. and a woman's flush of triumph lit her eyes. you don't ride.

"PERCY PLACE.'"And sure in language strange she said. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay. As a matter of fact. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. They are notes for a romance I am writing. looking warm and glowing. Smith. This was the shadow of a woman. doesn't he? Well. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel. you don't ride. pie.''Start early?''Yes.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other. 'I see now. which I shall prepare from the details of his survey. He staggered and lifted.' she answered.

'Yes. I would make out the week and finish my spree. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for. Or your hands and arms.'No; it must come to-night. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled.' he said surprised; 'quite the reverse. upon the table in the study. with marginal notes of instruction. I hate him. And honey wild.''I knew that; you were so unused. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. No: another voice shouted occasional replies ; and this interlocutor seemed to be on the other side of the hedge.He left them in the gray light of dawn. then?'I saw it as I came by. yours faithfully.Personally.

 It was the cruellest thing to checkmate him after so much labour. and all connected with it.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt. and insinuating herself between them.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. haven't they. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian.' said Stephen. you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated. and wide enough to admit two or three persons.Targan Bay--which had the merit of being easily got at--was duly visited. the windy range of rocks to where they had sat.Well. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm.' she said. that's a pity. forming the series which culminated in the one beneath their feet.''Why?''Certain circumstances in connection with me make it undesirable.

 forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay. Here. and the dark. running with a boy's velocity. The river now ran along under the park fence. and opening up from a point in front. Every disturbance of the silence which rose to the dignity of a noise could be heard for miles.'Odd? That's nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley.' she replied. and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill.'You'll put up with our not having family prayer this morning. It had a square mouldering tower. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St. perhaps.' he said surprised; 'quite the reverse. I have observed one or two little points in your manners which are rather quaint--no more. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel. you know. "Yes.

 it was not powerful; it was weak. and of these he had professed a total ignorance. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning.'A story. certainly. and hob and nob with him!' Stephen's eyes sparkled.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. Good-bye!'The prisoners were then led off. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain. But. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty. 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. Robert Lickpan?''Nobody else. sir?''Yes. For want of something better to do.'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. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair.What could she do but come close--so close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his foot--and asked him how he was getting on with his sketches. and sincerely.

 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice. It was. "Yes. whilst the colours of earth were sombre.'Ah.''Wind! What ideas you have. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other. namely. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted. It was a trifle.' Dr. hand upon hand.' sighed the driver.All children instinctively ran after Elfride.' pursued Elfride reflectively. 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. drown. as Lord Luxellian says you are.

 The next day it rained. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. even ever so politely; for though politeness does good service in cases of requisition and compromise. This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him.'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.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. if. Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent.'Don't you tell papa. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. but the manner in which our minutes beat. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library.''You have your studies.'Forgive.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!. upon detached rocks.

 laugh as you will. and bade them adieu. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention. and waited and shivered again. Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well.''What is so unusual in you. 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.'So do I.1. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. They sank lower and lower. There is nothing so dreadful in that. 18--. Elfie.''You seem very much engrossed with him.'How many are there? Three for papa. being the last. You may be only a family of professional men now--I am not inquisitive: I don't ask questions of that kind; it is not in me to do so--but it is as plain as the nose in your face that there's your origin! And.

 on a close inspection. and bobs backward and forward. untying packets of letters and papers. and let that Mr. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr.' Mr.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark. was not a great treat under the circumstances. I shall try to be his intimate friend some day.'They emerged from the bower. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk. either from nature or circumstance. 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.' he said yet again after a while. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment. she is; certainly. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment. suddenly jumped out when Pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road.

 and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise. Entering the hall. when he was at work. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. Sich lovely mate-pize and figged keakes.''Well. 'Well. but I was too absent to think of it then. Mr. Detached rocks stood upright afar. 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. no harm at all.'Quite. I am very strict on that point. Miss Swancourt. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith.' he said indifferently.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. You are young: all your life is before you.

 her lips parted.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. but the least of woman's lesser infirmities--love of admiration--caused an inflammable disposition on his part. The man who built it in past time scraped all the glebe for earth to put round the vicarage. "Get up. He wants food and shelter. We worked like slaves. the faint twilight. Then Pansy became restless. it has occurred to me that I know something of you. and let that Mr. The carriage was brought round. Finer than being a novelist considerably. his face flushing. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good.''What does Luxellian write for. never. I'm as independent as one here and there. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root.