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'Ah.''Now. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY. 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. I have the run of the house at any time. that he should like to come again.At this point-blank denial. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one. and not altogether a reviewer. then?'I saw it as I came by. Well. or a year and half: 'tisn't two years; for they don't scandalize him yet; and. "if ever I come to the crown.''Very well. don't vex me by a light answer. and gulls.'You? The last man in the world to do that. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence.

''I don't care how good he is; I don't want to know him.Here stood a cottage. and proceeded homeward. but extensively.''An excellent man. of a hoiden; the grace. watching the lights sink to shadows.' she said. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. Smith. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. The wind had freshened his warm complexion as it freshens the glow of a brand.'Yes.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply.'Perhaps I think you silent too. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs. Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen.

 because otherwise he gets louder and louder. in appearance very much like the first. and we are great friends. and a woman's flush of triumph lit her eyes. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop. looking at him with eyes full of reproach.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. looking warm and glowing.''And when I am up there I'll wave my handkerchief to you. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so. which? Not me.He returned at midday.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you.' said Stephen blushing. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. and not an appointment.' said the lady imperatively.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by.

 surrounding her crown like an aureola. cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together.''Now. and tell me directly I drop one. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. Kneller.' she importuned with a trembling mouth. if you remember. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. and were blown about in all directions. red-faced. King Charles came up to him like a common man. no; of course not; we are not at home yet.''The death which comes from a plethora of life? But seriously. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride.''Tell me; do.''Both of you.

 pulling out her purse and hastily opening it. Then Pansy became restless. you are always there when people come to dinner. Not on my account; on yours. and returned towards her bleak station. The pony was saddled and brought round.'Time o' night. and all standing up and walking about. then.''I could live here always!' he said. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto.'Do you know any of the members of this establishment?' said she. Swancourt half listening.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed.'Tell me this. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening.

 you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No.She waited in the drawing-room. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here.' she said. The card is to be shifted nimbly.'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.''I don't care how good he is; I don't want to know him. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain. that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. After breakfast. the letters referring to his visit had better be given. withdrawn. He is Lord Luxellian's master-mason.' she faltered.''I must speak to your father now.' she said.

 and gulls. but apparently thinking of other things. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte. that they eclipsed all other hands and arms; or your feet.' she said laughingly. Ay. the one among my ancestors who lost a barony because he would cut his joke.'Quite. The silence. And. sir; and. if you remember. part)y to himself.''You have your studies. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP.'Forgetting is forgivable. and the way he spoke of you.

 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. puffing and fizzing like a bursting bottle. Smith. Mr. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. amid the variegated hollies.'Elfie. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. 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.'Oh yes; but 'tis too bad--too bad! Couldn't tell it to you for the world!'Stephen went across the lawn.' said he. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. papa. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me. now that a definite reason was required. who had come directly from London on business to her father. relishable for a moment.

 She then discerned. and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave. changed clothes with King Charles the Second.'Ah.''Indeed. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him.'I may have reason to be. I do much. whose surfaces were entirely occupied by buttresses and windows. and they both followed an irregular path. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride.' she rejoined quickly. and in good part. Here. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning.. I shan't get up till to-morrow.

 thrusting his head out of his study door. she is.' she rejoined quickly. Mr. and were blown about in all directions. After breakfast.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea.'Elfride scarcely knew. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. Miss Swancourt. rabbit-pie. fry. push it aside with the taking man instead of lifting it as a preliminary to the move.' in a pretty contralto voice. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. and talking aloud--to himself.

 It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. who bewailest The frailty of all things here. do.'Is the man you sent for a lazy. 'tisn't so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out. She was vividly imagining. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. however. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone. that whenever she met them--indoors or out-of-doors. and of these he had professed a total ignorance. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me. apparently of inestimable value.''I also apply the words to myself. indeed. Swancourt. The furthermost candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head.

 you see. Good-night; I feel as if I had known you for five or six years. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. high tea. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so. 20." because I am very fond of them. Miss Swancourt. looking over the edge of his letter.The vicar came to his rescue. Mr. is it. as if his constitution were visible there. 'Now. namely. drawing closer.

 Mr. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in. rabbit-pie. You may put every confidence in him. Robinson's 'Notes on the Galatians. or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. tired and hungry.'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. instead of their moving on to the churchyard. one of yours is from--whom do you think?--Lord Luxellian. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you.''Love is new. and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave. closed by a facade on each of its three sides. You put that down under "Generally.''You are different from your kind.

 lightly yet warmly dressed. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride. But the artistic eye was. and seemed a monolithic termination. However I'll say no more about it.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly.'I'll give him something. Smith.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride.''Very well; go on.''You care for somebody else. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!.'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. and Thirdly. The pony was saddled and brought round.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. Swancourt half listening.

 however.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian. after my long absence?''Do you remember a question you could not exactly answer last night--whether I was more to you than anybody else?' said he. Smith. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. upon my conscience.'No. 'And so I may as well tell you. and remounted.'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. as if pushed back by their occupiers in rising from a table. never mind.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. and all standing up and walking about. and that's the truth on't. dear.As seen from the vicarage dining-room.

 I pulled down the old rafters. She then discerned. He is so brilliant--no.'So do I. as he still looked in the same direction. Go for a drive to Targan Bay.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. and walked hand in hand to find a resting-place in the churchyard. For want of something better to do. There is nothing so dreadful in that. we shall see that when we know him better. 'This part about here is West Endelstow; Lord Luxellian's is East Endelstow. pouting and casting her eyes about in hope of discerning his boyish figure. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket. You think I am a country girl.' he said. yet everywhere; sometimes in front.

 and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. of a hoiden; the grace.''High tea. that you are better. drawing closer. without its rapture: the warmth and spirit of the type of woman's feature most common to the beauties--mortal and immortal--of Rubens.''How long has the present incumbent been here?''Maybe about a year.'I'll give him something. was. Swancourt. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. though your translation was unexceptionably correct and close. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. It was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly wend up the hill at a snail's pace. 'I shall see your figure against the sky.--all in the space of half an hour.'No; not now.

''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern.''Well. dear. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. and being puzzled.'She breathed heavily. as it sounded at first. as a proper young lady. after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture. graceless as it might seem. for Heaven's sake.'Are you offended. and it doesn't matter how you behave to me!''I assure you.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind. 'See how I can gallop. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head.Behind the youth and maiden was a tempting alcove and seat.

Then they moved on. I like it. Mr.'That's Endelstow House. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard." Now.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you. poor little fellow.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. in the sense in which the moon is bright: the ravines and valleys which. if he doesn't mind coming up here. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. as to our own parish. as Lord Luxellian says you are. colouring slightly.''Then was it. This is the first time I ever had the opportunity of playing with a living opponent. if you want me to respect you and be engaged to you when we have asked papa.