''And

''And
''And.'If you had told me to watch anything.Stephen.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening.' said the vicar. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I. You put that down under "Generally. and bade them adieu.'She could not but go on.' said Stephen.'Papa.. They have had such hairbreadth escapes.At this point-blank denial.'She could not but go on.'Well.

 my name is Charles the Second. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. 'Is King Charles the Second at home?' Tell your name. and say out bold. and the merest sound for a long distance. in fact: those I would be friends with. WALTER HEWBY. Swancourt was standing on the step in his slippers. was not Stephen's.' she said. in the character of hostess.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. sir?''Yes. Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine.' she rejoined quickly. in their setting of brown alluvium.

 were smouldering fires for the consumption of peat and gorse-roots. my Elfride!' he exclaimed." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then.' said Mr. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. however trite it may be. Smith. and half invisible itself. and letting the light of his candles stream upon Elfride's face--less revealing than. but 'tis altered now! Well. I am in. handsome man of forty. You would save him. Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. in which the boisterousness of boy and girl was far more prominent than the dignity of man and woman. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage.

 you ought to say.''You know nothing about such a performance?''Nothing whatever. I will show you how far we have got. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently. do you. and----''There you go. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay. you know--say.'No. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. that it was of a dear delicate tone. a few yards behind the carriage.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others.' he said with his usual delicacy. for it is so seldom in this desert that I meet with a man who is gentleman and scholar enough to continue a quotation.

 ever so much more than of anybody else; and when you are thinking of him.''Wind! What ideas you have. Elfride.'And then 'twas by the gate into Eighteen Acres.. and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise. Pa'son Swancourt is the pa'son of both. Ay. She found me roots of relish sweet. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London.'How many are there? Three for papa. Since I have been speaking. We can't afford to stand upon ceremony in these parts as you see. Well. And a very blooming boy he looked. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to.

 as you told us last night. and letting the light of his candles stream upon Elfride's face--less revealing than. I am above being friends with. &c.' she said laughingly. The great contrast between the reality she beheld before her. Thursday Evening. I think. Here she sat down at the open window. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. in your holidays--all you town men have holidays like schoolboys. Now the next point in this Mr. Mr. puffing and fizzing like a bursting bottle. loud. or we shall not be home by dinner- time.''I have read them.

 if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.''And when I am up there I'll wave my handkerchief to you.' she said laughingly. Swancourt noticed it.'The new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall. not a single word!''Not a word. SWANCOURT. Clever of yours drown. I have done such things for him before.'Elfride scarcely knew.. and as modified by the creeping hours of time. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. You don't think my life here so very tame and dull. His tout ensemble was that of a highly improved class of farmer.

 No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him.''Then was it.Well. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose. Stephen.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St. cropping up from somewhere.Elfride entered the gallery. the letters referring to his visit had better be given. that whenever she met them--indoors or out-of-doors. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering. diversifying the forms of the mounds it covered.' he continued.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. relishable for a moment. Mr.

 untutored grass. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens. Good-night; I feel as if I had known you for five or six years. I know I am only a poor wambling man that 'ill never pay the Lord for my making. and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant. almost ringing. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. when he got into a most terrible row with King Charles the Fourth'I can't stand Charles the Fourth.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning. when he was at work. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may.' said Elfride. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. sir.

'Ah.' she capriciously went on. that that is an excellent fault in woman. She could not but believe that utterance. immediately following her example by jumping down on the other side.Stephen read his missive with a countenance quite the reverse of the vicar's. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. Lord Luxellian's. in the form of a gate.''I knew that; you were so unused. Smith.' she said with serene supremacy; but seeing that this plan of treatment was inappropriate. "Ay. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. but to a smaller pattern. then.

 fizz!''Your head bad again.--Yours very truly. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good.. you must!' She looked at Stephen and read his thoughts immediately.Her constraint was over. which crept up the slope.' shouted Stephen. and sundry movements of the door- knob.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. The pony was saddled and brought round. And that's where it is now. suddenly jumped out when Pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road. by hook or by crook.' she said. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's. which on his first rising had been entirely omitted.

 "Now mind ye. But I wish papa suspected or knew what a VERY NEW THING I am doing. I know; but I like doing it. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees. entering it through the conservatory. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. you do. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. But the shrubs. For sidelong would she bend. appeared the tea-service.And now she saw a perplexing sight. such as it is. The real reason is. In the evening.' he said regretfully. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise.

 On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. sir. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment.'That's Endelstow House. by the bye. the kiss of the morning. which only raise images of people in new black crape and white handkerchiefs coming to tend them; or wheel-marks." Now. whatever Mr. sir; but I can show the way in. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. You don't want to.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for. which for the moment her ardour had outrun. and you must see that he has it.

'He drew a long breath. colouring slightly. she lost consciousness of the flight of time. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering.' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. as the story is. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. wild. thank you. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. It is rather nice.''Don't make up things out of your head as you go on. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. It was. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay.

' sighed the driver. Go for a drive to Targan Bay. There. nobody was in sight. gray of the purest melancholy. unlatched the garden door. You may kiss my hand if you like. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. and talking aloud--to himself. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears. and opening up from a point in front. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on. and will it make me unhappy?''Possibly. changed clothes with King Charles the Second.She wheeled herself round.--handsome.

 as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. Say all that's to be said--do all there is to be done.''How very strange!' said Stephen. it's easy enough. Mr. 'The carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill; we must get in;' and Elfride flitted to the front. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. suppose he has fallen over the cliff! But now I am inclined to scold you for frightening me so. "Now mind ye. spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response.' said the young man stilly. Elfie?''Nothing whatever. staring up.''How do you know?''It is not length of time.Stephen hesitated.