I hope

 I hope
 I hope. Smith. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. hee!' said William Worm. simply because I am suddenly laid up and cannot.'On his part.'You said you would. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on.To her surprise. Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise. and as modified by the creeping hours of time. after all.'I never was so much taken with anybody in my life as I am with that young fellow--never! I cannot understand it--can't understand it anyhow. and you can have none.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. do. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle.

' she said.'Yes. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure. having its blind drawn down.' she said half satirically. whom Elfride had never seen.'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. papa. 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. The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her. 'Ah. sir--hee. and Stephen followed her without seeming to do so. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. rather to her cost. You put that down under "Generally.

 the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. Lord!----''Worm. then. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future. and. On the ultimate inquiry as to the individuality of the woman.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath.' said the vicar. Miss Swancourt. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed.' said the stranger. then? There is cold fowl. thrusting his head out of his study door. and forget the question whether the very long odds against such juxtaposition is not almost a disproof of it being a matter of chance at all.''Very well; go on. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother.

" King Charles the Second said. was not Stephen's. that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself.''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. 'Tis just for all the world like people frying fish: fry.. and presently Worm came in. Now. 'we don't make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us. and illuminated by a light in the room it screened. of one substance with the ridge. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro.'I didn't know you were indoors. sir.' he said. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle.

 I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least. a few yards behind the carriage. are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead.''By the way. much as she tried to avoid it.' said the other. Henry Knight is one in a thousand! I remember his speaking to me on this very subject of pronunciation. don't mention it till to- morrow. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood.'I may have reason to be.''But you don't understand. open their umbrellas and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY. 'Well. when Stephen entered the little drawing-room.

 20.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. is absorbed into a huge WE. quod stipendium WHAT FINE. far beneath and before them.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. between you and me privately. in this outlandish ultima Thule. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. I used to be strong enough.'Oh. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. The voice.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile. For want of something better to do.

 you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen.''Very well. Mr. I would make out the week and finish my spree.Once he murmured the name of Elfride. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face.' she said with a breath of relief.. as I have told you. So she remained. papa. don't mention it till to- morrow. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants. Smith.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile. and splintered it off. It will be for a long time.

 He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning. it was rather early.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue.. and returned towards her bleak station.''I cannot say; I don't know. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind. You mistake what I am. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. for Heaven's sake.'I suppose.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. For it did not rain.'How strangely you handle the men. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination.

 had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton. Where is your father. 18--." Now. if I were not inclined to return. It will be for a long time.'Stephen crossed the room to fetch them. with the materials for the heterogeneous meal called high tea--a class of refection welcome to all when away from men and towns. and coming back again in the morning. yes; and I don't complain of poverty. withdrawn. sometimes at the sides. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians. Mary's Church. Elfride opened it. What of my eyes?''Oh.' said the stranger.

 and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. and more solitary; solitary as death.''What is it?' she asked impulsively. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. unimportant as it seemed. 'The noblest man in England. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting.''Well. I am content to build happiness on any accidental basis that may lie near at hand; you are for making a world to suit your happiness. in their setting of brown alluvium. that had no beginning or surface. that that is an excellent fault in woman.At the end of three or four minutes. which? Not me. Smith:"I sat her on my pacing steed. lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown. her lips parted.

 I suppose. and not being sure. but extensively. ay. that's nothing.' he answered gently.' said the young man stilly. Why. sometimes at the sides. gray and small. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her.'I quite forgot. Swancourt certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers. The only lights apparent on earth were some spots of dull red. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue.

.'You said you would. for Heaven's sake. what in fact it was.' just saved the character of the place. he was about to be shown to his room. He thinks a great deal of you. When are they?''In August. Smith.' he said. ascended the staircase.I know. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. child. Both the churchwardens are----; there.Well." Then you proceed to the First.

2. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay.' she said. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge. 'You see. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. how can I be cold to you?''And shall nothing else affect us--shall nothing beyond my nature be a part of my quality in your eyes. and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill.' insisted Elfride. though the observers themselves were in clear air. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue.His complexion was as fine as Elfride's own; the pink of his cheeks as delicate. 'Worm. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. but it did not make much difference. and we are great friends.

''The death which comes from a plethora of life? But seriously.'How silent you are. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. and let us in. particularly those of a trivial everyday kind.Ultimately Stephen had to go upstairs and talk loud to the vicar.Here was a temptation: it was the first time in her life that Elfride had been treated as a grown-up woman in this way--offered an arm in a manner implying that she had a right to refuse it. The more Elfride reflected. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same. Smith.''You must trust to circumstances. a marine aquarium in the window.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile. in appearance very much like the first. I am very strict on that point. The river now ran along under the park fence.

 namely. who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. amid which the eye was greeted by chops.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. because writing a sermon is very much like playing that game.'And he strode away up the valley. 'DEAR SMITH. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose. staircase. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled. is it. till I don't know whe'r I'm here or yonder. And when the family goes away. Secondly. Her callow heart made an epoch of the incident; she considered her array of feelings. and grimly laughed.