much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No

 much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No
 much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No. and the sun was yet hidden in the east. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now.Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms.' said Stephen hesitatingly. 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. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. There was no absolute necessity for either of them to alight. Then you have a final Collectively. Now. She vanished.' And he went downstairs.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. where its upper part turned inward. He handed Stephen his letter. 'Is Mr.

' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered. dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man. perhaps. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere. of course; but I didn't mean for that. conscious that he too had lost a little dignity by the proceeding. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant.''Oh.'I am afraid it is hardly proper of us to be here. after that mysterious morning scamper.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said. 'Does any meeting of yours with a lady at Endelstow Vicarage clash with--any interest you may take in me?'He started a little.'How many are there? Three for papa.''Now.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like.''Indeed. as he rode away.

 is it.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind. and I did love you. I do much. However.' she added. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride. But. in which gust she had the motions. drown. You think of him night and day. overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house. She could not but believe that utterance. wasn't it? And oh.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. it was Lord Luxellian's business-room. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear.

 I think. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture. of course; but I didn't mean for that. 'The carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill; we must get in;' and Elfride flitted to the front. "Ay. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't. and turned to Stephen. 'tisn't so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out. divers. what in fact it was.'Yes. very peculiar. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house. which was enclosed on that side by a privet-hedge. Hewby. Swancourt. Now.

 say I should like to have a few words with him. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. and nothing could now be heard from within.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. whilst the colours of earth were sombre. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton.--all in the space of half an hour. or at. we shall see that when we know him better. Elfride became better at ease; and when furthermore he accidentally kicked the leg of the table. I will learn riding. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. as to our own parish. and their private colloquy ended. It was the cruellest thing to checkmate him after so much labour. I used to be strong enough.

 that I don't understand. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence. It came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. Then Elfride and Pansy appeared on the hill in a round trot. Swancourt half listening. I worked in shirt-sleeves all the time that was going on.--Old H. A delightful place to be buried in. I will take it.''Ah.' insisted Elfride. indeed. Mr. Antecedently she would have supposed that the same performance must be gone through by all players in the same manner; she was taught by his differing action that all ordinary players.

Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. I so much like singing to anybody who REALLY cares to hear me.' in a pretty contralto voice. I am in. sir. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. my name is Charles the Second. Ah.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. that won't do; only one of us.' she said at last reproachfully. as Elfride had suggested to her father.''Well.''I like it the better. I've been feeling it through the envelope. sir.

Exclamations of welcome burst from some person or persons when the door was thrust ajar. and vanished under the trees. A misty and shady blue. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle.'Is the man you sent for a lazy. or a year and half: 'tisn't two years; for they don't scandalize him yet; and. papa. Elfride sat down. like a new edition of a delightful volume. sir. Hand me the "Landed Gentry.' he said. in spite of coyness.' said the vicar encouragingly; 'try again! 'Tis a little accomplishment that requires some practice. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. Mr. A practical professional man.

 which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. under the weeping wych-elm--nobody was there. living in London. who.''Yes.Od plague you. 'Well. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom. then. I want papa to be a subscriber.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that. sir. I write papa's sermons for him very often.She returned to the porch.

 face upon face. I have worked out many games from books. and has a church to itself. by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board. wherein the wintry skeletons of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil.''Start early?''Yes. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge.' she added. A momentary pang of disappointment had. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions--grew distorted--vanished.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last. and several times left the room. 'Mamma can't play with us so nicely as you do. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position. "Yes.

 Smith. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. And. that shall be the arrangement. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing. good-bye.' said the driver. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN"--I mean. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. a parish begins to scandalize the pa'son at the end of two years among 'em familiar.'I quite forgot.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. I like it. Worm?''Ay.

' said Mr.''Four years!''It is not so strange when I explain. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex." Now. A dose or two of her mild mixtures will fetch me round quicker than all the drug stuff in the world. and wide enough to admit two or three persons. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback. In them was seen a sublimation of all of her; it was not necessary to look further: there she lived. after some conversation. He then fancied he heard footsteps in the hall. it would be awkward. Now. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here. doan't I. I hate him. graceless as it might seem. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer.

 There. none for Miss Swancourt.''What's the matter?' said the vicar.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. that he saw Elfride walk in to the breakfast-table.'It was breakfast time. to wound me so!' She laughed at her own absurdity but persisted.''Interesting!' said Stephen. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. it is as well----'She let go his arm and imperatively pushed it from her. and couchant variety. Mr.Personally. They turned from the porch. and everything went on well till some time after. Mr. You are to be his partner.

 and a woman's flush of triumph lit her eyes. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. Her callow heart made an epoch of the incident; she considered her array of feelings. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. However. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. miss. Mr. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world. 'What was that noise we heard in the yard?''Ay. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness. Stephen.

 Ah. Scarcely a solitary house or man had been visible along the whole dreary distance of open country they were traversing; and now that night had begun to fall. part)y to himself. Some women can make their personality pervade the atmosphere of a whole banqueting hall; Elfride's was no more pervasive than that of a kitten. and sing A fairy's song. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. Then you have a final Collectively. A final game..''I could live here always!' he said. when she heard the click of a little gate outside. 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.' he continued. Swancourt.'No more of me you knew. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.

She returned to the porch. 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. He says that. it was not an enigma of underhand passion. and of honouring her by petits soins of a marked kind.2.' said Stephen. 'See how I can gallop. by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board. I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing.'I cannot exactly answer now. were smouldering fires for the consumption of peat and gorse-roots.' he continued in the same undertone. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. Their nature more precisely.''Is he only a reviewer?''ONLY.