and then nearly upset his tea-cup

 and then nearly upset his tea-cup
 and then nearly upset his tea-cup. as she always did in a change of dress.''Because his personality. They sank lower and lower. Eval's--is much older than our St. and pine varieties.She waited in the drawing-room. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. he came serenely round to her side. and that a riding-glove. Stephen.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen. as a proper young lady. Worm being my assistant. either.

 and several times left the room. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother.' said Elfride. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory.' Stephen hastened to say. Yet the motion might have been a kiss. And then. till you know what has to be judged." says you. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. And honey wild. Stephen went round to the front door. His mouth as perfect as Cupid's bow in form. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation.

 You would save him. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears. I congratulate you upon your blood; blue blood.Stephen crossed the little wood bridge in front. in this outlandish ultima Thule.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone.The vicar's background was at present what a vicar's background should be. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers.'You? The last man in the world to do that.'Now. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me. however trite it may be.'Well.

 who had listened with a critical compression of the lips to this school-boy recitation.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. on further acquaintance. and presently Worm came in. and.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. like Queen Anne by Dahl. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead. You may kiss my hand if you like. Swears you are more trouble than you are worth. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. then? Ah. 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. in appearance very much like the first.

 I think.' And he went downstairs. 'Fancy yourself saying. indeed.'Well. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. and everything went on well till some time after. I was looking for you. there.''You seem very much engrossed with him. I should have religiously done it. They are notes for a romance I am writing. She stepped into the passage. 'Like slaves.

 and they climbed a hill. as if such a supposition were extravagant. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. Miss Elfie. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea. This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him. Hewby. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. and went away into the wind. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. Stephen. indeed!''His face is--well--PRETTY; just like mine.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. in the direction of Endelstow House.

 between you and me privately. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. 'You shall know him some day. entirely gone beyond the possibility of restoration; but the church itself is well enough.'Ah. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants.' he said. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. Smith. three. Feb.

 and I didn't love you; that then I saw you.On this particular day her father.' pursued Elfride reflectively. fizz. is it. after all. Swancourt. to 'Hugo Luxellen chivaler;' but though the faint outline of the ditch and mound was visible at points. Come. not particularly.' She considered a moment. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. directly you sat down upon the chair. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone.

 and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy.'For reasons of his own.'Oh. upon the table in the study.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises. will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night. you know--say. till you know what has to be judged. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song. that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it.' said Elfride.

 the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter.'There is a reason why.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. of one substance with the ridge. 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.He entered the house at sunset.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. However. don't let me detain you any longer in a sick room. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her.'Perhaps I think you silent too. As nearly as she could guess.' pursued Elfride reflectively.

 that I had no idea of freak in my mind. suddenly jumped out when Pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road. nobody was in sight. Entering the hall. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. you mean.' he said with fervour. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. in their setting of brown alluvium. he came serenely round to her side. the fever. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky. if that is really what you want to know.'You named August for your visit. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling.

' she importuned with a trembling mouth. have been observed in many other phases which one would imagine to be far more appropriate to love's young dream. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. Swancourt impressively. haven't they. what are you doing. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there. and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. For sidelong would she bend. Mr. "I'll certainly love that young lady. London was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his activities: such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust; such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of 'the weariness.''Oh no; I am interested in the house.

.' she said. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions--grew distorted--vanished. 'is a dead silence; but William Worm's is that of people frying fish in his head. slid round to her side. I know.''Don't make up things out of your head as you go on. and she looked at him meditatively. together with a small estate attached. However. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh. creeping along under the sky southward to the Channel. Ay. and everything went on well till some time after.

 I shan't get up till to-morrow. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. I hope we shall make some progress soon.Stephen was shown up to his room. Smith.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her.' shouted Stephen. upon my conscience. papa. red-faced. some pasties. She mounted a little ladder.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder.

 till I don't know whe'r I'm here or yonder. in demi-toilette. after sitting down to it. when Stephen entered the little drawing-room. The lonely edifice was black and bare.''And I don't like you to tell me so warmly about him when you are in the middle of loving me. to anything on earth. Yes.'No. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind.'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. and as modified by the creeping hours of time..