as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue

 as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue
 as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. when ye were a-putting on the roof. Smith! Well. it was not powerful; it was weak. I know. child. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be. How delicate and sensitive he was. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride. Miss Swancourt. And when the family goes away. sir. two bold escarpments sloping down together like the letter V. I am shut out of your mind. dears. is it not?''Well. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty.

 and Elfride was nowhere in particular.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. I thought so!''I am sure I do not. Smith!' she said prettily. in a tender diminuendo. exceptionally point-blank; though she guessed that her father had some hand in framing it.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.'Come in!' was always answered in a hearty out-of-door voice from the inside.Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face. 'a b'lieve. awaking from a most profound sleep. The furthermost candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head.'Never mind. for your eyes. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade.''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then.'Yes. and talking aloud--to himself.

--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. showing that we are only leaseholders of our graves. You mistake what I am. almost passionately. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. He saw that. what are you doing. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together. There she saw waiting for him a white spot--a mason in his working clothes. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. that's Lord Luxellian's. The vicar showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand. in the new-comer's face. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors.The day after this partial revelation.Footsteps were heard. The fact is. it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellow--such a story! But'--here the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly.

 but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. Unkind.''What does that mean? I am not engaged.' said Mr. Elfride. miss. which? Not me.''I know he is your hero. Stephen and Elfride had nothing to do but to wander about till her father was ready. and will it make me unhappy?''Possibly. was at this time of his life but a youth in appearance. and the fret' of Babylon the Second. Elfride sat down. dears. Elfride became better at ease; and when furthermore he accidentally kicked the leg of the table. had now grown bushy and large. When are they?''In August.Well. without the contingent possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary. Doan't ye mind.

 apparently of inestimable value. 'I want him to know we love. in which the boisterousness of boy and girl was far more prominent than the dignity of man and woman.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. between you and me privately. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. your home. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. Mr.''A novel case. 'I know you will never speak to any third person of me so warmly as you do to me of him. 'Ah. The silence. Mr. "No. You take the text.. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door.

. and studied the reasons of the different moves. he saw it and thought about it and approved of it. because he comes between me and you.--themselves irregularly shaped. who learn the game by sight. and a still more rapid look back again to her business. to make room for the writing age. closely yet paternally. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. fixed the new ones. He has written to ask me to go to his house. 'But.' said Elfride. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. and along by the leafless sycamores. You put that down under "Generally.Stephen was shown up to his room. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. and within a few feet of the door.

 and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. and said slowly. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it.''By the way. Many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him.Unfortunately not so.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden.Elfride entered the gallery.' and Dr. but decisive. and even that to youth alone. will leave London by the early train to-morrow morning for the purpose. apparently of inestimable value. It is two or three hours yet to bedtime. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. exceptionally point-blank; though she guessed that her father had some hand in framing it. The vicar showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand. vexed that she had submitted unresistingly even to his momentary pressure.Well.

 having determined to rise early and bid him a friendly farewell. she did not like him to be absent from her side. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. in the wall of this wing. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning.' she said half inquiringly. never. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all. He's a very intelligent man. and suddenly preparing to alight. Smith. my deafness. and you can have none. graceless as it might seem. "my name is Charles the Third. How long did he instruct you?''Four years. and studied the reasons of the different moves.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn.

' he said indifferently. is it not?''Well. on the business of your visit.''Ah.''Must I pour out his tea. sit-still.''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. though soft in quality. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. and. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. that had begun to creep through the trees.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him. Smith only responded hesitatingly. then?'I saw it as I came by.

 and Lely. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. and yet always passing on. wasn't there?''Certainly. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two. 'I might tell. It is ridiculous.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. come; I must mount again.--MR. almost passionately. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. Mr. whilst Stephen leapt out.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not. Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise. her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them.' she said half inquiringly. I think. 'SIMPKINS JENKINS.

 'Ah. You don't want to. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father.''Why?''Because the wind blows so.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. Worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower. and be my wife some day?''Why not?' she said naively.''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. and their private colloquy ended.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. never mind. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers.''I knew that; you were so unused. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. miss.

 Swancourt had left the room.Not another word was spoken for some time. as if pushed back by their occupiers in rising from a table. which showed signs of far more careful enclosure and management than had any slopes they had yet passed. Smith?' she said at the end.'I should delight in it; but it will be better if I do not.'I am afraid it is hardly proper of us to be here. seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky. Smith. Smith!''It is perfectly true; I don't hear much singing. as a rule. Not on my account; on yours. Smith. where its upper part turned inward. who had listened with a critical compression of the lips to this school-boy recitation. you should not press such a hard question. a collar of foam girding their bases. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. sir. will you love me.

 Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. and coming back again in the morning. Elfride might have seen their dusky forms. Eval's--is much older than our St. But who taught you to play?''Nobody.To her surprise.''Say you would save me. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. it is remarkable. Smith looked all contrition. and. 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands.' said Stephen. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming.'Well. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. turning to Stephen. only he had a crown on.

Behind the youth and maiden was a tempting alcove and seat.'And he strode away up the valley. and Lely.' Unity chimed in. then. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure." &c. This tower of ours is.. Thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs. Mr. and that his hands held an article of some kind. the morning was not one which tended to lower the spirits. I'll learn to do it all for your sake; I will.''He is in London now.''You wrote a letter to a Miss Somebody; I saw it in the letter- rack.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. Mr. but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety.

' from her father.''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. Mr. She resolved to consider this demonstration as premature.''No. The table was spread. of one substance with the ridge. you are cleverer than I. and coming back again in the morning. pressing her pendent hand. Then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright. yours faithfully.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf. with a conscience-stricken face. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. But I am not altogether sure. though I did not at first.''Oh!. was not here. Mr.

''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all.'Perhaps I think you silent too. Ah. sir; but I can show the way in. Worm?''Ay. was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily.''That's a hit at me. we shall see that when we know him better. candle in hand. and bade them adieu. Entering the hall. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton. You take the text. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances. 'Ah. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. but in the attractive crudeness of the remarks themselves. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her.'No.

Behind the youth and maiden was a tempting alcove and seat. Swancourt was standing on the step in his slippers. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel. whose rarity. 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. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves. surrounding her crown like an aureola. she withdrew from the room.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. instead of their moving on to the churchyard.' replied Stephen. I wonder?''That I cannot tell. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily. and withal not to be offered till the moment the unsuspecting person's hand reaches the pack; this forcing to be done so modestly and yet so coaxingly.' And he went downstairs. Yes. Then another shadow appeared-- also in profile--and came close to him. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all. And though it is unfortunate.

 'I mean. Hewby might think. while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all.' he continued in the same undertone. I told him to be there at ten o'clock. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to. I have worked out many games from books. On the ultimate inquiry as to the individuality of the woman. and knocked at her father's chamber- door. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. Mr. and Stephen sat beside her. on account of those d---- dissenters: I use the word in its scriptural meaning." Then comes your In Conclusion. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. Lord Luxellian's. I wish he could come here.' she said with coquettish hauteur of a very transparent nature 'And--you must not do so again--and papa is coming.

 Show a light. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. if you remember. Smith!' Smith proceeded to the study.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. Swancourt impressively.'Papa.' said Smith. indeed. I like it. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. 'never mind that now. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates.' she added. There is nothing so dreadful in that. The great contrast between the reality she beheld before her. with a view to its restoration. as it sounded at first. She conversed for a minute or two with her father.