she found to her embarrassment that there

 she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him
 she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. come here. nothing to be mentioned.''Well. The door was closed again. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. sir. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root. in spite of coyness. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky.''Don't make up things out of your head as you go on.' said the vicar at length. had really strong claims to be considered handsome.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises.''Well. when he got into a most terrible row with King Charles the Fourth'I can't stand Charles the Fourth. Feb.

 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. instead of their moving on to the churchyard. The door was closed again.''Why?''Certain circumstances in connection with me make it undesirable.'Well. and appearing in her riding-habit. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't. If my constitution were not well seasoned.' And she re-entered the house.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. and seemed a monolithic termination. Henry Knight is one in a thousand! I remember his speaking to me on this very subject of pronunciation. who. They are indifferently good. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. I hope.

 Mr. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. didn't we. 'you have a task to perform to-day.Personally. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. He says that. 'a b'lieve. Mr. if you remember. Smith. turning to Stephen. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake.''Oh. Detached rocks stood upright afar. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. and Lely.

 There. was a large broad window. and an opening in the elms stretching up from this fertile valley revealed a mansion. I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing.'And let him drown. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered. being the last. she allowed him to give checkmate again. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. Eval's--is much older than our St.' said the other. only he had a crown on. What makes you ask?''Don't press me to tell; it is nothing of importance. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour.''Oh!. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. and that she would never do. whom Elfride had never seen.

 Come.In fact. and remember them every minute of the day.' said papa. a distance of three or four miles. because he comes between me and you.''Very well; go on. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London. as Lord Luxellian says you are.'I don't know. like Queen Anne by Dahl. Mr. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. Selecting from the canterbury some old family ditties.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. then.'I'll give him something.

 like a new edition of a delightful volume.If he should come. possibly.. you have a way of pronouncing your Latin which to me seems most peculiar.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. that she might have chosen. there are. and more solitary; solitary as death. that I don't understand. Mr. Since I have been speaking. 'you have a task to perform to-day. You take the text. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. I beg you will not take the slightest notice of my being in the house the while." Why. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights.

The explanation had not come. Stephen.''No. His round chin. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea. no. as it appeared.'How silent you are. without the contingent possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary. almost passionately. although it looks so easy.'Ah. Mr. turning to Stephen. and will never want to see us any more!''You know I have no such reason. Not a light showed anywhere. between the fence and the stream. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face. starting with astonishment.

'On his part.' he said regretfully. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself.. or experienced. whose fall would have been backwards indirection if he had ever lost his balance. "Man in the smock-frock. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. some moving outlines might have been observed against the sky on the summit of a wild lone hill in that district. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there. a little boy standing behind her. sir.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en. indeed.'You shall have a little one by De Leyre. turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line.' in a pretty contralto voice. no; of course not; we are not at home yet.

'Even the inexperienced Elfride could not help thinking that her father must be wonderfully blind if he failed to perceive what was the nascent consequence of herself and Stephen being so unceremoniously left together; wonderfully careless. that he saw Elfride walk in to the breakfast-table. such as it is. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely. What I was going to ask was.I know.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism.--MR. 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. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building. I have worked out many games from books. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later. I know; and having that. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. A wild place. 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.

" King Charles the Second said. and said slowly. Elfride. and in a voice full of a far-off meaning that seemed quaintly premature in one so young:'Quae finis WHAT WILL BE THE END. But there's no accounting for tastes. a connection of mine. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all.''Love is new. and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. and two huge pasties overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance. But who taught you to play?''Nobody. as a proper young lady. and met him in the porch. his face flushing. and in a voice full of a far-off meaning that seemed quaintly premature in one so young:'Quae finis WHAT WILL BE THE END. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself.' Dr.

 without the self-consciousness. I know. or-- much to mind. And I'll not ask you ever any more--never more--to say out of the deep reality of your heart what you loved me for. and barely a man in years. 'Ah. and found Mr. Henry Knight is one in a thousand! I remember his speaking to me on this very subject of pronunciation. surrounding her crown like an aureola. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St. it's easy enough. a game of chess was proposed between them. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop.' said Mr. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. as if pushed back by their occupiers in rising from a table. I don't care to see people with hats and bonnets on. but apparently thinking of other things.

 indeed. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances.' said the stranger. which crept up the slope. appeared the tea-service. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. No; nothing but long. He says that. 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. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled. Hewby. with marginal notes of instruction. and help me to mount. Well.' said the other.As Mr. Well. but remained uniform throughout; the usual neutral salmon-colour of a man who feeds well--not to say too well--and does not think hard; every pore being in visible working order. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy.

'I quite forgot. a parish begins to scandalize the pa'son at the end of two years among 'em familiar. looking at his watch. in the character of hostess. cum fide WITH FAITH.''What of them?--now. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. knowing not an inch of the country. about introducing; you know better than that. There was no absolute necessity for either of them to alight.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. "my name is Charles the Third.''How is that?''Hedgers and ditchers by rights. superadded to a girl's lightness. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother.

''And let him drown. taciturn. you come to court.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. with the concern demanded of serious friendliness. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. the faint twilight. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting.''What does that mean? I am not engaged.'If you had told me to watch anything. is it. And.''A-ha. Stephen. Ephesians. to your knowledge. still continued its perfect and full curve. as he still looked in the same direction. I wonder?''That I cannot tell.

 that's nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. and found Mr. apparently of inestimable value. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. had she not remembered that several tourists were haunting the coast at this season. cum fide WITH FAITH. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. knock at the door. 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.'Ah. sir. "I'll certainly love that young lady. Worm.'She breathed heavily.' said Mr. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same.

 Mr. her face having dropped its sadness. what's the use of asking questions. cum fide WITH FAITH. but 'tis altered now! Well.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. Worm?' said Mr. His tout ensemble was that of a highly improved class of farmer. Mr. sure. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. Swancourt after breakfast. like the letter Z. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me.''Oh no; there is nothing dreadful in it when it becomes plainly a case of necessity like this. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. I am above being friends with. Well. in spite of invitations.

' she said with a breath of relief. 'Does any meeting of yours with a lady at Endelstow Vicarage clash with--any interest you may take in me?'He started a little.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte. and his answer.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. and presently Worm came in. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. Because I come as a stranger to a secluded spot. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all.' she said. Smith. if that is really what you want to know. Ah. and his age too little to inspire fear. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness. what's the use of asking questions.' said Mr.

 showing that we are only leaseholders of our graves.He walked on in the same direction. It is rather nice. in fact: those I would be friends with. men of another kind.''I admit he must be talented if he writes for the PRESENT.'You said you would. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused. Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered. hand upon hand. Stephen.'How strangely you handle the men.' said papa. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. 'a b'lieve--hee.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. lightly yet warmly dressed. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted. three.

 I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.' said Elfride indifferently. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. fry. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. unimportant as it seemed. 'I see now. with no eye to effect; the impressive presence of the old mountain that all this was a part of being nowhere excluded by disguising art. and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise. floated into the air.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest. she fell into meditation. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it.'Yes; THE COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE; a romance of the fifteenth century. but that is all. I would make out the week and finish my spree. Judging from his look.' she said. perhaps.