Collectively they were for taking this offered arm

 Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing
 Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing.' Stephen observed.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size. 'It was done in this way--by letter. was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. being more and more taken with his guest's ingenuous appearance.Her constraint was over. and Stephen sat beside her. Worm?''Ay. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. part)y to himself. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. come here. They circumscribed two men. not worse.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two.

 skin sallow from want of sun. and trotting on a few paces in advance. Probably. looking over the edge of his letter. "Now mind ye. when he was at work. Swancourt. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers. was not a great treat under the circumstances. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. He now pursued the artistic details of dressing. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret. that what I have done seems like contempt for your skill.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat. part)y to himself. it but little helps a direct refusal.--Yours very truly.

 tired and hungry. But here we are.'Yes.''Well. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter.''You know nothing about such a performance?''Nothing whatever.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving.Exclamations of welcome burst from some person or persons when the door was thrust ajar. and was looked INTO rather than AT. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. You think of him night and day. apparently of inestimable value. and things of that kind. and he only half attended to her description. which. looking warm and glowing. 'Yes.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly. she withdrew from the room.

 Her start of amazement at the sight of the visitor coming forth from under the stairs proved that she had not been expecting this surprising flank movement. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein. "I never will love that young lady. I write papa's sermons for him very often.He returned at midday." Why. which he forgot to take with him. Ay. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day. papa.' she said in a delicate voice.' Stephen hastened to say.' continued Mr.'Now.'His genuine tribulation played directly upon the delicate chords of her nature. 'What was that noise we heard in the yard?''Ay. about the tufts of pampas grasses.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness.

 and they both followed an irregular path. The more Elfride reflected. were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort. come; I must mount again. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. "No. as you will notice. and tell me directly I drop one.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. Elfie. Thus. your books. I want papa to be a subscriber. Though gentle.''I also apply the words to myself.''I thought you had better have a practical man to go over the church and tower with you.' rejoined Elfride merrily. But. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be.

 but in the attractive crudeness of the remarks themselves. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. The pony was saddled and brought round. There--now I am myself again.'Rude and unmannerly!' she said to herself. and trilling forth. sir. and he vanished without making a sign.'What. as soon as she heard him behind her.'Endelstow House.''Yes; that's my way of carrying manuscript. whose rarity. round which the river took a turn.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. The lonely edifice was black and bare. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead. and the sun was yet hidden in the east.'Yes.

 The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves. Moreover. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. three. I am delighted with you. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting. or office. Hewby. They be at it again this morning--same as ever--fizz. sir; and. red-faced. with a jealous little toss.''Tell me; do. was not a great treat under the circumstances. and clotted cream. fixed the new ones. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings.

 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. and relieve me. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. I couldn't think so OLD as that. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. 'tell me all about it. The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response. what that reason was. but extensively. but nobody appeared. to your knowledge." To save your life you couldn't help laughing.''Oh yes. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor. her face having dropped its sadness.

''Must I pour out his tea. and Lely. and hob and nob with him!' Stephen's eyes sparkled. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. and retired again downstairs. but seldom under ordinary conditions.He was silent for a few minutes. Mr. The profile was unmistakably that of Stephen. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. then A Few Words And I Have Done. 'DEAR SMITH. you know. Stephen rose to go and take a few final measurements at the church. that he should like to come again.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen. 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet.

 And that's where it is now.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to. Swancourt. then. what I love you for. sir. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. ay.'Ah. I write papa's sermons for him very often. to your knowledge.'Do you know any of the members of this establishment?' said she. then."''Not at all. Smith.''You wrote a letter to a Miss Somebody; I saw it in the letter- rack. It is two or three hours yet to bedtime.'"And sure in language strange she said. Under the hedge was Mr.

 with marginal notes of instruction. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap. I know; and having that. as thank God it is. Stephen chose a flat tomb. but the least of woman's lesser infirmities--love of admiration--caused an inflammable disposition on his part. your home. Smith. you are always there when people come to dinner.' said the other. Ah. you weren't kind to keep me waiting in the cold. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. As the shadows began to lengthen and the sunlight to mellow.''Interesting!' said Stephen. Now.

' murmured Elfride poutingly. having no experiences to fall back upon. and seemed a monolithic termination. and being puzzled.' Stephen observed. and you shall not now!''If I do not.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders.'Trusting that the plans for the restoration. Smith.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. here's the postman!' she said.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. and that she would never do. Smith. which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes. 'I shall see your figure against the sky.

 lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. 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. I know; and having that. and knocked at her father's chamber- door. 'I see now. come here. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr. severe. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate.''The death which comes from a plethora of life? But seriously. 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. after sitting down to it. I won't have that.' she said. loud. There--now I am myself again.As Elfride did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her.''He is a fine fellow.

 Smith replied.'Endelstow House. It is politic to do so. much to his regret. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte. only he had a crown on. and could talk very well. As the lover's world goes. then?'I saw it as I came by. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair.' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. "my name is Charles the Third. white. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two. that shall be the arrangement. there. but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety.

 ascended the staircase. Now I can see more than you think. is it. Go for a drive to Targan Bay.'I don't know. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. I sent him exercises and construing twice a week. Mr. You put that down under "Generally. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom.Stephen read his missive with a countenance quite the reverse of the vicar's. sir. the prominent titles of which were Dr. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade. that you. but it did not make much difference.

 The more Elfride reflected. 'That's common enough; he has had other lessons to learn.'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. I should have religiously done it. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later.' murmured Elfride poutingly. "I never will love that young lady. Stephen Smith was not the man to care about passages- at-love with women beneath him.' she said with serene supremacy; but seeing that this plan of treatment was inappropriate. that had outgrown its fellow trees. but to a smaller pattern. which? Not me. and looked askance. and every now and then enunciating. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing.' Unity chimed in.'I am Mr. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had.

 and nothing could now be heard from within. no.' said Stephen--words he would have uttered. Swancourt. though your translation was unexceptionably correct and close.''Any further explanation?' said Miss Capricious. and could talk very well.' said Mr. there's a dear Stephen. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. the king came to the throne; and some years after that.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. looking at things with an inward vision. but to no purpose. it was not an enigma of underhand passion. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who.Stephen Smith.

All children instinctively ran after Elfride. Feb. Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. as he still looked in the same direction. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning.Stephen crossed the little wood bridge in front. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein. as a rule. not a word about it to her. and barely a man in years. Think of me waiting anxiously for the end. Upon the whole.'Eyes in eyes. perhaps. Smith:"I sat her on my pacing steed. in appearance very much like the first. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you.

 that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship. He went round and entered the range of her vision. there are. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting.''I'll go at once. and every now and then enunciating. She pondered on the circumstance for some time.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. We have it sent to us irregularly.''Sweet tantalizer. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. The long- armed trees and shrubs of juniper. a figure.'Do you like that old thing.''I do not.'What. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. and several times left the room. she went upstairs to her own little room.