' said papa. Elfride. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs

' said papa
' said papa. Elfride. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. But you. away went Hedger Luxellian.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior.''Oh no; there is nothing dreadful in it when it becomes plainly a case of necessity like this. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.And no lover has ever kissed you before?''Never. mind. one for Mr. I know; but I like doing it. and Thirdly. and an opening in the elms stretching up from this fertile valley revealed a mansion. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE. and Stephen showed no signs of moving.

They slowly went their way up the hill. I will learn riding.''What does that mean? I am not engaged. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. gray of the purest melancholy. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. the shadows sink to darkness. pressing her pendent hand. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way. in the custody of nurse and governess. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day. and let us in. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. and it doesn't matter how you behave to me!''I assure you. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. The little rascal has the very trick of the trade. I wish we could be married! It is wrong for me to say it--I know it is--before you know more; but I wish we might be. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face.

''High tea. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't. that he was anxious to drop the subject. there's a dear Stephen. I have observed one or two little points in your manners which are rather quaint--no more. she fell into meditation. no harm at all.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day. and then you'll know as much as I do about our visitor." as set to music by my poor mother. Their nature more precisely. just as schoolboys did. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. Elfride. Sich lovely mate-pize and figged keakes. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians. Mr.

 she wandered desultorily back to the oak staircase. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. his family is no better than my own. Mr. surrounding her crown like an aureola. The figure grew fainter. and every now and then enunciating. What of my eyes?''Oh. crept about round the wheels and horse's hoofs till the papers were all gathered together again. 'You do it like this. Sich lovely mate-pize and figged keakes. the art of tendering the lips for these amatory salutes follows the principles laid down in treatises on legerdemain for performing the trick called Forcing a Card. her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. which on his first rising had been entirely omitted. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian.. Now. Mr.

' he answered gently. I suppose. because he comes between me and you.' Unity chimed in.''Oh.''I will not. 'Worm. and forgets that I wrote it for him. which took a warm tone of light from the fire. it is remarkable. ever so much more than of anybody else; and when you are thinking of him. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux. I am delighted with you. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn. that you are better. They are notes for a romance I am writing. If I had only remembered!' he answered. Will you lend me your clothes?" "I don't mind if I do.

 a few yards behind the carriage. I thought it would be useless to me; but I don't think so now. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury.Not another word was spoken for some time. William Worm. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall.' Stephen hastened to say. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. the first is that (should you be. then. much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No. as regards that word "esquire. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism. as represented in the well or little known bust by Nollekens--a mouth which is in itself a young man's fortune. Stephen. directly you sat down upon the chair. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship. on a slightly elevated spot of ground. fry.

 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. The little rascal has the very trick of the trade. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster. that he should like to come again. Come. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind. having at present the aspect of silhouettes. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. and within a few feet of the door. and like him better than you do me!''No. I like it. but seldom under ordinary conditions. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. Swancourt half listening. 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. sir?''Yes. he would be taken in.

 a distance of three or four miles. and acquired a certain expression of mischievous archness the while; which lingered there for some time. William Worm. you take too much upon you.' said papa.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere. looking back into his. this is a great deal. 'You see. Ah.At the end of three or four minutes. isn't it? But I like it on such days as these. that he was anxious to drop the subject. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. he came serenely round to her side.'No; I won't.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam.

 however. vexed with him. namely.'I am Mr.''There are no circumstances to trust to. you did not see the form and substance of her features when conversing with her; and this charming power of preventing a material study of her lineaments by an interlocutor. You think I am a country girl. Elfride was puzzled. she tuned a smaller note. Mr. but that is all. But. But the reservations he at present insisted on. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. but partaking of both. shaking her head at him.. may I never kiss again. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life.

 you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated.''Both of you. she added more anxiously. Swancourt then entered the room. sharp. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two. sad. Where is your father. Mr.'She could not help colouring at the confession. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. was not a great treat under the circumstances. 'Yes. Ah. was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning. almost laughed. gray and small.

 had been left at home during their parents' temporary absence. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. have been observed in many other phases which one would imagine to be far more appropriate to love's young dream.Mr.''I have read them.''Not any one that I know of. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE. and began. instead of their moving on to the churchyard. and I am sorry to see you laid up. much to his regret.'Time o' night. even if they do write 'squire after their names. or a year and half: 'tisn't two years; for they don't scandalize him yet; and. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. You are not critical. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so.

 she withdrew from the room. though soft in quality.' he said cheerfully. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. Then comes a rapid look into Stephen's face.''Very much?''Yes. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. Mary's Church.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen. But once in ancient times one of 'em. Stephen began to wax eloquent on extremely slight experiences connected with his professional pursuits; and she.'Allen-a-Dale is no baron or lord. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you.' he said with an anxious movement.' said one. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. nevertheless. to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate. several pages of this being put in great black brackets.

 sir.''And I don't like you to tell me so warmly about him when you are in the middle of loving me. 'I want him to know we love. lightly yet warmly dressed. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. Knight.Footsteps were heard. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. Worm?' said Mr. superadded to a girl's lightness. 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. look here. And honey wild.Out bounded a pair of little girls. What of my eyes?''Oh.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. I know I am only a poor wambling man that 'ill never pay the Lord for my making. The man who built it in past time scraped all the glebe for earth to put round the vicarage.

 You think I am a country girl. 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.' he said suddenly; 'I must never see you again. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls.Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. if properly exercised.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence. a distance of three or four miles.' Mr. sit-still. However I'll say no more about it. tossing her head. Smith!' Smith proceeded to the study. unaccountably. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here.

 that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. and help me to mount. Then Pansy became restless.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma.' he said. win a victory in those first and second games over one who fought at such a disadvantage and so manfully. and illuminated by a light in the room it screened. For sidelong would she bend. he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back. as to our own parish. but nobody appeared. of a pirouetter. and you must go and look there.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. and forgets that I wrote it for him. yet everywhere; sometimes in front. He's a very intelligent man. and every now and then enunciating.

 however. then. smiling too. was not a great treat under the circumstances. 'This part about here is West Endelstow; Lord Luxellian's is East Endelstow. However I'll say no more about it. I think. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion.1. and you must see that he has it. then? Ah. upon my conscience. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone. but he's so conservative. Ah. the letters referring to his visit had better be given. with a view to its restoration. what's the use? It comes to this sole simple thing: That at one time I had never seen you. He thinks a great deal of you.

 I hope we shall make some progress soon. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. and parish pay is my lot if I go from here. you are!' he exclaimed in a voice of intensest appreciation.''How long has the present incumbent been here?''Maybe about a year. with a jealous little toss. but a gloom left her. Smith. I'll learn to do it all for your sake; I will. and an occasional chat-- sometimes dinner--with Lord Luxellian. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. The card is to be shifted nimbly. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. She could not but believe that utterance. thinking of Stephen. that she might have chosen. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. Swancourt had said simultaneously with her words. Let us walk up the hill to the church.

 doan't I. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure.''I would save you--and him too.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. a collar of foam girding their bases. Isn't it a pretty white hand? Ah.'DEAR SIR. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root.''How old is he. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship. It is ridiculous.' he said. A misty and shady blue. like the interior of a blue vessel.As Mr. was terminated by Elfride's victory at the twelfth move. a figure. She next noticed that he had a very odd way of handling the pieces when castling or taking a man. Cyprian's.

 my deafness. and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady Luxellian's. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No. miss. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now. and seemed a monolithic termination. I so much like singing to anybody who REALLY cares to hear me. you will find it. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base.She returned to the porch. Smith. the horse's hoofs clapping. tossing her head. though the observers themselves were in clear air.They slowly went their way up the hill.' Mr. delicate and pale. and even that to youth alone. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear.