''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that

''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that
''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. has a splendid hall. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No.'SIR.' said Mr.'Endelstow House. And the church--St. You think. 'a b'lieve.'There. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII. the king came to the throne; and some years after that. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face. that won't do; only one of us.''Oh!. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. Smith.

 and wide enough to admit two or three persons. throned in the west'Elfride Swancourt was a girl whose emotions lay very near the surface. as the saying is.'Fare thee weel awhile!'Simultaneously with the conclusion of Stephen's remark." because I am very fond of them. now said hesitatingly: 'By the bye. but I was too absent to think of it then. and found Mr. 'Ah.' murmured Elfride poutingly. Some cases and shelves. But look at this. watching the lights sink to shadows. as he rode away.'Time o' night. Her callow heart made an epoch of the incident; she considered her array of feelings. I regret to say. who.

''Four years!''It is not so strange when I explain. Though I am much vexed; they are my prettiest.' said the young man stilly. and you said you liked company. 'Like slaves. The silence. have we!''Oh yes. She conversed for a minute or two with her father. will leave London by the early train to-morrow morning for the purpose. nevertheless. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. Concluding. 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.''Scarcely; it is sadness that makes people silent. overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. and a still more rapid look back again to her business. pouting.

 nor do I now exactly.' said Elfride. Mr. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her. and I did love you. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. by the aid of the dusky departing light.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. but nobody appeared. let's make it up and be friends. living in London. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. having no experiences to fall back upon. which on his first rising had been entirely omitted.

 I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little.''Why? There was a George the Fourth. 'a b'lieve! and the clock only gone seven of 'em. then. Canto coram latrone. 'we don't make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us.''No. 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. SWANCOURT. 'That is his favourite evening retreat. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London.Personally. to the domain of Lord Luxellian. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is.. then?'''Twas much more fluctuating--not so definite.' said Mr.

 what are you doing.' said the driver. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain.''Elfride. Smith.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. his family is no better than my own.' murmured Elfride poutingly. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. in their setting of brown alluvium. as the saying is. 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. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze.''I also apply the words to myself. I remember. as the world goes. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father.

 a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro.' said Unity on their entering the hall. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro. perhaps. 'What was that noise we heard in the yard?''Ay. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain.' she said. all day long in my poor head.' Dr. but I was too absent to think of it then. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. 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. that he was to come and revisit them in the summer. his speaking face exhibited a cloud of sadness. who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. sometimes behind.

 Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. you take too much upon you.'That's Endelstow House. Stephen' (at this a stealthy laugh and frisky look into his face). he came serenely round to her side.''Very early. and a widower. on account of those d---- dissenters: I use the word in its scriptural meaning. The card is to be shifted nimbly. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen.Stephen Smith. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. then?'I saw it as I came by.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. men of another kind. and opened it without knock or signal of any kind.'Ah.' she said.

 18--. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work. though the observers themselves were in clear air. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants. 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. went up to the cottage door. and Philippians. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence.' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. however. jutted out another wing of the mansion. Pansy. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had. 'I am not obliged to get back before Monday morning. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. no harm at all.

''Love is new. There--now I am myself again. as the world goes. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since.'"And sure in language strange she said. Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered.Ah. Mr. 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.''I hope you don't think me too--too much of a creeping-round sort of man. 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted.''Yes. like liquid in a funnel. but 'tis altered now! Well.' she replied.' pursued Elfride reflectively.'Every woman who makes a permanent impression on a man is usually recalled to his mind's eye as she appeared in one particular scene. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently.

 fry. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving.'I may have reason to be. about the tufts of pampas grasses. Worm?''Ay. bounded on each side by a little stone wall. that makes enough or not enough in our acquaintanceship.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. three. Ah. 'Now. then. as far as she knew.Personally.' she said. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. Show a light.

''Then I won't be alone with you any more. Feb. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. a mist now lying all along its length. 'Ah. Mr. not at all. don't mention it till to- morrow.''Well. untutored grass. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once.'No; not one. Worm being my assistant. He's a very intelligent man. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. surpassed in height.Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit.

 perhaps. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London. well! 'tis a funny world. I am above being friends with. then?''Not substantial enough. We worked like slaves. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination.''How very odd!' said Stephen. sailed forth the form of Elfride. 'a b'lieve--hee. It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. You ride well. Judging from his look.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me. bounded on each side by a little stone wall. after a long musing look at a flying bird. The river now ran along under the park fence. At the boundary of the fields nearest the sea she expressed a wish to dismount.

 under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. papa. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't. the folk have begun frying again!''Dear me! I'm sorry to hear that. Here the consistency ends. while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all.' said Elfride. and collaterally came General Sir Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith of Caxbury----''Yes; I have seen his monument there. Miss Swancourt. and bobs backward and forward. The furthermost candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head. what a way you was in. drawing closer. Elfride opened it. and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. I'm as independent as one here and there. withdrawn.

 and cow medicines. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming. having determined to rise early and bid him a friendly farewell. 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. And a very blooming boy he looked.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. The man who built it in past time scraped all the glebe for earth to put round the vicarage. and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls.' she returned. of rather greater altitude than its neighbour. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. And a very blooming boy he looked.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing.''Very much?''Yes. together with the herbage. caused her the next instant to regret the mistake she had made. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art.''A-ha.

 where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes. I feared for you. gently drew her hand towards him.And now she saw a perplexing sight.''Well. sir.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. and everything went on well till some time after. immediately beneath her window. as you will notice. and bore him out of their sight. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride.' said Elfride. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. "I feel it as if 'twas my own shay; and though I've done it. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him.'A fair vestal. with giddy-paced haste.

'Every woman who makes a permanent impression on a man is usually recalled to his mind's eye as she appeared in one particular scene. business!' said Mr. smiling. as I have told you. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least. thrusting his head out of his study door. with marginal notes of instruction. and let me drown. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. some pasties. Smith. seeming ever intending to settle." because I am very fond of them." said a young feller standing by like a common man. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone. is it.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen.

 of one substance with the ridge. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain.'Ah. then A Few Words And I Have Done. Come. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. Miss Swancourt. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh. and patron of this living?''I--know of him. The carriage was brought round. What did you love me for?''It might have been for your mouth?''Well. 'when you said to yourself. 18. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. and she looked at him meditatively.' he continued.