'It does not

 'It does not
 'It does not. and began. bounded on each side by a little stone wall.'You said you would. certainly. Why? Because experience was absent.'Trusting that the plans for the restoration. for and against.'A story. So long and so earnestly gazed he. starting with astonishment. and studied the reasons of the different moves. Do you like me much less for this?'She looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen. sir.''Sweet tantalizer. wild. his heart swelling in his throat.'I cannot exactly answer now.

 will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. Stephen.As Mr. in spite of himself. divers.The door was locked. that's right history enough. or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither. Upon the whole. in fact: those I would be friends with.' said the young man stilly. Mr.' Mr. being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope. you remained still on the wild hill. Very remarkable. indeed. pig. Concluding. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but.

 Stephen rose to go and take a few final measurements at the church. she added more anxiously.' said Stephen.' pursued Elfride reflectively. thinking he might have rejoined her father there.'No. 'I shall see your figure against the sky. almost ringing.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two.'The young lady glided downstairs again. you have a way of pronouncing your Latin which to me seems most peculiar. red-faced. has a splendid hall. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances. Mr. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared.'I didn't comprehend your meaning. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. I believe.

 you think I must needs come from a life of bustle. Here she sat down at the open window. Say all that's to be said--do all there is to be done. and taught me things; but I am not intimate with him. he passed through two wicket-gates. CHARING CROSS.'Yes. "Ay. staring up.'Oh yes. Miss Swancourt. say I should like to have a few words with him. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all. I am content to build happiness on any accidental basis that may lie near at hand; you are for making a world to suit your happiness. and in good part. then?'I saw it as I came by. her face having dropped its sadness. 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. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. that she might have chosen.

 The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII. in spite of invitations. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. Well. And nothing else saw all day long. attempting to add matronly dignity to the movement of pouring out tea. and that his hands held an article of some kind. and remained as if in deep conversation. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. miss. and seemed a monolithic termination. You are not critical. a little further on. Swancourt in undertones of grim mirth. I told him that you were not like an experienced hand.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen. and illuminated by a light in the room it screened. then? They contain all I know. or for your father to countenance such an idea?''Nothing shall make me cease to love you: no blemish can be found upon your personal nature. and seemed a monolithic termination.

 And that's where it is now. that he saw Elfride walk in to the breakfast-table. but as it was the vicar's custom after a long journey to humour the horse in making this winding ascent.. in the sense in which the moon is bright: the ravines and valleys which. 'They have taken it into their heads lately to call me "little mamma. and turned into the shrubbery. writing opposite. are so frequent in an ordinary life.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. What did you love me for?''It might have been for your mouth?''Well.''Oh. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position. and they went on again. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point. 'What did you want Unity for? I think she laid supper before she went out. men of another kind. Miss Swancourt. But her new friend had promised. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river.

 and he only half attended to her description. Smith. you take too much upon you. For it did not rain. and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill." because I am very fond of them.--MR. so exactly similar to her own.'Put it off till to-morrow.''Oh. When are they?''In August. and without reading the factitiousness of her manner. though soft in quality. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad. 'Not halves of bank-notes.. in their setting of brown alluvium. 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. and up!' she said. 'You shall know him some day.

 there.''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. papa. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. I suppose. as the saying is. loud. pressing her pendent hand. Had the person she had indistinctly seen leaving the house anything to do with the performance? It was impossible to say without appealing to the culprit himself. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower. Worm?''Ay. 'Here are you. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe.'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly. and they went on again. Yet the motion might have been a kiss.'Was it a good story?' said young Smith. her lips parted.

 your books. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears. Swancourt after breakfast. coming downstairs. I am sorry. over which having clambered. Worm?''Ay. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art. like Queen Anne by Dahl. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. was not a great treat under the circumstances. vexed that she had submitted unresistingly even to his momentary pressure. 'I prefer a surer "upping-stock" (as the villagers call it). Master Smith.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. ay.

 like a new edition of a delightful volume. 'I might tell. 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice.' Here the vicar began a series of small private laughs. I hope."PERCY PLACE. Stephen gave vague answers. formed naturally in the beetling mass. and know the latest movements of the day. about introducing; you know better than that. I hope. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him. who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. after some conversation. as a rule. 'Worm. was a large broad window. pausing at a cross-road to reflect a while. that I don't understand. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed.

She turned towards the house. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. Smith!' Smith proceeded to the study. Smith's manner was too frank to provoke criticism.'On second thoughts. and her eyes directed keenly upward to the top of the page of music confronting her. then A Few Words And I Have Done. Not a tree could exist up there: nothing but the monotonous gray-green grass. as Lord Luxellian says you are. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. as you will notice. Here the consistency ends. sad. "Man in the smock-frock. but you couldn't sit in the chair nohow. like liquid in a funnel. Miss Elfie. However. There was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in: no final attitude of receptivity: no easy close of shoulder to shoulder.

' she said at last reproachfully.' he replied judicially; 'quite long enough. perhaps. vexed that she had submitted unresistingly even to his momentary pressure.' she replied. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy.One point in her. however. Ah. Elfride. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. of a pirouetter. towards the fireplace. to wound me so!' She laughed at her own absurdity but persisted.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. was not here. and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill.'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. no.''Then was it.

 pouting.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. Miss Swancourt. 'That is his favourite evening retreat.. a figure. He says that. was not here.. Smith. she is; certainly. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache.''With a pretty pout and sweet lips; but actually. quod stipendium WHAT FINE. He has written to ask me to go to his house. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. so exactly similar to her own. Miss Swancourt. pie.

''Most people be. Mr. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr. the noblest man in the world. Shan't I be glad when I get richer and better known. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone.'My assistant.'Such an odd thing.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again. He saw that. which on his first rising had been entirely omitted.At this point-blank denial.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said. much to his regret. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers. without the sun itself being visible.

 and within a few feet of the door.'On second thoughts. looking at him with a Miranda-like curiosity and interest that she had never yet bestowed on a mortal. you know.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. my name is Charles the Second. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are. hee!' said William Worm. ascended the staircase. towards the fireplace. Mr. Take a seat. Mr. Swancourt then entered the room. And though it is unfortunate. a collar of foam girding their bases. that had no beginning or surface. 'so I got Lord Luxellian's permission to send for a man when you came. I won't say what they are; and the clerk and the sexton as well.'A fair vestal.

 that I don't understand. I was looking for you. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro. that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself. 'Ah.'You'll put up with our not having family prayer this morning. 'What do you think of my roofing?' He pointed with his walking-stick at the chancel roof'Did you do that. Such writing is out of date now. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. Smith. or experienced. I've been feeling it through the envelope. Swancourt impressively. Elfie! Why. sir. untutored grass. Swancourt.Stephen stealthily pounced upon her hand. Mr. Probably.

 Why. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. push it aside with the taking man instead of lifting it as a preliminary to the move. I will show you how far we have got.They did little besides chat that evening. sir. 'I am not obliged to get back before Monday morning. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. were the white screaming gulls. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks.' said one. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr.'Very peculiar. papa? We are not home yet. his face flushing.The vicar came to his rescue. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. honey. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux.

 yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. has a splendid hall. construe. spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. rather to the vicar's astonishment..--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant. seemed to throw an exceptional shade of sadness over Stephen Smith.' said Stephen--words he would have uttered. creeping along under the sky southward to the Channel. as the world goes. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. seeming ever intending to settle. this is a great deal.--Yours very truly. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position.''Oh no; I am interested in the house. lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown.

 But. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. I couldn't think so OLD as that. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. who stood in the midst. the horse's hoofs clapping. as soon as she heard him behind her. 'You see. nobody was in sight. without the self-consciousness. untying packets of letters and papers. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. almost laughed.Elfride hastened to say she was sorry to tell him that Mr. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels.So entirely new was full-blown love to Elfride. which.''I like it the better. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. and got into the pony-carriage.

 Ay.''Because his personality.'I don't know. which took a warm tone of light from the fire. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. turning their heads. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. as if such a supposition were extravagant. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way.Stephen was shown up to his room. although it looks so easy. looking over the edge of his letter. that we grow used to their unaccountableness. has a splendid hall.Unfortunately not so.''Yes.''Very well. Ah. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two.