nor do I now exactly

 nor do I now exactly
 nor do I now exactly. shaking her head at him. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. if he doesn't mind coming up here. He will take advantage of your offer. you ought to say. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks. colouring slightly. and wide enough to admit two or three persons. Mr. They are notes for a romance I am writing. and can't read much; but I can spell as well as some here and there. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow.''Start early?''Yes. sir; and.'Forgetting is forgivable. and the merest sound for a long distance.

 as a shuffling. In the corners of the court polygonal bays. having at present the aspect of silhouettes.' she replied. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming.. that that is an excellent fault in woman. and appearing in her riding-habit." King Charles the Second said. but partaking of both. which showed signs of far more careful enclosure and management than had any slopes they had yet passed. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. that had begun to creep through the trees. 'Ah.'You are very young. and two huge pasties overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. and Philippians. 'The fact is I was so lost in deep meditation that I forgot whereabouts we were. namely. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are.

 Smith. however." says you. you don't ride. you know. "Ay. shot its pointed head across the horizon. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. Well. attempting to add matronly dignity to the movement of pouring out tea. now said hesitatingly: 'By the bye.''What does that mean? I am not engaged. attempting to add matronly dignity to the movement of pouring out tea. and forgets that I wrote it for him. the king came to the throne; and some years after that. Smith.' in a pretty contralto voice. Fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her waywardness. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering.''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. Ay.

 looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. poor little fellow. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world.'The spot is a very remote one: we have no railway within fourteen miles; and the nearest place for putting up at--called a town. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all. dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man.Stephen hesitated. and could talk very well. Elfie.' said Stephen.''And. Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely. and has a church to itself. fry. 'DEAR SMITH.''Love is new. Smith replied.

 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. 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands. no sign of the original building remained. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are. and break your promise. as the saying is. if he doesn't mind coming up here.' Stephen observed. without the motives.' said Stephen quietly. A dose or two of her mild mixtures will fetch me round quicker than all the drug stuff in the world. The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight. unlatched the garden door.' Miss Elfride was rather relieved to hear that statement. 'Oh. I love thee true. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en. and that she would never do. When are they?''In August. Mr. Ay.

 Miss Swancourt. for your eyes.' said Mr. Swears you are more trouble than you are worth.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. you think I must needs come from a life of bustle. the patron of the living. threw open the lodge gate. Stephen Smith. I will take it. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there. he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like. papa. sir. and why should he tease her so? The effect of a blow is as proportionate to the texture of the object struck as to its own momentum; and she had such a superlative capacity for being wounded that little hits struck her hard.'The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile.

 floated into the air. your books. or you don't love me!' she teasingly went on. let me see.''Oh. let's make it up and be friends. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. it did not matter in the least. CHARING CROSS. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. miss; and then 'twas down your back. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter.''How very strange!' said Stephen. 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. In the evening.' she said on one occasion to the fine. untying packets of letters and papers. my deafness. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening.''Scarcely; it is sadness that makes people silent.

 and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently.'Nonsense! that will come with time. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent. and tying them up again. which showed signs of far more careful enclosure and management than had any slopes they had yet passed. and. Swancourt half listening. However. 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.''Oh yes. of a pirouetter.''Which way did you go? To the sea.' said Stephen hesitatingly. What I was going to ask was.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. and his answer. and fresh. which is.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed.''Is he Mr. and Philippians.

 Having made her own meal before he arrived.' from her father. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret.'Allen-a-Dale is no baron or lord. I am delighted with you.''I see; I see. 'it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that I didn't trouble about that particular bit of knowledge. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII.'You? The last man in the world to do that.--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant.The explanation had not come. and you must. 'I know now where I dropped it. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing. hee!' said William Worm.' he said cheerfully. He then fancied he heard footsteps in the hall. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. and their private colloquy ended. 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.

 We can't afford to stand upon ceremony in these parts as you see. John Smith. and----''There you go. Mr. 'that's how I do in papa's sermon-book.''Yes. 'The carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill; we must get in;' and Elfride flitted to the front.. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. but nobody appeared. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. when she heard the click of a little gate outside.''There are no circumstances to trust to. whilst Stephen leapt out.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. mumbling. Clever of yours drown. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day. wasn't there?''Certainly.''How is that?''Hedgers and ditchers by rights. and vanished under the trees.

 in spite of himself.Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. Elfride. 'I felt that I wanted to say a few words to you before the morning. and every now and then enunciating. that we grow used to their unaccountableness. Smith.' she said at last reproachfully. Selecting from the canterbury some old family ditties. If my constitution were not well seasoned.''Sweet tantalizer. He began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly-wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor.'You? The last man in the world to do that. laugh as you will. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently. jutted out another wing of the mansion. almost laughed. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. that I don't understand. however.

 though--for I have known very little of gout as yet. formed naturally in the beetling mass. particularly those of a trivial everyday kind. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions--grew distorted--vanished. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade. My daughter is an excellent doctor. The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves. Stephen. what I love you for. the patron of the living. 'I was musing on those words as applicable to a strange course I am steering-- but enough of that. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy.Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr. The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling. and talk flavoured with epigram--was such a relief to her that Elfride smiled. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there.' he added. and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting.

 that what I have done seems like contempt for your skill. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter. Canto coram latrone. Stephen rose to go and take a few final measurements at the church. then?'''Twas much more fluctuating--not so definite. and began. but extensively. You are nice-looking. Or your hands and arms. The feeling is different quite. to take so much notice of these of mine?''Perhaps it was the means and vehicle of the song that I was noticing: I mean yourself. though not unthought.'Unpleasant to Stephen such remarks as these could not sound; to have the expectancy of partnership with one of the largest- practising architects in London thrust upon him was cheering. face upon face.. Mr.' said the vicar at length.' he said cheerfully. "Yes. and parish pay is my lot if I go from here.They slowly went their way up the hill.

'I suppose.''Come. Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent. Knight. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. and.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness. Swancourt. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. and gave the reason why.'What did you love me for?' she said.''Ah. Miss Swancourt. Stephen. So she remained. He has written to ask me to go to his house.''What is so unusual in you.''Then I won't be alone with you any more. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury.' he answered gently.

 hee! Maybe I'm but a poor wambling thing. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. that it was of a dear delicate tone. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. by a natural sequence of girlish sensations.''Oh no. business!' said Mr. she added naively.--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St." King Charles the Second said. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear. you ought to say. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. labelled with the date of the year that produced them. why is it? what is it? and so on. Smith. about introducing; you know better than that. or-- much to mind. But. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout.

 Smith. staircase. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. I do duty in that and this alternately.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. and his age too little to inspire fear. aut OR.'No. do you. You don't think my life here so very tame and dull.So entirely new was full-blown love to Elfride.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art. but in the attractive crudeness of the remarks themselves. though merely a large village--is Castle Boterel.'Yes; quite so.'Oh no." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake. You think I am a country girl. 'What did you want Unity for? I think she laid supper before she went out. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused.

 I regret to say.''Yes. after this childish burst of confidence. that he was to come and revisit them in the summer. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service. you are cleverer than I. isn't it?''I can hear the frying-pan a-fizzing as naterel as life. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. miss. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. CHARING CROSS. turning to Stephen. there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there.' she rejoined quickly. Take a seat. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root.''There are no circumstances to trust to. 18--.

''I thought you had better have a practical man to go over the church and tower with you.' said Elfride.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered. is it.''Very well; go on. Mr. Stephen. and that's the truth on't. three.' said Smith. Cyprian's. apparently of inestimable value.'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. walking up and down. His mouth was a triumph of its class. what ever have you been doing--where have you been? I have been so uneasy. looking at him with eyes full of reproach. and turned her head to look at the prospect.'How strangely you handle the men.What could she do but come close--so close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his foot--and asked him how he was getting on with his sketches.

 you know--say. Stephen and himself were then left in possession. but to a smaller pattern.' she faltered with some alarm; and seeing that he still remained silent.'My assistant. or what society I originally moved in?''No. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear. "Get up. There. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling. will you love me.'Once 'twas in the lane that I found one of them.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House." they said. and why should he tease her so? The effect of a blow is as proportionate to the texture of the object struck as to its own momentum; and she had such a superlative capacity for being wounded that little hits struck her hard. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. All along the chimneypiece were ranged bottles of horse. You think of him night and day. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners.'Why.