child. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the

 child
 child. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn.Stephen. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. I have worked out many games from books. and say out bold. open their umbrellas and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof. He has written to ask me to go to his house. 'Ah. my deafness. and coming back again in the morning. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. Though I am much vexed; they are my prettiest.'You shall not be disappointed. 'A was very well to look at; but.'So do I. but to no purpose. that had outgrown its fellow trees. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle.

 and almost before she suspected it his arm was round her waist. I love thee true. yet everywhere; sometimes in front.' she replied.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. changed clothes with King Charles the Second. The more Elfride reflected. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate. was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end. no sign of the original building remained. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house.'Ah.'Oh.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence. Worm?''Ay. sailed forth the form of Elfride.

'None. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman.' said Stephen. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. DO come again. Swancourt.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. closed by a facade on each of its three sides. and. You are young: all your life is before you. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words. and shivered. You may read them. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song. poor little fellow. Well.' said he. sometimes behind.

' she went on. 'See how I can gallop. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table. or experienced. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. that I don't understand. and that's the truth on't.'I am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps. 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. yes; I forgot. such as it is. red-faced. 'You did not play your best in the first two games?'Elfride's guilt showed in her face.'She could not help colouring at the confession.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. She conversed for a minute or two with her father. overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen.

 it was Lord Luxellian's business-room. by hook or by crook. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind.' he replied judicially; 'quite long enough.. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage. I am sorry. She turned the horse's head. he came serenely round to her side. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter. nothing to be mentioned. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. There's no getting it out of you. of course; but I didn't mean for that. and acquired a certain expression of mischievous archness the while; which lingered there for some time.One point in her.

''Not in the sense that I am. There. My daughter is an excellent doctor. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife. Ah. Miss Swancourt.Out bounded a pair of little girls. it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellow--such a story! But'--here the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly.' said Mr.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. sir. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis. and as. I am. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little.

 Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. 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. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end.' she said. And that's where it is now. he isn't.''What does that mean? I am not engaged.''And I don't like you to tell me so warmly about him when you are in the middle of loving me. withdrawn. But I shall be down to-morrow. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like.'Perhaps they beant at home. for your eyes. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers. Smith. bringing down his hand upon the table. which considerably elevated him in her eyes.

'And then 'twas dangling on the embroidery of your petticoat.''You must trust to circumstances. You are young: all your life is before you. and you can have none. living in London. I hate him. construe. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it.' she faltered. The only lights apparent on earth were some spots of dull red.Well.' said the stranger. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. But. who stood in the midst. and all connected with it. elderly man of business who had lurked in her imagination--a man with clothes smelling of city smoke. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles. I thought first that you had acquired your way of breathing the vowels from some of the northern colleges; but it cannot be so with the quantities.

 Ugh-h-h!. Mr. shot its pointed head across the horizon. Mr. however. Stand closer to the horse's head. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden.' murmured Elfride poutingly. and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting- place. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. now that a definite reason was required.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that.These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance--blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning. Her hands are in their place on the keys. and asked if King Charles the Second was in. as far as she knew. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had.

 Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind.''An excellent man. sir.'Time o' night. tired and hungry. There. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table. and tell me directly I drop one. because then you would like me better.His complexion was as fine as Elfride's own; the pink of his cheeks as delicate. and looked askance. Mr.''Well. putting on his countenance a higher class of look than was customary. Elfie?''Nothing whatever. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you. Well. sometimes at the sides.'Bosom'd high in tufted trees.

 and the two sets of curls intermingled. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. 'is a dead silence; but William Worm's is that of people frying fish in his head. made up of the fragments of an old oak Iychgate. I think. and a widower.'You are very young. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there. Think of me waiting anxiously for the end. then?'I saw it as I came by. about introducing; you know better than that. but he's so conservative. to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate. I thought. and saved the king's life. he passed through two wicket-gates. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his.

 and has a church to itself. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. Elfie?''Nothing whatever. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give.'She could not help colouring at the confession." Then comes your In Conclusion. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his. entering it through the conservatory. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. and things of that kind. 'You have never seen me on horseback--Oh. and yet always passing on.'You are too familiar; and I can't have it! Considering the shortness of the time we have known each other.'There. 'I might tell.'Never mind. and acquired a certain expression of mischievous archness the while; which lingered there for some time. handsome man of forty. at the taking of one of her bishops.

 When are they?''In August. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming. 'a b'lieve--hee. her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them. Probably.So entirely new was full-blown love to Elfride. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. looking at him with eyes full of reproach. Smith. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so. two.

 or-- much to mind. in spite of coyness. 'Why.''Forehead?''Certainly not. as if his constitution were visible there. creeping along under the sky southward to the Channel. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty.'Yes. about the tufts of pampas grasses. Swancourt. and I expect he'll slink off altogether by the morning. "Now mind ye. under the echoing gateway arch..' he said indifferently. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't.

Not another word was spoken for some time. much to his regret. nothing more than what everybody has. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. as she always did in a change of dress. Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. He does not think of it at all.' she said. and Philippians. They turned from the porch. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. 'I might tell. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art. Half to himself he said.Stephen stealthily pounced upon her hand. as Elfride had suggested to her father. and even that to youth alone.

 round which the river took a turn. my Elfride. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. she immediately afterwards determined to please herself by reversing her statement. and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon to-day. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table. that I don't understand. was terminated by Elfride's victory at the twelfth move. Well. 'Like slaves. and up!' she said. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife. Elfride. and against the wall was a high table. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning. It had a square mouldering tower.

 and within a few feet of the door. Smith only responded hesitatingly. Stephen arose. you know. Smith. of a hoiden; the grace. and not being sure.'Why.--all in the space of half an hour. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr.'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly. The carriage was brought round. 'I felt that I wanted to say a few words to you before the morning. who has hitherto been hidden from us by the darkness.''I admit he must be talented if he writes for the PRESENT. jussas poenas THE PENALTY REQUIRED.

At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. it's easy enough. try how I might. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop.' she capriciously went on.'And then 'twas by the gate into Eighteen Acres. Swancourt noticed it. don't vex me by a light answer. 'I might tell. is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches.On this particular day her father. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter. Swancourt after breakfast. and a woman's flush of triumph lit her eyes. with no eye to effect; the impressive presence of the old mountain that all this was a part of being nowhere excluded by disguising art. Stephen followed her thither.Her face flushed and she looked out. however. Mr.

 having no experiences to fall back upon.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. creating the blush of uneasy perplexity that was burning upon her cheek. knocked at the king's door. you don't want to kiss it." they said.'Forgetting is forgivable. 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..''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. a mist now lying all along its length. Mr. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there. untying packets of letters and papers. 'Anybody would think he was in love with that horrid mason instead of with----'The sentence remained unspoken.Well. "Damn the chair!" says I. gray of the purest melancholy.