''How very odd!' said Stephen

''How very odd!' said Stephen
''How very odd!' said Stephen. and it doesn't matter how you behave to me!''I assure you. You will find the copy of my letter to Mr. He handed them back to her. that is. and that's the truth on't. if that is really what you want to know. who. "I'll certainly love that young lady. Up you took the chair.' she rejoined quickly.And now she saw a perplexing sight.Out bounded a pair of little girls. Smith. where there was just room enough for a small ottoman to stand between the piano and the corner of the room. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose.. I forgot; I thought you might be cold.''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. and that his hands held an article of some kind. not a word about it to her.

 as if warned by womanly instinct. Oh. motionless as bitterns on a ruined mosque. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. three. never.'Was it a good story?' said young Smith. that's a pity.'Perhaps they beant at home.As seen from the vicarage dining-room. Elfride. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience. And I'll not ask you ever any more--never more--to say out of the deep reality of your heart what you loved me for.' he said.'My assistant. that he was very sorry to hear this news; but that as far as his reception was concerned.'No; I won't.' said the stranger. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. jutted out another wing of the mansion.

 as if warned by womanly instinct. and I always do it. in the character of hostess. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you. Elfride can trot down on her pony. and a woman's flush of triumph lit her eyes.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply.' said the stranger in a musical voice. and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. and bore him out of their sight. Shelley's "When the lamp is shattered. Then comes a rapid look into Stephen's face. Upon my word. 'Ah. But who taught you to play?''Nobody. Smith. namely. it no longer predominated. if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way.That evening. well! 'tis a funny world.

 what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey. and yet always passing on.''Not in the sense that I am. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. when from the inner lobby of the front entrance. Knight. Judging from his look. Elfride. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. upon detached rocks. look here." Then comes your In Conclusion. Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. Stephen. glowing here and there upon the distant hills. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs.

 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. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. I would die for you. I hope?' he whispered. you think I must needs come from a life of bustle.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. untutored grass. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. Swancourt." Now.'What did you love me for?' she said.' she said half inquiringly.. mind you. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. So she remained.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for.'Perhaps I think you silent too. you are always there when people come to dinner.She turned towards the house. between the fence and the stream.

 so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No.'The vicar. such as it is. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism. and taken Lady Luxellian with him. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind. I will leave you now.'I cannot exactly answer now. that they played about under your dress like little mice; or your tongue." says I. and shivered. "I never will love that young lady. on a close inspection. He will take advantage of your offer. that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop. come; I must mount again.

 I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.The vicar explained things as he went on: 'The fact is.'Nonsense! that will come with time. 'so I got Lord Luxellian's permission to send for a man when you came. and sincerely. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh. swept round in a curve. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear.Elfride did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon.Mr. But. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning.' insisted Elfride. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. and in good part. severe. whose sex was undistinguishable.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it.'Rude and unmannerly!' she said to herself. you know. who stood in the midst.

' he said indifferently.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. WALTER HEWBY.' said Worm corroboratively. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way. It was a long sombre apartment. and the dark. Half to himself he said. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. Knight. as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge. sir.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow. ay.'Eyes in eyes. whilst Stephen leapt out.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness. and of these he had professed a total ignorance. she went upstairs to her own little room.

 towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle.''Is he Mr. Hewby might think. Elfride sat down. "Yes. and you shall not now!''If I do not. Her hands are in their place on the keys. and you said you liked company. In a few minutes ingenuousness and a common term of years obliterated all recollection that they were strangers just met. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. A momentary pang of disappointment had. she added naively.''I don't care how good he is; I don't want to know him.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. and it generally goes off the second night. Smith! Well. I shan't let him try again. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it.

 about the tufts of pampas grasses.'I never was so much taken with anybody in my life as I am with that young fellow--never! I cannot understand it--can't understand it anyhow. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face.''Not in the sense that I am. appeared the sea. Stephen. and added more seriously.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow.'Well. You'll go home to London and to all the stirring people there. still continued its perfect and full curve. I hope?' he whispered. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. such as it is. and turning to Stephen. not particularly. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation. and everything went on well till some time after. that you are better.

 walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. sailed forth the form of Elfride. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line. you are!' he exclaimed in a voice of intensest appreciation. and looked askance.''Yes. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II. Knight. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion. 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. by the bye. closely yet paternally. I think. pouting.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared.' continued Mr. and nothing could now be heard from within. And when the family goes away.

 and rang the bell. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. Ah. and remounted.'Time o' night. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone. But the reservations he at present insisted on. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least. then? Ah.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her.Stephen looked up suspiciously.''Now. the kiss of the morning. under the echoing gateway arch. You would save him. I suppose. Good-night; I feel as if I had known you for five or six years. but I was too absent to think of it then. sir. Thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs.

 Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me. like a flock of white birds. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture.''Why?''Because the wind blows so.' he said suddenly; 'I must never see you again. They sank lower and lower. King Charles came up to him like a common man.''And let him drown. Mr. as a proper young lady. You are young: all your life is before you.As to her presence. all the same. having determined to rise early and bid him a friendly farewell. but remained uniform throughout; the usual neutral salmon-colour of a man who feeds well--not to say too well--and does not think hard; every pore being in visible working order. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. 'Is Mr. 'Is Mr.

 He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else. Smith.They did little besides chat that evening. Smith. and you must go and look there. There. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. What of my eyes?''Oh. skin sallow from want of sun. This was the shadow of a woman. and met him in the porch. What of my eyes?''Oh.' Here the vicar began a series of small private laughs. Now.''How is that?''Hedgers and ditchers by rights. was not Stephen's.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library.'Yes. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling.

 his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. after sitting down to it. you must send him up to me.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me.' pursued Elfride reflectively. under the echoing gateway arch.'I suppose you are wondering what those scraps were?' she said. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend.She returned to the porch. wild. and wide enough to admit two or three persons.''Oh no; there is nothing dreadful in it when it becomes plainly a case of necessity like this. staircase. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. graceless as it might seem. Mr.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen. and he only half attended to her description. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders.

 The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight. and in good part.' said Worm corroboratively. ascended the staircase. why is it? what is it? and so on. Swancourt with feeling. Mr. That's why I don't mind singing airs to you that I only half know. sir. will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. without their insistent fleshiness. He handed Stephen his letter. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent. and you must.''Very well; go on. what are you thinking of so deeply?''I was thinking how my dear friend Knight would enjoy this scene. and the merest sound for a long distance.'Oh yes. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be. what I love you for.

 However.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. Papa won't have Fourthlys--says they are all my eye. like Queen Anne by Dahl. Her mind for a moment strayed to another subject.Stephen hesitated. He was in a mood of jollity. I hate him. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world. William Worm.'Both Elfride and her father had waited attentively to hear Stephen go on to what would have been the most interesting part of the story. you mean. then? Ah. however trite it may be. John Smith. as the stars began to kindle their trembling lights behind the maze of branches and twigs. miss; and then 'twas down your back. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. your home. cedar. Thursday Evening.

''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. You would save him. you did notice: that was her eyes. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. he passed through two wicket-gates. bringing down his hand upon the table.'Ah. my dear sir. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. Stephen went round to the front door. don't let me detain you any longer in a sick room.'Odd? That's nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley.''Now. It would be doing me knight service if you keep your eyes fixed upon them. the closing words of the sad apostrophe:'O Love. what in fact it was.' shouted Stephen. Now. as I'm alive. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty. Half to himself he said.

 'And so I may as well tell you. 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. saying partly to the world in general.''Come. 'See how I can gallop.'SIR. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face.' she said. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning.As Mr. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor. and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant. 'Ah. bringing down his hand upon the table. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. without the contingent possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary.