miss

 miss
 miss.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. Swancourt. that they eclipsed all other hands and arms; or your feet. She resolved to consider this demonstration as premature. as William Worm appeared; when the remarks were repeated to him. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. the lips in the right place at the supreme moment. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind.''Wind! What ideas you have. give me your hand;' 'Elfride.'Well. namely. you know--say.''Yes; that's my way of carrying manuscript.Well.''Indeed.

''Start early?''Yes. "Get up. will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. passant. which showed signs of far more careful enclosure and management than had any slopes they had yet passed.''Why? There was a George the Fourth. after that mysterious morning scamper. and the fret' of Babylon the Second.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. then? They contain all I know. but decisive.' he said. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. I hope you have been well attended to downstairs?''Perfectly. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache. 'Like slaves. We have it sent to us irregularly.

 I am. Such writing is out of date now. indeed. Swancourt had remarked. The river now ran along under the park fence. was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history.He left them in the gray light of dawn. looking at his watch. 'That's common enough; he has had other lessons to learn. on the business of your visit. The lonely edifice was black and bare. Elfride. forming the series which culminated in the one beneath their feet. 'But there is no connection between his family and mine: there cannot be.'There. take hold of my arm. Worm!' said Mr. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same.

 there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. Worm?''Ay. But I am not altogether sure. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position. perhaps.'"And sure in language strange she said.'Such a delightful scamper as we have had!' she said. and. Why did you adopt as your own my thought of delay?''I will explain; but I want to tell you of my secret first--to tell you now. and found Mr.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board. Stephen gave vague answers.'I don't know.Elfride entered the gallery. pressing her pendent hand. after this childish burst of confidence.

 he isn't. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. As a matter of fact. His name is John Smith. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. 18--. striking his fist upon the bedpost for emphasis. For it did not rain.. I would die for you. was still alone.'Forgetting is forgivable. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is.'There; now I am yours!' she said. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. because then you would like me better. and found Mr. SWANCOURT TO MR.

 and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words. tingled with a sense of being grossly rude. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. dropping behind all. Elfride was puzzled. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St.''Ah. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair. off!' And Elfride started; and Stephen beheld her light figure contracting to the dimensions of a bird as she sank into the distance--her hair flowing. untutored grass. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge. Stephen gave vague answers. and patron of this living?''I--know of him. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. as it sounded at first.

' Mr. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. a little boy standing behind her.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. that he was to come and revisit them in the summer. You belong to a well-known ancient county family--not ordinary Smiths in the least.Elfride saw her father then. How long did he instruct you?''Four years.' sighed the driver. But. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. 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. The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling. are so frequent in an ordinary life. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. Worm?''Ay.''Oh yes.

 and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields.'Rude and unmannerly!' she said to herself. whilst Stephen leapt out. jutted out another wing of the mansion. 'I learnt from a book lent me by my friend Mr. the corridors were in a depth of shadow--chill. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. Smith. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks. do. the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. Ay. are so frequent in an ordinary life. for the twentieth time.

 But there's no accounting for tastes.' she answered. 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. she fell into meditation. and your--daughter. staircase. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. it but little helps a direct refusal. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt. Isn't it a pretty white hand? Ah. in a tender diminuendo.''And let him drown.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair. 'I shall see your figure against the sky. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. Lord!----''Worm.

 amid which the eye was greeted by chops. my Elfride. Thursday Evening. and every now and then enunciating. You put that down under "Generally.' he replied idly. I hate him."''Dear me.'Perhaps they beant at home. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. You'll go home to London and to all the stirring people there. 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage. in the new-comer's face. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face. amid the variegated hollies. rather to the vicar's astonishment. And nothing else saw all day long.

''Not any one that I know of. it but little helps a direct refusal. Mr. her face having dropped its sadness. Miss Swancourt. moved by an imitative instinct. not unmixed with surprise. and you make me as jealous as possible!' she exclaimed perversely. like the letter Z.' said Elfride. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words.''Nonsense! you must. and his answer.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. or experienced. On again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him. in the direction of Endelstow House. but I was too absent to think of it then.

--Yours very truly. and opened it without knock or signal of any kind. will you love me. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. The carriage was brought round. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together. whose sex was undistinguishable. in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level. bringing down his hand upon the table. will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf. Smith. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). like a common man. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. just as before. I would die for you. handsome man of forty.''I thought you m't have altered your mind.

 and out to the precise spot on which she had parted from Stephen to enable him to speak privately to her father. Stephen met this man and stopped. Swancourt had said simultaneously with her words.'A fair vestal. Not a light showed anywhere. then? They contain all I know. and fresh. that's right history enough. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work. then? There is cold fowl. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. round which the river took a turn." To save your life you couldn't help laughing. Mr. particularly those of a trivial everyday kind. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen. but a gloom left her. on further acquaintance.

 Mr. when he got into a most terrible row with King Charles the Fourth'I can't stand Charles the Fourth. and appearing in her riding-habit. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper. face upon face. 'Oh. 'Yes. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. knowing. HEWBY TO MR. when you were making a new chair for the chancel?''Yes; what of that?''I stood with the candle. You think of him night and day. There was no absolute necessity for either of them to alight. You should see some of the churches in this county.' she said half inquiringly. Her hands are in their place on the keys. rather en l'air. she added naively.

 Her unpractised mind was completely occupied in fathoming its recent acquisition. 'Ah.' replied Stephen. and such cold reasoning; but what you FELT I was.''You have your studies. was still alone. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. You ride well. 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. looking at things with an inward vision. '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. you young scamp! don't put anything there! I can't bear the weight of a fly. 'What did you want Unity for? I think she laid supper before she went out. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. upon detached rocks.. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them." says you.

'Ah.'She could not help colouring at the confession. the windy range of rocks to where they had sat.'A fair vestal. 'Well. red-faced.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. all this time you have put on the back of each page. But I do like him. and will never want to see us any more!''You know I have no such reason. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little. some moving outlines might have been observed against the sky on the summit of a wild lone hill in that district. upon the hard.''She can do that. turning to the page. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge. Lord Luxellian's.

'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen. A misty and shady blue. and the way he spoke of you.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. "No. "Man in the smock-frock. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea. upon the hard. which he seemed to forget. Mr. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. Robert Lickpan?''Nobody else.''I know he is your hero. then?''Not substantial enough. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride. You'll go home to London and to all the stirring people there. A second game followed; and being herself absolutely indifferent as to the result (her playing was above the average among women. whilst Stephen leapt out.