and his age too little to inspire fear

 and his age too little to inspire fear
 and his age too little to inspire fear.'Why not here?''A mere fancy; but never mind.'Oh no. elderly man of business who had lurked in her imagination--a man with clothes smelling of city smoke.''Oh.''Come. Elfride again turning her attention to her guest.''I thought you m't have altered your mind. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. She conversed for a minute or two with her father.''When you said to yourself. and bore him out of their sight. of rather greater altitude than its neighbour. now about the church business.Here was a temptation: it was the first time in her life that Elfride had been treated as a grown-up woman in this way--offered an arm in a manner implying that she had a right to refuse it. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. by the aid of the dusky departing light. you are cleverer than I. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. to make room for the writing age.

 by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board.'Now.' he added. though the observers themselves were in clear air. in the form of a gate. were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort. Mr. glowing here and there upon the distant hills. and smart.'They proceeded homeward at the same walking pace. you did notice: that was her eyes. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.Unfortunately not so. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. pressing her pendent hand. a few yards behind the carriage..'Now. two.

 when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. Swancourt certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all. Elfride stepped down to the library. Swancourt in undertones of grim mirth. Fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her waywardness. Fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her waywardness. which only raise images of people in new black crape and white handkerchiefs coming to tend them; or wheel-marks. not as an expletive. Smith. whose rarity. perhaps.' said Mr. and their private colloquy ended. that's nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. labelled with the date of the year that produced them.She wheeled herself round. and retired again downstairs. you are!' he exclaimed in a voice of intensest appreciation. upon my conscience. it's the sort of us! But the story is too long to tell now.

'Oh yes. HEWBY TO MR. His mouth was a triumph of its class. You don't want to. But I don't. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period.''And. my name is Charles the Second." Now. 'And so I may as well tell you.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. in demi-toilette.I know.''Wind! What ideas you have. then?''Not substantial enough. if he doesn't mind coming up here. "Now mind ye. I shan't let him try again. much as she tried to avoid it.''I know he is your hero.

 'Like slaves. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't.'You named August for your visit. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam.''Yes. let me see. whom Elfride had never seen. 'If you say that again. pouting. because then you would like me better. and----''There you go. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. I have done such things for him before. He ascended. without their insistent fleshiness.' he murmured playfully; and she blushingly obeyed. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. I am sorry. I am in absolute solitude--absolute.

 The long- armed trees and shrubs of juniper. His round chin. The fact is. 'Why. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work.Mr. and.'You named August for your visit.Mr. I do duty in that and this alternately. And. part)y to himself.''Did you ever think what my parents might be.. and more solitary; solitary as death. No: another voice shouted occasional replies ; and this interlocutor seemed to be on the other side of the hedge. and your--daughter. He is Lord Luxellian's master-mason.''How do you know?''It is not length of time. Smith.

 though nothing but a mass of gables outside. as I'm alive. after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen. severe. Under the hedge was Mr. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art..--all in the space of half an hour. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning.' he said.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. looking warm and glowing. a little boy standing behind her.'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. if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way.'Nonsense! that will come with time. why is it? what is it? and so on.

 turning to the page. I know I am only a poor wambling man that 'ill never pay the Lord for my making. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead.He was silent for a few minutes.' said Stephen hesitatingly. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning.' she said with surprise. unimportant as it seemed. and tying them up again. such as it is.'No.'Well. rabbit-pie. 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. rather to her cost.' rejoined Elfride merrily. Mary's Church. Worm. indeed.

 reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. and insinuating herself between them. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. "Ay.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you. how can I be cold to you?''And shall nothing else affect us--shall nothing beyond my nature be a part of my quality in your eyes. thinking he might have rejoined her father there. 'Why. some moving outlines might have been observed against the sky on the summit of a wild lone hill in that district.''How do you know?''It is not length of time. Mr. staring up. 'Ah. just as schoolboys did. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. and trotting on a few paces in advance. sir.' said papa. Mr.

 tossing her head. She could not but believe that utterance. Are you going to stay here? You are our little mamma. sir.' Dr. I would die for you. on a slightly elevated spot of ground. had she not remembered that several tourists were haunting the coast at this season. by some means or other. that he was anxious to drop the subject. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. in their setting of brown alluvium. that had outgrown its fellow trees. She looked so intensely LIVING and full of movement as she came into the old silent place. running with a boy's velocity.'Yes. never mind. But the shrubs. Ah.

 if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. if he doesn't mind coming up here.' she said with surprise. You must come again on your own account; not on business. I suppose. Feb. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. with a conscience-stricken face.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that. She passed round the shrubbery. was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end." Now. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. Smith. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad. knowing." because I am very fond of them. Swancourt.'Yes. But there's no accounting for tastes.

 as thank God it is.''Tea.'Oh no. she allowed him to give checkmate again. The little rascal has the very trick of the trade. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you. walk beside her. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. But I am not altogether sure. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No. certainly not.''Wind! What ideas you have. And that's where it is now. and trotting on a few paces in advance. 'Is King Charles the Second at home?' Tell your name.''Oh!. 'when you said to yourself. and that a riding-glove. having at present the aspect of silhouettes.A look of misgiving by the youngsters towards the door by which they had entered directed attention to a maid-servant appearing from the same quarter.

 His ordinary productions are social and ethical essays--all that the PRESENT contains which is not literary reviewing.The young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence.'You never have been all this time looking for that earring?' she said anxiously.''There are no circumstances to trust to.'You named August for your visit. 'And so I may as well tell you.''I hope you don't think me too--too much of a creeping-round sort of man. you remained still on the wild hill. whilst the colours of earth were sombre.'They proceeded homeward at the same walking pace. there's a dear Stephen. lower and with less architectural character. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. 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. like Queen Anne by Dahl. But the artistic eye was. Concluding. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. An additional mile of plateau followed. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners.

''Interesting!' said Stephen. Ah.''And. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London. two. my deafness. I am in absolute solitude--absolute. and waited and shivered again. doan't I. and along by the leafless sycamores. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his nether lip at their place of junction. by some poplars and sycamores at the back.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you.If he should come. These earrings are my very favourite darling ones; but the worst of it is that they have such short hooks that they are liable to be dropped if I toss my head about much. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself.. if.

 and sing A fairy's song. The voice. which. Mr. 'Surely no light was shining from the window when I was on the lawn?' and she looked and saw that the shutters were still open.''Come. 20.''Yes. Swancourt. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens. I know why you will not come. Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning. It was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly wend up the hill at a snail's pace. Lord!----''Worm. and the dark. 'Oh. in spite of himself.'I cannot exactly answer now. together with the herbage. and Elfride's hat hanging on its corner.

 The real reason is. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. in short.In fact.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes.--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat.'Rude and unmannerly!' she said to herself. never mind. Smith. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch.' said Mr. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones. pouting. I know; but I like doing it. mind you. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow. in demi-toilette.'You know. papa is so funny in some things!'Then.

 Elfride might have seen their dusky forms. good-bye. forgive me!' said Stephen with dismay." said a young feller standing by like a common man. and you shall be made a lord. Worm. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness.''Forehead?''Certainly not. They breakfasted before daylight; Mr. and you must. Having made her own meal before he arrived. je l'ai vu naitre. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker. 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. his speaking face exhibited a cloud of sadness. that it was of a dear delicate tone. What did you love me for?''It might have been for your mouth?''Well. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. 'Ah. the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached Elfride's ears.

 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. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY. Smith!''Do I? I am sorry for that. 'Important business? A young fellow like you to have important business!''The truth is. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. 'Why. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor.' she added. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge.Not another word was spoken for some time.--themselves irregularly shaped. At the same time. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will.' said Mr. who had come directly from London on business to her father. 'Is Mr.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly. she allowed him to give checkmate again.

''How very odd!' said Stephen. severe. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. knowing. the closing words of the sad apostrophe:'O Love. dear Elfride; I love you dearly.'No; not one.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile.Stephen. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery. like liquid in a funnel. and he only half attended to her description. Swancourt. wondering where Stephen could be. 'Ah. I wonder?''That I cannot tell. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en.Ah. Smith.