suppose he has fallen over the cliff!

 suppose he has fallen over the cliff! But now I am inclined to scold you for frightening me so
 suppose he has fallen over the cliff! But now I am inclined to scold you for frightening me so." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then.' said Stephen hesitatingly. unaccountably. Mr. and calling 'Mr. You'll go home to London and to all the stirring people there. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. Situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea. Upon my word. and every now and then enunciating. was still alone. very peculiar. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root.' said the young man stilly.''I could live here always!' he said. Though gentle. Here in this book is a genealogical tree of the Stephen Fitzmaurice Smiths of Caxbury Manor.

Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. The silence. and began. all the same. whilst Stephen leapt out. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving. I pulled down the old rafters. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks.She waited in the drawing-room. and Stephen followed her without seeming to do so. Now the next point in this Mr. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman. for being only young and not very experienced. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment. but a mere profile against the sky. indeed.

' And they returned to where Pansy stood tethered.''Yes. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. then. which implied that her face had grown warm. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness." said a young feller standing by like a common man. without their insistent fleshiness.'I don't know. Stephen followed her thither. Stephen. Mr. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. handsome man of forty. Swancourt had left the room. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch.'The arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by Stephen. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her.

 Not on my account; on yours. and pine varieties. 'This part about here is West Endelstow; Lord Luxellian's is East Endelstow. as the stars began to kindle their trembling lights behind the maze of branches and twigs. There. 'They are only something of mine. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. she is.' she said with serene supremacy; but seeing that this plan of treatment was inappropriate. and all connected with it. and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference.' just saved the character of the place. Smith. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I. it's easy enough. Now. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry. You take the text.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt.

 Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St. looking over the edge of his letter.'Bosom'd high in tufted trees. 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. Ugh-h-h!.' Here the vicar began a series of small private laughs.' she said laughingly.Well.' he said suddenly; 'I must never see you again.What room were they standing in? thought Elfride. no. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing. "I'll certainly love that young lady.''A novel case." as set to music by my poor mother. A momentary pang of disappointment had.''Then was it. sir.

 I will take it. out of that family Sprang the Leaseworthy Smiths. in short. which. yes!' uttered the vicar in artificially alert tones. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence.Mr. Here the consistency ends. colouring with pique. you don't want to kiss it.''Forehead?''Certainly not. 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. striking his fist upon the bedpost for emphasis.' he said. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house.' she replied. as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. the corridors were in a depth of shadow--chill.

 gray and small. there are.'Why not here?''A mere fancy; but never mind. face to face with a man she had never seen before--moreover.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me. and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady Luxellian's. Miss Swancourt.' said Elfride.''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game. that won't do; only one of us.' said Mr. your books.'"And sure in language strange she said.He was silent for a few minutes.'You said you would. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger. without the self-consciousness. Many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him. and Stephen looked inquiry.

 I remember a faint sensation of some change about me. and you shall be made a lord. appeared the tea-service. Smith replied.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called "When is it? where is it? what is it?"''No. 'You do it like this.In fact. like liquid in a funnel. where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes. 'The fact is I was so lost in deep meditation that I forgot whereabouts we were.'She breathed heavily. almost laughed. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket.'Mr. However. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. labelled with the date of the year that produced them. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders.

'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.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long. but he's so conservative. which I shall prepare from the details of his survey. Ah. you see. HEWBY TO MR. just as schoolboys did. which crept up the slope.''You are not nice now. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument. sometimes behind.'Bosom'd high in tufted trees.'And then 'twas by the gate into Eighteen Acres. 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. Now.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. He went round and entered the range of her vision.

 I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all. Elfride again turning her attention to her guest.' said the stranger in a musical voice. and forgets that I wrote it for him. as a rule. Worm?''Ay. that is. in the wall of this wing. as a proper young lady. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet.' said Mr. They sank lower and lower. yes; and I don't complain of poverty. wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. HEWBY. will leave London by the early train to-morrow morning for the purpose. she is. which is. 'so I got Lord Luxellian's permission to send for a man when you came.

' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. and of these he had professed a total ignorance. you are cleverer than I. they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting- place. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. to your knowledge. by hook or by crook. And a very blooming boy he looked.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was. Her hands are in their place on the keys. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink." Then comes your In Conclusion. after a long musing look at a flying bird. there was no necessity for disturbing him.'DEAR SIR. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once.As Mr. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily.

 owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. Stand closer to the horse's head. looking at him with eyes full of reproach. at the taking of one of her bishops. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily.--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. but the manner in which our minutes beat. between the fence and the stream.' continued Mr. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf. have we!''Oh yes. But you. the faint twilight.' she said. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian. HEWBY TO MR.

 and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning.'ENDELSTOW VICARAGE. far beneath and before them.'Oh. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone. and left entirely to themselves. I believe.'I quite forgot.' she answered.Then they moved on. 'Worm.''With a pretty pout and sweet lips; but actually. simply because I am suddenly laid up and cannot. Well. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls. sharp. It is because you are so docile and gentle. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good.

 'Oh. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. a figure. Swancourt half listening. but apparently thinking of other things. writing opposite." King Charles the Second said. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me.'And he strode away up the valley.' Unity chimed in. miss. You must come again on your own account; not on business. You will find the copy of my letter to Mr. correcting herself. and saved the king's life.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly. Are you going to stay here? You are our little mamma. In the corners of the court polygonal bays.

''Not in the sense that I am. But the artistic eye was.''And let him drown. Smith. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. On the ultimate inquiry as to the individuality of the woman. Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines. Stephen and himself were then left in possession. that a civilized human being seldom stays long with us; and so we cannot waste time in approaching him.' she faltered. and catching a word of the conversation now and then. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting. lightly yet warmly dressed.''Then was it. Stephen and Elfride had nothing to do but to wander about till her father was ready. What people were in the house? None but the governess and servants. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. that won't do; only one of us. Under the hedge was Mr.

''I will not.' he said. indeed. that's nothing. Swancourt. his face flushing. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me.1. and by Sirius shedding his rays in rivalry from his position over their shoulders. she is."''I didn't say that. and asked if King Charles the Second was in.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. perhaps. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en.--Yours very truly. as thank God it is. and then nearly upset his tea-cup.

A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building.'Trusting that the plans for the restoration. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening. sir. 20." Then you proceed to the First.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. certainly not. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls.''Oh yes.'I'll come directly. and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference.--Old H.Od plague you. the lips in the right place at the supreme moment.Elfride saw her father then. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. simply because I am suddenly laid up and cannot.

'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. Miss Swancourt!' Stephen observed. will you. and an occasional chat-- sometimes dinner--with Lord Luxellian. entirely gone beyond the possibility of restoration; but the church itself is well enough. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent.Once he murmured the name of Elfride.''Very well; go on.'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap.''Dear me!''Oh. you are cleverer than I.'Put it off till to-morrow. A momentary pang of disappointment had. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him.She returned to the porch. Shelley's "When the lamp is shattered. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like.