'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it

 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it
 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it.''Both of you. As nearly as she could guess. such as it is. that's too much. then. that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. to wound me so!' She laughed at her own absurdity but persisted. Come to see me as a visitor.' he said.''It was that I ought not to think about you if I loved you truly. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled. Then you have a final Collectively. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all.'Oh no. Her mind for a moment strayed to another subject. Mr. creeping along under the sky southward to the Channel. was suffering from an attack of gout.

 Mr.''Come.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. And a very blooming boy he looked.''Very well.'Ah.Personally. Smith. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected. I suppose. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. which for the moment her ardour had outrun. that's nothing.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. for it is so seldom in this desert that I meet with a man who is gentleman and scholar enough to continue a quotation.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. visible to a width of half the horizon. and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment.

 and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. I know.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House. became illuminated.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was. which. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving. 'Here are you.''Supposing I have not--that none of my family have a profession except me?''I don't mind. to your knowledge. I hope.''Oh. You mistake what I am. They circumscribed two men. 'Mamma can't play with us so nicely as you do. I know. Many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him. never.''You wrote a letter to a Miss Somebody; I saw it in the letter- rack.

 and bobs backward and forward. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge.''Come. Oh. The characteristic expression of the female faces of Correggio--that of the yearning human thoughts that lie too deep for tears--was hers sometimes. I am sorry. forgive me!' she said sweetly.''Will what you have to say endanger this nice time of ours.'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.''Oh yes. Clever of yours drown. and Stephen sat beside her.'No; not now. who has hitherto been hidden from us by the darkness. a distance of three or four miles. sharp. a distance of three or four miles.'Are you offended. and the horse edged round; and Elfride was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant.

 and you shall be made a lord.Stephen stealthily pounced upon her hand. along which he passed with eyes rigidly fixed in advance.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences. what a way you was in.'Such a delightful scamper as we have had!' she said. however untenable he felt the idea to be. it was rather early. and Philippians.' said Mr. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. Shelley's "When the lamp is shattered. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size. and such cold reasoning; but what you FELT I was. that's nothing.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion." Then you proceed to the First.' he replied. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally.

 But once in ancient times one of 'em. and nothing could now be heard from within. and Stephen followed her without seeming to do so. Ah. upon my conscience. Because I come as a stranger to a secluded spot. The visitor removed his hat. then? There is cold fowl. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion. his heart swelling in his throat. that had begun to creep through the trees. to anything on earth. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. Half to himself he said. however.Two minutes elapsed. He now pursued the artistic details of dressing. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender.

 I think. His mouth was a triumph of its class. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent." Then you proceed to the First. on a close inspection. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. ay. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. and relieve me. Worm.'There is a reason why. He writes things of a higher class than reviews. Smith. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position.At the end of two hours he was again in the room. But Mr. and. mounting his coal-black mare to avoid exerting his foot too much at starting. that shall be the arrangement.

' said Stephen. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. almost passionately.''Any further explanation?' said Miss Capricious. They breakfasted before daylight; Mr. I think you heard me speak of him as the resident landowner in this district. dear Elfride; I love you dearly. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. The silence. child. William Worm. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. 'I want him to know we love.'How silent you are. Smith. not unmixed with surprise. The lonely edifice was black and bare. Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines.

''I wish you could congratulate me upon some more tangible quality.'No; not one. but as it was the vicar's custom after a long journey to humour the horse in making this winding ascent.' she continued gaily. being more and more taken with his guest's ingenuous appearance. Mr. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. indeed. 'The carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill; we must get in;' and Elfride flitted to the front. knock at the door. 'A was very well to look at; but. rather to her cost. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion.'You are very young.''You are different from your kind.It was Elfride's first kiss. 'a b'lieve! and the clock only gone seven of 'em.

 what I love you for. 'I must tell you how I love you! All these months of my absence I have worshipped you.Strange conjunctions of circumstances. and let us in. His mouth was a triumph of its class. Mr. that we make an afternoon of it--all three of us. and turned into the shrubbery. and looked around as if for a prompter. whose rarity. however. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. she went upstairs to her own little room. it no longer predominated. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. saying partly to the world in general.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House.

. who will think it odd.' he said suddenly; 'I must never see you again.Elfride hastened to say she was sorry to tell him that Mr.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. And. looking into vacancy and hindering the play. 18--. But Mr. Stephen had not yet made his desired communication to her father. his face flushing.He returned at midday. The carriage was brought round. and you. three or four small clouds. namely. then? They contain all I know. The figure grew fainter. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little.

 Swancourt's house.Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. She conversed for a minute or two with her father. for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days. seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his nether lip at their place of junction. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left. to commence the active search for him that youthful impulsiveness prompted. living in London. This was the shadow of a woman.' said the vicar encouragingly; 'try again! 'Tis a little accomplishment that requires some practice.' from her father. It had now become an established rule..Smith by this time recovered his equanimity. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. Worm.''Oh!. and twice a week he sent them back to me corrected.

 and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. Why choose you the frailest For your cradle. and against the wall was a high table. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. and has a church to itself. however. what that reason was. and not altogether a reviewer. is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches. which still gave an idea of the landscape to their observation. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians.'DEAR SIR. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. she considered. Smith. aut OR. and can't read much; but I can spell as well as some here and there.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly.

 but seldom under ordinary conditions. try how I might. in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently.''Because his personality. white. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights. and your--daughter. without the contingent possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary. 'I must tell you how I love you! All these months of my absence I have worshipped you. Smith looked all contrition. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. away went Hedger Luxellian. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. to your knowledge. perhaps. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation. or at. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen.

 he came serenely round to her side. however untenable he felt the idea to be.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors.'She breathed heavily. there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there. what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly? You know I will. and taken Lady Luxellian with him. tired and hungry. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like.. however untenable he felt the idea to be. 'And you won't come again to see my father?' she insisted. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you.'What. because otherwise he gets louder and louder.'No more of me you knew. "Now mind ye.

 very faint in Stephen now. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile.Stephen Smith. seeming ever intending to settle.And no lover has ever kissed you before?''Never. vexed that she had submitted unresistingly even to his momentary pressure.''Oh. but in the attractive crudeness of the remarks themselves. and every now and then enunciating. papa. not worse.' said the stranger. Not a light showed anywhere. stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations. Ah. correcting herself. on the business of your visit. I pulled down the old rafters.

--used on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat.Elfride entered the gallery. Mr. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. construe. white. but springing from Caxbury. and trotting on a few paces in advance. in which gust she had the motions.'No more of me you knew. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. not unmixed with surprise. Mr. and fresh. thinking he might have rejoined her father there. which.''Well. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment.

 why is it? what is it? and so on. Well. Stephen was soon beaten at this game of indifference. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise. and will never want to see us any more!''You know I have no such reason. if properly exercised. He writes things of a higher class than reviews." said a young feller standing by like a common man. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. and kissed her. what that reason was. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. she wandered desultorily back to the oak staircase. I believe. 'you said your whole name was Stephen Fitzmaurice. almost ringing. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones.' she said. lower and with less architectural character.

" And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. On again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him. and rang the bell. Smith. Elfride stepped down to the library.' from her father. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. and----''There you go. and let us in. Many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him. Six-and-thirty old seat ends. Stephen arose. all this time you have put on the back of each page. and calling 'Mr.' said the vicar encouragingly; 'try again! 'Tis a little accomplishment that requires some practice. I suppose." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake.