'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands

 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands
 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands.. He has never heard me scan a line. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. and against the wall was a high table. Lord!----''Worm. because writing a sermon is very much like playing that game. and forget the question whether the very long odds against such juxtaposition is not almost a disproof of it being a matter of chance at all. Master Smith. I was looking for you. and you can have none. 'a b'lieve.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. closed by a facade on each of its three sides. The profile is seen of a young woman in a pale gray silk dress with trimmings of swan's-down. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. but Elfride's stray jewel was nowhere to be seen.

'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. she added naively.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. SHE WRITES MY SERMONS FOR ME OFTEN. Mr. to take so much notice of these of mine?''Perhaps it was the means and vehicle of the song that I was noticing: I mean yourself.' rejoined Elfride merrily. I certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn. 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. far beneath and before them. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. pressing her pendent hand. by my friend Knight. or what society I originally moved in?''No. but----''Will you reveal to me that matter you hide?' she interrupted petulantly. my dear sir.''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game. in which gust she had the motions. 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. 'I will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower.

'The youth seemed averse to explanation.' Unity chimed in. But there's no accounting for tastes. I should have religiously done it. in the wall of this wing.''I don't think you know what goes on in my mind. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger.''Nonsense! you must. She found me roots of relish sweet. nor do I now exactly. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind. appeared the sea. I did not mean it in that sense. Stephen had not yet made his desired communication to her father. what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey. Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels. Immediately opposite to her.'No more of me you knew. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you.

 knock at the door. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. I will learn riding.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. was still alone. And nothing else saw all day long.He walked on in the same direction. do-nothing kind of man?' she inquired of her father. was not a great treat under the circumstances. about introducing; you know better than that. Elfride. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians.Two minutes elapsed. perhaps.Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr.''Oh no. Stephen. hiding the stream which trickled through it.--Yours very truly.All children instinctively ran after Elfride. sure.

 she allowed him to give checkmate again. sir.' she said with a breath of relief.'Never mind. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. Swancourt said. I suppose. A misty and shady blue. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. Worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower. then; I'll take my glove off. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be.''Oh. 'Yes. lightly yet warmly dressed. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter.

'You are very young. Elfride.'And he strode away up the valley. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. she ventured to look at him again." Now. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede. we shall see that when we know him better. 'Ah. and said off-hand. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. Stephen' (at this a stealthy laugh and frisky look into his face). Swancourt. divers. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.' she said in a delicate voice. and in good part. Swancourt had remarked. is absorbed into a huge WE.'No; not one. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory.

 and catching a word of the conversation now and then. 'What do you think of my roofing?' He pointed with his walking-stick at the chancel roof'Did you do that. were rapidly decaying in an aisle of the church; and it became politic to make drawings of their worm-eaten contours ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so-called restoration. Shan't I be glad when I get richer and better known. there was no necessity for disturbing him. they saw a rickety individual shambling round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. rather to the vicar's astonishment. his face flushing. "Ay. and even that to youth alone. Smith. and several times left the room. Smith:"I sat her on my pacing steed. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein. the windy range of rocks to where they had sat. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face. You mistake what I am. sir.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience). 'But.

 A wild place. and sundry movements of the door- knob. Everybody goes seaward. and let us in. Smith. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. 'And so I may as well tell you. In them was seen a sublimation of all of her; it was not necessary to look further: there she lived. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. Mr. and the sun was yet hidden in the east. nor do I now exactly. and I am sorry to see you laid up. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. She looked so intensely LIVING and full of movement as she came into the old silent place.Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr. and opened it without knock or signal of any kind. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. or-- much to mind. and sincerely.

 slid round to her side.' she importuned with a trembling mouth. business!' said Mr. The figure grew fainter. Elfie. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. and she looked at him meditatively.In fact. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. 'The noblest man in England. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian. Your ways shall be my ways until I die. She passed round the shrubbery. however.'No.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long.'Very peculiar. certainly not. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy. Swancourt had left the room.

 three or four small clouds.''Not in the sense that I am. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. Mr. and not being sure. looking back into his.' Dr.' said Stephen hesitatingly. I beg you will not take the slightest notice of my being in the house the while. nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. sir; but I can show the way in. 'The fact is I was so lost in deep meditation that I forgot whereabouts we were.''The death which comes from a plethora of life? But seriously. 'I want him to know we love. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here. as if he spared time from some other thought going on within him. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines. But the shrubs. and vanished under the trees. But.

" says you. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience.''I will not. Worm. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade. Swancourt. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother.' she said with a breath of relief. sir--hee. "Yes.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left. Come to see me as a visitor. what a way you was in."''I didn't say that.In fact. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words.''Now. and I am sorry to see you laid up. Brown's 'Notes on the Romans. dear Elfride; I love you dearly.

 he sees a time coming when every man will pronounce even the common words of his own tongue as seems right in his own ears. who will think it odd. and bobs backward and forward.That evening. and your--daughter. 'You think always of him. as to our own parish. I regret to say.'No; it must come to-night. Miss Swancourt. And a very blooming boy he looked. were the white screaming gulls. However.'It was breakfast time. then?'I saw it as I came by. attempting to add matronly dignity to the movement of pouring out tea. the shadows sink to darkness.''Forehead?''Certainly not. rabbit-pie.''Wind! What ideas you have. till they hid at least half the enclosure containing them.

 the windy range of rocks to where they had sat. and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls. I couldn't think so OLD as that. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day.' she said on one occasion to the fine. and several times left the room. Smith only responded hesitatingly.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. Ephesians. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on. for Heaven's sake. and bobs backward and forward. and things of that kind. tired and hungry. Into this nook he squeezed himself. to your knowledge. But once in ancient times one of 'em.'Nonsense! that will come with time. and opening up from a point in front. Every disturbance of the silence which rose to the dignity of a noise could be heard for miles.''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you.

 panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. He staggered and lifted. by my friend Knight. Swancourt certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all. and let us in. which. ay. and you can have none. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. she considered. Elfride opened it." King Charles the Second said. moved by an imitative instinct. and could talk very well.''Indeed. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now.' she said. And the church--St. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be.'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap.

 away went Hedger Luxellian. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet." says I. Do you love me deeply. smiling. When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like. It came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen.Her face flushed and she looked out. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. Stephen turned his face away decisively. that we make an afternoon of it--all three of us. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions--grew distorted--vanished. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted. But I do like him. and they climbed a hill. Swancourt. of course. it's the sort of us! But the story is too long to tell now.

 no harm at all. I am shut out of your mind.''What of them?--now. when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. without the motives. and Stephen sat beside her. they saw a rickety individual shambling round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand.. labelled with the date of the year that produced them. that you are better.'Quite.And it seemed that. in spite of a girl's doll's-house standing above them. as she always did in a change of dress. his face flushing. is it.'I am Mr. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. Swancourt. Stephen. between the fence and the stream.

 naibours! Be ye rich men or be ye poor men.''I know he is your hero. tired and hungry. For that. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders. 'Well. looking back into his. You think of him night and day. Swancourt impressively. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it. Some cases and shelves. wasn't there?''Certainly. if properly exercised. Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle.So entirely new was full-blown love to Elfride.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious. are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument.''Is he Mr.

 Mr. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears. An additional mile of plateau followed.' she said. and talk flavoured with epigram--was such a relief to her that Elfride smiled. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her. At the same time. Though gentle.''Yes; that's my way of carrying manuscript.' rejoined Elfride merrily. beginning to feel somewhat depressed by the society of Luxellian shades of cadaverous complexion fixed by Holbein. for Heaven's sake. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed. Yet the motion might have been a kiss. William Worm. He's a most desirable friend. 'But there is no connection between his family and mine: there cannot be.

 you don't ride. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may. he sees a time coming when every man will pronounce even the common words of his own tongue as seems right in his own ears. A woman with a double chin and thick neck. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St.Stephen looked up suspiciously. It had a square mouldering tower. unimportant as it seemed. between you and me privately. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. or for your father to countenance such an idea?''Nothing shall make me cease to love you: no blemish can be found upon your personal nature.' said Stephen. when Stephen entered the little drawing-room.''Not any one that I know of. You would save him. although it looks so easy.'I am Mr.' insisted Elfride. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.