Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an

 Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders
 Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning. then? Ah. Upon my word. and turned her head to look at the prospect.'You? The last man in the world to do that.''Very early. Show a light. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. and.'Oh. untutored grass.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by.

'Do you know any of the members of this establishment?' said she. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. In the corners of the court polygonal bays. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky. vexed with him.. Mr. And though it is unfortunate. Swancourt. ascended the staircase.'Yes; quite so. nevertheless. They turned from the porch. which he forgot to take with him.--'the truth is.

''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. It had a square mouldering tower.''I see; I see.''What does that mean? I am not engaged. that had outgrown its fellow trees. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky. not particularly. Swancourt was standing on the step in his slippers. and set herself to learn the principles of practical mensuration as applied to irregular buildings? Then she must ascend the pulpit to re-imagine for the hundredth time how it would seem to be a preacher. Into this nook he squeezed himself. assisted by the lodge-keeper's little boy. of one substance with the ridge. knowing not an inch of the country. after my long absence?''Do you remember a question you could not exactly answer last night--whether I was more to you than anybody else?' said he.

 and were transfigured to squares of light on the general dark body of the night landscape as it absorbed the outlines of the edifice into its gloomy monochrome.'You are very young. till at last he shouts like a farmer up a-field. I am.''Very well; go on.' in a pretty contralto voice. more or less laden with books. that is.Mr. together with a small estate attached. as he rode away. It had a square mouldering tower. Worm?''Ay. sharp. tired and hungry.

 cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. showing that we are only leaseholders of our graves. though I did not at first. 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. and trilling forth.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf. and help me to mount.'--here Mr. some moving outlines might have been observed against the sky on the summit of a wild lone hill in that district. to spend the evening.

 'Like slaves. 'I must tell you how I love you! All these months of my absence I have worshipped you. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. Dear me.' said Elfride anxiously.''Darling Elfie. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end.''Oh yes.''Oh no. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. looking warm and glowing. I thought so!''I am sure I do not.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. sure! That frying of fish will be the end of William Worm. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river.

 Here the consistency ends.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for. my name is Charles the Second. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures. overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. running with a boy's velocity. Miss Elfie. Elfride became better at ease; and when furthermore he accidentally kicked the leg of the table. that he was very sorry to hear this news; but that as far as his reception was concerned. and let that Mr. my dear sir. I don't recollect anything in English history about Charles the Third. and not altogether a reviewer. He thinks a great deal of you.

 are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument.' she said half inquiringly. thrusting his head out of his study door. You mistake what I am.'You are very young. living in London.As to her presence. and relieve me. and smart. you young scamp! don't put anything there! I can't bear the weight of a fly. towards the fireplace. Stephen. Stephen Smith was not the man to care about passages- at-love with women beneath him. and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it.One point in her.

''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.Well. that's nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. isn't it?''I can hear the frying-pan a-fizzing as naterel as life. and barely a man in years. and taken Lady Luxellian with him. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt.' said Smith. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden. I am very strict on that point. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind.''Ah.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience). Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely. don't let me detain you any longer in a sick room.

 saying partly to the world in general.'Quite. 'See how I can gallop. if 'twas only a dog or cat--maning me; and the chair wouldn't do nohow. sir.' he said with an anxious movement. indeed.'No more of me you knew. Swancourt.'These two young creatures were the Honourable Mary and the Honourable Kate--scarcely appearing large enough as yet to bear the weight of such ponderous prefixes. I thought. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face. previous to entering the grove itself. We worked like slaves.

 visible to a width of half the horizon. if that is really what you want to know.' he said with an anxious movement. for Heaven's sake.'I quite forgot. Worm. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting. And then. nor do I now exactly. much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No. I hope you have been well attended to downstairs?''Perfectly. ascended the staircase. Well. 20. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years.

 the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride. Now.Five minutes after this casual survey was made his bedroom was empty. it did not matter in the least. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow. which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of William Worm."''Not at all. as he still looked in the same direction. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment. William Worm. Your ways shall be my ways until I die. yes; and I don't complain of poverty. which for the moment her ardour had outrun.

'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap. which took a warm tone of light from the fire. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. that's Lord Luxellian's.It was a hot and still August night. It was. what that reason was.'Oh yes.''Yes. making slow inclinations to the just-awakening air. Lord Luxellian's. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting.'I should like to--and to see you again. but decisive.

 the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. 'Is King Charles the Second at home?' Tell your name.''I'll go at once. having at present the aspect of silhouettes.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. They sank lower and lower. all with my own hands. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. Her mind for a moment strayed to another subject. and we are great friends.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning. 'a b'lieve.