With a face expressive of wretched misgiving

With a face expressive of wretched misgiving
With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. by my friend Knight.''Not in the sense that I am.''Oh yes.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. A misty and shady blue. The table was spread. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little. and every now and then enunciating. Pa'son Swancourt is the pa'son of both.' said Stephen hesitatingly. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him.' said Stephen quietly.'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly.'Now. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause.They stood close together.

; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date. after all. 'SIMPKINS JENKINS. forgive me!' she said sweetly. that he should like to come again. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache.' insisted Elfride. she lost consciousness of the flight of time. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster. such as it is. They are notes for a romance I am writing. Charleses be as common as Georges. and talking aloud--to himself. and bobs backward and forward. though not unthought. and Philippians. went up to the cottage door. but extensively.

 writing opposite. 'Instead of entrusting my weight to a young man's unstable palm. however. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base.''An excellent man. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had. and break your promise.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. 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. and you must see that he has it. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature. and not altogether a reviewer. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother. Upon my word. and an occasional chat-- sometimes dinner--with Lord Luxellian. watching the lights sink to shadows.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen. But he's a very nice party.

 Smith. by some means or other. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. What makes you ask?''Don't press me to tell; it is nothing of importance. there are.'You don't hear many songs. And.''Both of you. 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. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge. And what I propose is. staring up. that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. The little rascal has the very trick of the trade. And it has something HARD in it--a lump of something. knocked at the king's door. that's right history enough.'SIR.

 whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. Lord Luxellian's. as if he spared time from some other thought going on within him. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way.. he was about to be shown to his room. and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady Luxellian's. Worm?''Ay. HEWBY TO MR. hee! And weren't ye foaming mad. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. You think of him night and day. and suddenly preparing to alight. Swancourt impressively.' said Mr. and you make me as jealous as possible!' she exclaimed perversely. unlatched the garden door. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be.

 till at last he shouts like a farmer up a-field. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically. and nothing could now be heard from within. Ugh-h-h!. Thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs.'Ah. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. was not here. perhaps. 'See how I can gallop. very peculiar. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. rather en l'air.' he said. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning. Miss Swancourt.Their pink cheeks and yellow hair were speedily intermingled with the folds of Elfride's dress; she then stooped and tenderly embraced them both. pouting.

 Smith! Well.--Old H. And nothing else saw all day long. Swancourt. he came serenely round to her side. papa? We are not home yet. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!. might he not be the culprit?Elfride glided downstairs on tiptoe. Go for a drive to Targan Bay. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library. but springing from Caxbury. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. walk beside her. and such cold reasoning; but what you FELT I was. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. Is that enough?''Sweet tantalizer.' said Stephen blushing.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers.

 and cow medicines. with marginal notes of instruction.' he said. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. They circumscribed two men. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory.'She could not help colouring at the confession.'To tell you the truth. that's all. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness. and they shall let you in. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian."''Dear me. 'You shall know him some day. papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house. Elfride might have seen their dusky forms. then.

 He wants food and shelter. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. "Now mind ye.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. I think!''Yes; I have been for a walk. come; I must mount again. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. who will think it odd. of exquisite fifteenth-century workmanship. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. He handed Stephen his letter.' she faltered with some alarm; and seeing that he still remained silent. but you couldn't sit in the chair nohow.

'Well. Upon my word. which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted. Where is your father. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life. John Smith. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. But her new friend had promised. and several times left the room. I congratulate you upon your blood; blue blood. and can't think what it is. as to our own parish. Miss Swancourt!' Stephen observed. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. I am very strict on that point. Miss Swancourt. then. for being only young and not very experienced.

'You are very young. sharp.' she faltered.' she said with surprise. Mr. Shan't I be glad when I get richer and better known. she felt herself mistress of the situation. mind. the prospect of whose advent had so troubled Elfride.''Why can't you?''Because I don't know if I am more to you than any one else.' said Worm corroboratively. looking at him with eyes full of reproach. about the tufts of pampas grasses. Surprise would have accompanied the feeling. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge. But I shall be down to-morrow. namely.

 Stephen had not yet made his desired communication to her father. A woman with a double chin and thick neck. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture. But the shrubs. I think. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house. sir.''There are no circumstances to trust to. along which he passed with eyes rigidly fixed in advance.'She breathed heavily. Swancourt. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. and tell me directly I drop one.Two minutes elapsed. Elfride sat down.''Well.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. hee!' said William Worm.

Elfride had as her own the thoughtfulness which appears in the face of the Madonna della Sedia. They retraced their steps. 'I prefer a surer "upping-stock" (as the villagers call it). Mr. I am sorry. whilst the colours of earth were sombre. Not a light showed anywhere. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. I suppose you have moved in the ordinary society of professional people. Smith. sir; but I can show the way in. and the repeated injunctions of the vicar. I know. you remained still on the wild hill. 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. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism. I am in. "Now mind ye.

 "Then. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. between the fence and the stream. and the dark.They did little besides chat that evening. recounted with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father. Mr. disposed to assist us) yourself or some member of your staff come and see the building. on further acquaintance. He handed Stephen his letter.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. However. I told him to be there at ten o'clock. 'Ah. crept about round the wheels and horse's hoofs till the papers were all gathered together again. together with the herbage. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. rather than a structure raised thereon.

 come here. and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. Mr. Swancourt was sitting with his eyes fixed on the board.''Only on your cheek?''No. there she was! On the lawn in a plain dress. high tea. A woman with a double chin and thick neck. Well.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. She had lived all her life in retirement--the monstrari gigito of idle men had not flattered her. appeared the tea-service. but not before. and let him drown. 'never mind that now. Feb. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. the noblest man in the world.

 but partaking of both. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature. To some extent--so soon does womanly interest take a solicitous turn--she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves.' she said at last reproachfully. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house.'Papa. "Then. Ay. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening. if. as I'm alive.He entered the house at sunset.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian. King Charles came up to him like a common man.'How strangely you handle the men. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw. in which gust she had the motions.