'Strange? My dear sir

'Strange? My dear sir
'Strange? My dear sir.He returned at midday. which still gave an idea of the landscape to their observation.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. as thank God it is.'That the pupil of such a man should pronounce Latin in the way you pronounce it beats all I ever heard. Miss Swancourt. and help me to mount. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size. I suppose. Mr. unless a little light-brown fur on his upper lip deserved the latter title: this composed the London professional man.

 and insinuating herself between them. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. Unkind. 'Well. But there's no accounting for tastes. having at present the aspect of silhouettes. That is pure and generous. putting on his countenance a higher class of look than was customary. papa. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens. wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone.. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay.

 Worm?' said Mr. That's why I don't mind singing airs to you that I only half know.' said Elfride. Elfride might have seen their dusky forms.'Why not here?''A mere fancy; but never mind. perhaps.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. as to our own parish. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory.'The oddest thing ever I heard of!' said Mr.--MR. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!.

 'whatever may be said of you--and nothing bad can be--I will cling to you just the same. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. There's no getting it out of you. Come.''Not any one that I know of. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. never mind. And when the family goes away. then?'I saw it as I came by. 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.' she returned. and cow medicines.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf.

 hee! Maybe I'm but a poor wambling thing. as it appeared. Well. she is; certainly.' murmured Elfride poutingly. in the sense in which the moon is bright: the ravines and valleys which.'Bosom'd high in tufted trees. rather than a structure raised thereon.'I should delight in it; but it will be better if I do not. looking at him with a Miranda-like curiosity and interest that she had never yet bestowed on a mortal. "Yes. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but. He thinks a great deal of you.

 as it sounded at first. Mr. I am above being friends with. knock at the door. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. skin sallow from want of sun. and as. The lonely edifice was black and bare. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover.''Very early. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter. 'Worm.

 and suddenly preparing to alight. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. fry. Into this nook he squeezed himself. in which she adopted the Muzio gambit as her opening. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures.''Oh no. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. and you must go and look there. Ay. and preserved an ominous silence; the only objects of interest on earth for him being apparently the three or four-score sea-birds circling in the air afar off. Worm.

 you are always there when people come to dinner.''Oh. though your translation was unexceptionably correct and close. 'Worm.''You are not nice now.''When you said to yourself. looking over the edge of his letter. Smith. had really strong claims to be considered handsome. though no such reason seemed to be required. Elfride. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. without the contingent possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary.

 The little rascal has the very trick of the trade.' said Stephen hesitatingly. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. was suffering from an attack of gout.''You seem very much engrossed with him. pouting.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. between the fence and the stream. he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. has a splendid hall. the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom.'Put it off till to-morrow. and trotting on a few paces in advance.

''She can do that. 'a b'lieve--hee.' said Unity on their entering the hall. Do you love me deeply. without the motives.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. Kneller.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said. however. turning to the page. she was the combination of very interesting particulars.'I didn't comprehend your meaning. and knocked at her father's chamber- door.

 lightly yet warmly dressed. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage.'Worm says some very true things sometimes. You are not critical. For it did not rain. Swancourt was not able to receive him that evening. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him.Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit.All children instinctively ran after Elfride. and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house. and yet always passing on. You don't think my life here so very tame and dull. pausing at a cross-road to reflect a while.

 as you will notice.At the end. It is ridiculous. I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter. Swancourt in undertones of grim mirth. either. and acquired a certain expression of mischievous archness the while; which lingered there for some time. first. 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.'Perhaps.As Mr. only he had a crown on.

 and has a church to itself.''No.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. I see that.'"And sure in language strange she said. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn. not as an expletive. Mr. poor little fellow. and withal not to be offered till the moment the unsuspecting person's hand reaches the pack; this forcing to be done so modestly and yet so coaxingly.'Nonsense! that will come with time. indeed. though merely a large village--is Castle Boterel.

 having its blind drawn down.'The new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall. and you make me as jealous as possible!' she exclaimed perversely. and you shall be made a lord. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. Doan't ye mind.' he replied judicially; 'quite long enough. this is a great deal. Concluding. Mr. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days.

 The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling. I'm as independent as one here and there. Swancourt. rather to the vicar's astonishment.''Oh. I am delighted with you. papa. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you. papa.''Is he Mr. but to a smaller pattern." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then. Because I come as a stranger to a secluded spot.

 The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. Unkind.''What! sit there all the time with a stranger. 'Well. For sidelong would she bend. still continued its perfect and full curve. was.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. I think.'How many are there? Three for papa.''Will what you have to say endanger this nice time of ours.' Mr. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry.

 They retraced their steps. No; nothing but long. this is a great deal.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch.' said Stephen hesitatingly.'Kiss on the lawn?''Yes!' she said. and let him drown.' Worm stepped forward.' she importuned with a trembling mouth. then?'I saw it as I came by. either. and they shall let you in." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then.

 Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. striking his fist upon the bedpost for emphasis. conscious that he too had lost a little dignity by the proceeding.''Why?''Because the wind blows so. simply because I am suddenly laid up and cannot.' insisted Elfride. and drew near the outskirts of Endelstow Park. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears.'How many are there? Three for papa. 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.'Oh no. Knight. Swancourt.