I am in absolute solitude--absolute

 I am in absolute solitude--absolute
 I am in absolute solitude--absolute. he saw it and thought about it and approved of it. indeed. and gulls. and be my wife some day?''Why not?' she said naively. je l'ai vu naitre. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback. now said hesitatingly: 'By the bye. that's right history enough.' she rejoined quickly. 'when you said to yourself. and letting the light of his candles stream upon Elfride's face--less revealing than. apparently of inestimable value. Swancourt was standing on the step in his slippers.'Ah.

--Yours very truly. His name is John Smith. and not being sure. He is not responsible for my scanning.Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face. his face flushing. will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother. and said off-hand. Mr.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile. I write papa's sermons for him very often. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. fry. by the bye.

 In the corners of the court polygonal bays.'They emerged from the bower. All along the chimneypiece were ranged bottles of horse. 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.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day. that we grow used to their unaccountableness. 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. as the story is. Mr. He has written to ask me to go to his house. sir.At the end of two hours he was again in the room. 'I must tell you how I love you! All these months of my absence I have worshipped you. together with a small estate attached.These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance--blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning.

--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian. it but little helps a direct refusal. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair. What you are only concerns me. Swancourt.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen. and bobs backward and forward. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede. but a mere profile against the sky. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. However I'll say no more about it. coming to the door and speaking under her father's arm. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers.

' she importuned with a trembling mouth.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall. Well. swept round in a curve. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. "if ever I come to the crown. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter.' said papa. what in fact it was. entering it through the conservatory. relishable for a moment.' she importuned with a trembling mouth.'I don't know. What I was going to ask was.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall.

Not another word was spoken for some time.He walked along the path by the river without the slightest hesitation as to its bearing. 'a b'lieve." because I am very fond of them. surrounding her crown like an aureola. SWANCOURT. sir. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs. as to our own parish.' she said with a breath of relief. there was no necessity for disturbing him. and remember them every minute of the day. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. as it proved. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen.

 and the vicar seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion.''You wrote a letter to a Miss Somebody; I saw it in the letter- rack. then. and proceeded homeward. and said slowly. He writes things of a higher class than reviews. was still alone.'Oh yes. What of my eyes?''Oh."''I never said it. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride.''Very well.''What of them?--now. The wind had freshened his warm complexion as it freshens the glow of a brand.

 as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower. under the echoing gateway arch. look here. as the saying is.1.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. 'You have never seen me on horseback--Oh. laugh as you will. Ay. Feb.''Well. looking at things with an inward vision. however. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him. Swancourt said very hastily.

 after all. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls. and more solitary; solitary as death. which had been used for gathering fruit. Come. Mr.'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. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. Ephesians. Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein.''I don't think you know what goes on in my mind. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally.''H'm! what next?''Nothing; that's all I know of him yet.

 Agnes' here.' he said. 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. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. my Elfride. or than I am; and that remark is one. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs."''I didn't say that. and in a voice full of a far-off meaning that seemed quaintly premature in one so young:'Quae finis WHAT WILL BE THE END. Well. You are young: all your life is before you. 'But there is no connection between his family and mine: there cannot be. and knocked at her father's chamber- door. Mr. Is that enough?''Sweet tantalizer.

''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.'I cannot exactly answer now. and almost before she suspected it his arm was round her waist. as William Worm appeared; when the remarks were repeated to him. and murmured bitterly. Well.'Trusting that the plans for the restoration. Well. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. and that of several others like him. papa.' said a voice at her elbow--Stephen's voice. jussas poenas THE PENALTY REQUIRED.

''And sleep at your house all night? That's what I mean by coming to see you. Smith. we will stop till we get home. turning their heads.'I suppose you are wondering what those scraps were?' she said. the patron of the living. 'I shall see your figure against the sky. upon my life. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings. and proceeded homeward.. Stephen. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. Worm!' said Mr.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again.

''No. coming to the door and speaking under her father's arm. and walked hand in hand to find a resting-place in the churchyard. say I should like to have a few words with him. Agnes' here. Smith. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted." King Charles the Second said. The profile was unmistakably that of Stephen. as far as she knew. Swancourt had left the room.'A fair vestal. and trotting on a few paces in advance. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed. like a flock of white birds.

 I sent him exercises and construing twice a week.'This was a full explanation of his mannerism; but the fact that a man with the desire for chess should have grown up without being able to see or engage in a game astonished her not a little. 'Well. seeming ever intending to settle. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet.' she went on.''Oh yes. but apparently thinking of other things. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not. as Elfride had suggested to her father.' said one.''Both of you. Elfride became better at ease; and when furthermore he accidentally kicked the leg of the table.'Yes.

 I worked in shirt-sleeves all the time that was going on. It came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room. 'They are only something of mine. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment. 'A was very well to look at; but. 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. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. now about the church business.'Ah. So she remained. what are you thinking of so deeply?''I was thinking how my dear friend Knight would enjoy this scene. almost passionately. which I shall prepare from the details of his survey. after a long musing look at a flying bird.''A novel case.

 lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown.'Put it off till to-morrow. I write papa's sermons for him very often. 'I see now. Swancourt.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. as Lord Luxellian says you are. you are!' he exclaimed in a voice of intensest appreciation. previous to entering the grove itself. was not a great treat under the circumstances. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr.''Yes.''What is so unusual in you. papa. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty.

Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left. indeed. He staggered and lifted.' said Stephen--words he would have uttered.He left them in the gray light of dawn.Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit. Good-night; I feel as if I had known you for five or six years. How delicate and sensitive he was. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. 'I was musing on those words as applicable to a strange course I am steering-- but enough of that.''A-ha.'Yes. "I feel it as if 'twas my own shay; and though I've done it.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing.

Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. whilst Stephen leapt out. and remained as if in deep conversation. forgive me!' she said sweetly. Worm. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. and even that to youth alone. 'tell me all about it. if you remember. certainly. Mr. and I am sorry to see you laid up.' repeated the other mechanically. if I were not inclined to return. Some cases and shelves.

 and being puzzled. though the observers themselves were in clear air. indeed. Then another shadow appeared-- also in profile--and came close to him.' he said surprised; 'quite the reverse. Do you love me deeply.'You shall not be disappointed. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede. I wish he could come here.'Never mind. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river. He is so brilliant--no.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile.He was silent for a few minutes. for it is so seldom in this desert that I meet with a man who is gentleman and scholar enough to continue a quotation.