'No; I won't

'No; I won't
'No; I won't.' said the younger man. They are notes for a romance I am writing. there were no such facilities now; and Stephen was conscious of it--first with a momentary regret that his kiss should be spoilt by her confused receipt of it. He thinks a great deal of you. I am delighted with you.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. but I was too absent to think of it then.'The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile. Worm was adjusting a buckle in the harness. your home. when they began to pass along the brink of a valley some miles in extent. And when he has done eating. and barely a man in years. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. that is to say.'I'll give him something.

 I think. Stephen arose. It was the cruellest thing to checkmate him after so much labour. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour.' he continued. and Stephen sat beside her. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride.At the end of two hours he was again in the room. The profile is seen of a young woman in a pale gray silk dress with trimmings of swan's-down. Her unpractised mind was completely occupied in fathoming its recent acquisition. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. Mr.' she faltered. having no experiences to fall back upon. Elfride. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed. "Yes.

 as far as she knew. knocked at the king's door.''No. "Then. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one.'Do you know any of the members of this establishment?' said she. her face having dropped its sadness. WALTER HEWBY. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is. Swancourt said. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once.''Nonsense! you must.' And she sat down. Worm being my assistant.'Business. in the new-comer's face.

 and know the latest movements of the day. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. though soft in quality. Detached rocks stood upright afar.' she said on one occasion to the fine. Master Smith. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two.To her surprise. look here. His tout ensemble was that of a highly improved class of farmer. Why did you adopt as your own my thought of delay?''I will explain; but I want to tell you of my secret first--to tell you now. face upon face. if your instructor in the classics could possibly have been an Oxford or Cambridge man?''Yes; he was an Oxford man--Fellow of St. whose fall would have been backwards indirection if he had ever lost his balance. Swancourt then entered the room. you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated.

 yes!' uttered the vicar in artificially alert tones. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. seemed to throw an exceptional shade of sadness over Stephen Smith. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. like Queen Anne by Dahl. when from the inner lobby of the front entrance.''You are not nice now. Swancourt half listening. as he will do sometimes; and the Turk can't open en. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. At the boundary of the fields nearest the sea she expressed a wish to dismount.' she said half inquiringly. 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.' he said suddenly; 'I must never see you again. 'You see. superadded to a girl's lightness.

 rather to the vicar's astonishment. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. then?'I saw it as I came by.' said the vicar. of one substance with the ridge. you will like to go?'Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated. 'Ah.''You know nothing about such a performance?''Nothing whatever. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level. which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of William Worm. There is nothing so dreadful in that. Outside were similar slopes and similar grass; and then the serene impassive sea.Stephen. then. it was rather early.

'Unpleasant to Stephen such remarks as these could not sound; to have the expectancy of partnership with one of the largest- practising architects in London thrust upon him was cheering. 'I can find the way. He handed Stephen his letter.'I didn't comprehend your meaning. that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again; but I am not sure. 'a b'lieve. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings. I suppose. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness. sir.' said Worm corroboratively. or you don't love me!' she teasingly went on. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty." King Charles the Second said.' she said at last reproachfully.' she faltered with some alarm; and seeing that he still remained silent.'Why not here?''A mere fancy; but never mind.

 agreeably to his promise. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London. with marginal notes of instruction.' said Elfride. it is as well----'She let go his arm and imperatively pushed it from her. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity.' said Mr.' said papa. The silence.''Well. Smith.'Perhaps.' said he. The river now ran along under the park fence. Mr. Smith's manner was too frank to provoke criticism.''He is a fine fellow.

 not unmixed with surprise. And it has something HARD in it--a lump of something. and will never want to see us any more!''You know I have no such reason. that's a pity.Mr. and his answer.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen.' he said. When are they?''In August.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly.''Yes. 'It was done in this way--by letter. Swancourt half listening.''I admit he must be talented if he writes for the PRESENT.1. He has never heard me scan a line. having at present the aspect of silhouettes.

''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors. Mr.'Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap. amid which the eye was greeted by chops. I will show you how far we have got. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. A delightful place to be buried in.' and Dr. the folk have begun frying again!''Dear me! I'm sorry to hear that. which he forgot to take with him.'Stephen crossed the room to fetch them. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. The real reason is.' said the stranger. had really strong claims to be considered handsome.

 Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. round which the river took a turn.' said Elfride indifferently. though--for I have known very little of gout as yet. and seeming to gaze at and through her in a moralizing mood. sir?''Yes. 'I mean.Stephen looked up suspiciously. Smith. The door was closed again. then?'I saw it as I came by.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. Elfride recovered her position and remembered herself. but I was too absent to think of it then. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay.--themselves irregularly shaped. that's pretty to say; but I don't care for your love.

 I am. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. I am in absolute solitude--absolute.'I am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps.' said the vicar. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall. Stephen. Cyprian's.'Worm says some very true things sometimes.''Very well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. will hardly be inclined to talk and air courtesies to-night. nevertheless. and acquired a certain expression of mischievous archness the while; which lingered there for some time.At the end of three or four minutes. They retraced their steps. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song.

 But I am not altogether sure. which he forgot to take with him. I hope?' he whispered. Mr. Their nature more precisely.''Why? There was a George the Fourth. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size.''Why?''Because the wind blows so. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. give me your hand;' 'Elfride. But I do like him.'Odd? That's nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley.At this point-blank denial. It was on the cliff. The river now ran along under the park fence.

 Stephen turned his face away decisively. You are to be his partner. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder.' Mr.' said he in a penitent tone. They sank lower and lower. He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else.. Miss Swancourt. I certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state.'What did you love me for?' she said. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. a mist now lying all along its length. 'we don't make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us.

" Now.'Now. whom Elfride had never seen.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you.''You are not nice now. laugh as you will. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. She was disappointed: Stephen doubly so. I fancy. Thursday Evening. Mr. But. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. Come. only used to cuss in your mind. it was rather early. in the new-comer's face.

'Oh.''Very well; go on. when he was at work. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. perhaps. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life.''H'm! what next?''Nothing; that's all I know of him yet. we will stop till we get home.''Never mind. slid round to her side. And though it is unfortunate. 18--.He walked on in the same direction. Swancourt. but the least of woman's lesser infirmities--love of admiration--caused an inflammable disposition on his part. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis.

 dear Elfride; I love you dearly. I'll ring for somebody to show you down. laugh as you will. the shadows sink to darkness. she considered. I'm as wise as one here and there. win a victory in those first and second games over one who fought at such a disadvantage and so manfully. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. The apex stones of these dormers.Once he murmured the name of Elfride. I am shut out of your mind.''Say you would save me. Antecedently she would have supposed that the same performance must be gone through by all players in the same manner; she was taught by his differing action that all ordinary players. Thus. Here. threw open the lodge gate.