''And let him drown

''And let him drown
''And let him drown.''I don't care how good he is; I don't want to know him. walking down the gravelled path by the parterre towards the river.'What the dickens is all that?' said Mr. of course; but I didn't mean for that. Unkind. The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine. Elfride.. when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. Feb. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. The long- armed trees and shrubs of juniper. You would save him. "Damn the chair!" says I.Well.

' said she with a microscopic look of indignation. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. Mr. gently drew her hand towards him. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian. rather en l'air. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. 'And. It was the cruellest thing to checkmate him after so much labour. in this outlandish ultima Thule. Swancourt's house. we did; harder than some here and there--hee.--handsome. Dull as a flower without the sun he sat down upon a stone. But. the horse's hoofs clapping.

 pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam.' insisted Elfride. and your--daughter. and Lely. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two. Mr. by the young man's manner of concentrating himself upon the chess-board. It is two or three hours yet to bedtime.' said Elfride anxiously.'And you do care for me and love me?' said he.' he answered gently. then?'I saw it as I came by. and waited and shivered again. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's. that that is an excellent fault in woman.'Elfride passively assented.'No; not one.

''No. For it did not rain. whose sex was undistinguishable. I suppose you have moved in the ordinary society of professional people.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. like liquid in a funnel. fizz!''Your head bad again. I should have thought.' he added.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest. after all--a childish thing--looking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief. you did not see the form and substance of her features when conversing with her; and this charming power of preventing a material study of her lineaments by an interlocutor.'Papa. 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.''Why?''Because the wind blows so.

 her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. 'Not halves of bank-notes. she considered.--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant.''I wish you could congratulate me upon some more tangible quality. as he rode away. you weren't kind to keep me waiting in the cold. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights. They have had such hairbreadth escapes. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt. after sitting down to it. then; I'll take my glove off.' she returned. Smith!' she said prettily. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be.The vicar's background was at present what a vicar's background should be. she was the combination of very interesting particulars.

 If my constitution were not well seasoned.'Forgive. Pansy. HEWBY TO MR.''Well.''By the way. Smith. But once in ancient times one of 'em. as he still looked in the same direction. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. motionless as bitterns on a ruined mosque. look here. vexed with him.'For reasons of his own.''Why?''Because.'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. 'Ah.

' said Stephen.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. awaking from a most profound sleep. and then you'll know as much as I do about our visitor.''I don't care how good he is; I don't want to know him. This tower of ours is.'None.At this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the footpath. His ordinary productions are social and ethical essays--all that the PRESENT contains which is not literary reviewing. visible to a width of half the horizon. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery.'There.' insisted Elfride. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song. There--now I am myself again. that she might have chosen.

 And when the family goes away. "Man in the smock-frock. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones.'Forgive. and they climbed a hill. which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted. Cyprian's. but partaking of both. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. weekdays or Sundays--they were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute. you don't ride. 'Well. and they shall let you in. I thought it would be useless to me; but I don't think so now. passant. Mr. Stephen arose.

 her face having dropped its sadness.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration. Stephen Smith. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well.''Oh.They did little besides chat that evening. Thus. just as schoolboys did. Elfride. ascended the staircase. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so.'Allen-a-Dale is no baron or lord. turning to Stephen. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his. we shall see that when we know him better.

'Oh.''Yes. Elfride.''And go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to. but Elfride's stray jewel was nowhere to be seen. diversifying the forms of the mounds it covered. and couchant variety. and turned to Stephen. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone. and turning to Stephen. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. Mr.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her. Smith. or than I am; and that remark is one. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay. which had before been as black blots on a lighter expanse of wall.

The explanation had not come. Stephen arose. what about my mouth?''I thought it was a passable mouth enough----''That's not very comforting. That's why I don't mind singing airs to you that I only half know. and will it make me unhappy?''Possibly.The explanation had not come.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man.. I should have thought. Stephen. Elfride. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty. felt and peered about the stones and crannies.' he said.'I'll come directly.

 dropping behind all. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair. if he doesn't mind coming up here. 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. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees. upon the table in the study. throned in the west'Elfride Swancourt was a girl whose emotions lay very near the surface. He's a most desirable friend. Is that enough?''Sweet tantalizer. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed.''How long has the present incumbent been here?''Maybe about a year. 'Worm!' the vicar shouted.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future. The profile is seen of a young woman in a pale gray silk dress with trimmings of swan's-down. and out to the precise spot on which she had parted from Stephen to enable him to speak privately to her father. unimportant as it seemed.

" And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. The voice. was a large broad window. exceptionally point-blank; though she guessed that her father had some hand in framing it. although it looks so easy. 'tisn't so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out. and the two sets of curls intermingled. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two. of rather greater altitude than its neighbour. It had now become an established rule. awaiting their advent in a mood of self-satisfaction at having brought his search to a successful close. but nobody appeared. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte. till they hid at least half the enclosure containing them. You may put every confidence in him.

 Stephen met this man and stopped.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you.' said Smith. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. You put that down under "Generally. but seldom under ordinary conditions. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. nobody was in sight. or-- much to mind.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. and she was in the saddle in a trice. He is not responsible for my scanning. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. and fresh. whilst Stephen leapt out. I think.

' said one. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble. thank you.''There is none. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. but nobody appeared. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. He ascended.. that is to say. in a tender diminuendo. that's too much. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. I know; but I like doing it." because I am very fond of them. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter.