For reasons of his own, Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. From the window of his room he could see, first, two bold escarpments sloping down together like the letter V. Towards the bottom, like liquid in a funnel, appeared the sea, gray and small. On the brow of one hill, of rather greater altitude than its neighbour, stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations. The lonely edifice was black and bare, cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. It had a square mouldering tower, owning neither battlement nor pinnacle, and seemed a monolithic termination, of one substance with the ridge, rather than a structure raised thereon. Round the church ran a low wall; overtopping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is, a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro, but a mere profile against the sky, serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. Not a tree could exist up there: nothing but the monotonous gray-green grass. + 

Five minutes after this casual survey was made his bedroom was empty, and its occupant had vanished quietly from the house. + 

At the end of two hours he was again in the room, looking warm and glowing. He now pursued the artistic details of dressing, which on his first rising had been entirely omitted. And a very blooming boy he looked, after that mysterious morning scamper. His mouth was a triumph of its class. It was the cleanly-cut, piquantly pursed-up mouth of William Pitt, as represented in the well or little known bust by NollekensвБ†вАФa mouth which is in itself a young manвАЩs fortune, if properly exercised. His round chin, where its upper part turned inward, still continued its perfect and full curve, seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his nether lip at their place of junction. + 

Once he murmured the name of Elfride. Ah, there she was! On the lawn in a plain dress, without hat or bonnet, running with a boyвАЩs velocity, superadded to a girlвАЩs lightness, after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture, her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them, that the hollowness of such expressions was but too evident to her pet, who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. + 

The scene down there was altogether different from that of the hills. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens, wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove. + 

Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers, and calling вАЬMr.¬†Smith!вАЭ Smith proceeded to the study, and found Mr.¬†Swancourt. The young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs. + 

вАЬOh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. I have not made the acquaintance of gout for more than two years, and it generally goes off the second night. Well, where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now, I think!вАЭ + 

вАЬYes; I have been for a walk.вАЭ + 

вАЬStart early?вАЭ + 

вАЬYes.вАЭ + 

вАЬVery early, I think?вАЭ + 

вАЬYes, it was rather early.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhich way did you go? To the sea, I suppose. Everybody goes seaward.вАЭ + 

вАЬNo; I followed up the river as far as the park wall.вАЭ + 

вАЬYou are different from your kind. Well, I suppose such a wild place is a novelty, and so tempted you out of bed?вАЭ + 

вАЬNot altogether a novelty. I like it.вАЭ + 

The youth seemed averse to explanation. + 

вАЬYou must, you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. But thereвАЩs no accounting for tastes, and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner. After breakfast, but not before, I shall be good for a ten milesвАЩ walk, Master Smith.вАЭ + 

Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. Mr.¬†Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who, in common with the other two people under his roof, had really strong claims to be considered handsomeвБ†вАФhandsome, that is, in the sense in which the moon is bright: the ravines and valleys which, on a close inspection, are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead, but remained uniform throughout; the usual neutral salmon-colour of a man who feeds wellвБ†вАФnot to say too wellвБ†вАФand does not think hard; every pore being in visible working order. His tout ensemble was that of a highly improved class of farmer, dressed up in the wrong clothes; that of a firm-standing perpendicular man, whose fall would have been backwards in direction if he had ever lost his balance. + 

The vicarвАЩs background was at present what a vicarвАЩs background should be, his study. Here the consistency ends. All along the chimneypiece were ranged bottles of horse, pig, and cow medicines, and against the wall was a high table, made up of the fragments of an old oak lychgate. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls, divers, and gulls, and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears, labelled with the date of the year that produced them. Some cases and shelves, more or less laden with books, the prominent titles of which were Dr.¬†BrownвАЩs Notes on the Romans, Dr.¬†SmithвАЩs Notes on the Corinthians, and Dr.¬†RobinsonвАЩs Notes on the Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians, just saved the character of the place, in spite of a girlвАЩs dollвАЩs-house standing above them, a marine aquarium in the window, and ElfrideвАЩs hat hanging on its corner. + 

вАЬBusiness, business!вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt after breakfast. He began to find it necessary to act the part of a flywheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor. + 

They prepared to go to the church; the vicar, on second thoughts, mounting his coal-black mare to avoid exerting his foot too much at starting. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him. вАЬWorm!вАЭ the vicar shouted. + 

A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building, mumbling, вАЬAh, I used to be strong enough, but вАЩtis altered now! Well, there, IвАЩm as independent as one here and there, even if they do write вАЩsquire after their names.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhatвАЩs the matter?вАЭ said the vicar, as William Worm appeared; when the remarks were repeated to him. + 

вАЬWorm says some very true things sometimes,вАЭ Mr.¬†Swancourt said, turning to Stephen. вАЬNow, as regards that word вАШesquire.вАЩ Why, Mr.¬†Smith, that word вАШesquireвАЩ is gone to the dogsвБ†вАФused on the letters of every jackanapes who has a black coat. Anything else, Worm?вАЭ + 

вАЬAy, the folk have begun frying again!вАЭ + 

вАЬDear me! IвАЩm sorry to hear that.вАЭ + 

вАЬYes,вАЭ Worm said groaningly to Stephen, вАЬIвАЩve got such a noise in my head that thereвАЩs no living night nor day. вАЩTis just for all the world like people frying fish: fry, fry, fry, all day long in my poor head, till I donвАЩt know wheвАЩr IвАЩm here or yonder. There, God AвАЩmighty will find it out sooner or later, I hope, and relieve me.вАЭ + 

вАЬNow, my deafness,вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt impressively, вАЬis a dead silence; but William WormвАЩs is that of people frying fish in his head. Very remarkable, isnвАЩt it?вАЭ + 

вАЬI can hear the frying-pan a-fizzing as naterel as life,вАЭ said Worm corroboratively. + 

вАЬYes, it is remarkable,вАЭ said Mr.¬†Smith. + 

вАЬVery peculiar, very peculiar,вАЭ echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill, bounded on each side by a little stone wall, from which gleamed fragments of quartz and bloodred marbles, apparently of inestimable value, in their setting of brown alluvium. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horseвАЩs head, Worm stumbled along a stoneвАЩs throw in the rear, and Elfride was nowhere in particular, yet everywhere; sometimes in front, sometimes behind, sometimes at the sides, hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling, yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. + 

The vicar explained things as he went on: вАЬThe fact is, Mr.¬†Smith, I didnвАЩt want this bother of church restoration at all, but it was necessary to do something in self-defence, on account of those dвБ†вЄЇ dissenters: I use the word in its scriptural meaning, of course, not as an expletive.вАЭ + 

вАЬHow very odd!вАЭ said Stephen, with the concern demanded of serious friendliness. + 

вАЬOdd? ThatвАЩs nothing to how it is in the parish of Twinkley. Both the churchwardens areвБ†вАФ; there, I wonвАЩt say what they are; and the clerk and the sexton as well.вАЭ + 

вАЬHow very strange!вАЭ said Stephen. + 

вАЬStrange? My dear sir, thatвАЩs nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. However, as to our own parish, I hope we shall make some progress soon.вАЭ + 

вАЬYou must trust to circumstances.вАЭ + 

вАЬThere are no circumstances to trust to. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. But here we are. A wild place, isnвАЩt it? But I like it on such days as these.вАЭ + 

The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile, over which having clambered, you remained still on the wild hill, the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. A delightful place to be buried in, postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard, in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks, which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden-flowers, which only raise images of people in new black crape and white handkerchiefs coming to tend them; or wheel-marks, which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes, which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees, showing that we are only leaseholders of our graves. No; nothing but long, wild, untutored grass, diversifying the forms of the mounds it coveredвБ†вАФthemselves irregularly shaped, 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. Outside were similar slopes and similar grass; and then the serene impassive sea, visible to a width of half the horizon, and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave, like the interior of a blue vessel. Detached rocks stood upright afar, a collar of foam girding their bases, and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. + 

вАЬNow, Worm!вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt sharply; and Worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders. Stephen and himself were then left in possession, and the work went on till early in the afternoon, when dinner was announced by Unity of the vicarage kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet. + 

Elfride did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon, and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner. She looked so intensely living and full of movement as she came into the old silent place, that young SmithвАЩs world began to be lit by вАЬthe purple lightвАЭ in all its definiteness. Worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower. + 

What could she do but come closeвБ†вАФso close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his footвБ†вАФand asked him how he was getting on with his sketches, and set herself to learn the principles of practical mensuration as applied to irregular buildings? Then she must ascend the pulpit to re-imagine for the hundredth time how it would seem to be a preacher. + 

Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit. + 

вАЬDonвАЩt you tell papa, will you, Mr.¬†Smith, if I tell you something?вАЭ she said with a sudden impulse to make a confidence. + 

вАЬOh no, that I wonвАЩt,вАЭ said he, staring up. + 

вАЬWell, I write papaвАЩs sermons for him very often, and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon today, and forgets that I wrote it for him. IsnвАЩt it absurd?вАЭ + 

вАЬHow clever you must be!вАЭ said Stephen. вАЬI couldnвАЩt write a sermon for the world.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, itвАЩs easy enough,вАЭ she said, descending from the pulpit and coming close to him to explain more vividly. вАЬYou do it like this. Did you ever play a game of forfeits called вАШWhen is it? where is it? what is it?вАЩвАКвАЭ + 

вАЬNo, never.вАЭ + 

вАЬAh, thatвАЩs a pity, because writing a sermon is very much like playing that game. You take the text. You think, why is it? what is it? and so on. You put that down under вАШGenerally.вАЩ Then you proceed to the First, Secondly, and Thirdly. Papa wonвАЩt have FourthlysвБ†вАФsays they are all my eye. Then you have a final Collectively, several pages of this being put in great black brackets, writing opposite, вАШLeave this out if the farmers are falling asleep.вАЩ Then comes your In Conclusion, then A Few Words And I Have Done. Well, all this time you have put on the back of each page, вАШKeep your voice downвАЩвБ†вАФI mean,вАЭ she added, correcting herself, вАЬthatвАЩs how I do in papaвАЩs sermon-book, because otherwise he gets louder and louder, till at last he shouts like a farmer up afield. Oh, papa is so funny in some things!вАЭ + 

Then, after this childish burst of confidence, she was frightened, as if warned by womanly instinct, which for the moment her ardour had outrun, that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger. + 

Elfride saw her father then, and went away into the wind, being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope, in which gust she had the motions, without the motives, of a hoyden; the grace, without the self-consciousness, of a pirouetter. She conversed for a minute or two with her father, and proceeded homeward, Mr.¬†Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. The wind had freshened his warm complexion as it freshens the glow of a brand. He was in a mood of jollity, and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. + 

вАЬYou little flyaway! you look wild enough now,вАЭ he said, and turned to Stephen. вАЬBut sheвАЩs not a wild child at all, Mr.¬†Smith. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here.вАЭ + 

вАЬI think Miss Swancourt very clever,вАЭ Stephen observed. + 

вАЬYes, she is; certainly, she is,вАЭ said papa, turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism. вАЬNow, Smith, IвАЩll tell you something; but she mustnвАЩt know it for the worldвБ†вАФnot for the world, mind, for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret. Why, she writes my sermons for me often, and a very good job she makes of them!вАЭ + 

вАЬShe can do anything.вАЭ + 

вАЬShe can do that. The little rascal has the very trick of the trade. But, mind you, Smith, not a word about it to her, not a single word!вАЭ + 

вАЬNot a word,вАЭ said Smith. + 

вАЬLook there,вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt. вАЬWhat do you think of my roofing?вАЭ He pointed with his walking-stick at the chancel roof. + 

вАЬDid you do that, sir?вАЭ + 

вАЬYes, I worked in shirtsleeves all the time that was going on. I pulled down the old rafters, fixed the new ones, put on the battens, slated the roof, all with my own hands, Worm being my assistant. We worked like slaves, didnвАЩt we, Worm?вАЭ + 

вАЬAy, sure, we did; harder than some here and thereвБ†вАФhee, hee!вАЭ said William Worm, cropping up from somewhere. вАЬLike slaves, вАЩa bвАЩlieveвБ†вАФhee, hee! And werenвАЩt ye foaming mad, sir, when the nails wouldnвАЩt go straight? Mighty I! There, вАЩtisnвАЩt so bad to cuss and keep it in as to cuss and let it out, is it, sir?вАЭ + 

вАЬWellвБ†вАФwhy?вАЭ + 

вАЬBecause you, sir, when ye were a-putting on the roof, only used to cuss in your mind, which is, I suppose, no harm at all.вАЭ + 

вАЬI donвАЩt think you know what goes on in my mind, Worm.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, doanвАЩt I, sirвБ†вАФhee, hee! Maybe IвАЩm but a poor wambling thing, sir, and canвАЩt read much; but I can spell as well as some here and there. DoanвАЩt ye mind, sir, that blustrous night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer workshop, when you were making a new chair for the chancel?вАЭ + 

вАЬYes; what of that?вАЭ + 

вАЬI stood with the candle, and you said you liked company, if вАЩtwas only a dog or catвБ†вАФmaning me; and the chair wouldnвАЩt do nohow.вАЭ + 

вАЬAh, I remember.вАЭ + 

вАЬNo; the chair wouldnвАЩt do nohow. вАЩA was very well to look at; but, Lord!вБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬWorm, how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?вАЭ + 

вАЬвБ†вАФвАЩA was very well to look at, but you couldnвАЩt sit in the chair nohow. вАЩTwas all a-twist wiвАЩ the chair, like the letter Z, directly you sat down upon the chair. вАШGet up, Worm,вАЩ says you, when you seed the chair go all a-sway wiвАЩ me. Up you took the chair, and flung en like fire and brimstone to tвАЩother end of your shopвБ†вАФall in a passion. вАШDamn the chair!вАЩ says I. вАШJust what I was thinking,вАЩ says you, sir. вАШI could see it in your face, sir,вАЩ says I, вАШand I hope you and God will forgiвАЩe me for saying what you wouldnвАЩt.вАЩ To save your life you couldnвАЩt help laughing, sir, at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. Ay, IвАЩm as wise as one here and there.вАЭ + 

вАЬI thought you had better have a practical man to go over the church and tower with you,вАЭ Mr.¬†Swancourt said to Stephen the following morning, вАЬso I got Lord LuxellianвАЩs permission to send for a man when you came. I told him to be there at ten oвАЩclock. HeвАЩs a very intelligent man, and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls. His name is John Smith.вАЭ + 

Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen. вАЬI will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower,вАЭ she said laughingly. вАЬI shall see your figure against the sky.вАЭ + 

вАЬAnd when I am up there IвАЩll wave my handkerchief to you, Miss Swancourt,вАЭ said Stephen. вАЬIn twelve minutes from this present moment,вАЭ he added, looking at his watch, вАЬIвАЩll be at the summit and look out for you.вАЭ + 

She went round to the corner of the shrubbery, whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. There she saw waiting for him a white spotвБ†вАФa mason in his working clothes. Stephen met this man and stopped. + 

To her surprise, instead of their moving on to the churchyard, they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting-place, and remained as if in deep conversation. Elfride looked at the time; nine of the twelve minutes had passed, and Stephen showed no signs of moving. More minutes passedвБ†вАФshe grew cold with waiting, and shivered. It was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly wend up the hill at a snailвАЩs pace. + 

вАЬRude and unmannerly!вАЭ she said to herself, colouring with pique. вАЬAnybody would think he was in love with that horrid mason instead of withвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

The sentence remained unspoken, though not unthought. + 

She returned to the porch. + 

вАЬIs the man you sent for a lazy, sit-still, do-nothing kind of man?вАЭ she inquired of her father. + 

вАЬNo,вАЭ he said surprised; вАЬquite the reverse. He is Lord LuxellianвАЩs master-mason, John Smith.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh,вАЭ said Elfride indifferently, and returned towards her bleak station, and waited and shivered again. It was a trifle, after allвБ†вАФa childish thingвБ†вАФlooking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief. But her new friend had promised, 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. + 

It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile, motionless as bitterns on a ruined mosque. Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise, and he vanished without making a sign. + 

He returned at midday. Elfride looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her; when conscious, severe. However, her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself, and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference. + 

вАЬAh, you werenвАЩt kind to keep me waiting in the cold, and break your promise,вАЭ she said at last reproachfully, in tones too low for her fatherвАЩs powers of hearing. + 

вАЬForgive, forgive me!вАЭ said Stephen with dismay. вАЬI had forgottenвБ†вАФquite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering.вАЭ + 

вАЬAny further explanation?вАЭ said Miss Capricious, pouting. + 

He was silent for a few minutes, and looked askance. + 

вАЬNone,вАЭ he said, with the accent of one who concealed a sin. + 