Elaine, The Lilly=Maid.

Elaine , the Lilly = maid .

EXTRACTS l- 'KOM TOE DIARY AND A BRIEF EPISODE IX THE LIFE OF PAUL VEHXOX . K ^/ ' fiSq " i | 4 ; Pl ! IL 12 th— ¦ " Elaine the fair , Elaine tlie lovable , Elaine tlie lily-W / / ffilfl C maid of Astolat ! " I can ' t get this out ( if my licail to-night . IJ [ ., .., i jj ; Elaine ! Anil n veritable lily-nmiil , so fair , so while , so pure . tsJ / MSiS [ 111 Onre I hope that I may play Lancelot ? Xo , that suggests & -i J ' . miij mi ugly thought . Theodora Dewhurst mast be Guinevere ! J .

won ' t push ihe mctapbortoo far , it becomes uncomfortable . Sweet Elaine ! So lovely and spiritual ! I believe I am truly and wholly in love for the very lirsi lime in my thirty-six years . Shall J yield to it , ami trv hard to win this delicate maid for my own r My—wife ! What would niv Linlv Dewharst and all tlie ' . vomen 1 know sav ? Pshaw ! Who cares ?

April 20 th . —I am more deeply in love than ever , and have determined , she shall be mine , come what may . 1 don ' t believe her seal is fully awake yet , or that she knows the meaning of the word love—at any rate , not in the sense 1 mean it . When 1 am with her , she seems to lift me up into a purer world , and imike me a better man . She is so utterlv unlike the women I have met—so

uiuainted and angelic . I feel ashamed , and learful to try and drag her down to curth , or to destroy that serene unconscious look in her clear eyes . She takes all my attentions -scry calmly , too , and doesn ' t seem in the least Mattered- -which also is unusual . I believe her verv unresponsiveness makes me more eager . T

heard troin 1 hoodora yesterday . I lei- ladyship wants to know why I am staying down here so long , and when do 1 think of going back to town ' i Cool , 1 must say . I am not ipiite your slave yet , my lady . I mast write , however , and pat her oil with an excuse- tell licr anvtliiinr bat the truth .

May 1 st . — If anybody had told me I should ever have to strive so hard to win any woman , 1 would not have believed him — but Elaine is so dilferent . She shall be mine vet , J am resolved . I will give up everything if she will only

mari'v me . I trill compter her . I believe she is already less indifferent than she was . 1 thought 1 saw a faint blush when I greeted her to-day . Paul Vernon , you never yet failed in anything you had once set your mind upon , and shall not now . 0 , white , sweet lilv-maid ! You must vield .

Jlny lOlh . — I am still here , and gaining ground . I have put torth every art I know , and am sure I shall succeed . I sit at her feet or by her side for hours , day after day . gelling more enchanted , and looking . I am sure , all I feel . She must see it- she does . My hearl beats fasl when I think of her sweet , shy tones and her drooping eyes . She is hard lo win , but 1 think she is learning to love

me . She shall do so cnlircly , 1 swear . Theodora is beginning to be suspicious , ami wonders , in rather coarse language for a lady , what , rustic nuiiil detains me here . She writes ipiite angrily—but she and Dewharst are off to Paris next week , so 1 shall make their temporary absence an excuse for mil returning yet . How Elaine would desjiise moil' she knew all , ami what manner of man lam ! J can never be worthy of so holv a maiden -bat she shall reform me .

. June 3 rd . — 1 have won her- I have won her ! She is mine at last , and mine alone . 1 met her in the wood this morning , and could not resist her charm . I was carried completely out of my ordinary cool self-possession . I almost tremble when I think of her sweet , confession , and am afraid to contemplate the depth of pure all'cction 1 have inspired . I I , I can ' t write down all she said-it , would

be sacrilege- but she is mine , mine ! I knew I should win her . I felt , sure she must have something of the woman , as well as ihe angel , in her . My fair lily , my spiiiless white llower ! How am I lo tell Theodora ' i I will write at once , like a man . I intend to I urn over a new leaf , and be a man in earnest from toilnv .

. lam ' Slh .--I am in Elysium , and 1 think Elaine is , too . How she loves me ; How artlessly and unreservedly she tells me so , in her sweet innocence . 1 uiu not ! b to be loved by her . I have not yet spoken delinitely of marriage , and fanev that her ideas upon ihe subject are of ihe vaguest nnd most indefinite

description . 1 don t think she looks forward at all , bat is content with the present . Well , so am I in a measure . It is very gratifying to feel that my striving has won her , and that I can now rest content , knowing 1 bave her heart completely . All her coldness seems to have incited .

Elaine, The Lilly=Maid.

Jane 30 th . —Elaine ' s ( plaint , puritanical ideas amuse mo sometimes , yet I cannot fail to respect them . 1 have been rather heedless lately , and something of my old worldly self has crop ! out . One cannot be always upon one ' s guard , even in the presence of a saint . I fear I have shocked and rather pained my sweet girl several times . I must try to be more careful . How different from Theodora , how immeasurabl y loftier than and the sot of worldly women and girls

I kilow Elaine is ! They are not to bo mentioned in the same breath . Of course , the others are move like myself : of the earth , earthy . I always have a feeling of stooping to their level , whereas 1 could never hope to bring myself up to hers .... . Sometimes—bni ; only sometimes—I half-wish she were a little more like other girls . 1 should be more at ease , and should feel less small in her presence . She idealises me so greatly , though , that she sees not my defects and faults .

July 10 th . —1 must . \ emphatically must , tear myself away , and have a week or two in town before the season ( doses . Everybody is wondering what has become of me , and commenting upon my prolonged absence from civilised regions . T have have had some very flattering notes . I wonder what Elaine would say if she read ihein . ( She does not flatter- not in the same way . ) Xo doubt she would despise them and their writers , as in my heart of hearts I do . There ' s

that long-promised visit to Dow-hurst Park which has to be gone through soon . It will be a good opportunity to break it to Theodora . She is still in Paris , but is coming back for Goodwood . 1 haven ' t : written to her as 1 intended , or thought I intended . I couldn ' t write to her of Elaine , somehow . Xo ; J'll tell her when I see her . Maud Warren will be at Dewhurst , too . I suppose that she has a sort of idea thai I shall propose to her when I get , tired of dangling after

Theodora as I hail begun lo do before 1 left town . I like Muuil immensely . She is a clever willy girl , with nn inlinite amount of " go , " and wo get on capitally . However , 1 never said anything which might , lead her to suppose but , I won ' t talk about , these women . Elaine will be terribly grieved at parting . I am afraid she will feel it as much , ipiite as much as 1 shall . Dear girl ! she is very , verv fond of me .

July 13 th . — I have been here at Dewharst not quite throe days . It was a good idea of Theodora ' s to come down here instead of going to Park Lane on her return . 1 really don ' t think I could have stood town . Already it seems ages since I left Elaine . 1 am in a different hemisphere , and feel thousands of miles away . All the old set are here , including my cousin Olive , who doesn ' t seem to belong to them , but whom Theodora has to invite , for courtesy ' s sake . Olive is a horribly

strongminded , downright sort of girl , but , nevertheless , very reliable . She snubs Theodora constantly , and has positively been known to make Lad y Dewhurst blush . 1 know she - Olive—despises the lot . How she would appreciate and love Elaine ! I shall conlide in her to-morrow . I had a lively evening with Maud , and enjoyed her society , but must be careful lo avoid arousing Theodora ' s jealousy , which manifests itself upon the most trifling occasions . However , I need not tell her until just before I start for Scotland , that is , if I go . 1 must write now to Elaine . I wonder if she is thinking of mo !

July 17 th . — I have told Olive , and her congratulations were enthusiastic . She thinks Elaine , merely from my description , too good for mo I know . She . said she wondered how , after having won a girl like that , 1 could waste my time in unmanly dalliance and flirting with Maud and Theodora . Just like Olive . However , I must give it up by degrees . My lily-maid would be horrified at hearing

some of the things they say , and at their general line of conduct . Yet they are very entertaining and jolly . I ' m afraid I ' m fond of their society , in away . It will be a terrible strain to have to lie very good always . I never can live up to Elaine ' s idea of me . She writes me the most womanly , sweet , and tender letters . How I wish I were back again with her .

August 1 st .- 1 wauled so much to run down and see Elaine directly Goodwood was over , but everybody else was coming back here , and 1 fell it would look odd if I didn ' t , as Theodora seemed ipiite to expect it . Perhaps il would have been bad taste not to do so , but I am so disappointed , and don ' t like having to put Elaine oil ' . Darling , how she longs for my return ! I am no less anxious ,

though , of course , I enjoy mysell very well here . It would be ungrateful not to do so , for Theodora spares no pains in finding entertainment for her guests . After this the country will seem a trifle dull , even with Elaine— hut 1 must hasten oar marriage , and transplant my lily into my own garden . I wonder if she will flourish happily there ' i 1 have a feeling that she won ' t like my world , and will be made shocked and unhappy . 1 would not have her pare mind soiled , either ,

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