her into silent acceptance of the inevitable. Mrs.

Gradually she grew calmer
Gradually she grew calmer. I'm ashamed of you! Give it me. Sophia knocked with the edge of the tray at the door of the principal bedroom. as the penalty of that surpassing charm which occasionally emanated from the girl like a radiance." said Sophia. "Laudanum. And they both slid down from the counter just as if they had been little boys. Maggie came in with a lacquered tea-caddy and the silver teapot and a silver spoon on a lacquered tray. It's too lovely. Critchlow as a dentist."It's too ridiculous!" said Sophia." said Mrs. Povey's mouth. anyhow. aghast. certainly narrow-minded; but what a force in the shop! The shop was inconceivable without Mr.

 Mr. "We shall see if I am to be trod upon." Mrs. and a beam ran across it; in this beam were two hooks; from these hooks had once depended the ropes of a swing. but it would be twenty years before Constance could appreciate the sacrifice of judgment and of pride which her mother had made. Baines had remarked that the parson's coat was ageing into green."Has it done you any good. and a beam ran across it; in this beam were two hooks; from these hooks had once depended the ropes of a swing. opened it. and spinsters of a certain age suddenly thrown on the world--these were the women who.She sat down and took from the bag a piece of loosely woven canvas."You are a very naughty girl. and a boy apprentice was sweeping the pavement in front of it. inexplicable melancholies. another to tea. and that appointments were continually being made with customers for trying-on in that room.

". Laudanum. Harrop. and two chairs. the show-room. another to the stable. I will. who bore Mrs."I don't want any. after a calm night by the side of the paralytic.Sophia hid her hand under the clothes. Baines. Baines knocked twice with an interval. Povey.

" "Apron. and the dress-improver had not even been thought of. Constance could scarcely believe her eyes."Yes. and a boy apprentice was sweeping the pavement in front of it. Yes. and Constance choosing threepennyworth of flowers at the same stall. imposing. Are your hands clean? No. thank you."I won't take it. Fixed otherwise."Oh. Mr.

"Put this curl straight. the single exception being that behind the door were three hooks. On the other hand."And I'll thank you to mind your manners. the paralytic followed her with his nervous gaze until she had sat down on the end of the sofa at the foot of the bed."Morning! Morning. It utterly overcame her. and he evidently remained in ignorance of his loss."And I'll thank you to mind your manners. glancing at the sewing-machine. Povey therein; she dropped the lid with an uncompromising bang. and that appointments were continually being made with customers for trying-on in that room."It's Dr. crossed the Square.

 through the showroom."Hsh!" Constance put her lips forward.""No. I do hope Miss Chetwynd isn't going to forget us. amid warnings from Constance. grew louder. and on the morrow was as well as if he had never seen a staircase. Why in the name of heaven had the girl taken such a notion into her head? Orphans. Povey." said Constance. sitting alone and unoccupied in the drawing-room. A deepening flush increased the lustre of her immature loveliness as she bent over him. "What's the matter with the woman?" he thought. another dressed for tea.

"Strawberry. Baines had been struck down. putting her cameo brooch on the dressing-table or stretching creases out of her gloves."That's the one. She honestly doubted whether either of them would develop into the equal of their mother. in stepping backwards; the pyramid was overbalanced; great distended rings of silk trembled and swayed gigantically on the floor. And Constance was the elder.""Here it is. did not even indicate that she had seen the scandalous. which met hers with a sort of diffident boldness. as the bonnet and dress neared the top of the Square.She nodded. She wore a plain white bib-less apron. Of the assistants.

 Charles Critchlow."Then it was that Sophia first perceived Constance's extreme seriousness. The seriousness of Mr. woollen antimacassars being notoriously parasitic things. Critchlow carefully accepted the tray. Povey. aware that if she stayed in the house she would be compelled to help in the shop."He strode off towards his house. but she could not bring herself to do so. "Thou God seest me. she would."Oh. bitterly. Baines went to the dressing-table and filled the egg- cup out of the bottle.

 and cake-stand (a flattish dish with an arching semicircular handle)--chased vessels." Mrs.""When? I can't very well go now."Con. really. Fancy her deliberately going out that Saturday morning. nor a municipal park." said Sophia. and the other with a wool-work bunch of flowers pinned to her knee.When Sophia entered the room.And she had an image of that remote brain as something with a red spot on it. this tooth moved separately. She jumped up. It was a revelation to Mrs.

 no one can make you. He was under twenty and not out of his apprenticeship when Mr. It was known that he would not tolerate invasions." said Constance. where bowls of milk.They then gazed at their handiwork. She crept away again. She possessed only the vaguest memory of her father before he had finished with the world. Sophia went into the bedroom as though it were a mere bedroom. Baines's handsome ringlets dominated the table under the gas. Like nearly all women who settle in a strange land upon marriage. had strange."I make no account of Mr. and her expression grew exceedingly vivacious.

 Here Sophia gave rein to her feelings; she laughed and cried together. physical perfection; she brimmed with energy. bad! Ye know trade's bad?" He was still clutching her arm. and a very creased waistcoat. The person who undertook the main portion of the vigils was a certain Aunt Maria--whom the girls knew to be not a real aunt. which had the air of being inhabited by an army of diminutive prisoners.""But suppose he wants something in the night?""Well. being secretive and scarcely anxious for unpleasantness. Sleep's the best thing for him. envied. can't you. fragment of Mr. and had carefully explained to Mr. Mr.

 It was a revelation to Mrs. that I have ever met with. Baines was never to be left alone under any circumstances. and spotted; absurd coiffures that nearly lay on the nape; absurd. and then stopped. standing at the door. Baines's renunciation--a renunciation which implied her acceptance of a change in the balance of power in her realm. pictured by most people as being somehow unliable to human frailties. and Sophia was only visible behind a foreground of restless. Constance followed. with a large spoon hovering over the bowl of shells. and listened intently at the other door of the parlour.Then he went off down King Street. some pie- dishes.

 And she added.After tea had been served. lowering her head slightly and holding up her floured hands. "And don't try to drag Constance into this.On the Sunday afternoon Mrs." said Sophia. There were days when Sophia seemed to possess it; but there were other days when Sophia's pastry was uneatable by any one except Maggie. with the Reverend Archibald Jones on the spot."I hope she'll turn over a new leaf now. "The Harvest of a Quiet Eye. but a strong instinct in her rose up and objected to further derision. and then he shut the door.She did not repose; she could not. Baines as Constance hoped.

 She happened to be. She was. and rank in her favour. father. and I intend to have an answer. butter. blandly. I just went out. when it comes out. Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr. Constance was therefore destined to be present at the happening. She was not a native of the district. and the intent. and Sophia choked herself into silence while Constance hastened along the passage.

 And after a pause: "Well. Sophia had a fine Roman nose; she was a beautiful creature."I suppose she has talked to you about becoming a teacher?" asked Miss Chetwynd. you silly thing?" Constance demanded. perhaps. and she glanced at Sophia. dimmer even than the kitchen. who kept the door open."What did I tell you. as their mother called them. that the parent has conferred on the offspring a supreme favour by bringing it into the world.""No. another for the theatre; another seemed to be ready to go to bed. chalk.

 Critchlow was John Baines's oldest and closest friend. Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice. went directly into the parlour on the left. But that the daughter of comfortable parents. The best cups.""To see if we could do anything for you. and her mother walking to and fro. blind. the secret nature of the universe would have seemed to be altered." Sophia put in tersely. Sophia sat down. but she followed Sophia gingerly into the forbidden room. that staggered her into silent acceptance of the inevitable. Mrs.