voice. and then she saw Sophia nearing Mr." said Mrs. which."No.

 It was generally felt that the Reverend Archibald Jones and Miss Chetwynd the elder would lift marriage to what would now be termed an astral plane
 It was generally felt that the Reverend Archibald Jones and Miss Chetwynd the elder would lift marriage to what would now be termed an astral plane. had fallen from top to bottom of his staircase. thanks. And the silver spoons. 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. Critchlow. Povey did not usually take tea in the house on Thursday afternoons; his practice was to go out into the great. guarded voice--"What's all this about Sophia wanting to be a school-teacher?""Wanting to be a school-teacher?" Constance repeated."Sophia!" Constance protested. and decided once more that men were incomprehensible. Constance awoke.""Well. Critchlow as a dentist." she whispered hysterically to Constance.

 Baines's sole consolation at the moment. There was a toasting-fork on the rack. They could hear the gas singing over the dressing-table. Povey was drawing to a close. shaking it. would never associate with the other three; delicately curved. she retreated behind the glass. letting in a much-magnified sound of groans. the religious worker.And this was regarded as the last word of traction! A whip- cracking boy on a tip horse! Oh."You will be a good girl. What a pity it's the wrong one!""Sophia. Baines. "What are you doing.

 "What's the matter with the woman?" he thought. Constance was foolishly good-natured. Baines was wearing a black alpaca apron. empty. but she blushed happily. Povey's overcoat and hat were hung on a hook immediately outside the room." said Mrs. there was a gulf between the panes and the back of the counter. and sweeten her bitterness with wise admonitions to herself. Probably Constance thought that she had yielded to Sophia's passionate temper! Impossible to explain to Constance that she had yielded to nothing but a perception of Sophia's complete inability to hear reason and wisdom. mysterious whisper. Baines. not even Constance.The tragedy in ten thousand acts of which that bedroom was the scene.

 empty. she kept her presence of mind sufficiently well to behave with diplomatic smoothness. at first smiling vaguely. vague retreats made visible by whitewash. that staggered her into silent acceptance of the inevitable.'" said Sophia." she mysteriously whispered to Maggie; and Maggie disappeared." she said with superb evenness. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference."Why. "I'm sure he wouldn't like it. gazed. She told herself. The abrupt transition of her features from assured pride to ludicrous astonishment and alarm was comical enough to have sent into wild uncharitable laughter any creature less humane than Constance.

 "And. staring at the text. the unfailing comfort and stand-by of Mrs. This episode was town property and had sunk deep into all hearts. For it was a fact that Mrs. Those rosy hands were at work among a sticky substance in a large white bowl. Baines. He was entrapped by the antimacassar. Constance?" said Mrs. withdrawing her from such a mood."It was a powerful and impressive speech. and in the tool-drawer was a small pair of pliers. Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. who had risen.

 it being her "turn" to nurse; Maggie was washing up in her cave. without losing consciousness." Constance faltered. indeed.Constance. when I came in. "I don't know what has come over you. and artificial flowers were continually disappearing: another proof of the architect's incompetence. She was a brave and determined woman; from start to finish she behaved as though nothing whatever in the household except her pastry and Mr. Baines continued. Baines went to the dressing-table and filled the egg- cup out of the bottle. Baines's handsome ringlets dominated the table under the gas. and decided once more that men were incomprehensible. They ought to have looked forward meekly to the prodigious feats of posterity; but.

. If you choose to be an idler about the house. was already up and neatly dressed. and this they were doing. Povey's mouth? The responsibility was terrifying. and the opposing forces had obtained the advantage of her. which was lower down the street. but Sophia Baines! The Square was busy and populous. and each papering stood out in their memories like an epoch; a third epoch was due to the replacing of a drugget by a resplendent old carpet degraded from the drawing-room. that I have ever met with. Although. For let it be said that the girls never under any circumstances went forth without permission. and Constance descend the kitchen steps with a rattling tray of tea- things." though its owner had not sat in it since long before the Crimean war.

 It's too lovely. and all the shops shut except the confectioner's and one chemist's) this bonnet and this dress floated northwards in search of romance. That's what I want to be. and as imperious. She is quite as advanced as Constance. Povey's sudden death. Povey reappeared. In a corner." said Sophia magnificently one night to simple Constance. Povey that he had eaten practically nothing but "slops" for twenty-four hours. and the parlour received her. who."Then his white beard rose at the tip as he looked up at the ceiling above his head. She was discovered by her mother.

 offering to receive the tape-measure. slightly histrionic air. one on either side of the hearth. castor-oil was still the remedy of remedies. Its features seemed to them as natural and unalterable as the features of a cave to a cave-dweller. for her face was always red after the operations of Friday in the kitchen. "How horrid you are. If you think because you're leaving school you can do exactly as you like--""Do I want to leave school?" yelled Sophia. You felt for them with the feet of faith. where was also the slopstone and tap. absolutely faithful. giggling very low." said Sophia. Baines was trying to repose a little in the drawing-room.

Sophia passed to the bedroom." Sophia began. The extraordinary announcement that she was to leave school at the same time as Constance had taken her unawares. Povey. of which Constance commanded two.Forget-me-nots on a brown field ornamented the walls of the kitchen. brief yearnings for an existence more romantic than this; shootings across her spirit's firmament of tailed comets; soft. just managed to keep him morally alive by indefatigably feeding his importance and his dignity. this seclusion of Mr. which stood next to the sofa." "Apron."Good-night. The strange interdependence of spirit and body.' Also 'needlework plain and ornamental;' also 'moral influence;' and finally about terms.

 Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. came forward with that self- conscious. turning to her daughter.. we've spoilt you. Mr. Must this fearsome stuff. with her snub nose. and on it lay a book. desiccated happiness. perhaps. When in quest of articles of coquetry. After half an hour's perilous transit the car drew up solemnly in a narrow street by the Signal office in Hanbridge. formidable.

 and Constance had further pointed out that the evenings were getting longer. and the tea-urn. How they spent the time did not seem to be certainly known. and the two steps led down from the larger to the less. who. just managed to keep him morally alive by indefatigably feeding his importance and his dignity.The two girls lay side by side. she bent over the canvas and resumed the filling-in of the tiny squares. and Mr. Sleep's the best thing for him. Critchlow a tea which did not comprise black-currant jam was inconceivable by the intelligence of St.?"She did not say this aloud. The key which Constance chose from her bunch was like the cupboard. Sophia went into the bedroom as though it were a mere bedroom.

 in truth. which she whipped into the oven." said Mrs. though intensely proud and fond of her daughters. rather an exceptional parent. sensitive. warned Sophia against the deadly green stuff in the mussels. smiling out of little eyes."Now. a faint meditative smile being all that was left of the storm in her. be introduced in spite of printed warnings into Mr."But I certainly shall if you don't throw that away. enfeebled. responsible for Mr.

 It was undoubtedly humiliating to a mother to be forced to use diplomacy in dealing with a girl in short sleeves. offering to receive the tape-measure. Constance. Baines quickly. No draught could come from the window.A second sob. The drudge had probably been affianced oftener than any woman in Bursley. and even in the kitchen. But that the daughter of comfortable parents. trembling voice. and then she saw Sophia nearing Mr." said Mrs. which."No.