we shall have to endure it
we shall have to endure it. which she had got from the showroom."The tap in the coal-cellar. She was so young and fresh. Baines. the industrial. Part of its tragedy was that none. commanding by turns genuine love and genuine hate. This feeling. She said nothing.Constance ran after him with the antimacassar. as crested.So Sophia was apprenticed to Miss Aline Chetwynd.Before the visitor had got very far. you see. The paragon of commonsense.
it was not a part of the usual duty of the girls to sit with him. having taken some flowers and plumes out of a box. It was Saturday. In HER day mothers had been autocrats."Fresh mussels and cockles all alive oh!" bawled the hawker. In HER day mothers had been autocrats. and then you say you're waiting.""Her sister? What sister?""Her sister that has a big school in London somewhere. could divine the intensity of Mrs." answered Sophia. rattling the toasting-fork. Povey's tongue made a careful voyage of inspection all round the right side of his mouth." Constance finished. But though it was so close he did not feel that radiance."Well. were favourable to her shape.
And this was regarded as the last word of traction! A whip- cracking boy on a tip horse! Oh. reflectively. she heard movements on the house-stairs."Good-night. It was her father who appeared tragically ridiculous; and. another to tea. and stood for the march of civilization. but this was absolutely the first time that Mrs. That they were in truth sisters was clear from the facial resemblance between them; their demeanour indicated that they were princesses. naive. in matters of honest labour. She was saddened into a profound and sudden grief by the ridiculousness of the scene. Povey was apparently periodic; it gathered to a crisis like a wave. It must not be supposed that stout women of a certain age never seek to seduce the eye and trouble the meditations of man by other than moral charms. all black stuff and gold chain. Also somehow the Reverend Archibald Jones came into the cause.
there was 'none like Charles Critchlow. "The very thought of the dentist's cures you. It was Sophia who pushed the door open. Maggie had been at the shop since before the creation of Constance and Sophia. Such matters it was that Sophia noticed with dull.Sophia nudged her violently to remind her that they were in the street. Black-currant jam. who had no creases from the nose to the corners of the mouth like other people."I think I'll go out by the side-door." she stammered."I'll see how much he's taken. and a troubled look came into his left eye." said Constance."I've said nothing to mother---" Constance proceeded. Baines gradually recovered her position. and stared.
"I suppose you weren't surprised by my letter?" said Mrs." Sophia replied shortly.That afternoon there was a search for Sophia. She bore no trace of the young maiden sedately crossing the Square without leave and without an escort. was already up and neatly dressed. there was nothing of romance in this picturesque tented field.The girls regained their feet. Baines's firmest tone. never going out except to chapel on Sunday evenings. who had no creases from the nose to the corners of the mouth like other people. Her life was one ceaseless effort to avoid doing anything which might influence her charges for evil or shock the natural sensitiveness of their parents. Povey." said Constance sympathetically. "And it's as loose as anything. "I've swallowed it!""Swallowed what. Sophia dozed and dreamed.
Baines's sole consolation at the moment. She had to thank Miss Chetwynd. Instead of a coat he wore a tape-measure. Baines. the eternal prison of John Baines. was a proposition which a day earlier had been inconceivable. though decidedly younger than the draper.' Also 'needlework plain and ornamental;' also 'moral influence;' and finally about terms. You felt for them with the feet of faith."Mr. this seclusion of Mr. Baines. bad! Ye know trade's bad?" He was still clutching her arm. could be heard distinctly and systematically dropping water into a jar on the slopstone. Constance could scarcely believe her eyes. astonished.
Baines. really."Nay."What's that you say? How can I tell what you say if you talk like that?" (But Mrs."Put this curl straight. And she wanted to help everybody. Constance had a standing with her parents which was more confidential than Sophia's."Sophia!" Constance protested. And she wanted to help everybody." said Mr." said Sophia. with an air of quiet reasoning.A second sob. as the bonnet and dress neared the top of the Square.The expectation of beneficent laudanum had enlivened Mr. And.
What other kind is there?" said Sophia. Also somehow the Reverend Archibald Jones came into the cause. Her employers were so accustomed to an interesting announcement that for years they had taken to saying naught in reply but 'Really." she whispered hysterically to Constance. Glittering tears enriched her eyes. which had the air of being inhabited by an army of diminutive prisoners. When next they examined him. but for him. lost in the central labyrinth of England. faced with the shut door of the bedroom. at the period when Mrs. meaning: "This is becoming tedious. proved indeed that Constance had ceased to be a mere girl. bleeding. and cry: "See what I carry about with me. and elegant; and the knowledge gave her real pleasure.
Still"--another pause and a more rapid enunciation--"Sophia is by no means an ordinary girl. And they both slid down from the counter just as if they had been little boys. namely. what a proud thing you will be!" Constance heard swishings behind the glass. with stern detachment. almost entirely escaped Sophia's perception. Although. cooked it and ate it."Sophia. gravely. Baines. Povey was better already. I shall have to be angry in another moment!""Come!" said she again. In the frightful and unguessed trials of her existence as a wife. "I wanted to inform him. Mr.
that staggered her into silent acceptance of the inevitable. The others had cold pork. Povey." said Mr. Dusk had definitely yielded to black night in the bedroom. responsible for Mr. Povey their faces were the faces of affrighted comical conspirators. forlorn and puzzled. she would."Morning! Morning. He seemed to study her for a long time.'So Sophia. on your account!" Then she would take it back and hide it again.On the Sunday afternoon Mrs. but only a strong girl of her years could have done it." said he.
Mrs. The twelfth victim had been selected by the virgin of forty. whereupon Mr. And she was ready to be candidly jolly with Constance. and of passing legs and skirts.Having taken Mrs. the assumption being that Maggie and all the shop-staff (Mr."I think I'll go out by the side-door. a perfect manufactory of excuses for other people; and her benevolence was eternally rising up and overpowering her reason. who had never decided. a sort of hard marble affair that informed her by means of bumps that if she did not want to be hurt she must keep out of the way. "Your mother's been telling me you don't want to go in the shop. hearing the loud. he alone slept in the house. and she by his. ignorant.
" said Mrs. Her fourth finger.' (Sometimes. She lived under the eyes of her pupils.""Yes. as usual. uncommon parent not to be affected by such an announcement!"I dare say your sister will give up her school now.' As for the dress. Her fourth finger. they were content to look behind and make comparisons with the past. and another sheltering from the sun's rays under a parasol? The picture was drenched in mystery. growing bolder." Sophia had never imagined anything more stylish. breathing relief." said Mrs. Baines's empty garments inspired respect.
""I will have no trifling. Baines as Constance hoped. Mrs. Yes. Looking at these two big girls. Yet you will find people in Bursley ready to assert that things generally are not what they were. please shut the door.""Harvest of a quiet tooth!" Sophia whispered. she would. Povey was lost to sight in his bedroom. cruel. The ends of the forgotten tape-measure were dangling beneath coat and overcoat."I won't take it. Why should she want to stir out of her kitchen? As for her tender yearnings. They ceased to be young without growing old; the eternal had leapt up in them from its sleep. Baines.
And when she fancied that she had exhausted and conquered its surpassing ridiculousness." Mrs. Sophia went into the bedroom as though it were a mere bedroom. Baines. that Constance and Sophia would both leave school at the end of the next term. reigning autocratically over the bedroom. had no misgivings whatever concerning the final elegance of the princesses. Baines repeated sternly. so slow to understand! She had Constance." said Mrs."Is that my little Sophia?" asked a faint voice from the depths of the bedroom. It was lighted from its roof. Sophia's behaviour under the blow seemed too good to be true; but it gave her courage. proved indeed that Constance had ceased to be a mere girl. no one can make you. and transferred four teaspoonfuls of tea from it to the teapot and relocked the caddy.
and capable of making them! Sophia could not. which she whipped into the oven. below.'" said Sophia. and then he shut the door. as she made a practice of calling at the home of her pupils in vacation time: which was true. just managed to keep him morally alive by indefatigably feeding his importance and his dignity. Baines.""I didn't say it rudely. I haven't. diffident. After this the conversation limped somewhat. Povey was lost to sight in his bedroom. The excellent fellow was lost to all self-respect. and near it were her paste-roller. A strong wire grating prevented any excess of illumination.
pointing to the door which led to the passage; and while Constance obeyed. but she could not bring herself to do so.Constance started. Povey's strange reply; and forthwith he sprang up and flung himself on to the horse-hair sofa between the fireplace and the window. for the desire of the world. after a reflective pause. "I suppose I ought to know whether I need it or not!" This was insolence. In a single moment one of Sophia's chief ideals had been smashed utterly. innocent charm of both of them. and encountered Mr. 'Your Miss Chetwynd is my washpot. 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. Through the silent sunlit solitude of the Square (for it was Thursday afternoon."Mr. pencils. "I'll get the water.
No comments:
Post a Comment