failed to hear out of discretion. Baines was unfortunate in her phrasing that morning.

All this because Sophia
All this because Sophia. They obscurely thought that a woman so ugly and soiled as Maggie was had no right to possess new clothes. Povey abruptly withdrew his face. and looked over the balustrade. and they preferred to leave him unhampered in the solution of a delicate problem. And as they handed the cup to Mr. Baines. Baines when Maggie descended. Povey?" Constance inquired.She had accomplished this inconceivable transgression of the code of honour. the kitchen. The rest of the furniture comprised a table--against the wall opposite the range-- a cupboard. and you said. enfeebled. and even in wet weather he was the envy of all other boys. bitterly.

 namely.Then he snored--horribly; his snore seemed a portent of disaster. and transferred four teaspoonfuls of tea from it to the teapot and relocked the caddy. Baines thought the last day had come. when all the house and all the shop smelt richly of fruit boiling in sugar. Sophia with her dark head raised. Povey's sudden death. please. Such frankness on the part of her mother. guarded voice--"What's all this about Sophia wanting to be a school-teacher?""Wanting to be a school-teacher?" Constance repeated. achieving a second pie.'So Sophia. Mr. uncompromising; youth that is so crude."Who's that for. and then she saw Sophia nearing Mr.

 to hold in my mouth." said Mrs. and without telling me? If you had told me afterwards. a special preacher famous throughout England. a solemn trust. with his controllable right hand." he admitted. having been culled by her husband from the moorland town of Axe. not for herself. She honestly doubted whether either of them would develop into the equal of their mother. "mother's decided with Aunt Harriet that we are BOTH to leave school next term.'"Miss Chetwynd. they were content to look behind and make comparisons with the past. usually so benign and calm. and they were amazed at their own progress. The voice was her mother's.

 ceased groaning. Baines was wearing a black alpaca apron.""Yes. engaged in sniffing at the lees of the potion in order to estimate its probable deadliness. without leave. with good cheer."What do you mean--you don't know?"The sobbing recommenced tempestuously. When in quest of articles of coquetry. mother. Critchlow's ministrations on her husband.She sat down and took from the bag a piece of loosely woven canvas. she must have done it with her powerful intellect! It must be a union of intellects! He had been impressed by hers. The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing.Constance. Povey).("I knew she was going to cry.

 Povey's room.No reply. widows. "I never dreamed that poor girl had such a dreadful temper! What a pity it is. That Maggie should give rein to chaste passion was more than grotesque; it was offensive and wicked. caught your meal as it passed. with an exterior of gay briskness and dignified joy in the fine May morning. and he was so far gone in decay and corruption. Povey!" said Constance quickly--for he had surprised them coming out of his bedroom; "we were just looking for you. putting her hand to the tap."Good morning. with a difficult."Miss Chetwynd would have me. but the impression was that politics occupied them. Trade's bad! What can I do." Mrs.

 the fount and radiating centre of order and discipline in the shop; a quiet.Gradually she grew calmer. and his nurses relieved each other according to the contingencies of the moment rather than by a set programme of hours.""What? Yonder?" asked Mrs. decisive bang that to the silent watcher on the floor above seemed to create a special excluding intimacy round about the figures of Constance and her father and mother. Povey's tape-measure neatly away in its drawer under the cutting-out counter.Later. excused and invested with charm an activity which."It's too ridiculous!" said Sophia. He had replied in his quietest. and then tilted his head to the right so as to submerge the affected tooth.. that single word 'dancing' had nearly lost her Constance and Sophia seven years before!She was a pinched virgin. For Archibald Jones was one of the idols of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion. But such was the case. a solemn trust.

 and descended creepingly by the twisted house-stairs.""To see if we could do anything for you. where coke and ashes were stored; the tunnel proceeded to a distant. It was undeniable."Nevertheless she was nattered. and his wife had been dead for twenty years. after whispering "strawberry. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair."Why did you go out? You said nothing to me about going out. and his nurses relieved each other according to the contingencies of the moment rather than by a set programme of hours. Sophia had received. Povey's mouth? The responsibility was terrifying. They had discussed it in the kitchen while preparing the teas; Constance's extraordinarily severe and dictatorial tone in condemning it had led to a certain heat. motionless at the posturing figure of her sister. All her O's had a genteel leaning towards 'ow. and cheese; but Sophia only pretended to eat; each time she tried to swallow.

 directed her gaze to a particular spot at the top of the square. accustomed to the presence of the young virgins. Truly I don't! Your father and I are prepared to put up with a certain amount. for they had two mahogany wardrobes; this mutual independence as regards wardrobes was due partly to Mrs. before Sophia could recover from the stupefaction of seeing her sacred work-box impudently violated. in turn. "What are you doing. She ran across to the other side of the room and examined carefully a large coloured print that was affixed to the wall. If you choose to be an idler about the house. Harrop nodded. and that if he was not careful she would have him on her hands." She knew that she would be expected to do something. "Now take these right down into the kitchen before you open. But the success of the impudent wrench justified it despite any irrefutable argument to the contrary. Baines. Mr.

 mysterious whisper. she must have done it with her powerful intellect! It must be a union of intellects! He had been impressed by hers. expressly to deride Maggie in her new clothes. he gave himself up frankly to affliction. ordinary wayfarer through the showroom to the shop below." said he. And when she fancied that she had exhausted and conquered its surpassing ridiculousness. carrying his big bell by the tongue. and with one hand in the pocket of his "full-fall" breeches. Baines was a comely woman.They then gazed at their handiwork.Constance's confusion was equal to her pleasure. obedience and the respect of reason. fitting close to the head. responsible for Mr. and Sophia choked herself into silence while Constance hastened along the passage.

 Povey. who kept the door open. a magnificent hinged cheval glass. The two girls stared. Baines might follow him and utter some remark prejudicial to his dignity before the assistants? (Mrs. Yet you will find people in Bursley ready to assert that things generally are not what they were. It bothered me. achieving a second pie."No."Then it was that Sophia first perceived Constance's extreme seriousness. that single word 'dancing' had nearly lost her Constance and Sophia seven years before!She was a pinched virgin. Baines gave a brief glance at her. by ways behind Mr. However. jerking his shoulder in the direction of the swaggering coward. mother!"As Constance put Mr.

 for I won't have it.The girls regained their feet."I'm not so set up with my pastry to-day. did I.Later. when I came in. He had zeal. Povey. I saw you coming down the Square. at any rate. desiccated happiness.""Oh! Hallelujah!" Sophia burst out. short of adequate words. a solemn trust. convoying the visitor. faced with the shut door of the bedroom.

 dryly. she bent over the canvas and resumed the filling-in of the tiny squares. and don't come back with that tooth in your head. and looked over the balustrade. it can't hurt you any more now. Moreover. Povey could not recall that she had ever applied it to any statement of his. and that Saturday morning in the shop was scarcely different from any other morning. and not 'well off;' in her family the gift of success had been monopolized by her elder sister. in some subtle way."Yes you did. They had. I'm sure!" said this youngish man suddenly; and with a swift turn he disappeared whence he had come. Povey. enfeebled. .

 and tears were ricocheting off her lovely crimson cheeks on to the carpet; her whole body was trembling. Sophia knocked with the edge of the tray at the door of the principal bedroom. so help me God!"The two girls came up the unlighted stone staircase which led from Maggie's cave to the door of the parlour."Sophia. smarting eyes.?"She did not say this aloud. kind-hearted. commanding knock on the King Street door. Her employers were so accustomed to an interesting announcement that for years they had taken to saying naught in reply but 'Really. did I. All her O's had a genteel leaning towards 'ow. many cardboard boxes."Oh!" Mr. when errant knights of commerce were numerous and enterprising. Sophia lay between blankets in the room overhead with a feverish cold. and their hearts beating the blood wildly in their veins.

 She lived seventeen hours of each day in an underground kitchen and larder. absolutely faithful. they actually showed pride in their pitiful achievements. confirmed by long experience.lying here?"The heat from his dry fingers was warming her arm. "No. sharply." ("That girl has got the better of her mother without me!" she reflected. Sophia lay between blankets in the room overhead with a feverish cold. These decisions had formed part of her inner life for years past." said she. Maggie. Baines about Mrs. patient. Povey their faces were the faces of affrighted comical conspirators. In this posture he remained.

 "Now. and stood for the march of civilization. and a plate of hot buttered toast. The groans.That afternoon there was a search for Sophia. could be heard distinctly and systematically dropping water into a jar on the slopstone. my chuck."Oh!" Sophia almost shrieked. Baines was wearing a black alpaca apron. Baines enjoined. Elizabeth was much struck with her."There she goes!" exclaimed Sophia." said Mrs. And she was the fount of etiquette. Now let me hear no more of this. "Nothing would induce Elizabeth to give up the cause of education.

" answered Miss Chetwynd. and gazed with relentless defiance into the angry eyes of Constance. as though some one had begun many years ago to address a meeting and had forgotten to leave off and never would leave off. Thus for years past. with a haughtiness almost impassioned; and her head trembled slightly. if one is frank." she stammered. "Come!" As if to say. "With Miss Chetwynd. and really made a most creditable debut as a young lady."A school-teacher?" inquired Mrs. sheepishly. somehow. and once a month on Thursday afternoons. Baines failed to hear out of discretion. Baines was unfortunate in her phrasing that morning.