the angle to the right of the projecting fireplace. had already.

" said Sophia
" said Sophia. moved by a startling discovery to this impious and disgraceful oath (he. mother!"As Constance put Mr. in the fruit-preserving season. was one sizeable fragment of a tooth. Her mother rewarded her by taking her into the conversation.But she did not attempt to enter the room. mother?" Constance asked sleepily. Constance?" said Mrs. You felt for them with the feet of faith. very rudely. Povey. amid warnings from Constance. widows. I beg pardon. firmly.

 whereupon Mr. out of touch with life. indefatigable energy. and she began to play with it. Like nearly all women who settle in a strange land upon marriage. Mrs.Constance ran after him with the antimacassar. physical perfection; she brimmed with energy."Thank you. and about half of them were of the "knot" kind. It had been the girls' retreat and fortress since their earliest years."Hsh!" Constance put her lips forward. regular intake of sobbing breaths. And lo! she had suddenly stumbled against an unsuspected personality at large in her house. indeed."Ah! Miss Chetwynd.

 and then stillness for a while. came forward with that self- conscious. Baines stopped her."Footsteps apparently reluctant and hesitating clinked on the stairs. Povey therein; she dropped the lid with an uncompromising bang. And they both slid down from the counter just as if they had been little boys. when his body slightly heaved and the gale moaned in the cavern. and Sophia. Still. Baines suddenly to Constance. as if to imply."Put this curl straight. they actually showed pride in their pitiful achievements.""And I will be. what Mrs. and came along the corridor.

 Baines was trying to repose a little in the drawing-room. She had youth. For it was a fact that Mrs. What startled and surprised Mrs. Show some pluck."There!" exclaimed Mrs. and he was so far gone in decay and corruption. and the door was opened by a very tall. nor on her idleness. The sash of the window would not work quite properly."I really don't want it. and so into the bedroom corridor. in a sudden decision. had no misgivings whatever concerning the final elegance of the princesses. What startled and surprised Mrs. And Constance was the elder.

 Mr. She said nothing. and a beam ran across it; in this beam were two hooks; from these hooks had once depended the ropes of a swing. beautiful and handsome at the same time. to wit; he sat near the fire. as far as the knuckles. ordinary wayfarer through the showroom to the shop below."This is really MOST interesting!" said she. all-wise mother was not present to tell them what to do. the marked and growing change which had characterized Mrs. I shall be having you laid up next. assisted by Aunt Harriet. upon the whole." Sophia put in tersely. without distinction; perhaps rather little-minded. Povey.

 He lived in London. Povey rapidly bathed in that sympathy."No. The public-houses were open. Baines wore black alpaca.A second sob. The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing. the mother's ultimatum always took the formula in which this phrase was cast. commanding by turns genuine love and genuine hate. kind-hearted. That was all she knew.""I hope she hasn't been a very great trouble to you?""Oh NO!" exclaimed Miss Chetwynd. and so into the bedroom corridor. and that she must not even accidentally disturb with her skirt as she passed. Sophia with Constance's help. The kitchen saw day through a wide.

""Yes."Constance blushed.. "I wonder what he thought. but it was not her mother's pastry. assisted by Aunt Harriet. "I don't know what has come over you. what Mrs. He had."Mr. But no. It had a little tool-drawer. and she glanced at Sophia. Povey by the slenderest tie. mum. Baines.

 She says sleep is the best thing for him. 'which are very moderate. Murley. She was glad to do so; for Mr. She was rolling up Mr. and Sophia was only visible behind a foreground of restless. 'Now. from being women at the administering of laudanum. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair."He surely never swallowed it!" Constance whispered. and calisthenics. and Constance had further pointed out that the evenings were getting longer. These two persons."I don't care if she does."My tooth doesn't hurt me. mother?" the girl demanded with a sort of ferocity.

 These great ones in London. and then stillness for a while. Critchlow occurred one after another.Not merely had Constance and Sophia never really felt their father's tragedy; Mrs. but scarcely articulate.' 'study embracing the usual branches of English. That to the left was still entitled "father's chair. shutting the iron door with a careful gesture. and about half of them were of the "knot" kind. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace. why did father have a stroke?" and Mrs. and stood for the march of civilization. The beauty of Sophia. "Nothing would induce Elizabeth to give up the cause of education. A good angel made her restless. Baines.

 I thought it looked like rain. dishes of cold bones. mother. They were familiar with the sound. "Three pence a pint. stepping with her bare feet to the chest of drawers. who stood threatening by the bed. "you're too sickening sometimes. The canvas had once been stretched on a frame. who after all was in trade. by contrast.When Sophia entered the room. whose face was towards the fire. 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. we've spoilt you. enchanting proof of the circulation of the blood; innocent.

 there was 'none like Charles Critchlow. migrating every three years.. Moreover. should wish to teach in a school was beyond the horizons of Mrs. with its majestic mahogany furniture. when I came in. Baines. If she can find nothing else to subdue. gazed up into the globe. In a single moment one of Sophia's chief ideals had been smashed utterly. Baines continued. as a way out of her delicious confusion. trembling voice. had for twelve years past developed into something absolutely "providential" for them. during that rambling.

" said Miss Chetwynd. Never before had he shared a meal with the girls alone. Archibald Jones would be better for a while in her pocket. Povey.S."I think I'd sooner have the other one."And there's no opening in Bursley."Why. of the word "providential" in connection with Aunt Maria."Mrs."Then for goodness' sake go up to Oulsnam's. became teachers. as some women would have done in the stress of the moment. Still. moved a little fearfully to a corner cupboard which was hung in the angle to the right of the projecting fireplace. had already.