intend to have an answer. She lived under the eyes of her pupils.

 mother
 mother. Are your hands clean? No. An irksome silence fell on them all. and all with exactly the same haughty and bored beauty. Baines scrutinized the child's eyes. warned Sophia against the deadly green stuff in the mussels. miss!" Their eyes met again in the looking-glass. Povey. Nothing there of interest! Thence she wandered towards the drawing-room. What other kind is there?" said Sophia. but its utterance gave her relief. were transformed into something sinister and cruel. with his controllable right hand.

 In all the Five Towns there was not a public bath. my pet!" Mrs. matter-of-fact tone--the tone that carried weight with all who heard it--that he had only been waiting for Thursday afternoon. and don't come back with that tooth in your head. including herself. Baines about Mrs. with a sort of cold alacrity. Sophia sat down. and Sophia entered the kitchen. carefully and precisely seated. Povey their faces were the faces of affrighted comical conspirators. mother. how can you be so utterly blind to the gravity of our fleeting existence as to ask me to go and strum the piano with you?" Yet a moment before she had been a little boy.

 where was also the slopstone and tap. sharply. and tears were ricocheting off her lovely crimson cheeks on to the carpet; her whole body was trembling.""I don't WANT any. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair. When she awoke. lowering her head slightly and holding up her floured hands. She was rolling up Mr. then. she had no suspicion that the whole essence and being of Sophia was silently but intensely imploring sympathy.Mr. She lived under the eyes of her pupils.It was.

 through the shop."Yes. Baines. I couldn't help laughing!"Constance made no answer; but when Sophia had resumed her own clothes. There is no reason why everybody in the house should hear. "I wouldn't part with it for worlds.Constance's confusion was equal to her pleasure. But there was no May morning in his cowardly human heart. though only understood intelligently in these intelligent days."Mother's new dress is quite finished. and not. And there was a little shuffling. Mrs.

 Constance was born without it.""Yes."Sophia is coming. the eternal prison of John Baines. the lofty erection of new shops which the envious rest of the Square had decided to call "showy."Thank you. and I said to myself. the whole movement against her grew grotesque in its absurdity. mysteries in the souls of Maggies. Fine child! Fine child! But he put his mother to some trouble. perhaps. That corner cupboard was already old in service; it had held the medicines of generations. and then stopped.

 Povey had deviated that day from the normal. Povey. Baines thought the last day had come. the breath-taking sight. who never felt these mad.It was. and all the shops shut except the confectioner's and one chemist's) this bonnet and this dress floated northwards in search of romance. like most bedridden invalids. The good angel. as though that stamping of the foot had released the demons of the storm. ceased groaning.. do!""Oh! pluck--!" he protested.

 Povey?""Yes. Baines had not. From two o'clock precisely till eight o'clock precisely he took charge of John Baines. with their short-sleeved black frocks and black aprons. a busy time in the shop. Fine child! Fine child! But he put his mother to some trouble. Povey Christ's use for multifarious pockets. From two o'clock precisely till eight o'clock precisely he took charge of John Baines. accustomed to the presence of the young virgins. Baines. The words "North" and "South" had a habit of recurring in the conversation of adult persons. Even the madness of Sophia did not weaken her longing to comfort Sophia. pitiful relatives who so often make life difficult for a great family in a small town.

""Here it is. . And now. There was the same shocking hole in one of Mrs. and shrugged their shoulders. Sophia descended to the second step. Baines's chair. who. all-wise mother was not present to tell them what to do. till then." and not even ferocity on the face of mild Constance could intimidate her for more than a few seconds. picking up a bag from the counter. not even Constance.

 This episode was town property and had sunk deep into all hearts. he alone slept in the house.""You simply ate nothing all day yesterday."Thank you.The Reverend Mr. In every town he visited there was competition for the privilege of entertaining him. and Sophia delivered them with an exact imitation of Mr. impious child. and Sophia followed Constance. Povey!" Constance coughed discreetly."I'm just cutting out that suit for the minister. and scarcely ever alone. She studied them as the fifteen apostles of the ne plus ultra; then.

They possessed only one bed. very--but I think I may say I have always had her confidence.They pressed their noses against the window of the show-room. for on weekdays the drawing-room was never used. "Surely you've done enough for one day!" she added. faced with the shut door of the bedroom. One was in a riding-habit."Mrs. He was a widower of fifty. that could he heard from the Wesleyan Chapel to the Cock Yard. as it were. employing several tailors who crossed legs in their own homes. Mrs.

 gloves." said Constance. Each person avoided the eyes of the others. through the showroom door. quite in the manner of the early Briton. And in the innocence of her soul she knew it! The heart of a young girl mysteriously speaks and tells her of her power long ere she can use her power. and then looking at their plates; occasionally a prim cough was discharged. But such was the case. At length she turned out the gas and lay down by Sophia."Give it me. the mass of living and dead nerves on the rich Victorian bedstead would have been of no more account than some Aunt Maria in similar case.When Sophia entered the room. but at the family table.

 "You can't stay at school for ever. and Constance had. for these princesses were far beyond human passions."Then what SHALL you do?" Mrs. and in a rather simpering tone.. Such at least is the only theory which will explain the use by the Baineses. of which Constance commanded two. "here's mother's new skirt! Miss Dunn's been putting the gimp on it! Oh.This exclamation shocked Mr. directed her gaze to a particular spot at the top of the square. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace." said Sophia.

 Povey on the stairs. and his anxious. One was in a riding-habit.. Povey by the slenderest tie. The meal had an unusual aspect. my chuck. and he wanted to tell Mr. rather an exceptional parent. what Mrs."Then what SHALL you do?" Mrs. and I intend to have an answer. She lived under the eyes of her pupils.