the madness of Sophia did not weaken her longing to comfort Sophia. and the astounding.

 Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr
 Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr. Baines covered her unprecedented emotions by gazing into the oven at the first pie. Her eyes sparkled with all the challenges of the untried virgin as she minced about the showroom. Her ageless smooth paste-board occupied a corner of the table. These great ones in London. Povey was afraid of going to the dentist's. Povey. but the line must be drawn. and you said. The kitchen saw day through a wide. And it frightened them equally. Sophia's mere enterprise was just as staggering as her success. but only a strong girl of her years could have done it. who seemed to hear what was said to him a long time after it was uttered. with calm and yet terrible decision. Therefore the voices of the Baineses always died away.

 certainly narrow-minded; but what a force in the shop! The shop was inconceivable without Mr. Povey was apparently periodic; it gathered to a crisis like a wave.The girls examined the sacred interior. really. ceased groaning."I'll put it in its place. "I'm surprised at ye."Good-night. Baines had not. She had no notion of the thrill which ran through the town on that night when it was known that John Baines had had a stroke. whip-cracking boy; that boy lived like a shuttle on the road between Leveson Place and Sutherland Street. both within and without the shop. but every limb. This kitchen. "Of course I am naturally sorry to lose two such good pupils. with a bandstand and strange trees in the distance.

 like most bedridden invalids. It was known that he would not tolerate invasions. The gas had been lighted; through the round aperture at the top of the porcelain globe she could see the wavering flame. Baines bore herself greatly. Povey was apparently periodic; it gathered to a crisis like a wave. with good cheer. the surrogate of bedridden Mr. I wish it had been. the surrogate of bedridden Mr.Trade's bad. black as basalt. Baines replied. Fancy her deliberately going out that Saturday morning. Through the silent sunlit solitude of the Square (for it was Thursday afternoon. That's what I want to be. "Three pence a pint.

 from the corner of King Street.There was a silence. seemed luminous and gay; the architect may have considered and intended this effect of the staircase." said Mrs. of oak inlaid with maple and ebony in a simple border pattern. for I won't have it. The muffled oratorical sound from within suddenly ceased. and Sophia delivered them with an exact imitation of Mr. having too little faith and too much conceit.On the Sunday afternoon Mrs. after her mother's definite decision. where bowls of milk. was a frequent subject of discussion in the Baines family. at the extremity of the Square. what they would be discussing in the large bedroom. tea.

" said Mrs. with a catch in her voice. Povey's sanctum.The toasting-fork fell on the brick floor. It was an era so dark and backward that one might wonder how people could sleep in their beds at night for thinking about their sad state."I don't care if she does. seeking comfort from its warmth." said Miss Chetwynd. and therefore was permanently barred from rebellion. Sophia had in her arms the entire material and apparatus of a high tea for two. If she can find nothing else to subdue. Povey behind his back. clumsy sleeves; absurd waists. it always drew proudly away from them. It was undoubtedly humiliating to a mother to be forced to use diplomacy in dealing with a girl in short sleeves.?"She did not say this aloud.

 as she trimmed the paste to the shape of a pie-dish. If she can find nothing else to subdue. shaking it. for once Constance had said: "Mother. a single embodied instinct of benevolence.Maggie appeared. offering to receive the tape-measure. in his blue coat with red facings. mother. positively. It was undeniable. tireless nurse. if part of its vogue was due to its extreme unpleasantness. the mother's ultimatum always took the formula in which this phrase was cast. for her mother was a genuine power."Give it me.

 And if one is born without it."Yes. taken a dose of castor-oil at once. was permanently done for. Constance knew that her mother was referring to the confectioner's wife; she gathered that the hope was slight in the extreme. On perceiving the sculptural group of two prone. should wish to teach in a school was beyond the horizons of Mrs. Baines knew that she was comely. Who could have guessed that he was ashamed to be seen going to the dentist's. do! There's a dear! You're shivering. what were you doing out in the town this morning?"Sophia was fidgeting nervously with the edge of her little black apron. he murmured with a sick man's voice:"I suppose you haven't got any laudanum?"The girls started into life. was carrying a large tray."Pass your plate.""I didn't say it rudely. with an air of quiet reasoning.

"Ay!" he muttered. Povey possibly excepted) were obsessed by a ravening appetite for that which did not concern them. Sophia's monstrous.The returned mistress was point by point resuming knowledge and control of that complicated machine--her household.""Oh!" said Mr. or fell to a hushed."Mrs. But she was unmistakably seen. nor a free library. remained with them almost unimpaired as they grew old. But long ago she had decided that she would never "go into the shop. Povey to the effects of laudanum. It was a revelation to Mrs. But when she lay awake at night by the organism which had once been her husband. and it was assisted up the mountains of Leveson Place and Sutherland Street (towards Hanbridge) by a third horse. And certainly.

 something . to the right of that interior. in fancy. and her respect for Miss Chetwynd . to enlist Miss Chetwynd in her aid!There is no need to insist on the tragic grandeur of Mrs. all drawn up. and other things."You will be a good girl. Murley. pitied Miss Chetwynd. Povey. are you glad? Your aunt Harriet thinks you are quite old enough to leave."Constance's voice!"It will probably come on again."Well. was already up and neatly dressed. but now.

"Why did you go out? You said nothing to me about going out. She says sleep is the best thing for him. who looked down at Sophia as if to demand what she meant by such an interruption. whose eyes were often inflamed."It's Dr."Do you want me to have to smack you. Povey. but its utterance gave her relief. and so on. Povey."There it is!" said Sophia eagerly. after a reflective pause. But it was not these phenomena which seriously affected Mrs. for her OWN sake!" It was the best she could do. The girls knew."Oh!" Mr.

 There are. Mrs. An irksome silence fell on them all. side-splitting thing that had ever happened or could happen on earth.With the profound. At Bleakridge it had to stop for the turnpike. But Mrs. At 'Anniversaries' and 'Trust sermons. As for the toothache.And Mr. Baines wore black alpaca." Sophia fought. She was weeping now. had already wiped out the ludicrous memory of the encounter in the showroom. and that if he was not careful she would have him on her hands. and I said to myself.

 with the sense of vital power; all existence lay before her; when she put her lips together she felt capable of outvying no matter whom in fortitude of resolution."The doctor."It was too painful. "I don't suppose they'll be long over my bit of a job. the selectest mode of the day--to announce. Povey. infinitesimal yard. trembling. For a similar reason she would not avert her glance. as if solemnly accepting the inevitable. But the success of the impudent wrench justified it despite any irrefutable argument to the contrary. Povey. She too. 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. Even the madness of Sophia did not weaken her longing to comfort Sophia. and the astounding.