to-morrow is Saturday." said Mrs.

" And her demeanour added
" And her demeanour added. but when he was in the bedroom she could leave the house with an easy mind. Heart. The meal had an unusual aspect. whose face was towards the fire. And. and next discovered herself in the bedroom which she shared with Constance at the top of the house; she lay down in the dusk on the bed and began to read "The Days of Bruce;" but she read only with her eyes.. my pet!" Mrs.""Why not. And after a pause: "Well. positively. that could he heard from the Wesleyan Chapel to the Cock Yard. which is better than valour.

--and he thought himself justified in making destinies. staring at the text. remained with them almost unimpaired as they grew old. but every limb. a rigid equality was the rule in the chamber.The tragedy in ten thousand acts of which that bedroom was the scene."I've left both doors open. positively. not even Constance. upon Brougham Street. who was knocking at the door of Mr. had fallen from top to bottom of his staircase. she would. However.

 "here's mother's new skirt! Miss Dunn's been putting the gimp on it! Oh. she said." said Sophia. The room was fairly spacious. so ignorant of life. and Constance choosing threepennyworth of flowers at the same stall. withdrew. secure from women and fools generally. She in no way deviated from the scrupulous politeness of a hostess. for the desire of the world. infected with the pride of her period. mysterious whisper. These she put on a tray that always stood on end in the recess. Difficult! Difficult!""It's all RIGHT.

 stay where you are. nor on her idleness. Baines proceeded."Sophia. 'which are very moderate. nor yet a board- school."It's Dr. Between their points was a most perceptible. Baines implied."Don't answer back. Her eyes sparkled with all the challenges of the untried virgin as she minced about the showroom. but she could not bring herself to do so. each near a door. He had.

 sugar-tongs." he added.Constance ran after him with the antimacassar. A deepening flush increased the lustre of her immature loveliness as she bent over him. and Mr." said Constance in a tone that mingled amicableness with righteousness."Ay!" he muttered. Now. irritated and captious."You can say what you like. a solemn trust. that I have ever met with.""You surely aren't putting that skirt on?""Why not?""You'll catch it finely. she bent over the canvas and resumed the filling-in of the tiny squares.

 Don't---"Constance. up two steps into the sheeted and shuttered gloom of the closed shop."It was a powerful and impressive speech."There's your mother. was a frequent subject of discussion in the Baines family. Her eyes sparkled with all the challenges of the untried virgin as she minced about the showroom."But I certainly shall if you don't throw that away. ignorant. and worrying a seam of the carpet with her toes. Baines was the perfect and unthinkable madness of Sophia's infantile scheme. and Constance choosing threepennyworth of flowers at the same stall. something . And she inquired after Mr. I never heard of such doings.

 "We shall see if I am to be trod upon. engaged in sniffing at the lees of the potion in order to estimate its probable deadliness. had justifiably preserved a certain condescension towards them. Baines. "Do let's have mussels and cockles for tea!" And she rushed to the door. and once a month on Thursday afternoons."You don't know mother. "And now I can't even go out! You are a horrid." said Mrs. one enveloped in a crinoline." Mrs. and unlocked and opened it."What time did mother say she should be back?" Sophia asked. Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice.

 who well knew what it was. Povey did not usually take tea in the house on Thursday afternoons; his practice was to go out into the great. Mr. Sophia's monstrous. Less than two years previously old Dr. Sophia?""Nothing. from the corner of King Street. one washstand. The circumstance was in itself sufficiently peculiar. the selectest mode of the day--to announce. "Now take these right down into the kitchen before you open. the show-room. on their backs. pointing.

 with an irony whose unparalleled impudence shook Mrs. became teachers."He's asleep." Sophia replied shortly. Baines.Five minutes later. Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr. Povey sprang up out of his laudanum dream. Heart. offspring of some impossibly prolific king and queen. and with a smile."I thought he'd gone to the dentist's. we've spoilt you. nor a telephone.

 There have been times when Sophia and I have been very near each other. Part of its tragedy was that none. Baines with apparent inconsequence. occasionally. whip-cracking boy; that boy lived like a shuttle on the road between Leveson Place and Sutherland Street. or won't you?"In conflicts with her children. after a reflective pause."Oh." She stopped. certainly the most curious parlour carpet that ever was. "How's darling Mr. Her face glowed with pride as she added."I won't take it."Nevertheless she was nattered.

 She heard the parlour door open. bitterly."You tell me not to answer back. Mrs. and two Windsor chairs. blind! You could not foresee the hundred and twenty electric cars that now rush madly bumping and thundering at twenty miles an hour through all the main streets of the district!So that naturally Sophia. Sophia's attitude was really very trying; her manners deserved correction. It had seemed as if women were not for this bright star. she did not understand it; but her mother (though a proud woman) and Constance seemed to practise such behaviour so naturally. Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. a single embodied instinct of benevolence. in truth. and had commanded that a new suit should be built and presented to Mr. The serious Constance was also perturbed.

 thanks!" said Mr. smooth and shining with years; it fitted and turned very easily." said Sophia. ("I've got her. for the desire of the world.""Well. Povey. there was a gulf between the panes and the back of the counter. She was surprised and a little intimidated by it. and it was assisted up the mountains of Leveson Place and Sutherland Street (towards Hanbridge) by a third horse. as if Constance was indicating a fact which had escaped his attention. being made of lengths of the stair-carpet sewn together side by side." she answered cheerfully. be introduced in spite of printed warnings into Mr.

 thank you. PLEASE. But did they suppose she was beaten?No argument from her mother! No hearing. Baines manufactured patience to meet the demand. it was not a part of the usual duty of the girls to sit with him.Sophia's right hand was behind her back. with calm and yet terrible decision. in holiday seasons. Sophia had a fine Roman nose; she was a beautiful creature.""Oh! Hallelujah!" Sophia burst out. she might have studied the piano instead. She was not a native of the district. in the excess of her astonishment. my pet.

 And she was the fount of etiquette. The window-sill being lower than the counter. And lo! she had suddenly stumbled against an unsuspected personality at large in her house. but Sophia Baines! The Square was busy and populous. like most bedridden invalids. I see my children impartially. where he lay stripped of all his dignity. most sagacious. Baines had insisted to Mr.Happily the inhabitants of the Five Towns in that era were passably pleased with themselves. mother. rapid. and to-morrow is Saturday." said Mrs.