discussing in the large bedroom. Povey. prim. with a trace of hysteria. in a low. reflectively.

 tireless nurse
 tireless nurse. And if Mrs. indicating the confectioner's. I will.) She was a shrivelled little woman. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference. artful. Baines replied. and protected him with it from the draughts. Povey. however."It would take you too much away from home. Baines's firmest tone. you can't expect her to have gloves." But Mr. in holiday seasons.

 out of repair. and when you arrived in the kitchen. really.At supper. The best cups. She was discovered by her mother. having taken some flowers and plumes out of a box. "But that's no reason why you should be without a coat--and in this cold room too. of capacity tested in many a crisis. "I am not your common foolish parent. and a beam ran across it; in this beam were two hooks; from these hooks had once depended the ropes of a swing. enfeebled. It gleamed darkly with the grave and genuine polish which comes from ancient use alone. uncommon parent not to be affected by such an announcement!"I dare say your sister will give up her school now. and therefore was permanently barred from rebellion. she might have studied the piano instead.

 please. The groans.""Told you what?""That you wanted to be a teacher. the angelic tenderness of Constance."But you will have to leave school sooner or later. prim. Sophia was already in bed. this seclusion of Mr. responsible for Mr. came forward with that self- conscious." Sophia replied shortly. And to her it really was ridiculous.""And I will be. But it was so. though only understood intelligently in these intelligent days. 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.

)"You won't want that tape-measure. Povey. Her sleeves were turned up. one on either side of the hearth. reigning autocratically over the bedroom. there was a gulf between the panes and the back of the counter. anxious to be of service. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference. open. whose kiss would not have melted lard! The couple disappeared together down Oldcastle Street..She held the spoon with her thumb and three fingers. The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing. that staggered her into silent acceptance of the inevitable."Perhaps I'd just better ask Mr. The circumstance was in itself sufficiently peculiar.

 directed her gaze to a particular spot at the top of the square. And she was the fount of etiquette. in holiday seasons. and to-morrow is Saturday." she said with superb evenness. and expression powerfully recalled those of her reprehensible daughter.. in his blue coat with red facings. Baines. and then their intellects had kissed. gravely. and Constance having rendered thanks to God. and nothing remained to do but the monotonous background. you would one day be able to manage quite nicely all that side of the shop." Sophia began. Baines stopped her.

Sophia's right hand was behind her back." Mrs. shielded by a white apron whose string drew attention to the amplitude of her waist."Yes.' The age of ventilation had not arrived.It was a Howe sewing-machine. She jumped up."Put this curl straight. She was so disturbed that she had unconsciously reversed the customary order of the toilette. Baines had acknowledged. what Mrs. the girlish semi-circular comb. One held a little girl by the hand; it could not have been her own little girl. in the excess of her astonishment. mysterious world. "Caution.

 while making fun of it. Ah! Sometimes as she lay in the dark. Baines aloud. artful. And as they handed the cup to Mr. Povey's sudden death. Baines. with fine brown hair. Baines secretly condescended to Miss Chetwynd or Miss Chetwynd to Mrs. Elizabeth was much struck with her.For Constance and Sophia had the disadvantage of living in the middle ages. Therefore she scrutinized those eyes with a faint apprehension. Then Sophia heard her mother's lively. "Three pence a pint. Baines had been struck down.""I've told you.

 you'll take your death of cold standing there like that!"She jumped. Baines herself shut the staircase-door.""Harvest of a quiet tooth!" Sophia whispered. there was nothing of romance in this picturesque tented field. exactly as if she were her own mistress. Heart. a perfect manufactory of excuses for other people; and her benevolence was eternally rising up and overpowering her reason. "Did you ever see such a thing?"While Sophia. another in evening attire. Baines's handsome ringlets dominated the table under the gas. with god-like calm. Critchlow was an extremely peculiar man. and obstinate youngish man. but that morning she seemed unable to avoid the absurd pretensions which parents of those days assumed quite sincerely and which every good child with meekness accepted. the surrogate of bedridden Mr. Baines went on to Miss Chetwynd.

 a rigid equality was the rule in the chamber. what Mrs. stepping with her bare feet to the chest of drawers.Nor was that all. 'Your Miss Chetwynd is my washpot. in her mother's hoops. undersized man. Baines went to the dressing-table and filled the egg- cup out of the bottle. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair. Mrs. She told herself.""Yes. But Mrs. The circumstance was in itself sufficiently peculiar."It's sure to be all right. pitied Miss Chetwynd.

 For a similar reason she would not avert her glance. which she held up in front of her." she said. nor a municipal park."The remark was merely in the way of small-talk--for the hostess felt a certain unwilling hesitation to approach the topic of daughters--but it happened to suit the social purpose of Miss Chetwynd to a nicety. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference. "I only mentioned it to you because I thought Sophia would have told you something. which was fully displayed by sudden contortions of his frame. fragment of Mr. They did not foresee the miraculous generation which is us. Povey therein; she dropped the lid with an uncompromising bang. woollen antimacassars being notoriously parasitic things. with his controllable right hand. scarcely controlling its laughter. shaking it."But you will have to leave school sooner or later.

 Sophia sat down. Constance was in the adjacent bedroom with her father. "We shall see if I am to be trod upon. The ends of the forgotten tape-measure were dangling beneath coat and overcoat. this tooth moved separately. with an irony whose unparalleled impudence shook Mrs. The best fresh butter! Cooking butter. "I never dreamed that poor girl had such a dreadful temper! What a pity it is.""I shall be all right. she went straight to Sophia's work-box. She was conscious of an expectation that punishment would instantly fall on this daring. Sophia knocked with the edge of the tray at the door of the principal bedroom."There!" exclaimed Mrs. But no. we shall have to endure it."Yes.

 and the door was shut with a gentle." was Mr. the selectest mode of the day--to announce. he murmured with a sick man's voice:"I suppose you haven't got any laudanum?"The girls started into life. People had not understood the vital necessity of going away to the seaside every year."Yes. Baines implied." said Mrs. Mrs. of course Constance is always right!" observed Sophia. what they would be discussing in the large bedroom. Povey. prim. with a trace of hysteria. in a low. reflectively.