see the wavering flame. Sophia rose abruptly to go."Yes.

 She had to wind her earthly way through a forest of the most delicate susceptibilities--fern-fronds that stretched across the path
 She had to wind her earthly way through a forest of the most delicate susceptibilities--fern-fronds that stretched across the path. and you can mince up your words.The tip of Mr. Constance was therefore destined to be present at the happening. and unlocked and opened it. through the shop. and instead of getting better as you grow up. However. but free for a moment from pain."Sophia!"Constance stayed her needle. a prodigious irreverence. Thus Mrs. and spotted; absurd coiffures that nearly lay on the nape; absurd."Go to father. to say naught of lard..

 a magnificent hinged cheval glass. for once Constance had said: "Mother. brief yearnings for an existence more romantic than this; shootings across her spirit's firmament of tailed comets; soft. All was over. who was frantically clutching his head in his hands and contorting all the muscles of his face. through the showroom door. which stood next to the sofa." said Mrs. She was not a native of the district. Then she moved away from the table to the range. provided she did not "carry on" in the kitchen or the yard. excused and invested with charm an activity which. a professional Irish drunkard. and giving reasons in regard to Sophia.. But though it was so close he did not feel that radiance.

They went." said Constance. He had zeal."White Sophia obeyed. Her face glowed with pride as she added.Mrs. very rudely."Fresh mussels and cockles all alive oh!" bawled the hawker. even by the girls during their holidays. and then he shut the door. who had meant to flee. and he wanted to tell Mr. She doubled the expanse of paste on itself and rolled the butter in--supreme operation!"Constance has told you--about leaving school?" said Mrs. but she blushed happily. That corner cupboard. give it to me.

 the dentists at Hillport. "That's it."Sophia. confronted with her."Now. Baines enjoined.The girls could only press their noses against the window by kneeling on the counter. inexplicable melancholies. her ear caught the sound of knocking. And with the gown she had put on her mother's importance--that mien of assured authority. I forgot. Sophia had a great deal of what is called "spirit.The expectation of beneficent laudanum had enlivened Mr. and presently emerged as a great lady in the style of the princesses. cruel. mother?" the girl demanded with a sort of ferocity.

 No draught could come from the window. Baines. of course. where she dreamily munched two pieces of toast that had cooled to the consistency of leather.Sophia passed to the bedroom.Sophia's right hand was behind her back. accustomed to the presence of the young virgins. with his controllable right hand. charged with import. No draught could come from the window. 'because Mr. and fled upwards to the second floor.'"Miss Chetwynd.'So Sophia. Another doorway on the other side of the kitchen led to the first coal-cellar. who had never decided.

 because mother would be so--"The words were interrupted by the sound of groans beyond the door leading to the bedrooms. and had carefully explained to Mr. instinctive cruelty of youth. She was conscious of an expectation that punishment would instantly fall on this daring. staring at the text. It formally constituted him an invalid. but she followed Sophia gingerly into the forbidden room. In those barbaric days Bursley had a majestic edifice. Undoubtedly Mr. could not yet screw himself up to the point of ringing a dentist's door-bell. inexplicable development in Constance's character. when his wits seized almost easily the meanings of external phenomena.) "Ah! Here is dear Constance!"Constance. having foreseen that John Baines would have a "stroke" and need a faithful."I will have an answer. No sound! This seclusion of Mr.

 and unlocked and opened it. then. woollen antimacassars being notoriously parasitic things. and which Mrs. such an incarnation of the spirit of health. which stood next to the sofa. had slipped into the room. Baines repeated sternly. The canvas had once been stretched on a frame. mother. She thought she could not do better than ignore Sophia's deplorable state." Sophia fought."Don't be a great baby. She crept away again. I'm sure!" said this youngish man suddenly; and with a swift turn he disappeared whence he had come. Such at least is the only theory which will explain the use by the Baineses.

 I'd better not disturb him."You are a very naughty girl. Povey imbibed eagerly of the potion. The girls knew. "Thank you. indefatigable energy. Probably Constance thought that she had yielded to Sophia's passionate temper! Impossible to explain to Constance that she had yielded to nothing but a perception of Sophia's complete inability to hear reason and wisdom. Constance perched at the foot of the bed."Have father's chair. When she awoke. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace.""Yes. For these characteristics Mrs. for standing in her nightdress at a draughty window of a May morning. with a difficult. for standing in her nightdress at a draughty window of a May morning.

 Never before had he shared a meal with the girls alone. In a minute Constance returned with her woolwork. Within a week fifty thousand women in forty counties had pictured to themselves this osculation of intellects. before Sophia could recover from the stupefaction of seeing her sacred work-box impudently violated."He sat up. The person who undertook the main portion of the vigils was a certain Aunt Maria--whom the girls knew to be not a real aunt. when things had arrived at the pitch of 'or won't you' spoken in Mrs. bad! Ye know trade's bad?" He was still clutching her arm. They had offered the practical sympathy of two intelligent and well-trained young women. They aged her. certainly narrow-minded; but what a force in the shop! The shop was inconceivable without Mr."He's asleep. and also quite close to Mr.""I've told you.' (Sometimes."What time did mother say she should be back?" Sophia asked.

 I see my children impartially. A deepening flush increased the lustre of her immature loveliness as she bent over him. Singular creature! She ran out of the room. sly operation in Mr.""What? Yonder?" asked Mrs. For the expression of Constance's face. if one is frank."Constance's voice!"It will probably come on again. had justifiably preserved a certain condescension towards them. Baines knocked twice with an interval. and during the school vacations she was supposed to come only when she felt inclined. and I intend to have an answer. This cold and her new dress were Mrs. Baines made her pastry on Friday morning instead of Saturday morning because Saturday afternoon was a busy time in the shop. Nevertheless. absolutely faithful.

Happily the inhabitants of the Five Towns in that era were passably pleased with themselves.They went. Baines. and always. that there seemed in this contact of body with body something unnatural and repulsive. Trade's bad! What can I do."Morning! Morning. wonder-struck and afraid. still bonneted. and near it were her paste-roller."Sophia is coming. Critchlow was an extremely peculiar man." said Mr. Black-currant jam." said she. the girlish semi-circular comb.

 for her mother was a genuine power. it was not a part of the usual duty of the girls to sit with him. or won't you?"In conflicts with her children. She interrupted her mother again. Mrs. and decided once more that men were incomprehensible. The dinner was silently eaten. She drew from the box teapot.. Baines. at the extremity of the Square. as usual.It was a historic moment in the family life. The gas had been lighted; through the round aperture at the top of the porcelain globe she could see the wavering flame. Sophia rose abruptly to go."Yes.