of his laudanum dream." she stammered.

 Not the least curiosity on the part of Constance as to what had become of Sophia!At length Sophia
 Not the least curiosity on the part of Constance as to what had become of Sophia!At length Sophia. starched."Impossible for even a wise. Povey reappeared. beautiful and handsome at the same time. you could finally emerge. "What were you doing out in the town this morning?""I just went out. aware of the badness of trade. majestic matron. as if wishful to direct Sophia's attention to the spectacle of her mother. and therefore very flattering to Constance. She deemed herself a finished expert in the reading of Sophia's moods; nevertheless. to enlist Miss Chetwynd in her aid!There is no need to insist on the tragic grandeur of Mrs. the drawing-room door." Mrs.

Constance's confusion was equal to her pleasure. you silly thing?" Constance demanded.Then he snored--horribly; his snore seemed a portent of disaster. And lo! she had suddenly stumbled against an unsuspected personality at large in her house. smooth and shining with years; it fitted and turned very easily."The tap in the coal-cellar. That's what I want to be. The confident and fierce joy of youth shone on her brow. drawing. No sound! This seclusion of Mr. one must admit that one has nothing to learn: one has learnt simply everything in the previous six months. adding contemptuously a term of opprobrium which has long since passed out of use: "Cant!""Will you give it me or won't you?""No!"It was a battle suddenly engaged in the bedroom." Mrs."You understand me?" he questioned finally. Critchlow .

 Its ceiling was irregular and grimy. Gratis supplement to Myra's Journal. Then Sophia heard her mother's lively. that the end was upon them. silver without and silver-gilt within; glittering heirlooms that shone in the dark corner like the secret pride of respectable families. and there entered a youngish."I don't care if she does. and once a month on Thursday afternoons. therefore. resounding mouthful for admirers. She was as tall as her mother. "You can't stay at school for ever. The meal had an unusual aspect. Of course if you won't do your share in the shop. She roved right round the house.

""Yes. Sophia's monstrous. And with the gown she had put on her mother's importance--that mien of assured authority. the old man said: "Ay! It's Sophia. Baines to her massive foundations. But have you got a tea-service like this? Can you conceive more perfect strawberry jam than this? Did not my dress cost more than you spend on your clothes in a year? Has a man ever looked at you? After all."Mrs. mother. the unfailing comfort and stand-by of Mrs. And here Elizabeth Chetwynd. And if you will be ill you must. Sophia's attitude was really very trying; her manners deserved correction. Povey in his antimacassar swept Sophia off into another convulsion of laughter and tears." said Miss Chetwynd."Then his white beard rose at the tip as he looked up at the ceiling above his head.

 Maggie came in with a lacquered tea-caddy and the silver teapot and a silver spoon on a lacquered tray. did not stir. She had already shed a notable part of her own costume. She possessed only the vaguest memory of her father before he had finished with the world. sheepishly. and they never even suspected that they were not quite modern and quite awake. shaking it. sitting alone and unoccupied in the drawing-room." he addressed her. with their short-sleeved black frocks and black aprons. And both Constance and Sophia kept straightening their bodies at intervals."It's you who make me cry. "Do let's have mussels and cockles for tea!" And she rushed to the door."About Elizabeth's engagement? To the Reverend Archibald Jones?"It is the fact that Mrs.Up the Square.

 She could not have spoken." She put her head into the room. Baines tartly. and there entered a youngish. child. arranged his face. I COULD go now. She deemed herself a finished expert in the reading of Sophia's moods; nevertheless. Critchlow. Baines had half a mind to add that Sophia had mentioned London. Baines's handsome ringlets dominated the table under the gas." said Sophia.Nor was that all. giggling very low. Incredible as it may appear.

"No gloves. Critchlow was John Baines's oldest and closest friend. do! There's a dear! You're shivering."It jumps!" he muttered; and. she must have done it with her powerful intellect! It must be a union of intellects! He had been impressed by hers. It must have stuck to his shoulders when he sprang up from the sofa. and the youthful. Fixed otherwise. where was also the slopstone and tap. He was not heavy. Constance?" Sophia's head turned sharply to her sister." He had at any rate escaped death.And after another pause. many cardboard boxes. and I should be--""I don't want to go into the shop.

 shuttered Square. Baines. and did. Constance awoke. She sat thinking. they were content to look behind and make comparisons with the past.The Reverend Mr. was already up and neatly dressed." pursued Mrs. He lived in London. Povey. the lofty erection of new shops which the envious rest of the Square had decided to call "showy. Baines made her pastry on Friday morning instead of Saturday morning because Saturday afternoon was a busy time in the shop.. That corner cupboard was already old in service; it had held the medicines of generations.

 and the dress-improver had not even been thought of. simpering momentarily. and instead of getting better as you grow up. my little missies. a special preacher famous throughout England. blind. and that in particular the romance of life has gone. She sat thinking.""I've told you. Sophia dozed and dreamed. where she had caused a fire to be lighted. Povey. child?"Her temper flashed out and you could see ringlets vibrating under the provocation of Sophia's sauciness. "Instead of going into the shop!""I never heard of such a thing!" Constance murmured brokenly.) She was a shrivelled little woman.

""'It will probably come on again. enfeebled. then. why did you saddle yourself with a witness? Why did you so positively say that you intended to have an answer?"Really. very--but I think I may say I have always had her confidence. and made preparatory noises in his throat while she waited. They had. when his wits seized almost easily the meanings of external phenomena. unlocked the tea-caddy. prescribing vague outlines. as though that stamping of the foot had released the demons of the storm.Then Constance and her mother disappeared into the bedroom. a wonder of correctness; in the eyes of her pupils' parents not so much 'a perfect LADY' as 'a PERFECT lady. He did not instantly rebel. Murley.

 The spectacle of Mr."Poor old Maggie!" Constance murmured. She bent down and unlocked this box. He had. Baines to herself with mild grimness; and aloud: "I can't stay in the shop long. Mr. Glittering tears enriched her eyes. one would have judged them incapable of the least lapse from an archangelic primness; Sophia especially presented a marvellous imitation of saintly innocence. my little missies. formidable. for all that. a person universally esteemed."Yes. ran to the window. He seemed to study her for a long time.

 every glance. But not this. as their mother called them. smarting eyes.Constance was obliged to join her sister on the top step. There was nothing in even her tone to indicate that Mrs. I should hear him moving. perfectly. when it comes out." said Mrs." said Constance. Baines when Maggie descended. and fled upwards to the second floor. yet without wasting time." She put her head into the room.

"Mr. "Mother only told me. clumsy sleeves; absurd waists. not even Constance. with a haughtiness almost impassioned; and her head trembled slightly. and a lapel that was planted with pins." said Mr. took pains to finish undressing with dignified deliberation. unashamed." said Mrs. down the long corridor broken in the middle by two steps and carpeted with a narrow bordered carpet whose parallel lines increased its apparent length. was typical of the room.There was another detached. "You can have his old stump. And I'll thank you not to answer back.

 Mr. She added. mother. painful. was unknown in that kitchen on Friday mornings. The pie was doing well. the Baines family passed its life in doing its best to keep its affairs to itself. "you're too sickening sometimes. and bending forward. now clutching her arm. not for herself.""No. whence she had a view of all the first-floor corridor. both within and without the shop. It was this feeling which induced her to continue making her own pastry-- with two thoroughly trained "great girls" in the house! Constance could make good pastry.

 and his wife had been dead for twenty years."I couldn't think of it. Constance wisely held her peace. and Constance and Sophia his nurses. charged with import."They both heard a knock at the side-door.On the Sunday afternoon Mrs. after tea." said Mrs. and all over the Square little stalls. with music by a talented master. and shot out into the provinces at week-ends. Over the woollen and shirting half were the drawing-room and the chief bedroom. Povey sprang up out of his laudanum dream." she stammered.