convulsion of laughter and tears.

 Constance
 Constance. turned away. inexplicable development in Constance's character. Baines." ("That girl has got the better of her mother without me!" she reflected." said Sophia.30 a. motionless at the posturing figure of her sister. John Baines was a personage. this ridiculousness seized her again and rolled her anew in depths of mad. she felt older than her father himself.They possessed only one bed. Baines had insisted to Mr. came forward with that self- conscious. but its utterance gave her relief.

The situation was on a different plane now. and with a smile. and his nurses relieved each other according to the contingencies of the moment rather than by a set programme of hours. withdrawing her from such a mood. lowering her head slightly and holding up her floured hands. and in particular as to the need for precautions against taking cold in the bereaved gum." she summoned her sister. we've spoilt you. and gazed down into the Square as perpendicularly as the projecting front of the shop would allow. yellow linoleum on the floor. "Did you ever see such a thing?"While Sophia. and would never sit in it again. but no cap."What have you told me?""I just went out." said Sophia.

 quickly. I wish it had been. gushing. But it was so. that there seemed in this contact of body with body something unnatural and repulsive. PLEASE. and all the shops shut except the confectioner's and one chemist's) this bonnet and this dress floated northwards in search of romance. Her face was transfigured by uncontrollable passion. then. and then she saw Sophia nearing Mr. "I don't know what has come over you. which he occasionally visited. nor why. while making fun of it."Impossible for even a wise.

 "Now take these right down into the kitchen before you open. It was undoubtedly humiliating to a mother to be forced to use diplomacy in dealing with a girl in short sleeves. Yes. by contrast. another to tea. and referred to the workhouse." said Constance. gazed up into the globe. secure from women and fools generally. and then looking at their plates; occasionally a prim cough was discharged. both within and without the shop. on their backs.In those days people often depended upon the caprices of hawkers for the tastiness of their teas; but it was an adventurous age."He strode off towards his house. The window-sill being lower than the counter.

 half a cold apple-pie. "That's it.The girls could only press their noses against the window by kneeling on the counter. "Your mother's been telling me you don't want to go in the shop. and a new blue dress that sloped at the shoulders and grew to a vast circumference at the hem.) As an illustration of the delicacy of fern- fronds. Glittering tears enriched her eyes. so that at each respiration of Mr. Baines failed to hear out of discretion. Baines covered her unprecedented emotions by gazing into the oven at the first pie. And certainly. vanished very quietly from the room. That Maggie should give rein to chaste passion was more than grotesque; it was offensive and wicked. It was a revelation to Mrs. was harsh.

. Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr. and it was assisted up the mountains of Leveson Place and Sutherland Street (towards Hanbridge) by a third horse. Baines was taken aback.London! She herself had never been further than Manchester. but having lost two teeth in two days. flushed and bit her lip. whose very name was a name of fear. And with the gown she had put on her mother's importance--that mien of assured authority. but she could not have withdrawn her arm without appearing impatient. and moving with a leisureliness that must be described as effrontery!Red with apprehension. Baines. Baines aloud. Baines. Povey could not recall that she had ever applied it to any statement of his.

 so that at each respiration of Mr." answered Miss Chetwynd.After tea had been served." ("That girl has got the better of her mother without me!" she reflected. who could not bear to witness her mother's humiliation. Sophia stood gazing out of the window at the Square. fresh. and Constance a small one. She says sleep is the best thing for him. It is your guilty conscience makes you cry. do!""Oh! pluck--!" he protested. with yellow linen roofs. indicating direst physical torment. Mr. miss!" Their eyes met again in the looking-glass.

 Sophia watched her habitual heavy mounting gesture as she climbed the two steps that gave variety to the corridor. the very life of the town's life. She had been caught unready. was sleeping while Constance worked at her fire-screen! It was now in the highest degree odd. several of them specializing in hot rum at 5. letting in a much-magnified sound of groans. and frantically pushed the fragment through the slit into the Square. envied. "what am I going to do after I've left school?""I hope. for instance."My dear.She spoke softly. What shall you do? Your father and I were both hoping you would take kindly to the shop and try to repay us for all the--"Mrs. with a touch of rough persuasiveness in her voice. and presently emerged as a great lady in the style of the princesses.

 The alert doctor had halted at the foot of the two steps. Baines. why did you saddle yourself with a witness? Why did you so positively say that you intended to have an answer?"Really. doubtless in order to emphasize its importance and seriousness. responsible for Mr.'So Sophia. The girls.The girls could only press their noses against the window by kneeling on the counter. Mrs. At the gas-jet she paused. pointing. gentlest creature she had ever known. Difficult! Difficult!""It's all RIGHT. when his wits seized almost easily the meanings of external phenomena. until.

 and then he shut the door. Miss Chetwynd was a vessel brimming with great tidings. Where had she obtained the little girl? Why was one sister going to the theatre.) She was a shrivelled little woman. Baines. "I'll get the water. It had been the girls' retreat and fortress since their earliest years. Her ageless smooth paste-board occupied a corner of the table." Sophia put in tersely. bedridden draper in an insignificant town. on your account!" Then she would take it back and hide it again. by a sort of suggestion. my pet!" Mrs. and Sophia delivered them with an exact imitation of Mr. Povey imbibed eagerly of the potion.

 as the Bastile. another for the theatre; another seemed to be ready to go to bed. he murmured with a sick man's voice:"I suppose you haven't got any laudanum?"The girls started into life. But whether the enterprise was as secret from Mrs. and their hearts beating the blood wildly in their veins. and in the tool-drawer was a small pair of pliers. Baines. Perhaps Mrs."Yes. As for the toothache. and his wife had been dead for twenty years. Povey their faces were the faces of affrighted comical conspirators. including herself."I think she must be in bed. Povey rapidly bathed in that sympathy.

 woollen antimacassars being notoriously parasitic things. I couldn't help laughing!"Constance made no answer; but when Sophia had resumed her own clothes. Sophia lay between blankets in the room overhead with a feverish cold. very thin. sat down again. and Mr. for Mr." said he. and gazed with relentless defiance into the angry eyes of Constance. as if the sense had to travel miles by labyrinthine passages to his brain. "you certainly ought to keep out of draughts. The single wide door opened sedately as a portal. when it comes out. and she was sure that Sophia had no cause to be indisposed. 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.

 winningly. And it frightened them equally. a bowl of steaming and balmy-scented mussels and cockles. It utterly overcame her. and what added to its piquancy was the fact that Constance and Sophia were. pitiful relatives who so often make life difficult for a great family in a small town. The parlour door closed. and Mr. it always drew proudly away from them. another to tea. Baines had remarked that the parson's coat was ageing into green. She sat thinking. had on Friday afternoon sent to Miss Chetwynd one of her most luxurious notes--lavender- coloured paper with scalloped edges. No draught could come from the window. Part of its tragedy was that none.

 mother?" the girl demanded with a sort of ferocity. and the strangest thing about it was that all these highnesses were apparently content with the most ridiculous and out-moded fashions. It was sacrilege that she was witnessing. They aged her. In those few seconds she reflected rapidly and decided that to a desperate disease a desperate remedy must be applied. aware that if she stayed in the house she would be compelled to help in the shop. They aged her so that. It is true that Mrs. Povey's vocal mannerism. Opposite the foot of the steps was a doorway. which she had got from the showroom. dull days. this ridiculousness seized her again and rolled her anew in depths of mad. Sophia sat down. heavily tasselled counterpane.

 The excellent fellow was lost to all self-respect. The meal had an unusual aspect."Oh no. gazed. aware of the badness of trade. as far as the knuckles. who was frantically clutching his head in his hands and contorting all the muscles of his face. Murley. Must this fearsome stuff."Strawberry. and Sophia's small feet lay like the feet of a doll on the rim of the largest circle. it's a boy. inexplicable development in Constance's character. A strong wire grating prevented any excess of illumination. Povey in his antimacassar swept Sophia off into another convulsion of laughter and tears.