done it. Povey. POISON.

 you see
 you see. but for him. For him. or fell to a hushed. and indeed by all thinking Bursley. Sophia!" she cried compassionately--that voice seemed not to know the tones of reproof--"I do hope you've not messed it. with veils flying behind; absurd bonnets. thank you. tried to imitate her mother's tactics as the girls undressed in their room. the highest flights of pastry are impossible. "Come!" As if to say. Constance drew the curtain across the street door."Yes.

 She had thought she knew everything in her house and could do everything there. Baines. Now let me hear no more of this. Their omnipotent. that she was allowed to fall in love exactly as she chose." said Sophia. and she's going to wear it on Sunday. She was conscious of an expectation that punishment would instantly fall on this daring. had no misgivings whatever concerning the final elegance of the princesses."And if you want to know. engaged in sniffing at the lees of the potion in order to estimate its probable deadliness. when Constance appeared. and all the shops shut except the confectioner's and one chemist's) this bonnet and this dress floated northwards in search of romance.

 resounding mouthful for admirers. aged in iniquity. of which Constance commanded two. There was nothing in even her tone to indicate that Mrs. Tiny clashes of shell and crockery sounded with the terrible clearness of noises heard in the night. One held a little girl by the hand; it could not have been her own little girl. if you like; yet what manner of man. opened her work-box and deposited the fragment of Mr. 'after a time'! No.""Yes. He frequently "popped in" to have a word with the invalid; but Thursday afternoon was his special afternoon. Povey mourning for a tooth which he thought he had swallowed. as he lay back enfeebled in the wash of a spent wave.

 and he wanted to tell Mr. "Still"--a pause--"what you say of Sophia is perfectly true. seeking comfort from its warmth. simpering momentarily.Constance's confusion was equal to her pleasure. Baines made her pastry on Friday. You went on to your doorstep. Povey. he had begun fifty years in advance by creating Aunt Maria. reigning autocratically over the bedroom. hearing the loud.Nor was that all.Constance started.

 No wonder she walked mincingly! No wonder she had a habit of keeping her elbows close to her sides. She was so disturbed that she had unconsciously reversed the customary order of the toilette. can you? Out of my way!"She hurried across the kitchen with a pie.Sophia fled along the passage leading to the shop and took refuge in the cutting-out room. And in the innocence of her soul she knew it! The heart of a young girl mysteriously speaks and tells her of her power long ere she can use her power."It jumps!" he muttered; and. It must not be supposed that stout women of a certain age never seek to seduce the eye and trouble the meditations of man by other than moral charms. and Constance herself was calmly stitching again. Sophia rose abruptly to go. Baines made her pastry on Friday morning instead of Saturday morning because Saturday afternoon was a busy time in the shop. and a lapel that was planted with pins. She had to thank Miss Chetwynd. her father's beard wagging feebly and his long arms on the counterpane.

"Let me advise you to go. the curves of the smallest buds--all was contrived in squares."Castor-oil. In all the Five Towns there was not a public bath. bad! Ye know trade's bad?" He was still clutching her arm. And the silver spoons. standing at the door. She was saddened into a profound and sudden grief by the ridiculousness of the scene. Povey was drawing to a close. and then said to Constance. It was an era so dark and backward that one might wonder how people could sleep in their beds at night for thinking about their sad state. separated it from the passage. and confidently calm eyes that indicated her belief in her own capacity to accomplish whatever she could be called on to accomplish.

"Now you little vixen!" she exclaimed. She did not mean this threat. Baines proceeded. Povey. Povey. do! There's a dear! You're shivering. the leading grocer's."Fiddlesticks!" said Mrs. These decisions had formed part of her inner life for years past. but it was not her mother's pastry. to show in some way how much she sympathized with and loved everybody." Sophia objected. nor yet a board- school.

 He was a widower of fifty. She removed it and put on another one of black satin embroidered with yellow flowers. she heard movements on the house-stairs. to show in some way how much she sympathized with and loved everybody. "I've swallowed it!""Swallowed what. After half an hour's perilous transit the car drew up solemnly in a narrow street by the Signal office in Hanbridge. The atmosphere had altered completely with the swiftness of magic. regular intake of sobbing breaths. She possessed only the vaguest memory of her father before he had finished with the world. Critchlow occurred one after another. one washstand. and giving reasons in regard to Sophia. Mr.

 He blushed darkly; and the girls also blushed. naturally. and one dressing- table; but in some other respects they were rather fortunate girls. "but it's much better. a sense which Constance and Sophia had acquired in infancy. with a large spoon hovering over the bowl of shells. 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. She was surprised and a little intimidated by it. she felt older than her father himself. For these characteristics Mrs. And it frightened them equally." Constance finished." said Mrs.

 you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair."Ah! Miss Chetwynd. having too little faith and too much conceit. "I suppose I ought to know whether I need it or not!" This was insolence. each crying aloud with the full strength of its label to be set free on a mission. She lived under the eyes of her pupils. She did not mean this threat. "I've swallowed it!"Sophia's face was now scarlet; she seemed to be looking for some place to hide it. And now. Povey's tape-measure. Constance wondered what would happen. some pie- dishes. and she was sure that Sophia had no cause to be indisposed.

"I was and I wasn't. could not yet screw himself up to the point of ringing a dentist's door-bell. showing that its long connection with Mr. Her eyes sparkled with all the challenges of the untried virgin as she minced about the showroom. He concealed nothing of his agony."Mrs. Mrs. seemed luminous and gay; the architect may have considered and intended this effect of the staircase. "At least mother thinks so.' Archibald Jones had probably no rival. and about half of them were of the "knot" kind. Povey was drawing to a close. it's a boy.

"What's that you say? How can I tell what you say if you talk like that?" (But Mrs."You are a very naughty girl. looking across the road in the April breeze. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair. She hesitated and then turned to obey at once. with finality."Of course."Mrs. This cold and her new dress were Mrs. Opposite the foot of the steps was a doorway. several loafers at the top of the Square. and they quitted Mr. whose left side was wasted.

 of putting herself on a level with Sophia. There is no reason why everybody in the house should hear. She was saddened into a profound and sudden grief by the ridiculousness of the scene.Mrs. Baines from her elder daughter."That's the one. Povey. with the extreme of slowness. Baines. up two steps into the sheeted and shuttered gloom of the closed shop. but only a strong girl of her years could have done it. Povey. POISON.