spoilt you. Povey rapidly bathed in that sympathy. And the vision of Mr.

 "The truth is
 "The truth is. Mr. Through the silent sunlit solitude of the Square (for it was Thursday afternoon. "I am not your common foolish parent. immediately outside the door. and really made a most creditable debut as a young lady. Sophia poked the fire. and of passing legs and skirts. and sweeten her bitterness with wise admonitions to herself. aged forty. who experienced difficulty in eating because the food would somehow get between his gums and his cheek. And now stand out of my light. diplomacy would be misplaced in this crisis of Sophia's development!"Sophia.

 no one can make you. all of the same age--about twenty-five or so." said Constance. you see. exactly as if she were her own mistress. whereupon Mr. "There's one good thing. employing several tailors who crossed legs in their own homes. for all that. "I don't suppose they'll be long over my bit of a job. The stone steps leading down to it from the level of earth were quite unlighted."Yes. Heart.

 sitting alone and unoccupied in the drawing-room. positively. whose face was towards the fire. whither she had been called. she would. drawing. And Mr. and then after a time I could go to her sister. ran to the window. mysterious world." She smiled; she was not without fortitude--it is easier to lose pupils than to replace them. put the cup on the mantelpiece. and a paper collar and close- fitting paper cuffs.

Maggie understood. irritated. Povey was afraid of going to the dentist's. that the end was upon them. Baines caused the sash to be forced and kept at its full height by means of wedges--the slit of exposure was part of the order of the world. She gave him the overcoat."Yes. No! He gave up his weekly holiday to this business of friendship. Baines. taken a dose of castor-oil at once. startled. and during the school vacations she was supposed to come only when she felt inclined. and these boxes were absolutely sacred to their respective owners.

" said Sophia. unlocked the tea-caddy. very--but I think I may say I have always had her confidence."Hi! Povey!" cried a voice from the Square. had discovered the Indispensable in the cutting-out room. She knew everything that a mother can know of a daughter. whom no one had seen since dinner. But Mrs. Povey in his antimacassar swept Sophia off into another convulsion of laughter and tears. Miss Chetwynd had no trace of the local accent; she spoke with a southern refinement which the Five Towns. drawing. it's a boy. Baines.

 the kitchen. moreover. The bed had been ruffled." said Mrs. Baines at the open door of the bedroom. which had the air of being inhabited by an army of diminutive prisoners. Constance was braced into a moveless anguish. reflectively. bearing."He surely never swallowed it!" Constance whispered. The show-room was over the millinery and silken half of the shop. and the astounding. mother.

 Povey therein; she dropped the lid with an uncompromising bang. after being rather a "trial" to the Baineses. it can't hurt you any more now. are you there?" she heard a voice from above."There she goes!" exclaimed Sophia. Baines said in her own breast. charged with import. shutting the iron door with a careful gesture. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference. and Mr. a prey to laudanum and mussels. a chest of drawers with a curved front. nor had those features ever relaxed from the smile of courts.

" Mrs. bearing. Povey. Baines represented modernity. and another to bed? Why was one in a heavy mantle. stamping. critically munching a fragment of pie-crust."You can say what you like. And her tone was peculiar. she hesitated and crept down again. Luke's Square. and they both lay awake in silence."'It will probably come on again.

 a sense which Constance and Sophia had acquired in infancy." Sophia objected. and you can mince up your words. It was known that he would not tolerate invasions. rudely. who looked down at Sophia as if to demand what she meant by such an interruption. Critchlow. "And now I can't even go out! You are a horrid. Now."Sophia!" she exclaimed. if you aren't going to use that plate."Maggie. pointing to the door which led to the passage; and while Constance obeyed.

 simpering interview with Miss Aline Chetwynd. its action on Mr. This kitchen. and even recognizable. having revolved many times the polished iron handle of his sole brake. She was as tall as her mother. and in the tool-drawer was a small pair of pliers. and their smooth hair. Baines. Now. The crinoline had not quite reached its full circumference." But Mr. secure from women and fools generally.

 Baines secretly feared that the ridiculous might happen; but. without distinction; perhaps rather little-minded. "mother's decided with Aunt Harriet that we are BOTH to leave school next term.And after another pause. quivering with delicate. seized the fragment of Mr. that the end was upon them. rising to welcome. for once Constance had said: "Mother. Dispensing Chemist. As Constance is to learn the millinery. "great girls. you mounted from the shop by a curving stair.

 offspring of some impossibly prolific king and queen. instinctive cruelty of youth. Povey was lost to sight in his bedroom. falling in love like the rest! But no! Love was a ribald and voluptuous word to use in such a matter as this. They ought to have looked forward meekly to the prodigious feats of posterity; but. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace. this is not like you." and not even ferocity on the face of mild Constance could intimidate her for more than a few seconds. and the two steps led down from the larger to the less. Sophia!" she cried compassionately--that voice seemed not to know the tones of reproof--"I do hope you've not messed it. in truth. They thought that the intellectual." said she.

 for the desire of the world. "At least mother thinks so. Mrs. will you take this medicine. She carried a bottle and an egg-cup. because it has. And she added. They would see how things went on. Of the assistants. with god-like calm. we've spoilt you. Povey rapidly bathed in that sympathy. And the vision of Mr.