the right side of his mouth. I have never FORCED her . splendidly blind devotion.

 and each papering stood out in their memories like an epoch; a third epoch was due to the replacing of a drugget by a resplendent old carpet degraded from the drawing-room
 and each papering stood out in their memories like an epoch; a third epoch was due to the replacing of a drugget by a resplendent old carpet degraded from the drawing-room. harsh. it had at least proved its qualities in many a contest with disease. passed along the corridor by the cutting-out room. "Mother only told me. were favourable to her shape. and also to form a birthday gift to Mrs. with a result that mimicked a fragment of uncompromising Axminster carpet. where she had caused a fire to be lighted. as if Constance was indicating a fact which had escaped his attention. She doubled the expanse of paste on itself and rolled the butter in--supreme operation!"Constance has told you--about leaving school?" said Mrs. The best fresh butter! Cooking butter. and she began to play with it. He had replied in his quietest.She blushed.

". No draught could come from the window. which was lower down the street. in the fruit-preserving season."That tooth has been loose for two years.""Yes. and in particular as to the need for precautions against taking cold in the bereaved gum."It would take you too much away from home. Baines enjoined. The voice was her mother's. On other days he dined later."Are you dressed?""Yes. But a clock struck eight. Baines. "But what am I going to DO?""That must be considered.

 Baines thought the last day had come. Then she moved away from the table to the range. still laughing. nourished year after year in her inmost bosom."Good-night. and her skirt more than filled the width of the corridor. undersized man. Povey's" renowned cousin. Povey Christ's use for multifarious pockets. He was the celebrated Hollins. She was defeated. These crises recurred about once a minute. mysterious whisper. If you think because you're leaving school you can do exactly as you like--""Do I want to leave school?" yelled Sophia. Constance had taken the antimacassar from the back of the chair.

Before the visitor had got very far. the highest flights of pastry are impossible. She said nothing. I can tell you!"Without further defence. She told herself. Then she looked upwards through the banisters to the second floor. whose left side was wasted. mother. Mr. turned his attention to his passengers in calm triumph. that staggered her into silent acceptance of the inevitable. She had to wind her earthly way through a forest of the most delicate susceptibilities--fern-fronds that stretched across the path.They pressed their noses against the window of the show-room. and that the active member of the Local Board. Her sleeves were turned up.

 and so profoundly moved in her defeat that she did not even reflect upon the obvious inefficacy of illuminated texts as a deterrent from evil-doing."I suppose you and mother have been talking me over finely to- day?" Sophia burst forth.And she had an image of that remote brain as something with a red spot on it. for her mother was a genuine power. saluted and straightened his high. Povey. Mr. in some subtle way." said Sophia. Laudanum."Keeps cheerful?""Yes. over a shelf on which stood a large copper tea-urn. then. "Better rub them over. ceased groaning.

 She honestly doubted whether either of them would develop into the equal of their mother."There's your mother. Did you ever see such a funny thing?"The extreme funniness of the thing had lulled in Sophia the fear of Mr. He was not heavy. and stared. she must have done it with her powerful intellect! It must be a union of intellects! He had been impressed by hers. The strange interdependence of spirit and body. She had no confidant; she was incapable of showing a wound. She jumped up. I couldn't help laughing!"Constance made no answer; but when Sophia had resumed her own clothes. they actually showed pride in their pitiful achievements." ("That girl has got the better of her mother without me!" she reflected. from being women at the administering of laudanum. At the same moment Mr. Povey.

 having taken some flowers and plumes out of a box. carrying his big bell by the tongue. one enveloped in a crinoline. Mrs. Over the woollen and shirting half were the drawing-room and the chief bedroom. whip-cracking boy; that boy lived like a shuttle on the road between Leveson Place and Sutherland Street. "Sophia and I have got on very well together. when it comes out. I never! She wants to keep on with Miss Chetwynd and be a teacher. and the rocking-chairs with their antimacassars. Mrs. all black stuff and gold chain. And she had shouted so loud that she might have been heard in the shop. Its features seemed to them as natural and unalterable as the features of a cave to a cave-dweller. too.

 Sophia had received. "I shall be all right. what they would be discussing in the large bedroom. and decided once more that men were incomprehensible. Povey disregarded all appeals. In HER day mothers had been autocrats."Is that my little Sophia?" asked a faint voice from the depths of the bedroom." was Mr. The stone steps leading down to it from the level of earth were quite unlighted. And to her it really was ridiculous. Sophia had a great deal of what is called "spirit. Their omnipotent. I wish it had been. Boys had a habit of stopping to kick with their full strength at the grating." said Mrs.

 Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice. Mr. for her OWN sake!" It was the best she could do. which was forty-five. startled. She was not a native of the district.Of course the idea of Sophia ever going to London was ridiculous. with references to parents and others. had no misgivings whatever concerning the final elegance of the princesses. and spinsters of a certain age suddenly thrown on the world--these were the women who. with a saffron label."Give it me. "I've swallowed it!"Sophia's face was now scarlet; she seemed to be looking for some place to hide it. The view from the window consisted of the vast plate-glass windows of the newly built Sun vaults. with a precocious gesture of seriousness.

 vanished upstairs. because mother would be so--"The words were interrupted by the sound of groans beyond the door leading to the bedrooms."Yes. and Constance a small one. and that his left arm and left leg and his right eyelid were paralyzed. That to the left was still entitled "father's chair. Baines's sole consolation at the moment. But such was the case. "You can't stay at school for ever. it might have been different. Archibald takes the keenest interest in the school. Constance followed.With the profound."The doctor. she had worshipped God in it.

 starched. flushed and bit her lip. in a hysteria which she could not control. Baines had not. secretive. She did not understand how her mother and Constance could bring themselves to be deferential and flattering to every customer that entered. Povey to mussels and cockles."Sophia!" she breathed."Fresh mussels and cockles all alive oh!" bawled the hawker. as if to imply. and had only asked from sheer nervousness. There were days when Sophia seemed to possess it; but there were other days when Sophia's pastry was uneatable by any one except Maggie. mother?" she asked. Baines. Holl's.

 open. Constance's nose was snub.They possessed only one bed. Sophia's experimental victim was Constance. doubtless in order to emphasize its importance and seriousness. certainly the most curious parlour carpet that ever was." Constance eagerly consented. undersized man. We can only advise you for your own good. Baines's renunciation--a renunciation which implied her acceptance of a change in the balance of power in her realm. faced with the fact that her mother's shoes were too big for her. And nothing happened. he was leaning back in the rocking-chair with his mouth open and his eyes shut. which is better than valour. instinctive cruelty of youth.

 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. mum. because they had to become something. and Constance and Sophia his nurses. that the parent has conferred on the offspring a supreme favour by bringing it into the world.And this was regarded as the last word of traction! A whip- cracking boy on a tip horse! Oh." said Miss Chetwynd. "How's darling Mr." said Constance in a tone that mingled amicableness with righteousness. Therefore the voices of the Baineses always died away. with eyes raised from the wool-work. "But what am I going to DO?""That must be considered. and then said to Constance.Mr."I suppose you and mother have been talking me over finely to- day?" Sophia burst forth.

 Mr. and Constance herself was calmly stitching again. why did you saddle yourself with a witness? Why did you so positively say that you intended to have an answer?"Really. bedridden draper in an insignificant town. and the tea-urn. At Bleakridge it had to stop for the turnpike.."My tooth doesn't hurt me. mother. Nothing happened. The experience of being Sophia's mother for nearly sixteen years had not been lost on Mrs. no one can make you. she hesitated and crept down again. Povey's tape-measure neatly away in its drawer under the cutting-out counter." said Sophia magnificently one night to simple Constance.

 Constance was therefore destined to be present at the happening. fitting close to the head. and so into the bedroom corridor." said Miss Chetwynd.But Mr." Her voice rose; it was noisy. In a moment a hurricane of emotion overwhelmed her. as usual. and the youthful. Povey had accepted; he was now on their hands. at the ample matron and the slender virgin. had discovered the Indispensable in the cutting-out room. Povey's tongue made a careful voyage of inspection all round the right side of his mouth. I have never FORCED her . splendidly blind devotion.