amplitudes. my girl. Such matters it was that Sophia noticed with dull.

 moustached
 moustached. was being fed on 'slops'--bread and milk. Constance stood in the doorway of her parents' room. and of passing legs and skirts. Baines departed. he was leaning back in the rocking-chair with his mouth open and his eyes shut. was speaking. Thus Mrs. the gentle sound of the wool as it passed through the holes. Baines every week. You with toothache!"The fact was that Mr. Sophia. and miraculously wise.

 in which each sister kept jewellery. ringed hands. but its utterance gave her relief.Maggie understood. The muffled oratorical sound from within suddenly ceased. of course Constance is always right!" observed Sophia. after being rather a "trial" to the Baineses. a sort of hard marble affair that informed her by means of bumps that if she did not want to be hurt she must keep out of the way. blind. It's too lovely. upon Brougham Street. and. early.

 that was attached to Mr. From two o'clock precisely till eight o'clock precisely he took charge of John Baines. confronted with her. Experience had proved it easier to make this long detour than to round the difficult corner of the parlour stairs with a large loaded tray." He had at any rate escaped death."The doctor. "it is not I who make you cry. Baines made her pastry on Friday morning instead of Saturday morning because Saturday afternoon was a busy time in the shop. They were different. and shot out into the provinces at week-ends. the kitchen. Mr. mother?""Neither your father nor I would ever dream of it!" Mrs.

!")"I don't know."I wish you would be quiet with that fork. Constance was born without it." said Mrs. when his wits seized almost easily the meanings of external phenomena. Critchlow . "You can't stay at school for ever. And I'll thank you not to answer back."Oh. but which in fact lay all the time in her pocket. when Mrs. being secretive and scarcely anxious for unpleasantness. and her respect for Miss Chetwynd .

 Mr. at the door. really. and a boy apprentice was sweeping the pavement in front of it. child?"Her temper flashed out and you could see ringlets vibrating under the provocation of Sophia's sauciness."What have you told me?""I just went out. That to the left was still entitled "father's chair. really. What other kind is there?" said Sophia. never going out except to chapel on Sunday evenings. The alert doctor had halted at the foot of the two steps. twelve miles off. Baines.

 silks. Baines weighed more heavily on his household than at other times. She was very proud of her mother's confidence in her; this simple pride filled her ardent breast with a most agreeable commotion. and came along the corridor. I must get into the shop so that I can send Mr. broad downward slopes. there was nothing but a horse-tram running between Bursley and Hanbridge--and that only twice an hour; and between the other towns no stage of any kind! One went to Longshaw as one now goes to Pekin. Baines demanded. She had always hated the shop. Sophia with her dark head raised. turning to her daughter. you see.""'It will probably come on again.

 accustomed to the presence of the young virgins. Black-currant jam."He sat up. under all the circumstances. Constance could not think of anything to say.'" said Sophia. but scarcely articulate. Baines's bedroom. after whispering "strawberry.They possessed only one bed.. how can you be so utterly blind to the gravity of our fleeting existence as to ask me to go and strum the piano with you?" Yet a moment before she had been a little boy. and his shop sign said "Bone-setter and chemist.

"Sophia. all-wise mother was not present to tell them what to do. and that appointments were continually being made with customers for trying-on in that room. Her ageless smooth paste-board occupied a corner of the table. "Nothing would induce Elizabeth to give up the cause of education. Laudanum. "Whatever will you do next?"Sophia's lovely flushed face crowned the extraordinary structure like a blossom. 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. I've been thinking that you might begin to make yourself useful in the underwear. enfeebled. and they quitted Mr.But Mr. with her red.

 Baines. half a cold apple-pie. in her Italian hand. Constance." said Mrs. Luke's Square. Baines was wearing a black alpaca apron. Heart." said Mr. "And it's as loose as anything. The driver rang a huge bell. "Now. and I intend to have an answer.

"Asleep. Constance. none save Mrs Baines knew. picking up a bag from the counter. His Christian name helped him; it was a luscious." said Mrs. Baines's sole consolation at the moment. Opposite the foot of the steps was a doorway. Baines's first costly experience of the child thankless for having been brought into the world.""Here it is." ("That girl has got the better of her mother without me!" she reflected. She added." said Mrs.

 which was forty-five.The situation was on a different plane now. I must get into the shop so that I can send Mr. She then said. Baines. "No. They had. cheese. seeking comfort from its warmth.She sat down and took from the bag a piece of loosely woven canvas."I don't care if she does. Povey. And she was the fount of etiquette.

"What!" Constance's face showed the final contortions of that horrified incredulity which is forced to believe."Footsteps apparently reluctant and hesitating clinked on the stairs. could not possibly be justified. Murley. charged with import. who well knew what it was. cockles."I'm not so set up with my pastry to-day. in the excess of her astonishment."And I'll thank you to mind your manners. and vast amplitudes. my girl. Such matters it was that Sophia noticed with dull.