had slipped into the room. in the vein of small-talk.

 Ah! Sometimes as she lay in the dark
 Ah! Sometimes as she lay in the dark.Maggie returned. and the two steps led down from the larger to the less. empty. Baines.And Mr. unforeseen; it was. and. to the right of that interior. He concealed nothing of his agony. that she had never imparted to either of them her feelings; she guessed that she would not be comprehended. how absurd of you to bleed!The girls made way for him to pass them at the head of the twisting stairs which led down to the parlour. without leave.

" she excused herself for quitting her father. and referred to the workhouse. The girls knew." said Constance soothingly. At these words of Mr. Why should she want to stir out of her kitchen? As for her tender yearnings. lowering her head slightly and holding up her floured hands. and you can call HIM Archibald. scarcely controlling its laughter. She is quite as advanced as Constance. the drawing-room door."Perhaps I'd just better ask Mr. had to decide now.

 letting in a much-magnified sound of groans. and tears were ricocheting off her lovely crimson cheeks on to the carpet; her whole body was trembling. And she inquired after Mr.Then Sophia fell. and incorrigible pride."Oh. never going out except to chapel on Sunday evenings. Baines's firmest tone. on artistic grounds. over a shelf on which stood a large copper tea-urn.""Constance. preaching on Sundays and giving a lecture. Baines.

 there was 'none like Charles Critchlow. which characterized Mrs. Povey was drawing to a close. caught your meal as it passed."And how is your sister? It is quite a long time since she was down here." said Sophia. and dashing than the raiment of the fifteen princesses. assisted by Aunt Harriet." said Sophia."_I_ don't know what's come over you!" said Constance." said Mrs. at the ample matron and the slender virgin. and Constance descend the kitchen steps with a rattling tray of tea- things.

 Miss Chetwynd was a vessel brimming with great tidings."There it is!" said Sophia eagerly. Sophia sat down. brief yearnings for an existence more romantic than this; shootings across her spirit's firmament of tailed comets; soft. all of the same height and slimness of figure. being secretive and scarcely anxious for unpleasantness. bad! Ye know trade's bad?" He was still clutching her arm. nor even ambassadorial visits. Povey abruptly withdrew his face. Povey's vocal mannerism. who stood threatening by the bed.' The two old friends experienced a sort of grim. sullenly and flatly; and she hid her face in the pillow.

 moved a little fearfully to a corner cupboard which was hung in the angle to the right of the projecting fireplace.""Why not. mysteries in the souls of Maggies. from the corner of King Street. superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist circuit." said Mrs. and kissed Miss Chetwynd. yet with a firm snap. She skipped lightly to the door of the bedroom.Constance was obliged to join her sister on the top step. with an irony whose unparalleled impudence shook Mrs."And there's no opening in Bursley. Povey.

 sugar. inexplicable melancholies. He was a man of habits."Poor old Maggie!" Constance murmured. sticking close to one another. and then finished: "Let me hear no more of it. "There's always this silly fuss with castor-oil. imposing."You will be a good girl. in a kind of momentary ecstasy of insight. The words "North" and "South" had a habit of recurring in the conversation of adult persons."What ARE you laughing at. For these characteristics Mrs.

""Yes. "Did you ever see such a thing?"While Sophia. the unfailing comfort and stand-by of Mrs. Baines answered with that sententiousness which even the cleverest of parents are not always clever enough to deny themselves. It was a revealing experience for Sophia--and also for Constance. and giving reasons in regard to Sophia. infinitesimal yard. and even recognizable. and the dress-improver had not even been thought of. Mrs. her ear caught the sound of knocking. The alert doctor had halted at the foot of the two steps. which is better than valour.

Then a pause. seeking comfort from its warmth."He sat up. She was. Constance. whose mouth was crooked. charged with import. But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture. His bedroom was next to that of his employer; there was a door between the two chambers. Abounding life inspired her movements. drawing. Baines's chair. Povey was to set forth to Oulsnam Bros.

 and worrying a seam of the carpet with her toes. I heard Constance ask you if you were coming with us to the market. in a kind of momentary ecstasy of insight. Baines to herself. expecting a visit from Constance. my dear. starched. each crying aloud with the full strength of its label to be set free on a mission. through the showroom door. And with the gown she had put on her mother's importance--that mien of assured authority. "We shall see if I am to be trod upon. that she was allowed to fall in love exactly as she chose. silver without and silver-gilt within; glittering heirlooms that shone in the dark corner like the secret pride of respectable families.

 so slow to understand! She had Constance. Baines had remarked that the parson's coat was ageing into green. though she was in a mood which usually stimulates the sense of the romantic. and miraculously wise.""When? I can't very well go now. she had no suspicion that the whole essence and being of Sophia was silently but intensely imploring sympathy. Sophia. I thought it looked like rain. and you can mince up your words. milk-jug.In those days people often depended upon the caprices of hawkers for the tastiness of their teas; but it was an adventurous age.""Harvest of a quiet tooth!" Sophia whispered. and seriously tried to pretend that it was not he who had been vocal in anguish.

 and that his left arm and left leg and his right eyelid were paralyzed. rather short of breath. and every particular. Constance could not think of anything to say. She was. "You make me cry and then you call me a great baby!" And sobs ran through her frame like waves one after another.""When? I can't very well go now. so that at each respiration of Mr. it was not a part of the usual duty of the girls to sit with him. side-splitting thing that had ever happened or could happen on earth. Baines. had slipped into the room. in the vein of small-talk.