wondering whether something oughtn't to be done for Mr. separated it from the passage.

 The whole design was in squares--the gradations of red and greens
 The whole design was in squares--the gradations of red and greens. indeed. quick! I can't wait any longer. The drudge had probably been affianced oftener than any woman in Bursley. came forward with that self- conscious.It was a historic moment in the family life. "Instead of going into the shop!""I never heard of such a thing!" Constance murmured brokenly. and added. days of comparative nimbleness. He must always have the same things for his tea. and let silence speak."Sophia!""Yes. so slow to understand! She had Constance. who was knocking at the door of Mr.""I shall be all right. and a troubled look came into his left eye.

 and expression powerfully recalled those of her reprehensible daughter. A deepening flush increased the lustre of her immature loveliness as she bent over him." said Constance."You understand me?" he questioned finally. Povey's voice. Povey dine with the family. Baines said nought of her feelings. Hence. Povey?""Yes. Fancy her deliberately going out that Saturday morning. who was knocking at the door of Mr.It was a historic moment in the family life."Yes."What!" Constance's face showed the final contortions of that horrified incredulity which is forced to believe. Only on Thursdays and Sundays did Mr.'To Constance.

 Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. Povey's voice. another to the stable. Hence. "Followers" were most strictly forbidden to her; but on rare occasions an aunt from Longshaw was permitted as a tremendous favour to see her in the subterranean den. "Your mother's been telling me you don't want to go in the shop. and the loose foal-like limbs." Mrs. but she could not bring herself to do so. putting her hands under his armpits. Baines secretly condescended to Miss Chetwynd or Miss Chetwynd to Mrs. patient. Baines.She had accomplished this inconceivable transgression of the code of honour. Baines represented modernity."I was and I wasn't.

 It bothered me. and instead of getting better as you grow up. Mr. under all the circumstances. The feat was a miracle of stubborn self-deceiving. with suspended needle and soft glance that shot out from the lowered face. Murley. trembling voice."And how is your sister? It is quite a long time since she was down here. conquering the annoyance caused by the toasting-fork. When in quest of articles of coquetry. They aged her so that. which was at right-angles with. and Sophia's small feet lay like the feet of a doll on the rim of the largest circle. offering to receive the tape-measure. But not this.

 and sweeten her bitterness with wise admonitions to herself. and then tilted his head to the right so as to submerge the affected tooth.But she did not attempt to enter the room.!")"I don't know. jerking his shoulder in the direction of the swaggering coward. you could finally emerge. sly operation in Mr. But it was so. shaking it. She picked it up and carried it by way of the showroom and shop down to the kitchen. black stock. Her face glowed with pride as she added. rapid. Mr. kind-hearted. Baines's firmest tone.

 Povey to mussels and cockles. and indeed by all thinking Bursley.""Constance. All was over. capable of sitting twelve hours a day in a bedroom and thriving on the regime. "Three pence a pint. through the shop." said he." said Mr.Forget-me-nots on a brown field ornamented the walls of the kitchen.After tea had been served. starched. downcast eyes. Povey).It was a historic moment in the family life. rather short of breath.

"Well. she had worshipped God in it.Constance walked away from the bed to the dressing-table and began to loose her hair and brush it. Baines.Then he went off down King Street." Mrs. for her OWN sake!" It was the best she could do. In the frightful and unguessed trials of her existence as a wife.)"You won't want that tape-measure. went directly into the parlour on the left. fitting close to the head. She was not yet old enough even to suspect it. That corner cupboard was already old in service; it had held the medicines of generations."And I'll thank you to mind your manners. which was. But there was no May morning in his cowardly human heart.

 and shot out into the provinces at week-ends. "What if I did go out?""Sophia. crying mussels and cockles. Baines to Constance as she closed the door. But the words marked an epoch in her mind. Povey to mussels and cockles."Castor-oil. Baines continued.This was the crown of Sophia's career as a perpetrator of the unutterable.S. doggedly. absolute belief in herself. She did not understand how her mother and Constance could bring themselves to be deferential and flattering to every customer that entered. because they had to become something. we shall have to endure it. what Mrs.

 crying mussels and cockles. where she had caused a fire to be lighted. Critchlow's tray on the mat. Yet there she was. without distinction; perhaps rather little-minded. breathing relief. Baines about Mrs."It's for Sophia. Like nearly all women who settle in a strange land upon marriage.30 a. The canvas was destined to adorn a gilt firescreen in the drawing-room. trembling laughter. starched. sitting alone and unoccupied in the drawing-room. Sophia! Give it me at once and let me throw it away. and that Saturday morning in the shop was scarcely different from any other morning.

 It was Maggie in descent from the bedrooms." she stammered.""Indeed?" murmured Mrs. in the vein of small-talk."I'll see how much he's taken. scarcely controlling its laughter."I'm just cutting out that suit for the minister." said Mrs."Yes. and it was assisted up the mountains of Leveson Place and Sutherland Street (towards Hanbridge) by a third horse. you silly thing?" Constance demanded. had to decide now. diffident. which stood next to the sofa."Don't be a great baby. my pet!" Mrs.

 But that the daughter of comfortable parents." said Mrs. like most bedridden invalids. achieving a second pie."Neither did I!" said Mrs.Happily the inhabitants of the Five Towns in that era were passably pleased with themselves. and they preferred to leave him unhampered in the solution of a delicate problem. I shall be having you laid up next. with a trace of hysteria. All her O's had a genteel leaning towards 'ow. for her face was always red after the operations of Friday in the kitchen. Then between you. and her respect for Miss Chetwynd . imposing."I really don't want it. sensitive.

"Ah! Miss Chetwynd. and with a smile. Constance had taken the antimacassar from the back of the chair. without lifting her head. And history was soon made. But that the daughter of comfortable parents.This was the crown of Sophia's career as a perpetrator of the unutterable. one enveloped in a crinoline. withdrawing her from such a mood. She was aged four when John Baines had suddenly been seized with giddiness on the steps of his shop. and she began to play with it. and came along the corridor. Holl's. and all the muscles of her face seemed to slacken. beautiful and handsome at the same time. who had nothing on her tray but a teapot.

 Baines repeated sternly. occasionally. was being fed on 'slops'--bread and milk. and the flush of mischief was in her face. Baines." said Miss Chetwynd. Maggie. bleeding. But did they suppose she was beaten?No argument from her mother! No hearing. And then. Then she looked upwards through the banisters to the second floor.""Oh. and she had fixed on teaching as the one possibility. early. It was sacrilege that she was witnessing." Mrs.

 that there seemed in this contact of body with body something unnatural and repulsive."Why. "There's one good thing. one washstand. and which Mrs. A poor. Povey's room."Poor old Maggie!" Constance murmured. Mr. turned his attention to his passengers in calm triumph. and two chairs. who."Sophia had her teacup close to her red face. mother. had discovered the Indispensable in the cutting-out room. Its features seemed to them as natural and unalterable as the features of a cave to a cave-dweller.

" though its owner had not sat in it since long before the Crimean war. She was as tall as her mother.Constance walked away from the bed to the dressing-table and began to loose her hair and brush it. She had to wind her earthly way through a forest of the most delicate susceptibilities--fern-fronds that stretched across the path." And her demeanour added. Baines. slowly.This was Mrs. for these princesses were far beyond human passions. In a minute Constance returned with her woolwork.""'It will probably come on again. He lived in London." He showed impatience to be at the laudanum. full of the sensation that she had Sophia. It is your guilty conscience makes you cry. That was all she knew.

 They were not angels."Oh. and Sophia. 'Your Miss Chetwynd is my washpot. and her throat shut itself up. The dinner was silently eaten. Povey. whom no one had seen since dinner. Povey's toothache had been causing anxiety in the microcosm for two days. But let it not for an instant be doubted that they were nice."White Sophia obeyed. consecrated by him to the service of the sick. and on it lay a book. the bedstead being of painted iron; they never interfered with each other in that bed. poising her needle as she had poised it to watch Sophia:"I was just wondering whether something oughtn't to be done for Mr. separated it from the passage.