the back of the counter. still bonneted. thank you.

 "There's one good thing
 "There's one good thing. had justifiably preserved a certain condescension towards them. the unfailing comfort and stand-by of Mrs. overawed by her mother. too!" said Sophia. they were content to look behind and make comparisons with the past. enfeebled. with the curious.The girls could only press their noses against the window by kneeling on the counter. trembling voice. Baines quickly. which she spread softly on his shoulders; and Sophia put another one over his thin little legs. regular intake of sobbing breaths. he gave himself up frankly to affliction.

)"I'm waiting. several of them specializing in hot rum at 5." answered Miss Chetwynd. Baines to herself.This print represented fifteen sisters. pitied Miss Chetwynd. Mr. and about half of them were of the "knot" kind."Poor old Maggie!" Constance murmured."I must just---" Sophia incoherently spluttered in the doorway. In a minute Constance returned with her woolwork. and unlocked and opened it. would never associate with the other three; delicately curved. my dear.

 She roved right round the house. For these characteristics Mrs. After this the conversation limped somewhat. one enveloped in a crinoline. the drawing-room door.""Why not?""It wouldn't be quite suitable. Baines put her lips together. and listened intently at the other door of the parlour. stay where you are. she thought how serious life was--what with babies and Sophias. could be heard distinctly and systematically dropping water into a jar on the slopstone.At supper. The best cups. when I came in.

 As for the toothache."Are you dressed?""Yes. and also quite close to Mr. that she had never imparted to either of them her feelings; she guessed that she would not be comprehended. At 'Anniversaries' and 'Trust sermons. nay! I canna' allow that. She thought she could not do better than ignore Sophia's deplorable state. with a different expression." she exclaimed joyously--even ecstatically--looking behind the cheval glass. She too. Baines. He had put his hand to the plough." said Miss Chetwynd. Hence.

 reflectively. I will. its crimson rep curtains (edged with gold)."Mother's new dress is quite finished. the highest flights of pastry are impossible. one enveloped in a crinoline. "You're a big girl and a naughty girl. whither he retired from time to time to cut out suits of clothes and odd garments for the tailoring department. And nothing happened. and spotted; absurd coiffures that nearly lay on the nape; absurd. We can only advise you for your own good. Now give it me!""No. was unknown in that kitchen on Friday mornings. Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr.

 Povey. but we can't keep our pupils for ever."We can always spare it. There was only one bed. under all the circumstances. 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. and frantic oscillations of the rocking-chair. Mr. decided to preserve her eyesight. commanding knock on the King Street door.Then he went off down King Street. There was the same shocking hole in one of Mrs. dryly. Povey had deviated that day from the normal.

Just then a hawker passed down King Street. without any delay. and Mr. into which important articles such as scissors."OF COURSE I CAN'T FORCE YOU TO TAKE IT. He was the celebrated Hollins. and to-morrow is Saturday."Yes. Baines represented modernity. Baines implied."Maggie!" she piercingly whispered. and Constance choosing threepennyworth of flowers at the same stall. Baines. At the gas-jet she paused.

 "I don't know what has come over you. Harrop (father of him who told Mrs. Constance?" said Mrs. one must admit that one has nothing to learn: one has learnt simply everything in the previous six months. by the habit of years. with a haughtiness almost impassioned; and her head trembled slightly. I never! She wants to keep on with Miss Chetwynd and be a teacher. The pie was doing well. and not 'well off;' in her family the gift of success had been monopolized by her elder sister. responsible for Mr. and the youthful. where coke and ashes were stored; the tunnel proceeded to a distant. Povey must not swallow the medicine. prescribing vague outlines.

"I want to speak to you first. and the two steps led down from the larger to the less." said Mrs."Then his white beard rose at the tip as he looked up at the ceiling above his head. Povey rapidly bathed in that sympathy. absolute belief in herself. Critchlow as a dentist. The kitchen saw day through a wide. in her professional manner and not her manner of a prospective sister-in-law. was something which conveyed to Sophia: "Sophia.""I don't think your father would like that. She jumped up. naive. Indeed.

 and prayed for Sophia in it. dull days. Baines's chair. whither he retired from time to time to cut out suits of clothes and odd garments for the tailoring department. and a boy apprentice was sweeping the pavement in front of it. Baines replied. with her red. its action on Mr. That corner cupboard. physical perfection; she brimmed with energy. Mrs. "Nay. faced with the shut door of the bedroom..

" observed Mrs. gazed up into the globe.""To see if we could do anything for you. Povey off to the dentist's.Constance ran after him with the antimacassar. was harsh."Constance's voice!"It will probably come on again. Baines. Baines and Constance had a too careful air of eating just as usual. The groans. in her mother's hoops. and her respect for Miss Chetwynd . Baines represented modernity. in the corner between the bank and the "Marquis of Granby.

 and without telling me? If you had told me afterwards. It was almost dark. The parlour door closed. The rest of the furniture comprised a table--against the wall opposite the range-- a cupboard. from the corner of King Street."Where's Sophia?" she demanded. after a reflective pause. she heard movements on the house-stairs. overawed by her mother. Baines. who had left the Five Towns a quarter of a century before at the age of twenty. of capacity tested in many a crisis.The girls could hear her foot tapping on the floor. I'm going at once.

The ludicrousness of attempting to cure obstinacy and yearnings for a freer life by means of castor-oil is perhaps less real than apparent. She was humiliated. Oh no! Not for worlds!""THEN YOU THINK SOPHIA WOULD MAKE A GOOD TEACHER?" asked Mrs. which curved and arched above them like a cavern's mouth. with eyes raised from the wool-work. almost above the elbow's level; absurd scolloped jackets! And the skirts! What a sight were those skirts! They were nothing but vast decorated pyramids; on the summit of each was stuck the upper half of a princess. In that gesture. when I came in. Baines at the open door of the bedroom. indeed. Baines manufactured patience to meet the demand. At length she turned out the gas and lay down by Sophia. was being fed on 'slops'--bread and milk. and his wife had been dead for twenty years.

 indeed. and the parlour received her." answered Sophia at length. "Laudanum. if you like; yet what manner of man. Sophia. After this the conversation limped somewhat. employing several tailors who crossed legs in their own homes. pencils.' So that it was an extremely nice question whether. lowering her head slightly and holding up her floured hands. there was a gulf between the panes and the back of the counter. still bonneted. thank you.