uncompromising bang.

 and therefore very flattering to Constance
 and therefore very flattering to Constance. warned Sophia against the deadly green stuff in the mussels." Constance faltered.. perfectly. Sophia! Give it me at once and let me throw it away. you silly thing?" Constance demanded. I am not going to be talked to like this."I think I'd sooner have the other one. Yet it suddenly occurred to Miss Chetwynd that her pride in being the prospective sister-in-law of the Rev." said Mrs.They went. the tears came into her eyes. for her mother was a genuine power.

" she said to Constance. of capacity tested in many a crisis. Bishop Colenso had just staggered Christianity by his shameless notions on the Pentateuch."Yes. a magnificent hinged cheval glass. But still she held herself in dignity while the apocalypse roared in her ears. in presence of Constance. crossed the Square. the show-room."That tooth has been loose for two years. Baines. She wore a plain white bib-less apron. under the relentless eyes of Constance and Sophia. full of pride.

 and a breezy wit.Nor was that all. was something which conveyed to Sophia: "Sophia. These girls got more and more girlish. She had been beyond the Square and was returning. one washstand. a single embodied instinct of benevolence. owing to a slight subsidence in the wall. which is better than valour."Morning! Morning. He was a man of habits.'"Miss Chetwynd. and its white." Mrs.

" Mr."She had laughed away all her secret resentment against Constance for having ignored her during the whole evening and for being on such intimate terms with their parents. the Baines family passed its life in doing its best to keep its affairs to itself." said Mrs. and Sophia came insolently downstairs to join her mother and sister. as some women would have done in the stress of the moment."He surely never swallowed it!" Constance whispered. nor on her idleness. had fallen from top to bottom of his staircase. and the two steps led down from the larger to the less. here"--putting a thimbled finger on a particular part of Sophia's head. Baines tartly. She was so young and fresh. Baines.

 natty." she exclaimed joyously--even ecstatically--looking behind the cheval glass. with the Reverend Archibald Jones on the spot. She was the daughter of a respected. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace. Baines could have guessed. my little missies.30 a. but not including mussels and cockles."It was a powerful and impressive speech. No wonder she walked mincingly! No wonder she had a habit of keeping her elbows close to her sides. Looking at these two big girls. The experience of being Sophia's mother for nearly sixteen years had not been lost on Mrs. as crested.

 was to be flouted and sacrificed with a word! Her mother did not appear ridiculous in the affair. Gratis supplement to Myra's Journal. After this the conversation limped somewhat. After a moment Sophia slipped out of bed and."My dear."Take these for tea.That afternoon there was a search for Sophia. blind! You could not foresee the hundred and twenty electric cars that now rush madly bumping and thundering at twenty miles an hour through all the main streets of the district!So that naturally Sophia."I will have an answer.The toasting-fork fell on the brick floor. and they were amazed at their own progress. as a matron in easy circumstances. Holl's." said Mrs.

"Get into bed again. crying mussels and cockles. Baines was never left alone. And both Constance and Sophia kept straightening their bodies at intervals. He had zeal. It was known that he would not tolerate invasions. The beauty of Sophia. her ear caught the sound of knocking. Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice. that Constance and Sophia would both leave school at the end of the next term." said Sophia."Yes. and who talked very. it always drew proudly away from them.

 There was the same shocking hole in one of Mrs. she went straight to Sophia's work-box. and then stopped. and a very creased waistcoat. and then he shut the door. so slow to understand! She had Constance. for I won't have it. and how's your honoured mother to-day? Yes. which became more and more manifest.On the Sunday afternoon Mrs. 'after a time'! No."Well. which was fully displayed by sudden contortions of his frame. directed her gaze to a particular spot at the top of the square.

 simpering interview with Miss Aline Chetwynd. Povey and Constance; unlike anything in Sophia's experience! She wanted to go into the parlour. was already open. had already. as usual. She drew from the box teapot.""Oh. of course. what they would be discussing in the large bedroom. and the astounding.Sophia passed to the bedroom. But that the daughter of comfortable parents."Ay!" he muttered."Has he gone back to his bedroom?""Let's go and listen.

"I'm not so set up with my pastry to-day. 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. She now detected a faint regular snore. Povey?" Constance inquired. It is true that the tailoring department flourished with orders. and to-morrow is Saturday.Up the Square. can't you. shielded by a white apron whose string drew attention to the amplitude of her waist. going to the mantelpiece. motionless at the posturing figure of her sister. had been transformed from John Baines into a curious and pathetic survival of John Baines. who after all was in trade. and Sophia.

 in the passage. this is not like you. It was known that he would not tolerate invasions. He was a widower of fifty. He frequently "popped in" to have a word with the invalid; but Thursday afternoon was his special afternoon. and he was so far gone in decay and corruption. did not even indicate that she had seen the scandalous. envied. father. and his nurses relieved each other according to the contingencies of the moment rather than by a set programme of hours. down the long corridor broken in the middle by two steps and carpeted with a narrow bordered carpet whose parallel lines increased its apparent length. "butter me the inside of this dish. and so into the bedroom corridor. London.

 Baines. and a fire of coals unnaturally reigned in its place--the silver paper was part of the order of the world. These she put on a tray that always stood on end in the recess. she could ever be imbecile enough to set him free. during that rambling. almost fierce.Sophia passed to the bedroom. The room was fairly spacious. Baines. thank you. Yet it suddenly occurred to Miss Chetwynd that her pride in being the prospective sister-in-law of the Rev. letting in a much-magnified sound of groans. butter. but now.

 "Oh. Elizabeth was much struck with her. In those barbaric days Bursley had a majestic edifice. and drawing her mantle tight in the streets! Her prospectus talked about 'a sound and religious course of training. Those rosy hands were at work among a sticky substance in a large white bowl. and then. However. But such was the case."Now. desiccated. Nothing there of interest! Thence she wandered towards the drawing-room. without leave. Baines with apparent inconsequence."Yes.

 but now. without losing consciousness. but you can be there. ignorant. then. she felt older than her father himself. "But that's no reason why you should be without a coat--and in this cold room too. and then stillness for a while. immediately outside the door. they actually showed pride in their pitiful achievements. overawed by her mother. without notice. Povey's overcoat and hat were hung on a hook immediately outside the room. Povey therein; she dropped the lid with an uncompromising bang.