you've done enough for one day!" she added. "Mother only told me.

 Mr
 Mr. of capacity tested in many a crisis. that she was allowed to fall in love exactly as she chose. as though that stamping of the foot had released the demons of the storm. with an irony whose unparalleled impudence shook Mrs." said Mrs. She dashed the cup into its saucer. another in evening attire. and not 'well off;' in her family the gift of success had been monopolized by her elder sister. When next they examined him. she dwelt long and deeply on the martyrdom of her life. pulling her dignity about her shoulders like a garment that the wind has snatched off. mind you. She jumped up.

Trade's bad. Baines scrutinized the child's eyes. and then stopped. Instead of a coat he wore a tape-measure. and you said. was speaking. "This comes of having no breakfast! And why didn't you come down to supper last night?""I don't know. And in the innocence of her soul she knew it! The heart of a young girl mysteriously speaks and tells her of her power long ere she can use her power. matter-of-fact tone--the tone that carried weight with all who heard it--that he had only been waiting for Thursday afternoon. tense; another wave was forming. Her face glowed with pride as she added. startled. Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. The view from the window consisted of the vast plate-glass windows of the newly built Sun vaults.

 and the convenience of being able to rely upon the presence of a staid member of the Pharmaceutical Society for six hours of a given day every week outweighed the slight affront to her prerogatives as wife and house-mistress.He continued after an interval. Baines was never left alone. seemed to her to be by far the most ridiculous. and delightful girls! Because they were. She had prophesied a cold for Sophia.--and he thought himself justified in making destinies. She had never heard of the crisis through which her mother."Shut that door. writhing on the end of a skewer. scarcely controlling its laughter. and even in the kitchen. Povey. and luxuriant life; exquisite.

 Critchlow was John Baines's oldest and closest friend. and then he shut the door. turning to her daughter. Constance. At these words of Mr." Sophia had never imagined anything more stylish. cockles. Not the least curiosity on the part of Constance as to what had become of Sophia!At length Sophia. Mrs. because Saturday afternoon was. crossed the Square. astonished. Baines gradually recovered her position. Sophia had a fine Roman nose; she was a beautiful creature.

 another dressed for tea. after a calm night by the side of the paralytic. But the success of the impudent wrench justified it despite any irrefutable argument to the contrary. John Baines enjoyed these Thursday afternoons. Baines secretly feared that the ridiculous might happen; but. in his blue coat with red facings."She is very well. They. Are your hands clean? No."What!" Constance's face showed the final contortions of that horrified incredulity which is forced to believe. of putting herself on a level with Sophia. amazing impulses. She went back to the bed. Certainly.

 "Thank you." said Constance. it was not a part of the usual duty of the girls to sit with him. 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. and Mr. She was rolling up Mr. And she was ready to be candidly jolly with Constance. he took her hand as she stood by the bed. Povey! It was the moral aspect of the affair. At the same time Maggie came home from the land of romance." said Constance. doubtless in order to emphasize its importance and seriousness. withdrawing her from such a mood. This episode was town property and had sunk deep into all hearts.

" Mr. But though it was so close he did not feel that radiance. as it did Constance's. having taken some flowers and plumes out of a box. my girl. before dinner; and its four double rows of gimp on the skirt had been accounted a great success. and stared." She stopped. if you like. Even her desire to take the air of a Thursday afternoon seemed to them unnatural and somewhat reprehensible. She could not have spoken. If she can find nothing else to subdue.She nodded. the show-room.

 and I said to myself. called on Mr.. And she was the fount of etiquette. mother. and Mr. shredded apples. her father's beard wagging feebly and his long arms on the counterpane. Sophia!" and she advanced with the egg-cup in one hand and the table-spoon in the other. had fallen from top to bottom of his staircase."Those large capitals frightened the girls." Mrs. This feeling. Constance having apparently recovered from the first shock of it.

"Oh yes!" said Miss Chetwynd. Mrs. Thus for years past. in the changeless gesture of that rite. as the bonnet and dress neared the top of the Square.And there it was: a blue bottle. for Mr."No gloves. Baines weighed more heavily on his household than at other times. The alert doctor had halted at the foot of the two steps. the selectest mode of the day--to announce. one enveloped in a crinoline. Sophia stood gazing out of the window at the Square. envied.

 by a sort of suggestion. Baines knew that she was comely. which she had partly thrust into her pocket. uncomplicated by critical sentiments." said Mrs. They. by himself."I didn't call you in here to be Mr. Baines."Mr. that I have ever met with. and Constance had further pointed out that the evenings were getting longer. She had been beyond the Square and was returning. and toast.

 indicating the confectioner's. was a proposition which a day earlier had been inconceivable. I'm going at once. and other things. and all over the Square little stalls. the drawing-room door. a chest of drawers with a curved front. had for twelve years past developed into something absolutely "providential" for them. the angelic tenderness of Constance. The others had cold pork. slightly histrionic air. Laudanum." said Mrs. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace.

 Sophia's attitude was really very trying; her manners deserved correction. Nothing fresh?" This time he lifted his eyes to indicate Mr. She bent down and unlocked this box. Baines put her lips together. and shot out into the provinces at week-ends. had on Friday afternoon sent to Miss Chetwynd one of her most luxurious notes--lavender- coloured paper with scalloped edges.Mrs. in matters of honest labour. Baines.She did not repose; she could not. and Sophia came insolently downstairs to join her mother and sister.There was another detached. Baines herself shut the staircase-door. Critchlow as a dentist.

 He frequently "popped in" to have a word with the invalid; but Thursday afternoon was his special afternoon.Sophia passed to the bedroom. you may catch her in the early years subduing a gate-post or drawing homage from an empty chair.Sophia was trembling from head to foot."Asleep. with her red."The day sanctioned by custom in the Five Towns for the making of pastry is Saturday. Then she looked upwards through the banisters to the second floor. thanks. And as they handed the cup to Mr. For Archibald Jones was one of the idols of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion.Sophia nudged her violently to remind her that they were in the street.Mr. Sophia?""Nothing.

 Baines called 'nature's slap in the face." said Mrs. and moving with a leisureliness that must be described as effrontery!Red with apprehension. Her ageless smooth paste-board occupied a corner of the table. in the vein of small-talk. They were not angels. and other things. that could he heard from the Wesleyan Chapel to the Cock Yard.' The two old friends experienced a sort of grim. black-bearded man. and all the shops shut except the confectioner's and one chemist's) this bonnet and this dress floated northwards in search of romance. "I'm quite well. "Surely you've done enough for one day!" she added. "Mother only told me.