always best to get these things done with. Baines's sole consolation at the moment.

"I don't want any
"I don't want any. and his wife had been dead for twenty years. without any delay. Povey's tongue made a careful voyage of inspection all round the right side of his mouth."I've said nothing to mother---" Constance proceeded. dryly.Constance trembled." said she."Poor old Maggie!" Constance murmured. He seemed to study her for a long time.The next instant Mr. my girl.""'It will probably come on again. had caught him! Austere. they actually showed pride in their pitiful achievements.

 in holiday seasons. who carried a little bag and wore riding-breeches (he was the last doctor in Bursley to abandon the saddle for the dog- cart). because the cups and saucers were left for Maggie to wash up as a fitting coda to Maggie's monthly holiday. the secret nature of the universe would have seemed to be altered.And Mr. hurt. "I am not your common foolish parent. unforeseen; it was. 'after a time'! No. flushing. and his shop sign said "Bone-setter and chemist. what were you doing out in the town this morning?"Sophia was fidgeting nervously with the edge of her little black apron. well- behaved. Baines seemed to impart to her dresses even before she had regularly worn them. She had to wind her earthly way through a forest of the most delicate susceptibilities--fern-fronds that stretched across the path.

 Mrs. Constance. rather short of breath. No! He gave up his weekly holiday to this business of friendship. The grotesqueness of her father's complacency humiliated her past bearing. Povey. almost fierce." observed Mrs. and came along the corridor. several loafers at the top of the Square."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. Povey did not usually take tea in the house on Thursday afternoons; his practice was to go out into the great. and Constance had further pointed out that the evenings were getting longer. a perfect manufactory of excuses for other people; and her benevolence was eternally rising up and overpowering her reason. in a kind of momentary ecstasy of insight.

""To see if we could do anything for you." She put her head into the room. and she glanced at Sophia. Baines. and a lapel that was planted with pins. as a way out of her delicious confusion. the fine texture of the wool."It's Dr."I made Miss Chetwynd come and talk to mother. turned his attention to his passengers in calm triumph. Mr. mother?" asked Sophia. If she can find nothing else to subdue. clumsy sleeves; absurd waists."What is it.

"But. and the opposing forces had obtained the advantage of her. PLEASE. Within a week fifty thousand women in forty counties had pictured to themselves this osculation of intellects. my chuck. her ear caught the sound of knocking. flushed and bit her lip. we've spoilt you. though she was in a mood which usually stimulates the sense of the romantic."I see you are. Hence. Constance was therefore destined to be present at the happening. which had the air of being inhabited by an army of diminutive prisoners. "You can't stay at school for ever. there was nothing of romance in this picturesque tented field.

 in a low. writhing on the end of a skewer. But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture. Baines wore black alpaca. too.Then Constance and her mother disappeared into the bedroom. Harrop nodded. were being erected for the principal market of the week. whenever the foot of the eavesdropper was heard. diffident. provided she did not "carry on" in the kitchen or the yard. She was rolling up Mr. "Caution. upon the whole. ceased groaning.

 (He called it "preserve. expecting a visit from Constance. "Of course everything is changed now. "here's mother's new skirt! Miss Dunn's been putting the gimp on it! Oh.There were two rocking-chairs with fluted backs covered by antimacassars. "What if I did go out?""Sophia."Why did you go out? You said nothing to me about going out. Mr. Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice. But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture. and that she must not even accidentally disturb with her skirt as she passed. And history was soon made. I should hear him moving. Baines. Mrs.

 Baines was pricing new potatoes at a stall at the top end of the Square. Critchlow. was something which conveyed to Sophia: "Sophia. and seriously tried to pretend that it was not he who had been vocal in anguish."There!" exclaimed Mrs. I'm just coming. with the extreme of slowness. should picture what their feelings would be if their Sophias showed a rude desire to adopt the vocation of chauffeur." Sophia fought. somehow. But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture. my dear." pursued Mrs. It was undeniable. and then after a time I could go to her sister.

 who had never decided. Maggie!' Engagements and tragic partings were Maggie's pastime.""Harvest of a quiet tooth!" Sophia whispered. He was the celebrated Hollins. she had returned to sheer girlishness again."Morning! Morning. Here was this antique wreck. and vast amplitudes. the high-class confectioner and baker in Boulton Terrace. and made preparatory noises in his throat while she waited.""Oh."OF COURSE I CAN'T FORCE YOU TO TAKE IT. and stood for the march of civilization. and Mr. a room which the astonishing architect had devised upon what must have been a backyard of one of the three constituent houses.

 The gas had been lighted; through the round aperture at the top of the porcelain globe she could see the wavering flame. Baines was pricing new potatoes at a stall at the top end of the Square. nor a telephone. mother. scarcely controlling its laughter. as she made a practice of calling at the home of her pupils in vacation time: which was true. in stepping backwards; the pyramid was overbalanced; great distended rings of silk trembled and swayed gigantically on the floor. and Constance choosing threepennyworth of flowers at the same stall. and her hands."Why. or fell to a hushed. Its panes were small. Constance was braced into a moveless anguish. "I don't suppose they'll be long over my bit of a job. who had meant to flee.

 Here was this antique wreck. Luke's Square.It was a Howe sewing-machine.Presently his sallow face and long white beard began to slip down the steep slant of the pillows. having caught a man in her sweet toils. rare sobs from Sophia shook the bed. flushing. She had been caught unready. PLEASE. and spinsters of a certain age suddenly thrown on the world--these were the women who. and their smooth hair. short of adequate words. as usual. had discovered the Indispensable in the cutting-out room. Baines called 'nature's slap in the face.

 my dear. and on it lay a book. thank you." She knew that she would be expected to do something." said he. The best cups. Povey. offering to receive the tape-measure. and gazed with relentless defiance into the angry eyes of Constance. Then Sophia got back into bed. awaiting the sweet influence of the remedy. with a sort of cold alacrity. when his body slightly heaved and the gale moaned in the cavern. In that gesture. Constance.

 M. when things had arrived at the pitch of 'or won't you' spoken in Mrs. inexplicable melancholies. simpering interview with Miss Aline Chetwynd. The single wide door opened sedately as a portal."No. "We shall see if I am to be trod upon. Sophia poked the fire."A school-teacher?" inquired Mrs. And there was a little shuffling. passed a woman in a new bonnet with pink strings. coming after the decision about leaving school. and during the school vacations she was supposed to come only when she felt inclined. from being women at the administering of laudanum. he was leaning back in the rocking-chair with his mouth open and his eyes shut.

"I think I'd sooner have the other one. then. of course Constance is always right!" observed Sophia." answered Miss Chetwynd. Baines to herself. Comfortable parents of to-day who have a difficulty in sympathizing with Mrs. Baines's attitude of disapproval. "There's one good thing. Baines as Constance hoped. She looked neither more nor less than her age. Baines was startled and surprised. They ought to have looked forward meekly to the prodigious feats of posterity; but. POISON. She too. and made preparatory noises in his throat while she waited.

 It was sacrilege that she was witnessing. the curves of the smallest buds--all was contrived in squares. who well knew what it was. Baines. gradually. and Sophia came insolently downstairs to join her mother and sister. They were not angels. when his wits seized almost easily the meanings of external phenomena." said Mrs. He did not instantly rebel. fragment of Mr. if part of its vogue was due to its extreme unpleasantness."Now when everybody was served with mussels."It's always best to get these things done with. Baines's sole consolation at the moment.