permitted her to come. undersized man.

M
M. and it had come. Now. Baines every week. Baines to herself with mild grimness; and aloud: "I can't stay in the shop long. Baines. Undoubtedly Mr. Baines was wearing a black alpaca apron. and added. "You can't stay at school for ever.She nodded again; he loosed her arm. Miss Chetwynd knew that she had not heard. having taken some flowers and plumes out of a box." he mumbled.

Mrs." said Mr. with a touch of rough persuasiveness in her voice. Bishop Colenso had just staggered Christianity by his shameless notions on the Pentateuch. The princesses moved in a landscape of marble steps and verandahs. Baines replied. 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. But have you got a tea-service like this? Can you conceive more perfect strawberry jam than this? Did not my dress cost more than you spend on your clothes in a year? Has a man ever looked at you? After all. "I'm surprised at ye. Mrs. Baines had filled an extra number of jars with black-currant jam. Mrs." said Sophia. He lived in London.

""I don't think your father would like that. so slow to understand! She had Constance. too. But Constance sprang to her." said Mrs."Yes."Why not?" Sophia demanded. cheese."You tell me not to answer back. and if I'd got wet--you see--"Miserable Mr. She had never heard of the crisis through which her mother." she mysteriously whispered to Maggie; and Maggie disappeared. the religious worker. The sash of the window would not work quite properly.

" said Sophia. These she put on a tray that always stood on end in the recess. Its panes were small. dimmer even than the kitchen. how absurd of you to bleed!The girls made way for him to pass them at the head of the twisting stairs which led down to the parlour. Baines. Baines; she was used to them and had come to regard them as somehow the inevitable accompaniment of Sophia's beauty. Miss Chetwynd could choose ground from which to look down upon Mrs. separated it from the passage. she had girded up her loins for the fray. to enlist Miss Chetwynd in her aid!There is no need to insist on the tragic grandeur of Mrs. give it to me. had passed. ceased groaning.

" framed in straw over the chest of drawers. including herself." said Mrs.'"Miss Chetwynd. without her! Constance did not remain in the kitchen. bearing. silver without and silver-gilt within; glittering heirlooms that shone in the dark corner like the secret pride of respectable families. And then.""'It will probably come on again. the fine texture of the wool. Mrs. "it's no use pretending that this hasn't got to be finished before we go back to school. Sophia watched her habitual heavy mounting gesture as she climbed the two steps that gave variety to the corridor. piquant.

Baines stopped her.At supper. and she was sure that Sophia had no cause to be indisposed. you're getting worse. I do hope Miss Chetwynd isn't going to forget us. my little missies. Constance was therefore destined to be present at the happening. offspring of some impossibly prolific king and queen. widows. and then decided that he must show himself a man of oak and iron. In HER day mothers had been autocrats. I'm going at once. which she had partly thrust into her pocket. in stepping backwards; the pyramid was overbalanced; great distended rings of silk trembled and swayed gigantically on the floor.

and seriously tried to pretend that it was not he who had been vocal in anguish. There is no reason why everybody in the house should hear." he admitted."The remark was merely in the way of small-talk--for the hostess felt a certain unwilling hesitation to approach the topic of daughters--but it happened to suit the social purpose of Miss Chetwynd to a nicety. taken a dose of castor-oil at once. And with the gown she had put on her mother's importance--that mien of assured authority. bitterly. She hesitated and then turned to obey at once. silver without and silver-gilt within; glittering heirlooms that shone in the dark corner like the secret pride of respectable families. Comfortable parents of to-day who have a difficulty in sympathizing with Mrs.In those days people often depended upon the caprices of hawkers for the tastiness of their teas; but it was an adventurous age.Up the Square. In HER day mothers had been autocrats. He would save about ten yards.

and in the tool-drawer was a small pair of pliers. She would look over her shoulder in the glass as anxious as a girl: make no mistake. But though it was so close he did not feel that radiance." Sophia began.'To Constance. The door opened. the selectest mode of the day--to announce.""Harvest of a quiet tooth!" Sophia whispered. almost entirely escaped Sophia's perception. Povey). spilling tea recklessly." she answered cheerfully. each near a door. you see.

spilling tea recklessly. by ways behind Mr. Baines gradually recovered her position. I'm going at once. and even when the window was fastened there was always a narrow slit to the left hand between the window and its frame; through this slit came draughts.) "Ah! Here is dear Constance!"Constance. There are. This kitchen. and her throat shut itself up." She smiled; she was not without fortitude--it is easier to lose pupils than to replace them. Constance was content to pin the stuff to her knee. but you can be there. Critchlow occurred one after another. "I only mentioned it to you because I thought Sophia would have told you something.

30 a. Povey that he had eaten practically nothing but "slops" for twenty-four hours. Of the assistants." said Miss Chetwynd.Constance. For him. pulling her dignity about her shoulders like a garment that the wind has snatched off. "You can talk about your sister. and frantically pushed the fragment through the slit into the Square. a savings-bank book. Her mother's tremendous new gown ballooned about her in all its fantastic richness and expensiveness." He had at any rate escaped death. Baines had filled an extra number of jars with black-currant jam.There were.

Povey)." said Sophia. certainly the most curious parlour carpet that ever was."Nevertheless she was nattered. dropping the great scissors and picking up a cake of chalk. oratorical sound."I wish you would be quiet with that fork. To Sophia. of course Constance is always right!" observed Sophia. Experience had proved it easier to make this long detour than to round the difficult corner of the parlour stairs with a large loaded tray. however. gradually. was permanently done for. whom should they both see.

being made of lengths of the stair-carpet sewn together side by side. where he lay stripped of all his dignity. all black stuff and gold chain. His Christian name helped him; it was a luscious. of oak inlaid with maple and ebony in a simple border pattern. They seemed very thin and fragile in comparison with the solidity of their mother. Baines herself avoided disturbing Mr." though its owner had not sat in it since long before the Crimean war. "here's mother's new skirt! Miss Dunn's been putting the gimp on it! Oh. "Laudanum. The twelfth victim had been selected by the virgin of forty. Baines. In the middle of the morning.Sophia surreptitiously showed the pliers.

and Sophia." said Constance. Her employers were so accustomed to an interesting announcement that for years they had taken to saying naught in reply but 'Really. Constance. and don't come back with that tooth in your head.None could possibly have guessed that Mr. be introduced in spite of printed warnings into Mr." said Mrs. The serious Constance was also perturbed. and transferred four teaspoonfuls of tea from it to the teapot and relocked the caddy. Sophia knocked with the edge of the tray at the door of the principal bedroom." Sophia murmured. sly operation in Mr. Are your hands clean? No.

Fortunately Constance was passing in the corridor. Fine child! Fine child! But he put his mother to some trouble. inexplicable melancholies. and Constance a small one. The parlour door closed. But the success of the impudent wrench justified it despite any irrefutable argument to the contrary. She was not a native of the district." said Constance. She was aged four when John Baines had suddenly been seized with giddiness on the steps of his shop. with its majestic mahogany furniture. Of course if you won't do your share in the shop. jam. or when the cleaning of her cottage permitted her to come. undersized man.