A Collier's Friday Night

The kitchen or living-room of a working-man's house. At the back
the fireplace, with a large fire burning. On the left, on the oven
side of the stove, a WOMAN of some fifty-five years sits in a
wooden rocking-chair, reading. Behind her and above her, in the
recess made by the fireplace, four shelves of books, the shelf-
covers being of green serge, with woollen ball fringe, and the
books being ill-assorted school books, with an edition of Lessing,
florid in green and gilt, but tarnished. On the left, a window
looking on a garden where the rain is dripping through the first
twilight. Under the window, a sofa, the bed covered with red
chintz. By the side of the window, on the wall near the ceiling, a
quiver clothes-horse is outspread with the cotton articles which
have been ironed, hanging to air. Under the outspread clothes is
the door which communicates with the scullery and with the yard.
On the right side of the fireplace, in the recess equivalent to
that where the bookshelves stand, a long narrow window, and below
it, a low, brown, fixed cupboard, whose top forms a little
sideboard, on which stand a large black enamel box of oil-colours,
and a similar japanned box of water-colours, with Reeve's silver
trade-mark. There is also on the cupboard top a tall glass jar
containing ragged pink chrysanthemums. On the right is a bookcase
upon a chest of drawers. This piece of furniture is of stained
polished wood in imitation of mahogany. The upper case is full of
books, seen through the two flimsy glass doors: a large set of the
World's Famous Literature in dark green at the top--then on the
next shelf prize-books in calf and gold, and imitation soft leather
poetry-books, and a Nuttall's dictionary and Cassell's French,
German and Latin dictionaries. On each side of the bookcase are
prints from water-colours, large, pleasing and well framed in oak.
Between the little brown cupboard and the bookcase, an arm-chair,
small, round, with many little staves; a comfortable chair such as
is seen in many working-class kitchens; it has a red chintz
cushion. There is another Windsor chair on the other side of the
bookcase. Over the mantelpiece, which is high, with brass
candlesticks and two "Coronation" tumblers in enamel, hangs a
picture of Venice, from one of Stead's Christmas Numbers--
nevertheless, satisfactory enough.

The WOMAN in the rocking-chair is dressed in black, and wears a
black sateen apron. She wears spectacles, and is reading The New
Age. Now and again she looks over her paper at a piece of bread
which stands on a hanging bar before the fire, propped up by a
fork, toasting. There is a little pile of toast on a plate on the
boiler hob beside a large saucepan; the kettle and a brown teapot
are occupying the oven-top near the WOMAN. The table is laid for
tea, with four large breakfast-cups in dark-blue willow-pattern,
and plates similar. It is an oval mahogany table, large enough to
seat eight comfortably. The WOMAN sees the piece of bread smoking,
and takes it from the fire. She butters it and places it on the
plate on the hob, after which she looks out of the window, then,
taking her paper, sits down again in her place.

SOMEONE passes the long narrow window, only the head being seen,
then quite close to the large window on the left. There is a noise
as the outer door opens and is shut, then the kitchen door opens,
and a GIRL enters. She is tall and thin, and wears a long grey
coat and a large blue hat, quite plain. After glancing at the
table, she crosses the room, drops her two exercise-books on the
wooden chair by the bookcase, saying: