At this the others likewise wished to meddle, and already stretched out
their little hands, so that it became necessary to turn them out of
doors.
"Now kindly oblige me by going to play outside," said Mathieu. "Take your
hats and remain under the window, so that we may hear you."
Then, in spite of the complaints and leaps of Master Gervais, Marianne
was at last able to obtain his correct weight. And what delight there
was, for he had gained more than seven ounces during the week. After
losing weight during the first three days, like all new-born children, he
was now growing and filling out like a strong, healthy human plant. They
could already picture him walking, sturdy and handsome. His mother,
sitting up in bed, wrapped his swaddling clothes around him with her
deft, nimble hands, jesting the while and answering each of his plaintive
wails.
"Yes, yes, I know, we are very, very hungry. But it is all right; the
soup is on the fire, and will be served to Monsieur smoking hot."
On awakening that morning she had made a real Sunday toilette: her superb
hair was caught up in a huge chignon which disclosed the whiteness of her
neck, and she wore a white flannel lace-trimmed dressing-jacket, which
allowed but a little of her bare arms to be seen.
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