You heard breathing--nothing more.
'Now, wait your turn,' commanded Mother in a dreadful voice, 'and let
your Father try on everything first.' And a roar of laughter made the
room echo while Daddy extracted wonder after wonder that were packed
in endless layers one upon another.
Perhaps what would have struck an observer most of all would have been
the strange seriousness against which the comedy was set. The laughter
was incessant, but it was a weighty matter for all that. The bed-
ridden woman, who was sole audience, understood that; the parents
understood it too. Every article of clothing that could be worn meant
a saving, and the economy of a franc was of real importance. The
struggles of _la famille anglaise_ to clothe and feed and educate
themselves were no light affair. The eldest boy, now studying for the
consular service, absorbed a third of their entire income. The
sacrifices involved for his sake affected each one in countless ways.
And for two years now these magic boxes had supplied all his suits and
shirts and boots. The Scotch cousins luckily included a boy of his own
size who had extravagant taste in clothes. A box sometimes held as
many as four excellent suits. Daddy contented himself with one a year
--ordered ready-made from the place they called
Chasbakerinhighholborn.
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