The Later Life

did so, he gazed into the wardrobe-glass, in which he could just see himself from his pillow. A smile began to flicker about his curly moustache; his blue eyes lit up with merriment. The

h laughter. "Addie, are you up?.

the two rooms ope

and straw hats, gloves and a stick in their hands ... and the rest ... the rest was stark naked. The ladies wore lovely blouses, magnificent hats, parasols ... and that was all!... And there was nothing in it, Addie, really there was nothing in it; it was all quite natural, quite proper, quite fashiona

ole bed shook, the sheets rose and fell; he was red in the face, as if on the verge of chok

it ... you never ... you never saw

ne peculiarity, that he could not laugh outright, but, shaken with internal merriment, would laugh in his stomach without uttering a sound; and he now sat on the edge of his father's bed, rocking with silent laughter as the bed rocked under him. He tried not to look at hi

ou as funny?" asked Van der Welcke, hea

ame still merrier at the sight of his poor boy's silent throes, his noiseless stomach-laugh, until his own

ttle relieved by his internal paroxysms, the

despair that he could no

r," said Van der Welcke, "

s very sever

o! That'll never do.... i

tent upon Van der Welcke's easily tickled nerves that

passage, knocking at all the do

up, Maste

Addie. "Wai

t to t

t is

from the mistres

er

legram, shut t

?" asked Va

, from Paris: 'J

elcke gre

ushing abroad like that?... One'd think we were wel

that mevrouw was out of town

ght.... Can you meet

ix.... Then we'll have din

I think I'd better

her, don't

crossly, "don't bother me.

r Mamma peacefully and we all have dinner together, then things'll come right of themselves

... Ru

bout! And you just come home to dinn

don't look out, you'll b

n't mind me, st

're offended

ome, of course; but, if you pr

ng out his hands with a comical gesture of resign

k you. But I must be

and you'd better f

shed, shaking with his painful stomach-laugh, whil

ugh!" thou