and give me the little
one in his napkin. We will see what the napkin weighs afterwards."

At this moment, however, the customary morning invasion took place. The
other four children, who were beginning to know how to dress themselves,
the elder ones helping the younger, and Zoe lending a hand at times,
darted in at a gallop, like frolicsome escaped colts. Having
thrown themselves on papa's neck and rushed upon mamma's bed to say
good-morning, the boys stopped short, full of admiration and interest
at the sight of Gervais in the scales. Rose, however, still rather
uncertain on her legs, caught hold of the scales in her impatient
efforts to climb upon the bed, and almost toppled everything over. "I
want to see! I want to see!" she cried in her shrill voice.

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.
Propped up by two pillows, she laughingly offered her breast to the
child, who was already protruding his lips and groping with his hands.
And when he found what he wanted he eagerly began to suck.

Mathieu, seeing that both mother and babe were steeped in sunshine, then
went to draw one of the curtains, but Marianne exclaimed: "No, no, leave
us the sun; it doesn't inconvenience us at all, it fills our veins with
sprin