“While he is lying on the bed, taking an after-dinner nap! A nice husband!”
It is quite true, he is taking an after dinner nap, for he is suffering from anaemia.
At three o’clock the postman rings again; he is expected to answer a letter from Berlin in German, one from Paris in French, and one from London in English.
His wife, who has returned from the tailor’s and refreshed herself with a cognac, asks him whether he feels inclined to make an excursion with the children. No, he has letters to write.
When he has finished his letters, he goes out for a stroll before dinner. He is longing for somebody to talk to. But he is alone. He goes into the garden and looks for the children.
The stout nurse is sitting on a garden seat, reading Mrs. Leffler’s True Women which his wife has lent her. The children are bored, they want to run about or go for a walk.
“Why don’t you take the children for a walk, Louisa?” he asks.
“Mistress said it was too hot.”
His wife’s orders!
He calls to the children and walks with them towards the high road; suddenly he notices that their hands and faces are dirty and their boots in holes.