I 'd Banting you , and fit you to run without puffing , and get on without four or five meals a day . What an absurd hand that is for a man ! You ought to be ashamed of it ! ' And Mrs Jo caught up the plump fist , with deep dimples at each knuckle , which was fumbling distressfully at the buckle of the belt girt about a waist far too large for a youth of his age . ' I ca n't help it -- we all grow fat ; it 's in the family , ' said Stuffy in self-defence . ` All the more reason you should live carefully . Do you want to die early , or be an invalid all your life ? ' ` No , ma'am ! ' Stuffy looked so scared that Mrs Jo could not be hard upon his budding sins , for they lay at his overindulgent mother 's door line in a great measure ; so she softened the tone of her voice , and added , with a little slap on the fat hand , as she used to do when it was small enough to pilfer lumps of sugar from her bowl : ` Then be careful ; for a man writes his character in his face ; and you do n't want gluttony and intemperance in yours , I know . ' ` I 'm sure I do n't ! Please make out a wholesome bill of fare , and I 'll stick to it , if I can . I am getting stout , and I do n't like it ; and my liver 's torpid , and I have palpitations and headache . Overwork , mother says ; but it may be overeating . ' And Stuffy gave a sigh of mingled regret for the good things he renounced , and relief as he finished loosening his belt as soon as his hand was free . ' I will ; follow it , and in a year you 'll be a man and not a meal-bag . Now , Dolly ' ; and Mrs Jo turned to the other culprit , who shook in his shoes and wished he had n't come . ` Are you studying French as industriously as you were last winter ? ' ` No ma'am ; I do n't care for it -- that is , I , I 'm busy with G-Greek just now , ' answered Dolly , beginning bravely , quite in the dark as to what that odd question meant till a sudden memory made him stutter and look at his shoes with deep interest . ` Oh , he does n't study it ; only reads French novels and goes to the theatre when the opera bouffe is here , ' said Stuffy , innocently confirming Mrs Jo 's suspicions . ` So I understood ; and that is what I want to speak about .
Ted had a sudden desire to learn XXXXX in that way , from something you said , Dolly ; so I went myself , and was quite satisfied that it was no place for a decent boy .
Banting Dolly French Jo Overwork dimples gluttony palpitations stutter year