The Man Who Laughs

The passers-by, who have their own way of appreciating clever people, used to say: He is an idiot.

To speak out aloud when alone is as it were to have a dialogue with the divinity which is within.

Just then Gwynplaine, stricken by a sudden emotion, felt the sobs rising in his throat, causing him, most unfortunately, to burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.