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In plain words

The Master got down from the carriage, and M. led the way into the house. As they came through the courtyard among the flowering plants, the Master put his hand to his buttons like a child and asked M., "My shirt is unbuttoned. Will that be wrong?" He wore a long-cloth shirt and a cloth with a red border, its end thrown over his shoulder, and varnished slippers on his feet. M. said: "Don't worry about that, sir. Nothing will be wrong in you. There is no need for you to button it." The Master was set at ease, as a child is once he has been reassured.