rs, and once
or twice his impatience went so far that he asked his wife, "Why does
Matilda wear such expensive dresses?"

And the good lady thoroughly satisfied the anxious pater-familias. In
the first place, she said, the material of the dresses was not very
expensive, after all; it was made to look like _moire_, but it was only
watered taffety. In the second place, Matilda did not buy them at the
original price, but got them from the prima donna for next to nothing,
after she had worn them once or twice; the things were as good as given
away. It was a common practice at the theatre, she said.

Mr. Meyer found that he was learning a great deal he had not known
before. But he considered it all quite natural.

From henceforth the whole family did their best to keep him in a good
humour. They consulted his wishes, inquired after his tastes, and were
always asking if there was anything he fancied or had a particular
liking for.

"What good girls these girls of mine are!" said this happy
pater-familias to himself.

On his birthday, too, they had pleasant surprises in store for him in
the shape of presents.

Matilda, in particular, delighted him with a valuable meerschaum pipe on
which hunting-dogs were carved. The whole thing, not including the
silver stopper, cost five and twenty florins in hard cash.

Moved partly by the fulness of his joy and partly because he thought it
the proper thing to do, Meyer resolved to visit Aunt Teresa that very
day, and was the more disposed to do so because a new velvet collar had
recently been sewn on to his overcoat, so he stuck the beautiful
meerschaum pipe in his mouth and went to Teresa's dwelling, which was
situated at the other end of the town.

The worthy spinster was sitting by her fireside, for she had a fire
lighted though the spring was fine. Mr. Meyer greeted her without taking
his pipe from his mouth.

Teresa made him sit down. Her demeanour towards him was most frosty; she
coughed thrice for every word she spoke. Mr. Meyer was only waiting for
her to say, "Where did you get that nice pipe?" and behind this
expectation was the afterthought that, perhaps, when she knew of the
festive origin of the present, Teresa also would hasten to gratify him
with birthday gifts. At last, however, he was forced to begin the
conversation of his own accord.

"Look, sister, what a handsome pipe I have!"

"It's all that," she replied, without even looking at it.

"My daughter boug