Mr.Jollyman is a shopkeeper, and it's just because he doesn't forget that, after all, that his behaviour is so good.

Do you remember that horrid Stokes, in King's Road?
There was a man who thought himself too good for his business, and in reality was nothing but an underbred, impertinent creature.

I can hear his 'Yes, Mrs.Cross--no, Mrs.Cross--thank you, Mrs.Cross'-- and once, when I protested against an overcharge, he cried out, 'Oh, my _dear_ Mrs.
Cross!' The insolence of that man! Now, Mr.Jollyman--" It was not long before Bertha had an opportunity of seeing this remarkable shopkeeper, and for once she was able to agree with her mother.

Mr.Jollyman bore very little resemblance to the typical grocer, and each visit to his shop strengthened Bertha's suspicion that he had not grown up in this way of life.

It cost her some constraint to make a very small purchase of him, paying a few coppers, and still more when she asked him if he had nothing cheaper than this or that; all the more so that Mr.Jollyman seemed to share her embarrassment, lowering his voice as if involuntarily, and being careful not to meet her eye.
One thing Bertha noticed was that, though the grocer invariable addressed her mother as "madam," in speaking to _her_ he never used the grocerly "miss" and when, by chance, she heard him bestow this objectionable title upon a servant girl who was making purchases at the same time, Bertha not only felt grateful for the distinction, but saw in it a fresh proof of Mr.Jollyman's good breeding.
The winter passed, and with the spring came events in which Bertha was interested.