So he said grace in quite a tolerable manner.

Cornelli had been very much touched by his desire to sit beside her.

She was anxious to do him a favor, too, and she tried to think of something that might please him.
Directly after lunch Nika and Agnes had to hurry off to school again and the mother had to supervise Trina's work, so Mux was entrusted with the task of entertaining Cornelli for a little while.

That suited him exactly.
"Now, I'll show you that Agnes has really broken a man on the wheel," he said triumphantly.
"But I don't believe it, Mux.

And why should the man have held still ?" asked Cornelli.
"You can read it here.