His flat nostrils extended and compressed like those of a frightened horse; and the indecisive mouth was tremulous.

At the best the Professor was not an imposing personage.
He wore a dressing-gown of soiled quilted silk and linen not too immaculate; but his little sandy moustache and the goatee that decorated his receding chin were both carefully waxed into sharp points--an indication that he possessed at least one vanity.

Three days in the week he taught vocal and instrumental music to the ambitious young ladies of Cloverton.

The other three days he rode to Pelham's Grove, ten miles away, and taught music to all who wished to acquire that desirable accomplishment.

But the towns were small and the fees not large, so that Professor De Graf had much difficulty in securing an income sufficient for the needs of his family.
The stout, sour-visaged lady who was half-hidden by her newspaper at the other end of the table was also a bread-winner, for she taught embroidery to the women of her acquaintance and made various articles of fancy-work that were sold at Biggar's Emporium, the largest store in Cloverton.