Carnival time came round again, and big balls were advertised, but they were forced to sit at home, for they had no money to go anywhere.
Meyer, in whatever direction he looked, saw nothing but ill-tempered, dejected, sullen faces around him; but after a while he did not trouble himself much about them.

Only on Sunday afternoons, when a little of the wine of Meszely had soothed his nerves, would his tongue be loosened, and a fine flood of moral precept would pour forth for the edification of his daughters.

He would then tell them how happy he was at having preserved the honour of his name, although he was poor and his overcoat was ragged (which latter fact, by the way, was not very much to the credit of his grown-up daughters), but he was proud of his rags, he said, and wished his daughters to be equally proud of their virtues, and so on.

As for the daughters, they were, naturally, out of the room long before this sermon was over.
Suddenly, however, a better humour and a more cheerful spirit descended upon the family.

Mr.Meyer, whenever he returned from his office or from goodness knows whence, would find his daughters boisterously singing.
His wife, too, bought new bonnets; their dresses began to look stylish again, and their food grew decidedly better.