And all the time their father hugged himself with the thought that one of his daughters would become a famous _artiste_, and another would grow rich as a milliner _a la mode_, and the whole lot of them would be married by some of those rich squires and bankers who were continually trampling the ground around them.

Perhaps he had read of such cases in some of the old-fashioned romances of the day.
Now, such an elegant education presupposes an elegant income; but, as we all know, the salary of a cashier in a public establishment is nothing very remarkable.

Housekeeping cost much more than Mr.Meyer could afford to give to it.

Papa knew that only too well, and he would lie busy all night long thinking of some way out of the difficulty without ever being able to find it.

And he could not call his girls away from the great world, for fear of spoiling their prospects.
Just at that very time a country squire was courting the eldest, whose acquaintance he had made at last year's dances.