At first she was only employed as a chorus-singer, but then, as every one knows, the most famous artistes have begun in that way.
Naturally enough, nothing of this reached the ears of Aunt Teresa, who fancied that Matilda was a governess.

The worthy spinster herself never entered a playhouse, and if any one should whisper to her that one of the Meyer girls was employed in the theatre, it would be easy to say that it was another Meyer and not her kinswoman, Meyer being such a very common name.

So poor Meyer really began to believe that now the whole family was going to lead a new and orderly life, that every one would do his and her duty, and prosperity would flow into the house through door, window, and chimney.
Mrs.Meyer had now to accustom herself to cooking, and Mr.Meyer to burnt dishes, and the whole family slaved away all day long.

Meyer was occupied in his counting-house from dawn to dusk; Mrs.Meyer during the same period was in the kitchen; the children sewed and stitched; while the bigger ones worked out of doors on a larger scale, one of them turning out a frightful quantity of hats and bonnets, while the other was mastering her noble profession, or so at least they made each other believe.

As a matter of fact, however, Mr.Meyer lounged about the coffee-houses pretty frequently, and read the newspapers, which is certainly the cheapest way of taking one's ease; Mrs.Meyer confided the pots and pans to the nursemaid, and gossiped with her neighbours; the children read books surreptitiously or played at blindman's buff; elegant dandies diverted the elder girl who was in the employment of the milliner, and it will be better to say nothing at all about the arduous artistic labours of the chorus-singer.