They were getting frightfully anxious about the matter; the joy, therefore, was great when one day at lunch in the Casino George's fellow-officer in his company, Baron von Masemann, informed them: "The manufacturer of trouser buttons has arrived. I saw him last night in a restaurant."
"Thank Heaven!" was uttered by all; and then the question was immediately asked, "What's he like?"
"Quite impossible. The fellow wears a ready-made tie, unstarched cuffs, and a pair of boots that one can see at a glance were never made in Berlin; and then at dinner the fellow cuts his bread with a knife instead of breaking it."
"How awful!"
An exclamation of genuine indignation arose from all present.
"Do stop," implored a young lieutenant; "remember we have only just had our lunch."
"Calm yourselves, my friends," continued the baron; "in spite of all drawbacks the old boy has one great advantage."
"And what is that?"
"He has a daughter."