"The old lady is a regular peacock."
"And Bertha, with her smart acquaintances!"
"And then that Mrs. van der Welcke: she's got a nice past to look back upon! And she behaves as though she were the Queen!"
"They're quite an ordinary family, the Van Lowes."
"Yes, they're nobodies: the grandfather was a grocer."
"No!"
"Yes, I assure you!"
"And that mad Ernst, who's always studying the family-papers to discover if they are not of noble descent!"
"Oh, he's mad, if you like!"
"In fact, they're all a little bit mad."