midday
Go and do likewise , and I can tell you you 'll be improved . '' But we agreed when he was gone that the loose locks , drooping over the laughing glance , suited him better than that neatly cropped propriety . Days passed , and Karl was still not his old self . It became matter of public remark that his easy , short jacket , a mongrel kind of garment to which he was deeply attached , was discarded , not merely for grand occasions , but even upon the ordinary Saturday night concert , yea , even for walking out at midday , and a superior frock-coat substituted for it -- a frock-coat in which , we told him , he looked quite _ edel _ . At which he pished and pshawed , but surreptitiously adjusted his collar before the looking-glass which the propriety and satisfactoriness of our behavior had induced Frau Schmidt to add to our responsibilities , pulled his cuffs down , and remarked _ en passant _ that `` the ` cello was a horribly ungraceful instrument . '' `` Not as you use it , '' said we both , politely , and allowed him to lead the way to the concert-room . A few evenings later he strolled into our room , lighted a cigar , and sighed deeply .