The condition of the jewelers was the worst of all. Most of them had been Jews and had therefore been forced to leave; and now their business was being conducted by former petty watch-repairers and other doubtless very estimable individuals who, however, had no connections whatever with the Dutch precious stone market, (which is almost exclusively in Jewish hands,) and who therefore were thoroughly taken in at every purchase. Finally buying abroad stopped altogether, for the demand for jewelry disappeared entirely, while the number of those who were forced to sell increased constantly. Slowly but surely most of the jewelry belonging to Austrians travelled to neighboring countries, to England, France, and America; but even there the jewelers who were the agents for this export trade had to suffer. If a dealer bought a rope of pearls today from a private owner for ten billion kronen, and soon after deposited it on the neck of an American woman in exchange for thirty billion, he imagined that he had put through a splendid deal, celebrated the joyous occasion with wine, sang the praises of Dr. Schwertfeger, and bought a fat goose, (which no longer was the special privilege of the Jews). But before he had digested the rich goose-liver his thirty billions were not worth as much as the ten he had spent, and he had no more money for further purchases. So it was not at all surprising that the Yuletide brought a wave of embitterment and discontent to Vienna, and that the customary noise and merriment of the New Year’s Eve celebration was stifled under a blanket of ill temper and discouragement. If the Chancellor had heard the conversation that occurred during Christmas week between Herr Habietnik, owner of the huge department store in the Kärtnerstrasse, and Herr Mauler, proprietor of the large jewelry establishment on the Graben, his wrath would have waxed even greater. Sitting in the Grabencafé, Herr Habietnik and Herr Mauler were grumbling about the miserable Christmas business, which would surely seal the ruin of thousands of business men. Suddenly Herr Habietnik leaned over toward Herr Mauler and told him of a dream he had had the night before.