such treatment and the family tie was ruptured.

This made him all the more fond of his own little home, and he
developed into a very domesticated husband, excuse me, lover. They
were happy, for they loved one another, and no fetters bound them.
They lived in the happy dread of losing one another and therefore they
did their utmost to keep each other's love. They were indeed one.

But there was one thing which they lacked: they had no friends.
Society displayed no wish to know them, and the young man was not
asked to the houses of the "Upper Ten."

It was Christmas Eve, a day of sadness for all those who once had a
family. As he was sitting at breakfast, he received a letter. It was
from his sister, who implored him to spend Christmas at home, with his
parents. The letter touched upon the strings of old feelings and put
him in a bad temper. Was he to leave his little friend alone on
Christmas Eve? Certainly not! Should his place in the house of his
parents remain vacant for the first time on a Christmas Eve? H'm! This
was the position of affairs when he went to the Law Courts.

During the interval for lunch a colleague came up to him and asked him
as discreetly as possible:

"Are you going to spend Christmas Eve with your family?"

He flared up at once. Was his friend aware of his position? Or what
did he mean?

The other man saw that he had stepped on a corn, and added hastily,