ration
was having its fling; new customs were being introduced, new topics
discussed, and he was old.

He found it hard to get along without Dorothea. He counted the days,
waiting for her to return. He never opened the piano, because all music,
and especially the music he loved, caused a melancholy depression to
arise that filled the room with miasma.

The Nero of our day was suffering from Caesar sadness. The private
citizen had sunk to the very bottom of the ditch which he himself had
dug with the idea of burying all that was new and joyful, and all winged
creatures in it.

The worst of it all was that he had nothing to do, and no brain racking
could devise a position he could fill. The world went on its way,
progress was made, and, strangely enough, it was made without his
criticism, his adulation, his opinions, or his crepe-hanging.

Philippina was annoyed at the grudging squints cast at her by the old
stay-at-home; her visits became rarer and rarer. She did not feel like
opening her heart to Frau Hadebusch, for she did not appeal to her as a
disinterested party. This completed her list of friends; she was obliged
to restrain her impatience and excitement.

It was Christmas. On Christmas Eve they had bought a tree for Agnes,
trimmed it, and lighted it with candles. Agnes's Christmas gifts were
placed under the tree: a big piece of ginger-bread, a basket with apples
and nuts, and a cheap doll. For Old Jordan she had bought a pair of
boots which he badly needed. He had been going around on his uppers
since autumn.

Jordan was sitting by the door holding his boots on his knees. Agnes
looked at the doll with unhappy eyes; she did not dare touch it. After
gazing for a while into the light of the fluttering candles, Jordan
said: "I thank you, Philippina, I thank you. You are a real
benefactress. I also thank you for remembering the child. It is a paltry
makeshift you have bought there at the bazaar, but any one who gives
gifts to children deserves the reward of Heaven, and in such giving we
do not weigh the value or count the cost."

"Don't whine all the time so!" shrieked Philippina. She was chewing her
finger nails, hardly able to conceal her embarrassment. Frau Hadebusch
had told her that Benjamin Dorn was coming around that evening to make a
formal proposal of marriage.

"Just wait, Agnes, just wait!" continued old Jordan, "you'll soon get to
see a wonder of a doll. A few short years, and the world will be