Thus a dismal Christmas approached. The sisters refused to speak to their brother. Whenever Frau Hessling left the locked room in which she was decorating the Christmas tree, her eyes were red and swollen with tears. And on Christmas Eve, when she brought the children in, she sang all alone and with quavering voice, "Stille Nacht." "This is a present from little Diederich to his dear sisters," she said, and her glance begged him not to give her the lie. Emma and Magda thanked him with embarrassment, and he was equally embarrassed as he looked at the gifts which were supposed to have come from him. He regretted that, in spite of Sötbier's emphatic advice, he had refused the accustomed Christmas-tree celebration for the workmen in order to punish the unruly crew. Otherwise he might now be with them. Here in the family the thing was artificial, a revamping of old, dead sentiments. Only one person could have made it real, Guste, and she was not there. … The Veterans' Association was closed to him, and he would have found nobody in the Ratskeller, at least none of his friends. Diederich felt neglected, misunderstood and persecuted. How remote were the innocent days of the Neo-Teutons, when in long ranks, inspired by good-will, they sang and drank beer. Now, in the rough world, sturdy college friends no longer exchanged slashes in honourable duels, but a crowd of treacherous rivals flew at one another's throats. "I do not belong to this cruel age," thought Diederich as he ate the marzipan on his plate, and dreamed in the candle light of the Christmas tree. "I am really a good-hearted fellow. Why do they drag me into horrible things like this trial, and injure me even in my business, so that, my God, I shall not be able to pay for the cylinder machine which I ordered."
A cold shiver ran through him, tears came into his eyes, and so that they might not be seen by his mother, who was watching his worried face, he crept into the dark room adjoining. Resting his arms on the piano, he buried his face in his hands and wept. Outside Emma and Magda were quarrelling about
