Unity had paid off, Grandfather reflected. It had been worthwhile that they all had made sacrifices for the prestige of the business and the family as well.

Suddenly it came to him why he and his brother Ernst were so worried. Emil was different. He had always been the weakest link in the family chain. He was not even always well groomed. More important, he had never married and had finally taken his money out of the business and moved to Paris.

There had been arguments between the brothers, even violent ones, but they had never lasted long. It was impossible for grandfather to accept that a brother would not place the family welfare above all other considerations. After all, the family was the only protection in case of misfortune.

"Bear in mind it would look very strange if your Uncle does not leave his money to the family," he had told his sons before they left for Paris. "Surely we are the persons closest to him. He must realize what an awful thing it would be to forget his only relatives. Even if he is not the most popular member of the family, he surely knows that we care about him. Who else would have come to his rescue in case of bad luck? Perhaps your Uncle Emil has already left his money to the family. Let us hope so!"

"Yes," agreed Uncle Paul, who was a lawyer. "What I am afraid of is this: Many men in Uncle Emil's position buy an annuity. He may already have bought one from the French government and it is very difficult to change such a contract. It would be most embarrassing if a German citizen should leave his money to France."

Unfortunately this is exactly what happened.

Uncle Emil had bought an annuity and his housekeeper was the beneficiary after his death.

Father and Uncle Paul 1 were well received by Uncle Emil and the atmosphere was friendly. However, despite the politeness, after a while they realized they were not making any progress. There was nothing they could do but return to Nuremberg ‐ mission not accomplished.

They did however stop in Paris long enough to buy two folding umbrellas, the latest innovation in rainwear. They felt they could justify this luxury because Father gave the one he bought to Uncle Paul as a Christmas gift and Uncle Paul gave his to Father.

In the future whenever family feeling ran high, good humor could often be restored by someone asking: "Hot tea or cold tea?"