He listened to all she had to say, beheld unmoved her miserable tears, and, when she became silent, coolly delivered his ultimatum.

For her he would procure a situation, whereby she could earn her living, and therewith his relations to her would end; the child he would put into other hands and have it cared for, but Lotty would lose sight of it for ever.

The girl hesitated, but the maternal instinct was very strong in her; the little one began to cry, as if fearing separation from its mother; she decided to refuse.
"Then I shall go on the streets!" she exclaimed passionately.

"There's nothing else left for me." "You can go where you please," returned Abraham.
She tried to obtain work, of course fruitlessly.

She got into debt with her landlady, and only took the fatal step when at length absolutely turned adrift.
That was not quite ten years gone by; she was then but eighteen.