The increase of Claire's family had caused him, some time before, to remove from the two comfortable rooms in which were passed the first pleasant years of his married life.

He now occupied a small house in a retired street, the rent of which, though moderate, drew pretty heavily on his income.

But he had managed, through the prudent co-operation of his wife, not only to keep even with the world, but to lay by a small sum of money.
Few homes, in the large city wherein dwelt this obscure family, were so full of all the elements of happiness.

If, sometimes, the spirit of Claire was overshadowed by passing clouds--as would unavoidably happen from his contact with the world, and his own variant states--the evening's return to the bosom of his family, generally made all bright again.
Little Fanny Elder, now ten years of age, had been steadily growing into his affections from the first.

It is questionable whether his love for his own children was a purer passion.