He married Marguerite
Anspach (18 September 185224 December 1934), daughter of
Jules Anspach,
burgomaster of
the City of Brussels. After studying at the Athénée de Bruxelles and studying at the Faculty of Law of the
Free University of Brussels, where he obtained his
doctorate in
law with distinction in 1865, he was destined for the career of a
lawyer. After an internship at Louis Leclercq, he was
sworn in as a lawyer on 18 August 1865. He was appointed
barrister at the
Court of Cassation by Royal Decree of 31 December 1880, replacing
Auguste Orts, who had died. He was
president of the Bar of Cassation from 1900 to 1902. He was a member of the circle of influence known as
La Table Ronde which consisted of 20 personalities who "seem to have been men of confidence of Leopold II". == Honours ==