CHAPTER XV.
A SECOND VISIT TO WALNUT TREE WALK The man of reserve betrays happiness by disposition for companionship.
Surprised that the world all at once looks so bright to his own eyes, he desires to learn how others view it.

The unhappy man is intensely subjective; his own impressions are so inburnt that those of others seem to him unimportant--nay, impertinent.

And what is so bitter as the spectacle of alien joy when one's own heart is waste! Gilbert Grail was no longer the silent and lonely man that he had been.
The one with whom he had formed something like a friendship had gone apart; in the nature of things Ackroyd and he could never again associate as formerly, though when need was they spoke without show of estrangement; but others whom he had been wont to hold at a distance by his irresponsiveness were now of interest to him, and, after the first surprise at the change in him, they met his quiet advances in a friendly way.

Among his acquaintances there were, of course, few fitted to be in any sense his associates.

Two, however, he induced to attend Egremont's lectures, thus raising the number of the audience to eight.
These recruits were not enthusiastic over 'Thoughts for the Present;' one of them persevered to the end of the course, the other made an excuse for absenting himself after two evenings.
Gilbert held seriously in mind the pledge he had given to Egremont to work for the spread of humane principles.