The attitude of the friends who clapped him on the back, of the newspapers which congratulated him, of the crowd that expected him to rejoice, repelled him.

It seemed a tragic comedy, haunted by a severe dead face.

He was haunted, too, by memories, and by a sharp regret for his own foolish thoughtlessness.

Even the fortune itself weighed upon him at moments with a half-defined melancholy.
Yet the situation was not without its compensations.

For several days when Ellis called him at seven, he would answer him and thank fortune that he was not required at the bank that morning.