But that which above all made him the worst of scapegraces was the supercilious disdain which he entertained for the poor devils who had to earn their bread.
"I've got money waiting for me at home," he often said to his comrades; "when I've served my time, I shall be able to live like a gentleman." This belief, together with his stupid ignorance, prevented him from rising even to the grade of corporal.
Since his departure he had never spent a day's furlough at Plassans, his brother having invented a thousand pretexts to keep him at a distance.
He was therefore completely ignorant of the adroit manner in which Pierre had got possession of their mother's fortune.

Adelaide, with her profound indifference, did not even write to him three times to tell him how she was going on.

The silence which generally greeted his numerous requests for money did not awaken the least suspicion in him; Pierre's stinginess sufficed to explain the difficulty he experienced in securing from time to time a paltry twenty-franc piece.

This, however, only increased his animosity towards his brother, who left him to languish in military service in spite of his formal promise to purchase his discharge.

He vowed to himself that on his return home he would no longer submit like a child, but would flatly demand his share of the fortune to enable him to live as he pleased.