He grew fat and flabby.

No one who had studied this great body, piled up in a lump, apparently without bones or muscles, would ever have had the idea of accusing the man of violence and cruelty.
He resumed his former habits.

For several months, he proved himself a model clerk, doing his work with exemplary brutishness.

At night, he took his meal at a cheap restaurant in the Rue Saint-Victor, cutting his bread into thin slices, masticating his food slowly, making his repast last as long as possible.

When it was over, he threw himself back against the wall and smoked his pipe.