He also regretted the women who came to pose there.

Nevertheless he found himself at ease in his position as clerk; he lived very well in a brutish fashion, and he was fond of this daily task, which did not fatigue him, and soothed his mind.

Still one thing irritated him: the food at the eighteen sous ordinaries failed to appease the gluttonous appetite of his stomach.
As Camille listened to his friend, he contemplated him with all the astonishment of a simpleton.

This feeble man was dreaming, in a childish manner, of this studio life which his friend had been alluding to, and he questioned Laurent on the subject.
"So," said he, "there were lady models who posed before you in the nude ?" "Oh! yes," answered Laurent with a smile, and looking at Therese, who had turned deadly pale.
"You must have thought that very funny," continued Camille, laughing like a child.

"It would have made me feel most awkward.