I am afraid the disillusions broke his heart.

And then, perhaps I was a bitter disappointment.

I was expelled from college in my junior year.
I had no head for figures other than that kind which inhabit the Louvre and the Vatican." Her face became momentarily mirthful.
"So I couldn't take hold of the firm for him," he continued.

"And I suppose the last straw was when I tried my hand at reporting on one of the newspapers.

He knew that the gathering of riches, so far as I was concerned, was a closed door.