noon
Two matters of detail preserved his spirits . For , first , he had still an infinity of business to transact ; and to transact business , for a man of Otto 's neglectful and procrastinating habits , is the best anodyne for conscience . All afternoon he was hard at it with the Chancellor , reading , dictating , signing , and despatching papers ; and this kept him in a glow of self-approval . But , secondly , his vanity was still alarmed ; he had failed to get the money ; to-morrow before noon he would have to disappoint old Killian ; and in the eyes of that family which counted him so little , and to which he had sought to play the part of the heroic comforter , he must sink lower than at first . To a man of Otto 's temper , this was death . He could not accept the situation . And even as he worked , and worked wisely and well , over the hated details of his principality , he was secretly maturing a plan by which to turn the situation .