interest; the
sickness of hope deferred during the prime years of life the weariness
of a distasteful study, and the heavy trial of dusky chambers in a city
to a man who loved the sea and the country with a passionate love,
deterred him from choosing the law. He had no liking for the army,
except in time of war; the life of the officers whom he knew was not
altogether to his mind, and he was neither inclined to gaiety nor fond
of an occupation which offered so many temptations to listlessness and
indolence. There was no immediate necessity to decide finally, because
in any case he meant to take his degree, and looked forward with some
hope, after his year of unswerving diligence in the retirement of Orton,
to honours in the Tripos and the pleasant aid of a Saint Werner's
Fellowship as the crown of his career. But on the whole, he began to
think that he might be both useful and successful as a physician. He
had a deep reverence for this earthly tabernacle of the immortal soul,
and a hallowed and reverend curiosity about that "harp of a thousand
strings," which, if it be untuned by sickness, mars every other melody
of life. Violet entered into all his views, and they determined to
leave the matter thus until Kennedy should have donned his B A gown.

But about this period that public step was taken of throwing open to
competition the Indian civil service appointments, which has been of
such enormous advantage to the "middle-classes" of England by offering
to them, as the reward of industry, the opportunity of a new and
honourable profession, and which seems likely to be prolific of good
results to the future of our Empire in the East. Directly Kennedy saw
the announcement of the examination, he grasped with avidity the chance
of a provision for life which it afforded, and easily obtained the
assent both of his own and of Julian's family to offer himself as a
candidate. Of course they contemplated with sorrow the prospect of so
long a separation as the plan involved, but they saw that he himself was
strongly desirous to win their approval of his proposition, and of
course his wishes were Violet's too.

So Kennedy went in for the civil service examination, and acquitted
himself so admirably that his name headed the list of successful
competitors, and he was told that he must prepare himself to leave
England in a year for the post to which they appointed him.

This happened about the time that Julian took his degree,