We held many consultations about what Richard was to be, firstwithout Mr. Jarndyce, as he had requested, and afterwards with him,but it was a long time before we seemed to make progress. Richardsaid he was ready for anything. When Mr. Jarndyce doubted whetherhe might not already be too old to enter the Navy, Richard said hehad thought of that, and perhaps he was. When Mr. Jarndyce askedhim what he thought of the Army, Richard said he had thought ofthat, too, and it wasn't a bad idea. When Mr. Jarndyce advised himto try and decide within himself whether his old preference for thesea was an ordinary boyish inclination or a strong impulse, Richardanswered, Well he really HAD tried very often, and he couldn't makeout.
"How much of this indecision of character," Mr. Jarndyce said to me,"is chargeable on that incomprehensible heap of uncertainty andprocrastination on which he has been thrown from his birth, I don'tpretend to say; but that Chancery, among its other sins, isresponsible for some of it, I can plainly see. It has engendered orconfirmed in him a habit of putting off--and trusting to this, that,and the other chance, without knowing what chance--and dismissingeverything as unsettled, uncertain, and confused. The character ofmuch older and steadier people may be even changed by thecircumstances surrounding them. It would be too much to expect thata boy's, in its formation, should be the subject of such influencesand escape them."I felt this to be true; though if I may venture to mention what Ithought besides, I thought it much to be regretted that Richard'seducation had not counteracted those influences or directed hischaracter. He had been eight years at a public school and hadlearnt, I understood, to make Latin verses of several sorts in themost admirable manner. But I never heard that it had been anybody'sbusiness to find out what his natural bent was, or where hisfailings lay, or to adapt any kind of knowledge to HIM. HE had beenadapted to the verses and had learnt the art of making them to suchperfection that if he had remained at school until he was of age, Isuppose he could only have gone on making them over and over againunless he had enlarged his education by forgetting how to do it.
Still, although I had no doubt that they were very beautiful, andvery improving, and very sufficient for a great many purposes oflife, and always remembered all through life, I did doubt whetherRichard would not have profited by some one studying him a little,instead of his studying them quite so much.
To be sure, I knew nothing of the subject and do not even now knowwhether the young gentlemen of classic Rome or Greece made verses tothe same extent--or whether the young gentlemen of any country everdid.
"I haven't the least idea," said Richard, musing, "what I had betterbe. Except that I am quite sure I don't want to go into the Church,it's a toss-up.""You have no inclination in Mr. Kenge's way?" suggested Mr.
Jarndyce.
"I don't know that, sir!" replied Richard. "I am fond of boating.
Articled clerks go a good deal on the water. It's a capitalprofession!""Surgeon--" suggested Mr. Jarndyce.
"That's the thing, sir!" cried Richard.
I doubt if he had ever once thought of it before.
"That's the thing, sir," repeated Richard with the greatestenthusiasm. "We have got it at last. M.R.C.S.!"He was not to be laughed out of it, though he laughed at itheartily. He said he had chosen his profession, and the more hethought of it, the more he felt that his destiny was clear; the artof healing was the art of all others for him. Mistrusting that heonly came to this conclusion because, having never had much chanceof finding out for himself what he was fitted for and having neverbeen guided to the discovery, he was taken by the newest idea andwas glad to get rid of the trouble of consideration, I wonderedwhether the Latin verses often ended in this or whether Richard'swas a solitary case.
Mr. Jarndyce took great pains to talk with him seriously and to putit to his good sense not to deceive himself in so important amatter. Richard was a little grave after these interviews, butinvariably told Ada and me that it was all right, and then began totalk about something else.
"By heaven!" cried Mr. Boythorn, who interested himself strongly inthe subject--though I need not say that, for he could do nothingweakly; "I rejoice to find a young gentleman of spirit and gallantrydevoting himself to that noble profession! The more spirit there isin it, the better for mankind and the worse for those mercenarytask-masters and low tricksters who delight in putting thatillustrious art at a disadvantage in the world. By all that is baseand despicable," cried Mr. Boythorn, "the treatment of surgeonsaboard ship is such that I would submit the legs--both legs--ofevery member of the Admiralty Board to a compound fracture andrender it a transportable offence in any qualified practitioner toset them if the system were not wholly changed in eight and fortyhours!""Wouldn't you give them a week?" asked Mr. Jarndyce.
"No!" cried Mr. Boythorn firmly. "Not on any consideration! Eightand forty hours! As to corporations, parishes, vestry-boards, andsimilar gatherings of jolter-headed clods who assemble to exchangesuch speeches that, by heaven, they ought to be worked inquicksilver mines for the short remainder of their miserableexistence, if it were only to prevent their detestable English fromcontaminating a language spoken in the presence of the sun--as tothose fellows, who meanly take advantage of the ardour of gentlemenin the pursuit of knowledge to recompense the inestimable servicesof the best years of their lives, their long study, and theirexpensive education with pittances too small for the acceptance ofclerks, I would have the necks of every one of them wrung and theirskulls arranged in Surgeons' Hall for the contemplation of the wholeprofession in order that its younger members might understand fromactual measurement, in early life, HOW thick skulls may become!"He wound up this vehement declaration by looking round upon us witha most agreeable smile and suddenly thundering, "Ha, ha, ha!" overand over again, until anybody else might have been expected to bequite subdued by the exertion.
As Richard still continued to say that he was fixed in his choiceafter repeated periods for consideration had been recommended by Mr.
Jarndyce and had expired, and he still continued to assure Ada andme in the same final manner that it was "all right," it becameadvisable to take Mr. Kenge into council. Mr. Kenge, therefore,came down to dinner one day, and leaned back in his chair, andturned his eye-glasses over and over, and spoke in a sonorous voice,and did exactly what I remembered to have seen him do when I was alittle girl.
"Ah!" said Mr. Kenge. "Yes. Well! A very good profession, Mr.
Jarndyce, a very good profession.""The course of study and preparation requires to be diligentlypursued," observed my guardian with a glance at Richard.
"Oh, no doubt," said Mr. Kenge. "Diligently.""But that being the case, more or less, with all pursuits that areworth much," said Mr. Jarndyce, "it is not a special considerationwhich another choice would be likely to escape.""Truly," said Mr. Kenge. "And Mr. Richard Carstone, who has someritoriously acquitted himself in the--shall I say the classicshades?--in which his youth had been passed, will, no doubt, applythe habits, if not the principles and practice, of versification inthat tongue in which a poet was said (unless I mistake) to be born,not made, to the more eminently practical field of action on whichhe enters.""You may rely upon it," said Richard in his off-hand manner, "that Ishall go at it and do my best.""Very well, Mr. Jarndyce!" said Mr. Kenge, gently nodding his head.
"Really, when we are assured by Mr. Richard that he means to go atit and to do his best," nodding feelingly and smoothly over thoseexpressions, "I would submit to you that we have only to inquireinto the best mode of carrying out the object of his ambition. Now,with reference to placing Mr. Richard with some sufficiently eminentpractitioner. Is there any one in view at present?""No one, Rick, I think?" said my guardian.
"No one, sir," said Richard.
"Quite so!" observed Mr. Kenge. "As to situation, now. Is thereany particular feeling on that head?""N--no," said Richard.
"Quite so!" observed Mr. Kenge again.
"I should like a little variety," said Richard; "I mean a good rangeof experience.""Very requisite, no doubt," returned Mr. Kenge. "I think this maybe easily arranged, Mr. Jarndyce? We have only, in the first place,to discover a sufficiently eligible practitioner; and as soon as wemake our want--and shall I add, our ability to pay a premium?--known, our only difficulty will be in the selection of one from alarge number. We have only, in the second place, to observe thoselittle formalities which are rendered necessary by our time of lifeand our being under the guardianship of the court. We shall soonbe--shall I say, in Mr. Richard's own light-hearted manner, 'goingat it'--to our heart's content. It is a coincidence," said Mr.
Kenge with a tinge of melancholy in his smile, "one of thosecoincidences which may or may not require an explanation beyond ourpresent limited faculties, that I have a cousin in the medicalprofession. He might be deemed eligible by you and might bedisposed to respond to this proposal. I can answer for him aslittle as for you, but he MIGHT!"As this was an opening in the prospect, it was arranged that Mr.
Kenge should see his cousin. And as Mr. Jarndyce had beforeproposed to take us to London for a few weeks, it was settled nextday that we should make our visit at once and combine Richard'sbusiness with it.
Mr. Boythorn leaving us within a week, we took up our abode at acheerful lodging near Oxford Street over an upholsterer's shop.
London was a great wonder to us, and we were out for hours and hoursat a time, seeing the sights, which appeared to be less capable ofexhaustion than we were. We made the round of the principaltheatres, too, with great delight, and saw all the plays that wereworth seeing. I mention this because it was at the theatre that Ibegan to be made uncomfortable again by Mr. Guppy.
I was sitting in front of the box one night with Ada, and Richardwas in the place he liked best, behind Ada's chair, when, happeningto look down into the pit, I saw Mr. Guppy, with his hair flatteneddown upon his head and woe depicted in his face, looking up at me.
I felt all through the performance that he never looked at theactors but constantly looked at me, and always with a carefullyprepared expression of the deepest misery and the profoundestdejection.
It quite spoiled my pleasure for that night because it was so veryembarrassing and so very ridiculous. But from that time forth, wenever went to the play without my seeing Mr. Guppy in the pit,always with his hair straight and flat, his shirt-collar turneddown, and a general feebleness about him. If he were not there whenwe went in, and I began to hope he would not come and yielded myselffor a little while to the interest of the scene, I was certain toencounter his languishing eyes when I least expected it and, fromthat time, to be quite sure that they were fixed upon me all theevening.
I really cannot express how uneasy this made me. If he would onlyhave brushed up his hair or turned up his collar, it would have beenbad enough; but to know that that absurd figure was always gazing atme, and always in that demonstrative state of despondency, put sucha constraint upon me that I did not like to laugh at the play, or tocry at it, or to move, or to speak. I seemed able to do nothingnaturally. As to escaping Mr. Guppy by going to the back of thebox, I could not bear to do that because I knew Richard and Adarelied on having me next them and that they could never have talkedtogether so happily if anybody else had been in my place. So thereI sat, not knowing where to look--for wherever I looked, I knew Mr.
Guppy's eyes were following me--and thinking of the dreadful expenseto which this young man was putting himself on my account.
Sometimes I thought of telling Mr. Jarndyce. Then I feared that theyoung man would lose his situation and that I might ruin him.
Sometimes I thought of confiding in Richard, but was deterred by thepossibility of his fighting Mr. Guppy and giving him black eyes.
Sometimes I thought, should I frown at him or shake my head. Then Ifelt I could not do it. Sometimes I considered whether I shouldwrite to his mother, but that ended in my being convinced that toopen a correspondence would he to make the matter worse. I alwayscame to the conclusion, finally, that I could do nothing. Mr.
Guppy's perseverance, all this time, not only produced him regularlyat any theatre to which we went, but caused him to appear in thecrowd as we were coming out, and even to get up behind our fly--where I am sure I saw him, two or three times, struggling among themost dreadful spikes. After we got home, he haunted a post oppositeour house. The upholsterer's where we lodged being at the corner oftwo streets, and my bedroom window being opposite the post, I wasafraid to go near the window when I went upstairs, lest I should seehim (as I did one moonlight night) leaning against the post andevidenfly catching cold. If Mr. Guppy had not been, fortunately forme, engaged in the daytime, I really should have had no rest fromhim.
While we were making this round of gaieties, in which Mr. Guppy soextraordinarily participated, the business which had helped to bringus to town was not neglected. Mr. Kenge's cousin was a Mr. BayhamBadger, who had a good practice at Chelsea and attended a largepublic institution besides. He was quite willing to receive Richardinto his house and to superintend his studies, and as it seemed thatthose could be pursued advantageously under Mr. Badger's roof, andMr. Badger liked Richard, and as Richard said he liked Mr. Badger"well enough," an agreement was made, the Lord Chancellor's consentwas obtained, and it was all settled.
On the day when matters were concluded between Richard and Mr.
Badger, we were all under engagement to dine at Mr. Badger's house.
We were to be "merely a family party," Mrs. Badger's note said; andwe found no lady there but Mrs. Badger herself. She was surroundedin the drawing-room by various objects, indicative of her painting alittle, playing the piano a little, playing the guitar a little,playing the harp a little, singing a little, working a little,reading a little, writing poetry a little, and botanizing a little.
She was a lady of about fifty, I should think, youthfully dressed,and of a very fine complexion. If I add to the little list of heraccomplishments that she rouged a little, I do not mean that therewas any harm in it.
Mr. Bayham Badger himself was a pink, fresh-faced, crisp-lookinggentleman with a weak voice, white teeth, light hair, and surprisedeyes, some years younger, I should say, than Mrs. Bayham Badger. Headmired her exceedingly, but principally, and to begin with, on thecurious ground (as it seemed to us) of her having had threehusbands. We had barely taken our seats when he said to Mr.
Jarndyce quite triumphantly, "You would hardly suppose that I amMrs. Bayham Badger's third!""Indeed?" said Mr. Jarndyce.
"Her third!" said Mr. Badger. "Mrs. Bayham Badger has not theappearance, Miss Summerson, of a lady who has had two formerhusbands?"I said "Not at all!""And most remarkable men!" said Mr. Badger in a tone of confidence.
"Captain Swosser of the Royal Navy, who was Mrs. Badger's firsthusband, was a very distinguished officer indeed. The name ofProfessor Dingo, my immediate predecessor, is one of Europeanreputation."Mrs. Badger overheard him and smiled.
"Yes, my dear!" Mr. Badger replied to the smile, "I was observing toMr. Jarndyce and Miss Summerson that you had had two formerhusbands--both very distinguished men. And they found it, as peoplegenerally do, difficult to believe.""I was barely twenty," said Mrs. Badger, "when I married CaptainSwosser of the Royal Navy. I was in the Mediterranean with him; Iam quite a sailor. On the twelfth anniversary of my wedding-day, Ibecame the wife of Professor Dingo.""Of European reputation," added Mr. Badger in an undertone.
"And when Mr. Badger and myself were married," pursued Mrs. Badger,"we were married on the same day of the year. I had become attachedto the day.""So ............