"
"Bah!" cried Jack, who had just come up out of breath, "you might leap
the one and shoot the others."
"Your argument," replied Wolston, "is that of the savage, who can
imagine no obstacles that are not solid and tangible. The obstacles
that retard our progress in life neither display yawning chasms nor
rows of teeth; they dwell within our own minds--they are versatility,
disgust, ennui, thirst after the unknown, and love of change. These
lead us to take bye-paths and long turnings, and fritter away the
strength that should be used in promoting a single aim. Hence arise a
multiplicity of hermaphrodite avocations and desultory studies, that
terminate in nothing but vexation of spirit. Let us suppose, for
example, that Peter has made up his mind to be a lawyer."
"I do not see any particular reason why Peter should not be a lawyer,"
said Jack.
"Nor I either; but unfortunately when Peter has pored a certain time
over Coke upon Littleton, and other abstruse legal authorities, he
accidentally witnesses a review; he throws down his books, and
resolves to become a soldier."
"After the manner and style of our Fritz," suggested Jack.
"He changes the Pandects for Polybius, and Gray's Inn for a military
school. All goes well for awhile; the idea of uniform helps him over
the rudiments of fortification and the platoon exercise.
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