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orconsciouspurposeinhislifeforwhichhewould
voluntarilyhaveundergoneanyimportantstress
ofdiscomfortorannoyance.Itwastruethat
inpursuanceofhisprofessiontherewasacertain
amountofquickmarching”anddrilltobedoneinthe
heat,butthatwasincidentaltothefactthathewas
intheGuards,andmorethancompensatedforbythe
pleasuresthatwerealsonaturallyincidentaltoit.
Hewouldhavebeenquiteunabletothinkofanything
thathewouldsoonerdothanwhathedid;andhehad
sufficientoftheingrainedhumantendency
todosomethingofthesort,whichwasamatter
ofroutineratherthaneffort,thanhavenothing
whatever,exceptthegratificationofmomentarywhims,
tofillhisday.Besides,itwasoneoftheconventions
orevenconditionsoflifethateveryboyonleaving
schooldid”somethingforacertainnumberofyears.
Somewentintobusinessinordertoacquirethewealth
thatshouldprocurethemleisure;some,likehimself,
becamesoldiersorsailors,notbecausetheylikedguns
andships,butbecausetoboysofacertainclassthese
professionssuppliedhonourableemploymentand
apleasanttime.Withoutbeinginanywayslackinhis
regimentalduties,heperformedthemasmanyothers
did,withoutthesmallestgrainofpassion,andwithout
anyimaginativeforecastastowhatfruit,ifany,there
mightbetothesehoursspentindrillanddiscipline.
Hewasbutoneofaverylargenumberwhodotheir
workwithoutseriouslybotheringtheirheadsaboutits
possiblemeaningorapplication.Hisparticularjob
gaveayoungmanapleasantpositionandaneasypath
togeneralpopularity,giventhathewaswilling
tobesociableandamused.Hewasextremelyready
tobeboththeoneandtheother,andtherehis
philosophyoflifestopped.
And,indeed,itseemedonthishotJulyeveningthat
thestreetswerepopulatedbyphilosopherslikeunto
himself.NeverhadEnglandgenerallybeenmore
prosperous,moresecure,morecomfortable.The
