Page 362 - bleak-house

CHAPTER XVIII

Lady Dedlock

It was not so easy as it had appeared at first to arrange
for Richard’s making a trial of Mr. Kenge’s office. Richard
himself was the chief impediment. As soon as he had it in
his power to leave Mr. Badger at any moment, he began
to doubt whether he wanted to leave him at all. He didn’t
know, he said, really. It wasn’t a bad profession; he couldn’t
assert that he disliked it; perhaps he liked it as well as he
liked any other—suppose he gave it one more chance! Upon
that, he shut himself up for a few weeks with some books
and some bones and seemed to acquire a considerable fund
of information with great rapidity. His fervour, after last-
ing about a month, began to cool, and when it was quite
cooled, began to grow warm again. His vacillations between
law and medicine lasted so long that midsummer arrived
before he finally separated from Mr. Badger and entered on
an experimental course of Messrs. Kenge and Carboy. For
all his waywardness, he took great credit to himself as be-
ing determined to be in earnest ‘this time.’ And he was so
good-natured throughout, and in such high spirits, and so
fond of Ada, that it was very difficult indeed to be otherwise

362 Bleak House