a book, were deeply immersed in
study.

This state of things was by no means cheerful, and Wolston determined
to break up the monotony by introducing a subject of conversation
likely to interest them all, the old as well as the young.

"By the way, gentlemen," said he, "it occurs to me that you have not
yet thought of selecting a profession; your future career seems at
present somewhat obscure."

"What would you have?" inquired Jack; "there is no use for lawyers and
judges in our colony, except to try plundering monkeys or protect
jackal orphans."

"True; but suppose you were to find yourselves, by some chance, again
in the great world, there it is necessary to possess a qualification
of some kind; a blacksmith or a carpenter, expert in his handicraft,
has a better chance of acquiring wealth and position than a man
without a profession, however great his talents may be; an idler is a
mere clog in the social machine, and is often thrust aside to browse
in a corner with monks and donkeys."

"But to acquire a profession, is not instruction and practice
necessary?"

"Certainly; it is impossible to become a proficient in any art or
science by mere study alone; but before sowing a field, what is done?"

"It is ploughed and manured."

"And should there be only a few seeds?"

"We can sow what we have, and reserve the harvest till next season. By
economising each crop in this way, we shall soon have seeds enough to
cover any extent of land."

"May I request you, Master Ernest, to draw a conclusion from that as
regards sowing the seeds of a future career?"

"I would infer, from your suggestion, that we might adapt ourselves
for such and such a profession by preparing our minds to receive
instruction in it, and we might also avail ourselves in the meantime
of such sources of information regarding it as are at present open to
us. The physician in prospective, for example, might make himself
familiar with the medical properties of such plants as are within his
reach; he might likewise examine the bones of an ape, and thus, by
analogy, become acquainted with the framework of the human body. The
would-be lawyer might, in the same way, avail himself of the library
to obtain an insight into those social mysteries that bind men in
communities and necessitate human laws for the preservation of peace
and order. Thus, by directing our thoughts into one line of study, we
may form a basis upon which the superstructure may be ea