fourteen, and since I had been away from home I had
imbibed strong notions of independence. I did not see that any man had a
right to dispose of me as he thought fit. I felt myself a free agent,
and my youthful blood rose at the cool way in which my uncle thought to
bend me to his will. Had I not the right to seek my own walk in life?
Was I to be baulked of my true avocation because I was told that my
interest lay elsewhere? Interest! Bah! I despised interest.

My uncle promised me that if I went to sea he would leave all his
fortune to me, as I was his heir, and if I refused, he would not leave
me a groat. What then? I had a small income left me by my father when I
should come of age, which was enough to keep me like a gentleman. What
did I want with the old admiral's money? I was not going to sell myself
for filthy lucre.

It was whispered that the old man had amassed a considerable fortune,
and I should be called a fool by the world to quarrel with him. But was
my will to be bought with gold? I was grateful to him for what he had
already done for me, and I never wished to quarrel with him; but when I
saw that he expected as a proof of my gratitude I should humour his whim
by sacrificing my highest ambition in life to follow a profession I now
really cared nothing about, I felt it my duty to rebel against my
guardian and choose my own course.

I felt myself born for something better than a sea-faring life. The sea
might be very well for those who had a taste for it, or for those who
were fit for nothing else. Besides, sailors are generally such ignorant
people, and I flattered myself that I had a mind to cultivate and
resolved to devote myself to study.

My hobby was science, and the branch I was chiefly anxious to excel in,
chemistry. I believe the first thing that fired my imagination to
pursue this delightful science was the reading a book lent me by a
friend, entitled, "Lives of the Alchemists." From this I learned how
many clever men had devoted their lives and fortunes in pursuit of the
philosopher's stone. I do not remember reading any of them actually
_did_ make gold; but the perseverance and energy of these men! There was
something sublime in a man of means giving up the wealth and luxury of
his position to follow science. How I loved to read of these persevering
sages, of their trials and disappointments, and how, heedless of all
vicissitudes, they still pursued to the last with unflagging energy that
sc