"The army, of course. What I have to do is to get a commission; and--there I am, you know!" said Richard.
And then he showed me, proved by elaborate calculations in his pocket-book, that supposing he had contracted, say, two hundred pounds of debt in six months out of the army; and that he contracted no debt at all within a corresponding period in the army--as to which he had quite made up his mind; this step must involve a saving of four hundred pounds in a year, or two thousand pounds in five years, which was a considerable sum. And then he spoke so ingenuously and sincerely of the sacrifice he made in withdrawing himself for a time from Ada, and of the earnestness with which he aspired--as in thought he always did, I know full well--to repay her love, and to ensure her happiness, and to conquer what was amiss in himself, and to acquire the very soul of decision, that he made my heart ache keenly, sorely. For, I thought, how would this end, how could this end, when so soon and so surely all his manly qualities were touched by the fatal blight that ruined everything it rested on!
I spoke to Richard with all the earnestness I felt, and all the hope I could not quite feel then, and implored him for Ada's sake not to put any trust in Chancery. To all I said, Richard readily assented, riding over the court and everything else in his easy way and drawing the brightest pictures of the character he was to settle into--alas, when the grievous suit should loose its hold upon him! We had a long talk, but it always came back to that, in substance.

"All I have to do is to get a commission; and - there I am, you know!" said Richard.
And then he showed me, proved by elaborate calculations in his pocket-book, that supposing he had contracted two hundred pounds of debt in six months out of the army; and that he contracted no debt at all during six months in the army - as he intended; this way he would save four hundred pounds a year, which was a considerable sum. And then he spoke so sincerely of the sacrifice he made in withdrawing himself for a time from Ada, and of the earnestness with which he hoped to repay her love, and to conquer what was amiss in himself, that he made my heart ache sorely. For, I thought, how would this end, how could this end, when all his manly qualities were touched by the fatal blight that ruined everything it rested on!
I spoke earnestly to Richard, imploring him for Ada's sake not to put any trust in Chancery. Richard readily assented, drawing the brightest pictures of the character he was to settle into - alas, when the grievous suit should loose its hold upon him! It always came back to that.
