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Thackeray, William Makepeace, 1811-1863

"The Newcomes"

In the great towns in our country immense stores of books are
provided for us, with librarians to class them, kind attendants to wait
upon us, and comfortable appliances for study. We require scarce any
capital wherewith to exercise our trade. What other so-called learned
profession is equally fortunate? A doctor, for example, after carefully
and expensively educating himself, must invest in house and furniture,
horses, carriage, and menservants, before the public patient will think
of calling him in. I am told that such gentlemen have to coax and wheedle
dowagers, to humour hypochondriacs, to practise a score of little
subsidiary arts in order to make that of healing profitable. How many
many hundreds of pounds has a barrister to sink upon his stock-in-trade
before his returns are available? There are the costly charges of
university education--the costly chambers in the Inn of Court--the clerk
and his maintenance--the inevitable travels on circuit--certain expenses
all to be defrayed before the possible client makes his appearance, and
the chance of fame or competency arrives.


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