‘I tell you, again, Maria, I have not a ghost of an idea. Yet, I do know one thing—he shall not be a medical man!’ Here the doctor relighted his cigar and smoked in frowning thoughtfulness, until Tom’s mother said decisively: ‘Well, if _you_ do not know what is to be done with the dear child, we must ask the opinion of our friends. I, for my part, cannot allow this subject to drop. It must be taken up and carried out to the needful end. I know too well your easy-going way. To-morrow, you will forget all about poor Tom. I say, and with emphasis, we must find a career for our boy. As you have no ideas, I shall write to such of our friends as have experience of the world; and ask them either to advise us, by coming over here to a sort of family council, or else to tell us by letter. Your connections and mine have among them a great deal of experience: they know what prospects there are for the rising generation better than we can know, in this out-of-the-way place. So, I tell you, my dear, my mind’s made up; and to-morrow I will write the letters.’ ‘You are a genius, Maria, as I’ve often told you. I believe you would get us out of any hobble, however formidable. I haven’t the ghost of an idea; and you have the ideas themselves, heaps of them. Write, my dear, to all our relations that are likely to be of help to us; and we shall soon find a billet for Tom. God bless him! he is a good and clever boy, and deserves a splendid career. Don’t forget my brother John; as a London lawyer, he will be a host of advice in himself. And be sure to ask your cousin Richard, the parson; he has always been fond of Tom; and besides, he’s the shrewdest fellow I know, notwithstanding his cloth. He ought to have been a barrister. But, as that cannot be, he ought to be a bishop. How he would rule a diocese, Maria!’ In the course of a few weeks, the family council assembled, for the doctor was really much beloved by all his connections; and his wife had so couched her request for advice that it was quite irresistible. On a keen March day, uncles, cousins, and friends met; and after dining at the doctor’s hospitable table, they began to consider what career would be most likely to assure Tom of a happy and prosperous future. The reverend cousin presided, at the general request; and he opened the subject as follows: