CHAPTER IX 



Two events occur, of groat inlliience upon tlie caiecr of the hero : lie takes his 

 degree at Oxford, and loses his brother, wliereby he becomes heir to the 

 goodly domains of Amstead. 



We now proceed to rather an awful period in the lives of 

 young English gentlemen, and of such, especially, as may wish 

 to distinguish themselves as scholars — namely, the taking a 

 degree at college. At the period, however, to which we are 

 now alluding, between thirty and forty years back, this was 

 a less serious affair than it now is, inasmuch as the under- 

 graduates and examining masters — of Oxford, in particular — 

 were more intimately associated with college convivialities 

 than they now are ; so much so, indeed, that not only, in 

 many cases, were the selection of the master to examine them, 

 and the books in which they were to be examined, left to the 

 candidate's choice, but, on the preceding evening, at what is 

 now called, amongst the vulgar, ' a good blow out,' at the said 

 candidate's expense, the very passages in the chosen authors 

 were pointed out as having been carefully perused for the 

 occasion. 



The sequel to this part of the progress of my hero and his 

 brother is soon told. Andrew took a first-class degree, and 

 was highly complimented in the schools ; and Frank obtained 

 one quite above the average of those taken, or even tried for, 

 by young gentlemen brought up as he had been brought up, 

 amongst hounds, horses, gamekeepers, and coachmen, and 

 whose mind was strongly bent towards all uses to which such 

 animals are applied. 



Having completed their Oxford ' trials,' everything was 

 arranged for the departure of the two Rabys on their travels, 

 when an unexpected event put a stop to it. The insidious 

 disease which had lono; been making silent, though certain, 

 inroads on the naturally weakl}' constitution of the elder 

 brother, now showed itself openly ; and it was the opinion of 

 his medical attendants that a continental tour was out of the 



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