Grief requires leisure to give itself free vent; but when we are compelled, by absolute necessity, to earn our daily bread, we cannot find time for tears; and such was the case with Willis and his two friends; they were here without a friend and without resources of any kind whatever.
If they had only known Greek and Latin; if they had only been half doctors or three-quarter barristers, or if even they had been doctors and lawyers complete, it would have sorely puzzled their skill to have raised a single sous in hard cash.

Fortunately, however, whilst cultivating their minds, they had acquired the art of handling a saw and wielding a hammer.

The blouse of the workman, consequently, fitted them as well as the gown of the student, and they set themselves manfully to earn a living by the sweat of their brow.

They were carpenters and blacksmiths by turns, regulating their occupations by the grand doctrines of supply and demand.
Jack alone of the three was defective in steadiness; he only joined Willis and his brother at mid-day.

What he did with himself during the forenoon was a profound mystery.