The High Cost of Qualification
The fellow dependent reveals the full cost of his own qualification: 13 shillings for the Surgeons’ Hall exam, plus half a guinea and half a crown for the warrant itself, plus a 3-pound, 12-shilling bribe for the Board secretary. The narrator is horrified by this news, as his entire remaining fortune amounts to only 12 shillings, far less than the amount required to proceed.
Strap’s Suspicions of the Stranger
The fellow dependent offers to lend the narrator the money he needs once he receives his own upcoming payment, and asks the narrator to lend him five shillings for pocket expenses in the meantime. The narrator, grateful for the offer, agrees and empties his entire remaining purse for the stranger. When the narrator later tells Strap about the encounter, Strap expresses reservations about lending money to an unknown stranger given their recent experience with fraud, though he notes that if the man is indeed Scottish, the risk may be lower.
第十六章
The events of Chapter XVI follow the narrator as he pursues the paperwork required to qualify for a naval surgeon examination, reconnects with his unreliable acquaintance Bean Jackson, and navigates financial strain and lighthearted banter with his servant Strap as he attempts to secure funds for his upcoming examination fees.
A Broken Appointment
The narrator arrives at the pre-arranged meeting place two hours early and waits two hours in vain for his acquaintance (later identified as Bean Jackson) to arrive. Furious at the broken appointment, he travels alone to London’s Navy Office to seek out Jackson and confront him for his breach of promise.
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