Even when he left school he took no holiday, so strong in him was the desire to get to work and enter the Civil Service.

Yet, for all the encomiums contained in his diploma, he had much ado to procure a nomination to a Government Department; and only after a long time was a minor post found for him, at a salary of thirty or fourty roubles a year.

Nevertheless, wretched though this appointment was, he determined, by strict attention to business, to overcome all obstacles, and to win success.

And, indeed, the self-denial, the patience, and the economy which he displayed were remarkable.

From early morn until late at night he would, with indefatigable zeal of body and mind, remain immersed in his sordid task of copying official documents--never going home, snatching what sleep he could on tables in the building, and dining with the watchman on duty.
Yet all the while he contrived to remain clean and neat, to preserve a cheerful expression of countenance, and even to cultivate a certain elegance of movement.