Too Mild
When his friends secured for him a commission in the army they confidently expected him to develop a military genius of the first order.
Great was their chagrin, then, when, in the thick of his first battle, a courier having dashed up and asked him how long he could hold his position, he did not reply:
“Till hell freezes over!”
But merely:
“As long as may be necessary!”
Now, of course, there was nothing for his friends to do, in simple justice to themselves, but advise him to resign and engage in trade.