the victorian grand tour was a requisite rite of passage for every self-respecting young man of a certain rank and social status in the nineteenth century , in order to complete his education and gain what was considered essential life experience , but the bold continental travellers of their day could never have foreseen such a journey as the one that martin meek was to embark upon over the course of the next few years , compensation indeed for the insults endured , and arduous work suffered , in the service of the ever irascible garnet wendelson .