sk, and when he was at his desk he did not whittle
his ruler, or pick his teeth, or clip his nails. Upon the whole
his friends were pleased with the first five years of his life in
London--in spite of his having been found to be in debt on more than
one occasion. But his debts had been paid; and all was going on
swimmingly, when one day he knocked down the parliamentary agent
with a blow between the eyes, and then there was an end of that.
He himself was wont to say that he had known very well what he was
about, that it had behoved him to knock down the man who was to have
been his partner, and that he regretted nothing in the matter. At any
rate the deed was looked upon with approving eyes by many men of good
standing,--or, at any rate, sufficient standing to help George to
another position; and within six weeks of the time of his leaving the
office at Whitehall, he had become a partner in an established firm
of wine merchants. A great-aunt had just then left him a couple of
thousand pounds, which no doubt assisted him in his views with the
wine merchants.

In this employment he remained for another period of five years, and
was supposed by all his friends to be doing very well. And indeed
he did not do badly, only that he did not do well enough to satisfy
himself. He was ambitious of making the house to which he belonged
the first house in the trade in London, and scared his partners by
the boldness and extent of his views. He himself declared that if
they would only have gone along with him he would have made them
princes in the wine market. But they were men either of more prudence
or of less audacity than he, and they declined to walk in his
courses. At the end of the five years Vavasor left the house, not
having knocked any one down on this occasion, and taking with him a
very nice sum of money.

The two last of these five years had certainly been the best period
of his life, for he had really worked very hard, like a man, giving
up all pleasure that took time from him,--and giving up also most
pleasures which were dangerous on account of their costliness. He
went to no races, played no billiards, and spoke of Cremorne as a
childish thing, which he had abandoned now that he was no longer
a child. It was during these two years that he had had his love
passages with his cousin; and it must be presumed that he had, at any
rate, intended at one time to settle himself respectably as a married
man. He had, however, b