Dick established himself in quarters more riotous than respectable. He spent
his evenings on the quay, and boarded many ships, and saw very many friends,--
gracious Englishwomen with whom he had talked not too wisely in the veranda of
Shepherd's Hotel, hurrying war correspondents, skippers of the contract troop-
ships employed in the campaign, army officers by the score, and others of less
reputable trades.
He had choice of all the races of the East and West for studies, and the
advantage of seeing his subjects under the influence of strong excitement, at
the gaming-tables, saloons, dancing-hells, and elsewhere. For recreation there
was the straight vista of the Canal, the blazing sands, the procession of
shipping, and the white hospitals where the English soldiers lay. He strove to
set down in black and white and colour all that Providence sent him, and when
that supply was ended sought about for fresh material. It was a fascinating
employment, but it ran away with his money, and he had drawn in advance the
hundred and twenty pounds to which he was entitled yearly. "Now I shall have to
work and starve!" thought he, and was addressing himself to this new fate when
a mysterious telegram arrived from Torpenhow in England, which said, "Come
back, quick; you have caught on.
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