eful man--extra clerk, assistant
storekeeper, et cetera, et cetera. I like Egypt very much. It will suit
me to a T. At any rate, it will be a vast improvement upon this.

"Talking of that, I have forgotten the rashers. I will go and get them,
at once. We sha'n't have to depend upon them as our main staple, in
future; for fruit is dirt cheap, out there, and one does not want much
meat. We shall be able to live like princes, on two pounds ten a week;
and besides, this appointment may lead to something better, and we may
consider that there is a future before us.

"We are to sail on Thursday. Look! Here are fifteen golden sovereigns.
That is for my outfit, and we can begin with luxuries, at once. We
shall not want much outfit: half a dozen suits of white drill for
myself, and some gowns for you."

"Nonsense, Gregory! I sha'n't want anything. You would not let me sell
any of my dresses, and I have half a dozen light ones. I shall not want
a penny spent on me."

"Very well; then I will begin to be extravagant, at once. In the first
place, I will go down to that confectioner's, round the corner; and we
will celebrate my appointment with a cold chicken, and a bottle of
port. I shall be back in five minutes."

"Will it be very hot, Gregory?" she asked, as they ate their meal. "Not
that I am afraid of heat, you know. I always like summer."

"No. At any rate, not at present. We are going out at the best time of
the year, and it will be a comfort, indeed, to change these November
fogs for the sunshine of Egypt. You will have four or five months to
get strong again, before it begins to be hot. Even in summer, there are
cool breezes morning and evening; and of course, no one thinks of going
out in the middle of the day. I feel as happy as a schoolboy, at the
thought of getting out of this den and this miserable climate, and of
basking in the sunshine. We have had a bad beginning, dear, but we have
better days before us."

"Thank God, Gregory! I have not cared about myself. But it has been a
trial, when your manuscripts have come back, to see you sitting here
slaving away; and to know that it is I who have brought you to this."

"I brought myself to it, you obstinate girl! I have pleased myself,
haven't I? If a man chooses a path for himself, he must not grumble
because he finds it rather rougher than he expected. I have never, for
a single moment, regretted what I have done; at any rate, as far as I,
myself, am concerned."