He must get a "permanency"; at his age it was time he settled into a life of respect able routine.

But for his foolish habit of living from hand to mouth, now in this business, now in that, indulging his taste for variety, Mrs.Clover would never, he felt sure, have "put her foot down" in that astonishing way.

The best thing he could do was to show himself in a new light.
Thanks to his good nature, his practicality, and the multitude of his acquaintances, all manner of shiftless or luckless fellows were in the habit of looking to him for advice and help.

As soon as they found themselves adrift they turned to Gammon.

Every day he had a letter asking him to find a "berth" or a "billet" for some out-at-elbows friend, and in a surprising number of cases he was able to make a useful suggestion.