Resignation is the most loathsome of the virtues." "I can't say I care for any of them very much," put in Maurice.
"No; I thought you seemed to shun them," said Jack, like a flash.
"Sharp! very sharp! Jocelyn, do you know what we called him at school ?--the French nail; he was so very long and thin and sharp! I might add polished and strong, but we were not so polite in those days.

Poor old Jack! he gave as good as he got.

But I must be off--the commerce of Western Africa awaits me.

You'll be round at the office presently, I suppose, Jack ?" "Yes; I have an appointment there with a coloured person who is a liar by nature and a cook by trade." Maurice Gordon usually went off like this--at a moment's notice.

He was one of those loud-speaking, quick-actioned men, who often get a reputation for energy and capacity without fully deserving it.
Jack, of a more meditative habit, rarely followed his host with the same obvious haste.