For the next twelve years he served on the staff of The Morning Post, becoming its representative at St. Petersburg in 1850. In 1852 his first novel, Harding, the Money-Spinner, appeared, serially, in the London Journal, and in 1856, on the occasion of the coronation of Alexander II of Russia, he was again at St. Petersburg representing The Morning Post.
For the next twelve years, he worked for The Morning Post, becoming its representative in St. Petersburg in 1850. His first novel, Harding, the Money-Spinner, was published serially in the London Journal in 1852 and again represented The Morning Post at St. Petersburg in 1856 during the coronation of Alexander II of Russia.