Gilbert worked in the civil service for a few years, but he did not like it. He studied law and became a lawyer, but not many people hired him. To make more money, he wrote short stories and comic poems for magazines. He also worked as a theatre critic. Gilbert made drawings for some of his poems and signed them "Bab", a nickname he had when he was a baby. Those poems became known as "The Bab Ballads" and were very popular.