This phrase seems to be an interesting way of saying that
they are looking for something useful to do with their time, like a career or hobby, or
some small way to stay busy and earn some money for themselves. Gentlemen, meaning, men
who had money that they didn't really work for, had a lot of time on their hands, and so
Pip and Herbert were discussing the merits of finding something to do with their time.
"Looking about" seems to imply that they haven't decided what to do, and were fine with
that. Pip asks Herbert if he has actually embarked on the various ventures that he was
discussing, and Herbert said no, that he was still "looking about," meaning, he hadn't
decided and hadn't committed. He could have gone into shipping, or trading, or
accounting, but hadn't committed and was still looking around for something, and keeping
his options open.
Looking about is a luxury that the
wealthy could afford at that time; they had a lot ideas and schemes of things to do with
their time to be useful, but rarely acted on them. This is how Pip and Herbert end up
wasting a lot of time and money. I hope that helps; good luck!
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