 He intended, at first, to practise law, but he soon gave it up to write songs for the stage, including for a production of "Alice in Wonderland", while still at Oxford, in which Lewis Carroll collaborated.Rubens supplied lyrics and melodies for a number of successful musicals in the 1890s, beginning with "The Little Chinchilla" in the hit musical "The Shop Girl" (1894), sung by Ellaline Terriss at the Gaiety Theatre, London.Rubens was a talented melodist, but, lacking musical training, others had to supply the accompaniment for his songs.