But his great desire would be to support his own wife by his own labour.  At present he was hardly in a fair way to do that, unless he could get paid for his parliamentary work.  Those fortunate gentlemen who form “The Government” are so paid.  Yes;—­there was the Treasury Bench open to him, and he must resolve that he would seat himself there.  He would make Lady Laura understand this, and then he would ask his question.  It was true that at present his political opponents had possession of the Treasury Bench;—­but all governments are mortal, and Conservative governments in this country are especially prone to die.  It was true that he could not hold even a Treasury lordship with a poor thousand a year for his salary without having to face the electors of Loughshane again before he entered upon the enjoyment of his place;—­but if he could only do something to give a grace to his name, to show that he was a rising man, the electors of Loughshane, who had once been so easy with him, would surely not be cruel to him when he showed himself a second time among them.  Lord Tulla was his friend, and he had those points of law in his favour which possession bestows.  And then he remembered that Lady Laura was related to almost everybody who was anybody among the high Whigs.  She was, he knew, second cousin to Mr. Mildmay, who for years had been the leader of the Whigs, and was third cousin to Barrington Erle.  The late President of the Council, the Duke of St. Bungay, and Lord Brentford had married sisters, and the St. Bungay people, and the Mildmay people, and the Brentford people had all some sort of connection with the Palliser people, of whom the heir and coming chief, Plantagenet Palliser, would certainly be Chancellor of the Exchequer in the next Government.  Simply as an introduction into official life nothing could be more conducive to chances of success than a matrimonial alliance with Lady Laura.  Not that he would have thought of such a thing on that account!  No;—­he thought of it because he loved her; honestly because he loved her.  He swore to that half a dozen times, for his own satisfaction.  But, loving her as he did, and resolving that in spite of all difficulties she should become his wife, there could be no reason why he should not,—­on her account as well as on his own,—­take advantage of any circumstances that there might be in his favour.

As he wandered among the unsavoury beasts, elbowed on every side by the Sunday visitors to the garden, he made up his mind that he would first let Lady Laura understand what were his intentions with regard to his future career, and then he would ask her to join her lot to his.  At every turn the chances would of course be very much against him;—­ten to one against him, perhaps, on every point; but it was his lot in life to have to face such odds.  Twelve months since it had been much more than ten to one against his getting into Parliament; and yet he was there.  He expected to be blown into fragments,—­to sheep-skinning in Australia, or packing preserved meats on the plains of Paraguay; but when the blowing into atoms should come, he was resolved that courage to bear the ruin should not be wanting.  Then he quoted a line or two of a Latin poet, and felt himself to be comfortable.