Two things, no doubt, were against his regarding himself as a
rich man. Ever since he had commenced life in London he had been more or
less in debt; and then, unfortunately, he had acquired a seat in
Parliament at a period of his career in which the dangers of such a
position were greater than the advantages. Nevertheless he could earn an
income on which he and his wife, were he to marry, could live in all
comfort; and as to his debts, if he would set his shoulder to the work
they might be paid off in a twelvemonth. There was nothing in the prospect
which would frighten Lucy, though there might be a question whether he
possessed the courage needed for so violent a change.
He had chambers in the Temple; he lived in rooms which he hired from month
to month in one of the big hotels at the West End; and he dined at his
club, or at the House, when he was not dining with a friend. It was an
expensive and a luxurious mode of life, and one from the effects of which
a man is prone to drift very quickly into selfishness. He was by no means
given to drinking, but he was already learning to like good wine. Small
economies in reference to cab-hire, gloves, umbrellas, and railway fares,
were unknown to him.
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