He was thinking of her--the scheme, I would say--at present.
These chambers of his were in Westminster; they were spacious, convenient; he had received deputations from his constituents here.
Lambeth was only just over the water; he liked to be near, for it was one of his hobbies, one of the very few that he allowed himself, to keep thoroughly cognisant of the affairs of his borough--which, as you are aware, includes the district of Lambeth--even of its petty affairs.
Some day, he said to himself, he would in this way overlook Great Britain--would have her statistics at his finger-ends, would change here, confirm there, guide everywhere.

In the meantime he satisfied himself with this section.

He knew what was going on in workmen's clubs, in places of amusement, in the market streets.

There is a pleasure in surveying from a height the doing and driving of ordinary mortals; a member for Vauxhall studying his borough in this spirit naturally comes to feel himself a sort of Grand Duke.
It was one o'clock.

There came a knock at the door, followed by the appearance of a middle-aged man who silently proclaimed himself a secretary.