It was the nature of Tudor's disposition, that he never for a moment rested satisfied with the round of the ladder on which he had contrived to place himself.

He had no sooner gained a step than he looked upwards to see how the next step was to be achieved.

His motto might well have been 'Excelsior!' if only he could have taught himself to look to heights that were really high.

When he found that the august Secretary received him on his promotion without much _empressement_, he comforted himself by calculating how long it would be before he should fill that Secretary's chair--if indeed it should ever be worth his while to fill it.
The Secretary at the Weights and Measures had, after all, but a dull time of it, and was precluded by the routine of his office from parliamentary ambition and the joys of government.

Alaric was already beginning to think that this Weights and Measures should only be a stepping-stone to him; and that when Sir Gregory, with his stern dogma of devotion to the service, had been of sufficient use to him, he also might with advantage be thrown over.