Lady Laura Standish Phineas, in describing Lady Laura Standish to Mary Flood Jones at Killaloe, had not painted her in very glowing colours.

Nevertheless he admired Lady Laura very much, and she was worthy of admiration.

It was probably the greatest pride of our hero's life that Lady Laura Standish was his friend, and that she had instigated him to undertake the risk of parliamentary life.

Lady Laura was intimate also with Barrington Erle, who was, in some distant degree, her cousin; and Phineas was not without a suspicion that his selection for Loughshane, from out of all the young liberal candidates, may have been in some degree owing to Lady Laura's influence with Barrington Erle.

He was not unwilling that it should be so; for though, as he had repeatedly told himself, he was by no means in love with Lady Laura,--who was, as he imagined, somewhat older than himself,--nevertheless, he would feel gratified at accepting anything from her hands, and he felt a keen desire for some increase to those ties of friendship which bound them together.