I could not support myself in comfort on less than five hundred; and I shall in all probability have many others to support.

The prospects of our family are, if possible, darker than ever.
In the meantime my political outlook is very gloomy.

A schism in the Ministry is approaching.

It requires only that common knowledge of public affairs, which any reader of the newspapers may possess, to see this; and I have more, much more, than common knowledge on the subject.
They cannot hold together.

I tell you in perfect seriousness that my chance of keeping my present situation for six months is so small, that I would willingly sell it for fifty pounds down.