 Six months after James's election, Christopher wrote to Lady Lowther (the wife of Sir John of Lowther) telling her he had abstained from drink and gambling for five months and asking her to intercede for him with his father.The further return of James as MP for Carlisle at the general election of 1695 aroused great jealousy in him, and he began drinking again.In 1696, Sir John was contemplating sending Christopher to Whitehaven, with a moderate allowance, but was advised against it by William Gilpin, the steward of his Whitehaven estates, who pointed out that this would remove Christopher from most possibilities of innocent diversion, but not from temptation (the sons of the local gentry included notorious wastrels and drunkards), that to put Christopher at Whitehaven would give him the opportunity to supplement his income by the promise of future favours to those doing business with the Lowthers and to blast his reputation in the very place it would do most harm.