compassed, it was true; but what were
they? What good had she gathered from
the money, beyond the fact of the mere
material comforts of house, and dress, and
equipage? What was the position, but that
of wife of the leading man in the very
narrow circle in which she had always
lived? She was the centre of the circle,
truly; but the circle itself had not enlarged.
The elegant carriage, and the champing
horses, and the obsequious servants were
gratifying in their way; but there was but
little satisfaction in thinking that the sight
of her enjoyment of them was confined to
Jack Forman, sunning himself at the ale-
house door, and vacantly doffing his cap as
homage to her as she swept by, or to the
villagers amongst whom she had been
reared, who ran to their doors as they
heard the rumbling of the wheels, and
returned to their back parlours, envying her
her state, it is true, but congratulating
themselves with the recollection of the ultimate
fate of Dives in the parable, and assuring
each other that the difference of sex would
have no material effect on the great result.
Dull, cruelly dull, that was all she could
make of it, look at it how she would. To
people of their social status society in that
neighbourhood was infinitely more limited
than to those in lower grades. An
occasional visit from, and an occasional dinner
with, Sir Thomas and Lady Churchill at
the Park, or some of the richer and more
influential Brocksopp commercial
magnates, comprised all their attempts at
society. The rector of Helmingham was a
studious man, who cared little for heavy
dinner-parties, and a proud man, who
would accept no hospitality which he could
not return in an equal way; and as for Dr.
Osborne, he had been remarkably sparing
of his visits to Woolgreaves since his
passage of arms with Mrs. Creswell. When
he did call he invariably addressed himself
to Mr. Creswell, and did not in the least
attempt to conceal that his feelings had
been wounded by Marian in a manner
which no lapse of time could heal.

No! the fact was there! the money had
been gained, but what it had brought was
utterly insufficient to Marian's requirements.
The evil passion of ambition,
which had always been dormant in her,
overpowered by the evil passion of avarice,
began, now that the cravings of its sister
vice were appeased, to clamour aloud and
make itself heard. What good to a savage
is the possession of the gem of purest
ray serene, when by his comrades a bit of
glass or tinsel would be equally prized and
appreciated? What good was the
possession of wealth among the inhabitants of
Helmingham and Brocksopp, by whom the
Churchills of the Park were held in far
greater honour, as being—a statement
which, though religiously believed, was
utterly devoid of foundation—of the "raal
owd stock?" The notion of her husband's
election to parliament gave Marian new
hopes, and new ideas. Unconsciously
throughout her life she had lived upon
excitement, and she required it still. In
what she had imagined were merely
humdrum days in the bygone times she had
had her excitement of plotting and scheming
how to make both ends meet, and of
dreaming of the possible riches; then she
had her love affair, and there had flashed
into her mind the great idea of her life, the
intention of establishing herself as mistress
of Woolgreaves. All these things were
now played out; the riches had come, the
old love was buried beneath them, the
position was attained. But the necessity for
excitement remained, and there was a chance
for gratifying it. Marian was pining for
society. What was the use of her being
clever, as she had always been considered, if
the candle of her talent were always to be
hidden under the Brocksopp bushel? She
longed to mix with clever people, amongst
whom she would be able to hold her own
by her natural gifts, and more than her
own by her wealth. To be known in the
London world, with the entry into it which
her husband's position would secure to her,
and then to distinguish herself there, that
was the new excitement which Marian
Creswell craved, and day by day she
recurred to the subject of the election, and
discussed its details with her husband,
delighting him with the interest which she
showed in the scheme, and by the shrewd
practical common sense which she brought
to bear upon it.

Meanwhile the relations existing between
Mrs. Creswell and her recently acquired
connexions, Maud and Gertrude, had not
been placed on any more satisfactory footing.
They lived together under an armed
truce rather than a state of peace, seeing as
little of each other as possible, Marian
ignoring the girls in every possible way,
except when they were perforce brought
under her notice, and the girls studiously
acting without reference to any supposed
wishes or ideas of Mrs. Creswell's. Mr.
Creswell followed his wife's lead exactly;
he was so entirely wrapped up in her and