Indeed, such an Association as ours was enough work for any man, let alone the parliamentary duties which Brough was called on to perform, and the seventy-two lawsuits which burst upon him as principal director of the late companies.
Perhaps I should here describe the desperate attempts made by Mrs.
Hoggarty to introduce herself into genteel life.

Strange to say, although we had my Lord Tiptoff's word to the contrary, she insisted upon it that she and Lady Drum were intimately related; and no sooner did she read in the _Morning Post_ of the arrival of her Ladyship and her granddaughters in London, than she ordered the fly before mentioned, and left cards at their respective houses: her card, that is--"MRS.

HOGGARTY of CASTLE HOGGARTY," magnificently engraved in Gothic letters and flourishes; and ours, viz., "Mr.and Mrs.S.Titmarsh," which she had printed for the purpose.
She would have stormed Lady Jane Preston's door and forced her way upstairs, in spite of Mary's entreaties to the contrary, had the footman who received her card given her the least encouragement; but that functionary, no doubt struck by the oddity of her appearance, placed himself in the front of the door, and declared that he had positive orders not to admit any strangers to his lady.

On which Mrs.Hoggarty clenched her fist out of the coach-window, and promised that she would have him turned away.
Yellowplush only burst out laughing at this; and though Aunt wrote a most indignant letter to Mr.Edmund Preston, complaining of the insolence of the servants of that right honourable gent, Mr.Preston did not take any notice of her letter, further than to return it, with a desire that he might not be troubled with such impertinent visits for the future.

A pretty day we had of it when this letter arrived, owing to my aunt's disappointment and rage in reading the contents; for when Solomon brought up the note on the silver tea-tray as usual, my aunt, seeing Mr.
Preston's seal and name at the corner of the letter (which is the common way of writing adopted by those official gents)--my aunt, I say, seeing his name and seal, cried, "_Now_, Mary, who is right ?" and betted my wife a sixpence that the envelope contained an invitation to dinner.