 Sir Mulberry Hawk, who now began to feel his
character, even in the estimation of his two dependants, involved in the
successful reduction of her pride - that she had no intervals of peace or rest,
except at those hours when she could sit in her solitary room, and weep over the
trials of the day - all these were consequences naturally flowing from the
well-laid plans of Sir Mulberry, and their able execution by the auxiliaries,
Pyke and Pluck.
    And thus for a fortnight matters went on. That any but the weakest and
silliest of people could have seen in one interview that Lord Frederick
Verisopht, though he was a lord, and Sir Mulberry Hawk, though he was a baronet,
were not persons accustomed to be the best possible companions, and were
certainly not calculated by habits, manners, tastes, or conversation, to shine
with any very great lustre in the society of ladies, need scarcely be remarked.
But with Mrs. Wititterly the two titles were all-sufficient; coarseness became
humour, vulgarity softened itself down into the most charming eccentricity;
insolence took the guise of an easy absence of reserve, attainable only by those
who had had the good fortune to mix with high folks.
    If the mistress put such a construction upon the behaviour of her new
friends, what could the companion urge against them? If they accustomed
themselves to very little restraint before the lady of the house, with how much
more freedom could they address her paid dependant! Nor was even this the worst.
As the odious Sir Mulberry Hawk attached himself to Kate with less and less of
disguise, Mrs. Wititterly began to grow jealous of the superior attractions of
Miss Nickleby. If this feeling had led to her banishment from the drawing-room
when such company was there, Kate would have been only too happy and willing
that it should have existed, but unfortunately for her she possessed that native
grace and true gentility of manner, and those thousand nameless accomplishments
which give to female society its greatest charm; if these be valuable anywhere,
they were especially so where the lady of the house was a mere animated doll.
The consequence was, that Kate had the double mortification of being an
indispensable part of the circle when Sir Mulberry and his friends were there,
and of being exposed, on that very account, to all Mrs. Wititterly's ill-humours
and caprices when they were gone. She became utterly and completely miserable.
    Mrs. Wititterly had never thrown off the mask with regard to Sir Mulberry,
but when she was more than usually out of temper, attributed the circumstance,
as
