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The
famous
name
of
Merdle
became
,
every
day
,
more
famous
in
the
land
.
Nobody
knew
that
the
Merdle
of
such
high
renown
had
ever
done
any
good
to
any
one
,
alive
or
dead
,
or
to
any
earthly
thing
;
nobody
knew
that
he
had
any
capacity
or
utterance
of
any
sort
in
him
,
which
had
ever
thrown
,
for
any
creature
,
the
feeblest
farthing
-
candle
ray
of
light
on
any
path
of
duty
or
diversion
,
pain
or
pleasure
,
toil
or
rest
,
fact
or
fancy
,
among
the
multiplicity
of
paths
in
the
labyrinth
trodden
by
the
sons
of
Adam
;
nobody
had
the
smallest
reason
for
supposing
the
clay
of
which
this
object
of
worship
was
made
,
to
be
other
than
the
commonest
clay
,
with
as
clogged
a
wick
smouldering
inside
of
it
as
ever
kept
an
image
of
humanity
from
tumbling
to
pieces
.
All
people
knew
(
or
thought
they
knew
)
that
he
had
made
himself
immensely
rich
;
and
,
for
that
reason
alone
,
prostrated
themselves
before
him
,
more
degradedly
and
less
excusably
than
the
darkest
savage
creeps
out
of
his
hole
in
the
ground
to
propitiate
,
in
some
log
or
reptile
,
the
Deity
of
his
benighted
soul
.
Nay
,
the
high
priests
of
this
worship
had
the
man
before
them
as
a
protest
against
their
meanness
.
The
multitude
worshipped
on
trust
—
though
always
distinctly
knowing
why
—
but
the
officiators
at
the
altar
had
the
man
habitually
in
their
view
.
They
sat
at
his
feasts
,
and
he
sat
at
theirs
.
There
was
a
spectre
always
attendant
on
him
,
saying
to
these
high
priests
,
‘
Are
such
the
signs
you
trust
,
and
love
to
honour
;
this
head
,
these
eyes
,
this
mode
of
speech
,
the
tone
and
manner
of
this
man
?
You
are
the
levers
of
the
Circumlocution
Office
,
and
the
rulers
of
men
.
When
half
-
a
-
dozen
of
you
fall
out
by
the
ears
,
it
seems
that
mother
earth
can
give
birth
to
no
other
rulers
.
Does
your
qualification
lie
in
the
superior
knowledge
of
men
which
accepts
,
courts
,
and
puffs
this
man
?
Or
,
if
you
are
competent
to
judge
aright
the
signs
I
never
fail
to
show
you
when
he
appears
among
you
,
is
your
superior
honesty
your
qualification
?
’
Two
rather
ugly
questions
these
,
always
going
about
town
with
Mr
Merdle
;
and
there
was
a
tacit
agreement
that
they
must
be
stifled
.
In
Mrs
Merdle
’
s
absence
abroad
,
Mr
Merdle
still
kept
the
great
house
open
for
the
passage
through
it
of
a
stream
Of
visitors
.
A
few
of
these
took
affable
possession
of
the
establishment
.
Three
or
four
ladies
of
distinction
and
liveliness
used
to
say
to
one
another
,
‘
Let
us
dine
at
our
dear
Merdle
’
s
next
Thursday
.
Whom
shall
we
have
?
’
Our
dear
Merdle
would
then
receive
his
instructions
;
and
would
sit
heavily
among
the
company
at
table
and
wander
lumpishly
about
his
drawing
-
rooms
afterwards
,
only
remarkable
for
appearing
to
have
nothing
to
do
with
the
entertainment
beyond
being
in
its
way
.
The
Chief
Butler
,
the
Avenging
Spirit
of
this
great
man
’
s
life
,
relaxed
nothing
of
his
severity
.
He
looked
on
at
these
dinners
when
the
bosom
was
not
there
,
as
he
looked
on
at
other
dinners
when
the
bosom
was
there
;
and
his
eye
was
a
basilisk
to
Mr
Merdle
.
He
was
a
hard
man
,
and
would
never
bate
an
ounce
of
plate
or
a
bottle
of
wine
.
He
would
not
allow
a
dinner
to
be
given
,
unless
it
was
up
to
his
mark
.
He
set
forth
the
table
for
his
own
dignity
.
If
the
guests
chose
to
partake
of
what
was
served
,
he
saw
no
objection
;
but
it
was
served
for
the
maintenance
of
his
rank
.
As
he
stood
by
the
sideboard
he
seemed
to
announce
,
‘
I
have
accepted
office
to
look
at
this
which
is
now
before
me
,
and
to
look
at
nothing
less
than
this
.
’
If
he
missed
the
presiding
bosom
,
it
was
as
a
part
of
his
own
state
of
which
he
was
,
from
unavoidable
circumstances
,
temporarily
deprived
,
just
as
he
might
have
missed
a
centre
-
piece
,
or
a
choice
wine
-
cooler
,
which
had
been
sent
to
the
Banker
’
s
.
Mr
Merdle
issued
invitations
for
a
Barnacle
dinner
.
Lord
Decimus
was
to
be
there
,
Mr
Tite
Barnacle
was
to
be
there
,
the
pleasant
young
Barnacle
was
to
be
there
;
and
the
Chorus
of
Parliamentary
Barnacles
who
went
about
the
provinces
when
the
House
was
up
,
warbling
the
praises
of
their
Chief
,
were
to
be
represented
there
.
It
was
understood
to
be
a
great
occasion
.
Mr
Merdle
was
going
to
take
up
the
Barnacles
.
Some
delicate
little
negotiations
had
occurred
between
him
and
the
noble
Decimus
—
the
young
Barnacle
of
engaging
manners
acting
as
negotiator
—
and
Mr
Merdle
had
decided
to
cast
the
weight
of
his
great
probity
and
great
riches
into
the
Barnacle
scale
.
Jobbery
was
suspected
by
the
malicious
;
perhaps
because
it
was
indisputable
that
if
the
adherence
of
the
immortal
Enemy
of
Mankind
could
have
been
secured
by
a
job
,
the
Barnacles
would
have
jobbed
him
—
for
the
good
of
the
country
,
for
the
good
of
the
country
.
Mrs
Merdle
had
written
to
this
magnificent
spouse
of
hers
,
whom
it
was
heresy
to
regard
as
anything
less
than
all
the
British
Merchants
since
the
days
of
Whittington
rolled
into
one
,
and
gilded
three
feet
deep
all
over
—
had
written
to
this
spouse
of
hers
,
several
letters
from
Rome
,
in
quick
succession
,
urging
upon
him
with
importunity
that
now
or
never
was
the
time
to
provide
for
Edmund
Sparkler
.
Mrs
Merdle
had
shown
him
that
the
case
of
Edmund
was
urgent
,
and
that
infinite
advantages
might
result
from
his
having
some
good
thing
directly
.
In
the
grammar
of
Mrs
Merdle
’
s
verbs
on
this
momentous
subject
,
there
was
only
one
mood
,
the
Imperative
;
and
that
Mood
had
only
one
Tense
,
the
Present
.
Mrs
Merdle
’
s
verbs
were
so
pressingly
presented
to
Mr
Merdle
to
conjugate
,
that
his
sluggish
blood
and
his
long
coat
-
cuffs
became
quite
agitated
.
In
which
state
of
agitation
,
Mr
Merdle
,
evasively
rolling
his
eyes
round
the
Chief
Butler
’
s
shoes
without
raising
them
to
the
index
of
that
stupendous
creature
’
s
thoughts
,
had
signified
to
him
his
intention
of
giving
a
special
dinner
:
not
a
very
large
dinner
,
but
a
very
special
dinner
.
The
Chief
Butler
had
signified
,
in
return
,
that
he
had
no
objection
to
look
on
at
the
most
expensive
thing
in
that
way
that
could
be
done
;
and
the
day
of
the
dinner
was
now
come
.
Mr
Merdle
stood
in
one
of
his
drawing
-
rooms
,
with
his
back
to
the
fire
,
waiting
for
the
arrival
of
his
important
guests
.
He
seldom
or
never
took
the
liberty
of
standing
with
his
back
to
the
fire
unless
he
was
quite
alone
.
In
the
presence
of
the
Chief
Butler
,
he
could
not
have
done
such
a
deed
.
