Her ambition was to pass beyond the ranks of the "shoddy" aristocracy to those of the old-established families.

Now, the Seymours, the Fergusons, and the Wilcoxes were families of this sort; and none of them had ever cared to conceal the fact, that they did not intend to know the Follingsbees.

The marriage of Lillie into the Seymour family was the opening of a door; and Mrs.Follingsbee had been at Lillie's feet during her Newport campaign.

On the other hand, Lillie, having taken the sense of the situation at Springdale, had cast her thoughts forward like a discreet young woman, and perceived in advance of her a very dull domestic winter, enlivened only by reading-circles and such slow tea-parties as unsophisticated Springdale found agreeable.

The idea of a long visit to the New-York alhambra of the Follingsbees in the winter, with balls, parties, unlimited opera-boxes, was not a thing to be disregarded; and so, when Mrs.Follingsbee "_ma chered_" Lillie, Lillie "my deared" Mrs.Follingsbee: and the pair are to be seen at this blessed moment sitting with their arms tenderly round each other's waists on a _causeuse_ in Mrs.Follingsbee's dressing-room.
"You don't know, _mignonne_," said Mrs.Follingsbee, "how perfectly _ravissante_ these apartments are! I'm so glad poor Charlie did them so well for you.