But the arrival even of the bishop and his wife did not make the place cheerful to Frank Gresham, and he began to long for Miss Dunstable, in order that he might have something to do.  He could not get on at all with Mr Moffat.  He had expected that the man would at once have called him Frank, and that he would have called the man Gustavus; but they did not even get beyond Mr Moffat and Mr Gresham.  ’Very hot in Barchester, to-day, very,’ was the nearest approach to conversation which Frank could attain with him; and as far as he, Frank, could see, Augusta never got much beyond it.  There might be tete-a-tete meetings between them, but, if so, Frank could not detect when they took place; and so, opening his heart at last to the Honourable George, for the want of a better confidant, he expressed his opinion that his future brother-in-law was a muff.

’A muff—­I believe you too.  What do you think now?  I have been with him and Nearthewinde in Barchester these three days past, looking up the electors’ wives and daughters, and that kind of thing.’

‘I say, if there is any fun in it you might as well take me with you.’

’Oh, there is not much fun; they are mostly so slobbered and dirty.  A sharp fellow in Nearthewinde, and knows what he is about well.’

‘Does he look up the wives and daughters too?’

’Oh, he goes on every tack just as it’s wanted.  But there was Moffat, yesterday, in a room behind the milliner’s shop near Cuthbert’s Gate; I was with him.  The woman’s husband is one of the choristers and an elector, you know, and Moffat went to look for his vote.  Now, there was no one there when we got there but the three young women, the wife, that is, and her two girls—­very pretty women they are too.’

’I say, George, I’ll go and get the chorister’s vote for Moffat; I ought to do it as he’s to be my brother-in-law.’

‘But what do you think Moffat said to the women?’

‘Can’t guess—­he didn’t kiss them, did he?’

’Kiss any of them?  No; but he begged to give them his positive assurance as a gentleman that if he was returned to Parliament he would vote for an extension of the franchise, and the admission of the Jews into the Parliament.’

‘Well, he is a muff,’ said Frank.

CHAPTER XVI

MISS DUNSTABLE

At last the great Miss Dunstable came.  Frank, when he heard that the heiress had arrived, felt some slight palpitation at his heart.  He had not the remotest idea in the world of marrying her; indeed, during the last week past, absence had so heightened his love for Mary Thorne that he was more than ever resolved that he would never marry any one but her.  He knew that he had made her a formal offer for her hand, and that it behoved him to keep to it, let the charms of Miss Dunstable be what they might; but, nevertheless, he was prepared to go through a certain amount of courtship, in obedience to his aunt’s behests, and he felt a little nervous at being brought up in that way, face to face, to do battle with two hundred thousand pounds.