She thrust aside these thoughts as
disloyal and false. But they persisted in returning.
If she had been less appreciative of Howard's intellect, less fascinated by
the charm of his personality, she would soon have become one of the
"misunderstood" women in search of "consolation." Instead, she turned her
mind in the direction natural to her character--social ambition.
XXIII.
EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING.
In such a city as New York, to be deliberately careful about money is the
only way to keep within one's income, whether it be vast or small. There
are temptations to buy at the end of every glance of the eye. The merchants
are crafty in producing new and insidious allurements, in creating new and
expensive tastes. But these might be resisted were it not that the habits
of all one's associates are constantly and all but irresistibly stimulating
the faculty of imitation.
Neither Howard nor Marian had been brought up to be watchful about money.
Both had been accustomed to having their wants supplied. And now that they
had a household and a growing income, it was a matter of course that their
expenditures should steadily expand. Before three years had passed they
were spending more than double the sum which at the outset they had fixed
upon as their limit.
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