The success of this great scheme, and the serious and kindly zeal with which Thorsby had carried it out, completed that regard of his townsmen which had been gradually reviving towards him. The steady decorum, the real wisdom of his deportment and life, and the high regard in which they saw him held by the most eminent of his townsmen, eminent as much for their virtues as their wealth, raised Thorsby to a pitch of popularity with the masses which was an enthusiasm. He was declared to be the pre-eminent friend of the people, and they determined to send him to parliament. In this idea, those, indeed, who could at that time send him to parliament, happened to coincide. Thorsby had grown into a great authority in the corporation. They saw that he sought nothing for himself, all his proposals were for the good of the town at large, and had succeeded wonderfully. But to this honour of representing his native place Thorsby would not consent. He declared that he lived for his town and his townspeople, but that he did not aspire to live for the nation. He would unite with them in selecting the most suitable man to represent them in the national council, but he would never go there himself. He felt that he could do little in that national assembly, as then constituted, but that he could do much in constant work for the prosperity, improvement, and enlightenment of his own town and neighbourhood. Beyond that he had no ambition, or rather he knew of no higher ambition than to prosecute the interests and the happiness of eighty thousand people, who relied on, and responded to his exertions.