第41章

ButnowthatIresumethemainlineofmystoryitmaybewelltodescribethepersonalappearanceofmyuncleasIrememberhimduringthosemagnificentyearsthatfollowedhispassagefromtradetofinance。ThelittlemanplumpedupveryconsiderablyduringthecreationoftheTono-Bungayproperty，butwiththeincreasingexcitementsthatfollowedthatfirstflotationcamedyspepsiaandacertainflabbinessandfallingaway。Hisabdomen——ifthereaderwillpardonmytakinghisfeaturesintheorderoftheirvalue——hadatfirstanicefullroundness，butafterwardsitlosttonewithout，however，losingsize。Healwayswentasthoughhewasproudofitandwouldmakeasmuchofitaspossible。Tothelasthismovementsremainedquickandsudden，hisshortfirmlegs，ashewalked，seemedtotwinkleratherthandisplaythescissors-strideofcommonhumanity，andheneverseemedtohaveknees，butinstead，adispersedflexibilityoflimb。

Therewas，Iseemtoremember，asecularintensificationofhisfeatures；hisnosedevelopedcharacter，becameaggressive，stuckoutattheworldmoreandmore；theobliquityofhismouth，I

think，increased。Fromthefacethatreturnstomymemoryprojectsalongcigarthatissometimescockedjauntilyupfromthehighercorner，thatsometimesdroopsfromthelower；——itwasaseloquentasadog’stail，andheremoveditonlyforthemoreemphaticmodesofspeech。Heassumedabroadblackribbonforhisglasses，andworethemmoreandmoreaskewastimewenton。

Hishairseemedtostiffenwithsuccess，buttowardstheclimaxitthinnedgreatlyoverthecrown，andhebrushedithardbackoverhisearswhere，however，itstuckoutfiercely。Italwaysstuckoutfiercelyoverhisforehead，upandforward。

HeadoptedanurbanstyleofdressingwiththeonsetofTono-Bungayandrarelyabandonedit。Hepreferredsilkhatswithamplerichbrims，oftenatriflelargeforhimbymodernideas，andheworethematvariousanglestohisaxis；histasteintrouseringswastowardsfairlyemphaticstripesandhistrousercutwasneat；helikedhisfrock-coatlongandfull，althoughthatseemedtoshortenhim。Hedisplayedanumberofvaluablerings，andIrememberoneuponhisleftlittlefingerwithalargeredstonebearingGnosticsymbols。“Cleverchaps，thoseGnostics，George。”hetoldme。“Meansalot。Lucky！”Heneverhadanybutablackmohairwatch-chair。Inthecountryheaffectedgreyandalargegreyclothtop-hat，exceptwhenmotoring；thenhewouldhaveabrowndeer-stalkercapandafursuitofesquimauxcutwithasortofboot-endtothetrousers。

Ofaneveninghewouldwearwhitewaistcoatsandplaingoldstuds。Hehateddiamonds。“Flashy。”hesaidtheywere。“Mightaswellwear——anincometax-receipt。AllverywellforParkLane。Unsoldstock。Notmystyle。Soberfinancier，George。”

Somuchforhisvisiblepresence。Foratimeitwasveryfamiliartotheworld，foratthecrestoftheboomheallowedquiteanumberofphotographsandatleastonepencilsketchtobepublishedinthesixpennypapers。

Hisvoicedeclinedduringthoseyearsfromhisearlytenortoaflatrichqualityofsoundthatmyknowledgeofmusicisinadequatetodescribe。HisZzz-inginrushofairbecamelessfrequentasheripened，butreturnedinmomentsofexcitement。

Throughouthiscareer，inspiteofhisincreasingandatlastastoundingopulence，hismoreintimatehabitsremainedassimpleastheyhadbeenatWimblehurst。Hewouldneveravailhimselfoftheservicesofavalet；attheveryclimaxofhisg