第43章

“That’ju，George？”heusedtosay。“Comein。Here’sathing。

Tellhim——Mister——overagain。Haveadrink，George？No！Wiseman！Liss’n。”

Iwasalwaysreadytolisten。AllsortsoffinancialmarvelscameoutoftheHardingham，moreparticularlyduringmyuncle’slastgreatflurry，buttheywerenothingtotheprojectsthatpassedin。Itwasthelittlebrownandgoldroomhesatinusually。HehadhaditredecoratedbyBordinglyandhalfadozenSussexpicturesbyWebsterhungaboutit。Latterlyheworeavelveteenjacketofagolden-browncolourinthisapartmentthatIthinkover-emphasiseditsestheticintention，andhealsoaddedsomegrossChinesebronzes。

Hewas，onthewhole，averyhappymanthroughoutallthatwildlyenterprisingtime。Hemadeand，asIshalltellinitsplace，spentgreatsumsofmoney。Hewasconstantlyinviolentmotion，constantlystimulatedmentallyandphysicallyandrarelytired。

Abouthimwasanatmosphereofimmensedeferencemuchofhiswakinglifewastriumphalandallhisdreams。Idoubtifhehadanydissatisfactionwithhimselfatalluntilthecrashborehimdown。Thingsmusthavegoneveryrapidlywithhim。Ithinkhemusthavebeenveryhappy。

AsIsitherewritingaboutallthesethings，jerkingdownnotesandthrowingthemasideinmyattempttogivesomeliteraryformtothetaleofourpromotions，themarvelofitallcomestomeasifitcameforthefirsttimethesupremeunreasonofit。AttheclimaxofhisBoom，myuncleatthemostsparingestimatemusthavepossessedinsubstanceandcreditabouttwomillionpounds’-worthofpropertytosetoffagainsthisvaguecolossalliabilities，andfromfirsttolasthemusthavehadacontrollinginfluenceinthedirectionofnearlythirtymillions。

Thisirrationalmuddleofacommunityinwhichwelivegavehimthat，paidhimatthatrateforsittinginaroomandschemingandtellingitlies。Forhecreatednothing，heinventednothing，heeconomisednothing。Icannotclaimthatasingleoneofthegreatbusinessesweorganisedaddedanyrealvaluetohumanlifeatall。SeverallikeTono-Bungaywereunmitigatedfraudsbyanyhoneststandard，thegivingofnothingcoatedinadvertisementsformoney。AndthethingstheHardinghamgaveout，Irepeat，werenothingtothethingsthatcamein。Ithinkofthelongprocessionofpeoplewhosatdownbeforeusandpropoundedthisandthat。Nowitwasadeviceforsellingbreadunderafancynameandsoescapingthelawsastoweight——thiswasafterwardsfloatedastheDecorticatedHealth-BreadCompanyandbumpedagainstthelaw——nowitwasanewschemeforstillmorestridentadvertisement，nowitwasastoryofunsuspecteddepositsofminerals，nowacheapandnastysubstituteforthisorthatcommonnecessity，nowthetreacheryofatoowell-informedemployee，anxioustobecomeourpartner。Itwasallputtoustentatively，persuasively。Sometimesonehadalargepinkblusterouspersontryingtocarryusoffourfeetbyhispseudo-boyishfrankness，nowsomedyspepticallyyellowwhisperer，nowsomeearnest，speciallydressedyouthwithaneye-glassandabuttonhole，nowsomehomely-speaking，shrewdManchestermanorsomeScotchmaneagertobeveryclearandfull。

Manycameincouplesortrios，oftenintowofanexplanatorysolicitor。Somewerewhiteandearnest，someflusteredbeyondmeasureattheiropportunity。Someofthembeggedandprayedtobetakenup。Myunclechosewhathewantedandleftthe