Iseemtorememberveryquickchangesofmindafterthatlunch。
Themuzzyexaltationoftheunaccustomedstimulantsgavewayveryrapidlytoamodelofpellucidandimpartialclairvoyancewhichisoneofmyhabitualmentalstates。Itisintermittent；itleavesmeforweekstogether，Iknow，butbackitcomesatlastlikejusticeoncircuit，andcallsupallmyimpression，allmyillusions，allmywillfulandpassionateproceedings。Wecamedownstairsagainintothatinnerroomwhichpretendedtobeascientificlaboratorythroughitshighglasslights，andindeedwasalurkingplace。Myunclepressedacigaretteonme，andI
tookitandstoodbeforetheemptyfireplacewhileheproppedhisumbrellainthecorner，depositedthenewsilkhatthatwasalittletoobigforhimonthetable，blewcopiouslyandproducedasecondcigar。
ItcameintomyheadthathehadshrunkenverymuchinsizesincetheWimblehurstdays，thatthecannonballhehadswallowedwasrathermoreevidentandshamelessthanithadbeen，hisskinlessfreshandthenosebetweenhisglasses，whichstilldidn’tquitefit，muchredder。Andjustthenheseemedmuchlaxerinhismusclesandnotquiteasalertlyquickinhismovements。Butheevidentlywasn’tawareofthedegenerativenatureofhischangesashesatthere，lookingsuddenlyquitelittleundermyeyes。
“Well，George！”hesaid，quitehappilyunconsciousofmysilentcriticism，“whatdoyouthinkofitall？”
“Well。”Isaid，“inthefirstplace——it’sadamnedswindle！”
“Tut！tut！”saidmyuncle。“It’sasstraightas——It’sfairtrading！”
“Somuchtheworsefortrading。”Isaid。
“It’sthesortofthingeverybodydoes。Afterall，there’snoharminthestuff——anditmaydogood。Itmightdoalotofgood——givingpeopleconfidence，f’rinstance，againstanepidemic。
See？Whynot？don’tseewhereyourswindlecomesin。”
“H’m。”Isaid。“It’sathingyoueitherseeordon’tsee。”
“I’dliketoknowwhatsortoftradingisn’taswindleinitsway。Everybodywhodoesalargeadvertisedtradeissellingsomethingcommononthestrengthofsayingit’suncommon。LookatChickson——theymadehimabaronet。LookatLordRadmore，whodiditonlyingaboutthealkaliinsoap！Rippin’adsthosewereofhistoo！”
“Youdon’tmeantosayyouthinkdoingthisstuffupinbottlesandswearingit’sthequintessenceofstrengthandmakingpoordevilsbuyitatthat，isstraight？”
“Whynot，George？Howdoweknowitmayn’tbethequintessencetothemsofarasthey’reconcerned？”
“Oh！”Isaid，andshruggedmyshoulders。
“There’sFaith。YouputFaithin’em。Igrantourlabelsareabitemphatic。ChristianScience，really。Nogoodsettingpeopleagainstthemedicine。Tellmeasolitarytradenowadaysthathasn’ttobe——emphatic。It’sthemodernway！Everybodyunderstandsit——everybodyallowsforit。”
“Buttheworldwouldbenoworseandratherbetter，ifallthisstuffofyourswasrundownaconduitintotheThames。”
“Don’tseethat，George，atall。’Mongotherthings，allourpeoplewouldbeoutofwork。Unemployed！IgrantyouTono-BungayMAYbe——notQUITEsogoodafindfortheworldasPeruvianbark，butthepointis，George——itMAKESTRADE！Andtheworldlivesontrade。Commerce！Aromanticexchangeofcommoditiesandproperty。Romance。’Magination。See？Youmustlookatthesethingsinabroadlight。Lookatthewood——andforgetthetrees！Andhangit，George！wegottodothesethings！There’snowayunlessyoudo。WhatdoYOUmeantodo——anyhow？”
“There’swaysofliving。”Isaid，“Withouteitherfraudorlying。”
“You’reabitstiff，George。There’snofraudinthisaffair，I’llbetmyhat。Butwhatdoyouproposetodo？GoaschemisttosomeonewhoISrunningabusiness，anddrawasalarywithoutasharelikeIofferyou。Muchsenseinthat！Itcomesoutoftheswindleasyoucallit——justthesame。”
“Somebusinessesarestraightandquiet，anyhow；supplyasoundarticlethatisreallyneeded，don’tshoutadvertisements。”
“No，George。Thereyou’rebehindthetimes。Thelastofthatsortwassoldup’boutfiveyearsago。”
“Well，there’sscientificresearch。”
“Andwhopaysforthat？WhoputupthatbigCityandGuildsplaceatSouthKensington？Enterprisingbusinessmen！Theyfancythey’llhaveabitofsciencegoingon，theywantahandyExperteverandagain，andthereyouare！Andwhatdoyougetforresearchwhenyou’vedoneit？Justabarelivingandnooutlook。Theyjustkeepyoutomakediscoveries，andiftheyfancythey’lluse’emtheydo。”
“Onecanteach。”
“Howmuchayear，George？Howmuchayear？IsupposeyoumustrespectCarlyle！Well，youtakeCarlyle’stest——solvency。
(Lord！whatabookthatFrenchRevolutionofhisis！)Seewhattheworldpaysteachersanddiscoverersandwhatitpaysbusinessmen！Thatshowstheonesitreallywants。There’sajusticeinthesebigthings，George，overandabovetheapparentinjustice。
Itellyouitwantstrade。It’sTradethatmakestheworldgoround！Argosies！Venice！Empire！”
Myunclesuddenlyrosetohisfeet。
“Youthinkitover，George。Youthinkitover！AndcomeuponSundaytothenewplace——wegotroomsinGowerStreetnow——andseeyouraunt。She’softenaskedforyou，Georgeoftenandoften，andthrownitupatmeaboutthatbitofproperty——thoughI’vealwayssaidandalwayswill，thattwenty-fiveshillingsinthepoundiswhatI’llpayyouandinterestuptothenail。Andthinkitover。Itisn’tmeIaskyoutohelp。It’syourself。
It’syourauntSusan。It’sthewholeconcern。It’sthecommerceofyourcountry。Andwewantyoubadly。Itellyoustraight，I
knowmylimitations。Youcouldtakethisplace，youcouldmakeitgo！Icanseeyouatit——lookingrathersour。Wooshistheword，George。”
Andhesmiledendearingly。
“Igottodictatealetter。”hesaid，endingthesmile，andvanishedintotheouterroom。
Ididn’tsuccumbwithoutastruggletomyuncle’sallurements。
Indeed，IheldoutforaweekwhileIcontemplatedlifeandmyprospects。Itwasacrowdedandmuddledcontemplation。Itinvadedevenmysleep。
MyinterviewwiththeRegistrar，mytalkwithmyuncle，myabruptdiscoveryofthehopelessfutilityofmypassionforMarion，hadcombinedtobringmetosenseofcrisis。WhatwasIgoingtodowithlife？
Iremembercertainphasesofmyindecisionsverywell。
Iremembergoinghomefromourtalk。IwentdownFarringdonStreettotheEmbankmentbecauseIthoughttogohomebyHolbornandOxfordStreetwouldbetoocrowdedforthinking。ThatpieceofEmbankmentfromBlackfriarstoWestminsterstillremindsmeofthatmomentoushesitation。
Youknow，fromfirsttolast，Isawthebusinesswithmyeyesopen，Isawitsethicalandmoralvaluesquiteclearly。NeverforamomentdoIremembermyselffalteringfrommypersuasionthatthesaleofTono-Bungaywasathoroughlydishonestproceeding。Thestuffwas，Iperceived，amischievoustrash，slightlystimulating，aromaticandattractive，likelytobecomeabadhabitandtrainpeopleinthehabitualuseofstrongertonicsandinsidiouslydangeroustopeoplewithdefectivekidneys。Itwouldcostaboutsevenpencethelargebottletomake，includingbottling，andweweretosellitathalfacrownplusthecostofthepatentmedicinestamp。AthingthatIwillconfessdeterredmefromtheoutsetfarmorethanthesenseofdishonestyinthisaffair，wasthesupremesillinessofthewholeconcern。Istillclungtotheideathattheworldofmenwasorshouldbeasaneandjustorganisation，andtheideathatIshouldsetmyselfgravely，justatthefinespringtimeofmylife，todevelopingamonstrousbottlingandpackingwarehouse，bottlingrubbishfortheconsumptionoffoolish，credulousanddepressedpeople，hadinitatouchofinsanity。Myearlybeliefsstillclungtome。
Ifeltassuredthatsomewheretheremustbeahitchinthefineprospectofeaseandwealthundersuchconditions；thatsomewhere，alittleovergrown，perhaps，butstilltraceable，layaneglected，wastedpathofuseandhonourforme。
MyinclinationtorefusethewholethingincreasedratherthandiminishedatfirstasIwentalongtheEmbankment。Inmyuncle’spresencetherehadbeenasortofglamourthathadpreventedanoutrightrefusal。ItwasarevivalofaffectionforhimIfeltinhispresence，Ithink，inpart，andinpartaninstinctivefeelingthatImustconsiderhimasmyhost。Butmuchmorewasitacuriouspersuasionhehadtheknackofinspiring——apersuasionnotsomuchofhisintegrityandcapacityasofthereciprocalandyieldingfoolishnessoftheworld。Onefeltthathewassillyandwild，butinsomewaysillyandwildafterthefashionoftheuniverse。Afterall，onemustlivesomehow。Iastonishedhimandmyselfbytemporising。
“No。”saidI，“I’llthinkitover！”
AndasIwentalongtheembankmentthefirsteffectwasallagainstmyuncle。Heshrank——foralittlewhilehecontinuedtoshrink——inperspectiveuntilhewasonlyaverysmallshabbylittlemaninadirtybackstreet，sendingoffafewhundredbottlesofrubbishtofoolishbuyers。Thegreatbuildingsontherightofus，theInnsandtheSchoolBoardplace——asitwasthen——SomersetHouse，thebighotels，thegreatbridges，Westminster’soutlinesahead，hadaneffectofgreylargenessthatreducedhimtotheproportionsofabusyblackbeetleinacrackinthefloor。
Andthenmyeyecaughttheadvertisementsonthesouthsideof“Sorber’sFood。”of“Cracknell’sFerricWine。”verybrightandprosperoussigns，illuminatedatnight，andIrealisedhowastonishinglytheylookedathomethere，howevidentlyparttheywereinthewholething。
