AfewsuchpicturesofthoseearlydaysatBeckenhamstandout，andthenIfindmyselfamongtheChiselhurstmemories。TheChiselhurstmansionhad“grounds“ratherthanameregarden，andtherewasagardener’scottageandalittlelodgeatthegate。
TheascendantmovementwasalwaysfarmoreinevidencetherethanatBeckenham。ThevelocitywasincreasingOnenightpicksitselfoutastypical，as，initsway，markinganepoch。Iwasthere，Ithink，aboutsomeadvertisementstuff，onsomesortofbusinessanyhow，andmyuncleandaunthadcomebackinaflyfromadinnerattheRuncorns。(EventherehewasnibblingatRuncornwiththeideaofourgreatAmalgamationbuddinginhismind。)Igotdownthere，Isuppose，abouteleven。
Ifoundthetwoofthemsittinginthestudy，myauntonachair-armwithawhimsicalpensivenessonherface，regardingmyuncle，andhe，muchextendedandveryrotund，inthelowarm-chairdrawnuptothefender。
“Lookhere，George。”saidmyuncle，aftermyfirstgreetings。“I
justbeensaying：Wearen’tOhFay！”
“Eh？”
“NotOhFay！Socially！”
“OldFLY，hemeans，George——French！”
“Oh！Didn’tthinkofFrench。Oneneverknowswheretohavehim。
What’sgonewrongto-night？”
“Ibeenthinking。Itisn’tanyparticularthing。Iatetoomuchofthatfishystuffatfirst，likesaltfrogspawn，andwasabitconfusedbyolives；and——well，Ididn’tknowwhichwinewaswhich。HadtosayTHATeachtime。Itputsyourtalkallwrong。Andshewasn’tineveningdress，notliketheothers。Wecan’tgooninthatstyle，George——notaproperad。”
“I’mnotsureyouwereright。”Isaid，“inhavingafly。”
“Wegottodoitallbetter。”saidmyuncle，“wegottodoitinStyle。Smartbusiness，smartmen。Shetriestopassitoffashumorous“——myauntpulledagrimace——“itisn’thumorous！See！
We’reontheup-gradenow，fairandsquare。We’regoingtobebig。Wearen’tgoingtobelaughedatasPoovenoos，see！”
“Nobodylaughedatyou。”saidmyaunt。“OldBladder！”
“Nobodyisn’tgoingtolaughatme。”saidmyuncle，glancingathiscontoursandsuddenlysittingup。
Myauntraisedhereyebrowsslightly，swungherfoot，andsaidnothing。
“Wearen’tkeepingpacewithourownprogress，George。Wegotto。We’rebumpingagainstnewpeople，andtheysetuptobegentlefolks——etiquettedinnersandalltherestofit。Theygivethemselvesairsandexpectustobefish-out-of-water。Wearen’tgoingtobe。Theythinkwe’venoStyle。Well，wegivethemStyleforouradvertisements，andwe’regoingtogive’emStyleallthrough。Youneedn’tbeborntoittodancewellonthewiresoftheBondStreettradesmen。See？”
Ihandedhimthecigar-box。
“Runcornhadn’tcigarslikethese。”hesaid，truncatingonelovingly。“Webeathimatcigars。We’llbeathimallround。”
MyauntandIregardedhim，fullofapprehensions。
“Igotidees。”hesaiddarklytothecigar，deepeningourdread。
Hepocketedhiscigar-cutterandspokeagain。
“Wegottolearnalltherottenlittlegamefirst。See，F’rinstance，wegottogetsamplesofalltheblessedwinesthereare——andlearn’emup。Stern，Smoor，Burgundy，allof’em！ShetookSternto-night——andwhenshetasteditfirst——youpulledaface，Susan，youdid。Isawyou。Itsurprisedyou。Youbunchedyournose。Wegottogetusedtowineandnotdothat。Wegottogetusedtowearingeveningdress——YOU，Susan，too。”
“Alwayshavehadatendencytostickoutofmyclothes。”saidmyaunt。“However——Whocares？”Sheshruggedhershoulders。
Ihadneverseenmyunclesoimmenselyserious。
“Gottogetthehangofetiquette。”hewentontothefire。
“Horseseven。Practiseeverything。Dineeverynightineveningdress。Getabroughamorsomething。Learnupgolfandtennisandthings。Countrygentleman。OhFay。Itisn’tonlyfreedomfromGoochery。”
“Eh？”Isaid。
“Oh！——Gawshery，ifyoulike！”
“French，George。”saidmyaunt。“ButI’Mnotol’Gooch。Imadethatfaceforfun。”
“Itisn’tonlyfreedomfromGawshery。WegottohaveStyle。
See！Style！Justallrightandonebetter。That’swhatIcallStyle。Wecandoit，andwewill。”
Hemumbledhiscigarandsmokedforaspace，leaningforwardandlookingintothefire。
“Whatisit。”heasked，“afterall？Whatisit？Tipsabouteating；tipsaboutdrinking。Clothes。Howtoholdyourself，andnotsayjes’thefewlittlethingstheyknowforcertainarewrong——jes’theshibboleththings。”
Hewassilentagain，andthecigarcreptupfromthehorizontaltowardsthezenithastheconfidenceofhismouthincreased。
“Learnthewholebagoftricksinsixmonths。”hesaid，becomingmorecheerful。“Ah，Susan？Beatitout！George，youinparticularoughttogetholdofit。Oughttogetintoagoodclub，andallthat。”
“Alwaysreadytolearn！”Isaid。“EversinceyougavemethechanceofLatin。Sofarwedon’tseemtohavehituponanyLatin-speakingstratuminthepopulation。”
“We’vecometoFrench。”saidmyaunt，“anyhow。”
“It’saveryusefullanguage。”saidmyuncle。“Putapointonthings。Zzzz。Asforaccent，noEnglishmanhasanaccent。NoEnglishmanpronouncesFrenchproperly。Don’tyoutellME。
It’saBluff——It’sallaBluff。Life’saBluff——practically。
That’swhyit’ssoimportant，Susan，forustoattendtoStyle。
LeSteelSayLum。TheStyleit’stheman。Whadyoulaughingat，Susan？George，you’renotsmoking。Thesecigarsaregoodforthemind。WhatdoYOUthinkofitall？Wegottoadaptourselves。Wehave——sofar。Notgoingtobebeatbythesesillythings。”
“Whatdoyouthinkofit，George？”heinsisted。
WhatIsaidIthoughtofitIdon’tnowrecall。OnlyIhaveverydistinctlytheimpressionofmeetingforamomentmyaunt’simpenetrableeye。AndanyhowhestartedinwithhisaccustomedenergytorapethemysteriesoftheCostlyLife，andbecomethecalmestofitslords。Onthewhole，Ithinkhedidit——thoroughly。Ihavecrowdedmemories，alittledifficulttodisentangle，ofhisexperimentalstages，hisexperimentalproceedings。It’shardattimestosaywhichmemorycomesinfrontofwhich。Irecallhimaspresentingonthewholeaseriesofsmallsurprises，asbeingagainandagain，unexpectedly，alittlemoreself-confident，alittlemorepolished，alittlericherandfiner，alittlemoreawareofthepositionsandvaluesofthingsandmen。
Therewasatime——itmusthavebeenveryearly——whenIsawhimdeeplyimpressedbythesplendoursofthedining-roomoftheNationalLiberalClub。Heavenknowswhoourhostwasorwhatthatparticularlittle“feed“wasaboutnow！——allthatsticksistheimpressionofourstragglingentry，astringofsixorsevenguests，andmyunclelookingabouthimatthenumerousbrightred-shadedtables，attheexoticsingreatMajolicajars，attheshiningceramiccolumnsandpilasters，attheimpressiveportraitsofLiberalstatesmenandheroes，andallthatcontributestotheensembleofthatpalatialspectacle。Hewasbetrayedintoawhispertome，“ThisisallRight，George！”hesaid。ThatartlesscommentseemsalmostincredibleasIsetitdown；therecameatimesospeedilywhennoteventheclubsofNewYorkcouldhaveoverawedmyuncle，andwhenhecouldwalkthroughthebowingmagnificenceoftheRoyalGrandHoteltohischosentableinthataggressivelyexquisitegalleryupontheriver，withalltheeasycalmofoneofearth’slegitimatekings。
Thetwoofthemlearntthenewgamerapidlyandwell；theyexperimentedabroad，theyexperimentedathome。AtChiselhurst，withtheaidofanew，verycostly，buthighlyinstructivecook，theytriedovereverythingtheyheardofthatrousedtheircuriosityandhadanyreputationfordifficulty，fromasparagustoplover’seggs。Theyafterwardsgotagardenerwhocouldwaitattable——andhebroughtthesoilhometoone。Thentherecameabutler。
Iremembermyaunt’sfirstdinner-gownverybrightly，andhowshestoodbeforethefireinthedrawing-roomconfessingonceunsuspectedprettyarmswithallthecourageshepossessed，andlookingoverhershoulderatherselfinamirror。
“Aham。”sheremarkedreflectively，“mustfeellikethis。Justanecklace。”。
Iattempted，Ithink，somecommonplacecompliment。
Myuncleappearedatthedoorinawhitewaistcoatandwithhishandsinhistrouserpockets；hehaltedandsurveyedhercritically。
“Couldn’ttellyoufromaduchess，Susan。”heremarked。“I’dliketohaveyoupainted，standin’atthefirelikethat。
Sargent！Youlook——spirited，somehow。Lord！——IwishsomeofthosedamnedtradesmenatWimblehurstcouldseeyou。”。
Theydidalotofweek-endingathotels，andsometimesIwentdownwiththem。Weseemedtofallintoavastdriftingcrowdofsociallearners。Idon’tknowwhetheritisduesimplytomychangedcircumstances，butitseemstometherehavebeenimmenselydisproportionatedevelopmentsofthehotel-frequentingandrestaurant-usingpopulationduringthelasttwentyyears。
Itisnotonly，Ithink，thattherearecrowdsofpeoplewho，likewewere，areintheeconomicallyascendantphase，butwholemassesoftheprosperoussectionofthepopulationmustbealteringitshabits，givinguphigh-teafordinnerandtakingtoeveningdress，usingtheweek-endhotelsasapractise-groundforthesenewsocialarts。Aswiftandsystematicconversiontogentilityhasbeengoingon，Iamconvinced，throughoutthewholecommercialupper-middleclasssinceIwastwenty-one。Curiouslymixedwasthepersonalqualityofthepeopleonesawintheseraids。Therewereconscientiouslyrefinedandlow-voicedpeoplereekingwithproudbashfulness；therewereaggressivelysmartpeopleusingpetdiminutivesforeachotherloudlyandseekingfreshoccasionsforbrilliantrudeness；therewereawkwardhusbandsandwivesquarrellingfurtivelyabouttheirmannersandillateaseundertheeyeofthewinter；cheerfullyamiableandoftendiscrepantcoupleswithadispositiontoinconspicuouscorners，andthejollysort，affectinganunaffectedease；plumphappyladieswholaughedtooloud，andgentlemenineveningdresswhosubsequently“gottheirpipes。”Andnobody，youknew，wasanybody，howeverexpensivelytheydressedandwhateverroomstheytook。
