Whatdidtheyputintheirhotbathsafterjousting，andwastheBlackPrince——youknowtheBlackPrince——washeenameledorpainted，orwhat？Ithinkmyself，black-leaded——verylikely——likepipe-clay——butDIDtheyuseblackingsoearly？”
SoitcameaboutthatindesigningandwritingthoseMoggs’SoapAdvertisements，thatwroughtarevolutioninthatdepartmentofliterature，myunclewasbroughttorealisenotonlythelosthistory，butalsotheenormousfieldforinventionandenterprisethatlurkedamongthelittlearticles，thedustpansandmincers，themousetrapsandcarpet-sweepersthatfringetheshopsoftheoilmananddomesticironmonger。Hewasrecalledtooneofthedreamsofhisyouth，tohisconceptionofthePonderevoPatentFlatthathadbeeninhismindsoearlyasthedaysbeforeIwenttoservehimatWimblehurst。“TheHome，George。”hesaid，“wantsstraighteningup。Sillymuddle！Thingsthatgetintheway。Gottoorganiseit。”
Foratimehedisplayedsomethinglikethezealofagenuinesocialreformerinrelationtothesematters。
“We’vegottobringtheHomeUptoDate？That’smyidee，George。
Wegottomakeaciviliseddomesticmachineoutoftheserelicsofbarbarism。I’mgoingtohuntupinventors，makeacornerind’mesticideas。Everything。Ballsofstringthatwon’tdissolveintoatangle，andgumthatwon’tdryintohorn。See？Thenafterconveniences——beauty。Beauty，George！Allthesefewthingsoughttobemadefittolookat；it’syouraunt’sidea，that。Beautifuljam-pots！Getoneofthosenewartchapstodesignallthethingstheymakeuglynow。Patentcarpet-sweepersbythesegreenwoodchaps，housemaid’sboxesit’llbeapleasuretofallover——richcolouredhouse-flannels。Zzzz。Pails，f’rinstance。Hang’emuponthewallslikewarming-pans。Allthepolishesandthingsinsuchtins——you’llwanttocuddle’em，George！Seethenotion？’Stedofallthesillyuglythingswegot。”。
Wehadsomemagnificentvisions；theysoaffectedmethatwhenI
passedironmongersandoil-shopstheyseemedtomeasfullofpromiseastreesinlatewinter，flushedwiththeefforttoburstintoleafandflower。Andreallywediddomuchtowardsthatverybrightnesstheseshopsdisplay。Theyweredingythingsintheeightiescomparedtowhatoureffortshavemadethemnow，greyquietdisplays。
Well，Idon’tintendtowritedownherethetortuousfinancialhistoryofMoggs’Limited，whichwasourfirstdevelopmentofMoggsandSons；norwillItellverymuchofhowfromthatwespreadourselveswithalargerandlargerconceptionthroughoutthechandleryandminorironmongery，howwebecameagentsforthislittlecommodity，partnersinthat，gotatentacleroundtheneckofaspecialisedmanufacturerorso，securedapulluponthisorthatsupplyofrawmaterial，andsopreparedthewayforoursecondflotation，DomesticUtilities；“Doit。”theyreordereditinthecity。AndthencamethereconstructionofTono-Bungay，andthen“Householdservices“andtheBoom！
Thatsortofdevelopmentisnottohetoldindetailinanovel。
Ihave，indeed，toldmuchofitelsewhere。Itistobefoundsetoutatlength，painfullyatlength，inmyuncle’sexaminationandmineinthebankruptcyproceedings，andinmyownvariousstatementsafterhisdeath。Somepeopleknoweverythinginthatstory，someknowitalltoowell，mostdonotwantthedetails。
itisthestoryofamanofimaginationamongfigures，andunlessyouarepreparedtocollatecolumnsofpounds，shillingsandpence，comparedatesandcheckadditions，youwillfinditveryunmeaningandperplexing。Andafterall，youwouldn’tfindtheearlyfiguressomuchwrongasSTRAINED。InthematterofMoggsandDoUt，asinthefirstTono-Bungaypromotionandinitsreconstruction，weleftthecourtbycitystandardswithoutastainonourcharacters。ThegreatamalgamationofHouseholdServiceswasmyuncle’sfirstreallybig-scaleenterpriseandhisfirstdisplayofboldermethods：forthisweboughtbackDoUt，Moggsgoingstrongwithasevenpercent。dividendandacquiredSkinnerton’spolishes，theRiffleshawpropertiesandtheRuncorn’smincerandcoffee-millbusiness。TothatAmalgamationIwasreallynotaparty；IleftittomyunclebecauseIwasthenbeginningtogetkeenuponthesoaringexperimentsIhadtakenonfromtheresultsthentohandofLilienthal，PilcherandtheWrightbrothers。Iwasdevelopingagliderintoaflyer。I
meanttoapplypowertothisgliderassoonasIcouldworkoutoneortworesidualproblemsaffectingthelongitudinalstability。IknewthatIhadasufficientlylightmotorinmyownmodificationofBridger’slightturbine，butIknewtoothatuntilIhadcuredmyaeroplaneofatendencydemandingconstantalertnessfromme，atendencytojerkupitsnoseatunexpectedmomentsandslidebackuponme，theapplicationofanenginewouldbelittleshortofsuicide。
ButthatIwilltellaboutlater。ThepointIwascomingtowasthatIdidnotrealiseuntilafterthecrashhowrecklesslymyunclehadkepthispromiseofpayingadividendofovereightpercent。ontheordinarysharesofthathugelyover-capitalisedenterprise，HouseholdServices。
IdriftedoutofbusinessaffairsintomyresearchmuchmorethaneitherIormyunclehadcontemplated。FinancewasmuchlesstomytastethantheorganisationoftheTono-Bungayfactory。Inthenewfieldofenterprisetherewasagreatdealofbluffingandgambling，oftakingchancesandconcealingmaterialfacts——andthesearehatefulthingstothescientifictypeofmind。Itwasn’tfearIfeltsomuchasanuneasyinaccuracy。I
didn’trealisedangers，Isimplydislikedthesloppy，relaxingqualityofthisnewsortofwork。IwasatlastconstantlymakingexcusesnottocomeuptohiminLondon。Thelatterpartofhisbusinesscareerrecedesthereforebeyondthecircleofanyparticularlife。Ilivedmoreorlesswithhim；Italked，I
advised，IhelpedhimattimestofighthisSundaycrowdatCrestHill，butIdidnotfollownorguidehim。FromtheDoUttimeonwardherushedupthefinancialworldlikeabubbleinwaterandleftmelikesomebusywater-thingdownbelowinthedeeps。
Anyhow，hewasanimmensesuccess。Thepublicwas，Ithink，particularlyattractedbythehomelyfamiliarityofhisfieldofwork——youneverlostsightofyourinvestmenttheyfelt，withthenameonthehouse-flannelandshaving-strop——anditsallegiancewassecuredbytheEgyptiansolidityofhisapparentresults。Tono-Bungay，afteritsreconstruction，paidthirteen，Moggsseven，DomesticUtilitieshadbeenasafe-lookingnine；
herewasHouseholdServiceswitheight；onsuchashowinghehadmerelytobuyandsellRoeburn’sAntisepticfluid，RazorsoaksandBathcrystalsinthreeweekstocleartwentythousandpounds。
IdothinkthatasamatteroffactRoeburn’swasgoodvalueatthepriceatwhichhegaveittothepublic，atleastuntilitwasstrainedbyill-conservedadvertisement。Itwasaperiodofexpansionandconfidence；muchmoneywasseekinginvestmentand“Industrials“werethefashion。Priceswererisingallround。
Thereremainedlittlemoreformyuncletodotherefore，inhisclimbtothehighunstablecrestofFinancialGreatnessbut，ashesaid，to“graspthecosmicoyster，George，whileitgaped。”
which，beingtranslated，meantforhimtobuyrespectablebusinessesconfidentlyandcourageouslyatthevendor’sestimate，addthirtyorfortythousandtothepriceandsellthemagain。Hissoledifficultyindeedwasthetactfulmanagementoftheloadofsharesthateachofthesetransactionsleftuponhishands。ButIthoughtsolittleoftheselaterthingsthatI
neverfullyappreciatedthepeculiarinconveniencesofthatuntilitwastoolatetohelphim。
WhenIthinkofmyunclenearthedaysofhisGreatBoomandinconnectionwiththeactualitiesofhisenterprises，IthinkofhimasIusedtoseehiminthesuiteofroomsheoccupiedintheHardinghamHotel，seatedatagreatoldoakwriting-table，smoking，drinking，andincoherentlybusy；thatwashistypicalfinancialaspect——ourevenings，ourmornings，ourholidays，ourmotor-carexpeditions，LadyGroveandCrestHillbelongtoanaltogetherdifferentsetofmemories。
TheseroomsintheHardinghamwereastringofapartmentsalongonehandsomethick-carpetedcorridor。Allthedoorsuponthecorridorwerelockedexceptthefirst；andmyuncle’sbedroom，breakfast-roomandprivatesanctumweretheleastaccessibleandservedbyanentrancefromtheadjacentpassage，whichhealsousedattimesasameansofescapefromimportunatecallers。
Themosteternalroomwasageneralwaiting-roomandverybusiness-likeinquality；ithadoneortwouneasysofas，anumberofchairs，agreenbaizetable，andacollectionoftheverybestMoggsandToneposters：andtheplushcarpetsnormaltotheHardinghamhadbeenreplacedbyagrey-greencorklinoleum；
HereIwouldalwaysfindaremarkablemiscellanyofpeoplepresidedoverbyapeculiarlyfaithfulandferociouslookingcommissioner，Ropper，whoguardedthedoorthatledastepnearermyuncle。Usuallytherewouldbeaparsonorso，andoneortwowidows；hairy，eyeglassy，middle-agedgentlemen，someofthemlookingsingularlylikeEdwardPonderevoswhohadn’tcomeoff，avarietyofyoungandyoungishmenmoreorlessattractivelydressed，somewithpapersprotrudingfromtheirpockets，otherswiththeirpapersdecentlyconcealed。Andwonderful，incidental，frowsypeople。
Allthesepersonsmaintainedapracticallyhopelesssiege——sometimesforweekstogether；theyhadbetterhavestayedathome。Nextcamearoomfullofpeoplewhohadsomesortofappointment，andhereonewouldfindsmart-lookingpeople，brilliantlydressed，nervouswomenhidingbehindmagazines，nonconformistdivines，clergyingaiters，realbusinessmen，theselatterforthemostpartgentlemeninadmirablemorningdresswhostoodupandscrutinisedmyuncle’stasteinwatercoloursmanfullyandsometimesbythehourtogether。Youngmenagainwerehereofvarioussocialorigins，youngAmericans，treasonableclerksfromotherconcerns，universityyoungmen，keen-looking，mostofthem，resolute，reserved，butonasortofhairtrigger，readyatanymomenttobemostvoluble，mostpersuasive。
Thisroomhadawindow，too，lookingoutintothehotelcourtyardwithitsfern-setfountainsandmosaicpavement，andtheyoungmenwouldstandagainstthisandsometimesevenmutter。OnedayIheardonerepeatinginallurgentwhisperasIpassed“Butyoudon’tquitesee，Mr。Ponderevo，thefulladvantages，theFULL
advantages——“Imethiseyeandhewasembarrassed。
Thencamearoomwithacoupleofsecretaries——notypewriters，becausemyunclehatedtheclatter——andacasualpersonortwosittingabout，projectorswhoseprojectswerebeingentertained。
Hereandinafurtherroomnearertheprivateapartments，myuncle’scorrespondenceunderwentanexhaustiveprocessofpruninganddigestionbeforeitreachedhim。Thenthetwolittleroomsinwhichmyuncletalked；mymagicunclewhohadgottheinvestingpublic——towhomallthingswerepossible。Asonecameinwewouldfindhimsquattingwithhiscigarupandanexpressionofdubiousbeatitudeuponhisface，whilesomeoneurgedhimtogrowstillricherbythisorthat。