AndwhileIneglectedthedevelopmentofmyuncle’sfinances——andmyown，inmyscientificworkandmyabsorbingconflictwiththedifficultiesofflying，——hisschemesgrewmoreandmoreexpansiveandhazardous，andhisspendingwilderandlaxer。Ibelievethatahauntingsenseoftheintensifyingunsoundnessofhispositionaccountslargelyforhisincreasingirritabilityandhisincreasingsecretivenesswithmyauntandmyselfduringthesecrowningyears。Hedreaded，Ithink，havingtoexplain，hefearedourjestsmightpierceunwittinglytothetruth。Evenintheprivacyofhismindhewouldnotfacethetruth。Hewasaccumulatingunrealisablesecuritiesinhissafesuntiltheyhungapotentialavalancheovertheeconomicworld。Buthisbuyingbecameafever，andhisrestlessdesiretokeepitupwithhimselfthathewasmakingatriumphantprogresstolimitlesswealthgnaweddeeperanddeeper。Acuriousfeatureofthistimewithhimwashisbuyingoverandoveragainofsimilarthings。
Hisideasseemedtoruninseries。Withinatwelve-monthheboughtfivenewmotor-cars，eachmoreswiftandpowerfulthanitspredecessor，andonlytherepeatedpromptresignationofhischiefchauffeurateachmomentofdanger，preventedhisdrivingthemhimself。Heusedthemmoreandmore。Hedevelopedapassionforlocomotionforitsownsake。
ThenhebegantochafeatLadyGrove，frettedbyachancejesthehadoverheardatadinner。“Thishouse，George。”hesaid。“It’samisfit。There’snoelbow-roominit；it’schokedwitholdmemories。AndIcan’tstandallthesedamnedDurgans！
“Thatchapinthecorner，George。No！theothercorner！Themaninacherry-colouredcoat。Hewatchedyou！He’dlooksillyifI
stuckapokerthroughhisGizzard！”
“He’dlook。”Ireflected，“muchashedoesnow。Asthoughhewasamused。”
Hereplacedhisglasses，whichhadfallenathisemotion，andglaredathisantagonists。“Whatarethey？Whataretheyall，thelotof’em？DeadasMutton！Theyjuststuckinthemud。
Theydidn’tevenrisetotheReformation。Theoldout-of-dateReformation！Movewiththetimes！——theymovedagainstthetimes。
JustaFamilyofFailure，——theynevereventried！
“They’rejes’，George，exactlywhatI’mnot。Exactly。Itisn’tsuitable。AllthislivinginthePast。
“AndIwantabiggerplacetoo，George。Iwantairandsunlightandroomtomoveaboutandmoreservice。AhousewhereyoucangetaMoveonthings！Zzzz。Why！it’slikeadiscord——itjars——eventohavethetelephone。There’snothing，nothingexcepttheterrace，that’sworthaRap。It’salldarkandoldanddriedupandfullofold-fashionedthings——mustyoldidees——fitterforasilver-fishthanamodernman。Idon’tknowhowIgothere。”
Hebrokeoutintoanewgrievance。“Thatdamnedvicar。”hecomplained，“thinksIoughttothinkmyselfluckytogetthisplace！EverytimeImeethimIcanseehimthinkit。Oneofthesedays，GeorgeI’llshowhimwhataMod’unhouseislike！”
Andhedid。
Irememberthedaywhenhedeclared，asAmericanssay，forCrestHill。Hehadcomeuptoseemynewgasplant，forIwasthenonlyjustbeginningtoexperimentwithauxiliarycollapsibleballoons，andallthetimetheshineofhisglasseswaswanderingawaytotheopendownbeyond。“Let’sgobacktoLadyGroveoverthehill。”hesaid。“SomethingIwanttoshowyou。Somethingfine！”
Itwasanemptysunlitplacethatsummerevening，skyandearthwarmwithsundown，andape-witorsojustaccentuatingthepleasantstillnessthatendsalongclearday。Abeautifulpeace，itwas，towreckforever。Andtherewasmyuncle，themodernmanofpower，inhisgreytop-hatandhisgreysuitandhisblack-ribbonedglasses，short，thin-legged，large-stomached，pointingandgesticulating，threateningthiscalm。
Hebeganwithawaveofhisarm。“That’stheplace，George。”hesaid。“See？”
“Eh！”Icried——forIhadbeenthinkingofremotethings。
“Igotit。”
“Gotwhat？”
“Forahouse！——aTwentiethCenturyhouse！That’stheplaceforit！”
Oneofhischaracteristicphraseswasbegotteninhim。
“Four-squaretothewindsofheaven，George！”hesaid。“Eh？
Four-squaretothewindsofheaven！”
“You’llgetthewindsuphere。”Isaid。
“Amammothhouseitoughttobe，George——tosuitthesehills。”
“Quite。”Isaid。
“Greatgalleriesandthings——runningoutthereandthere——See？I
beenthinkingofit，George！Lookingoutallthisway——acrosstheWeald。WithitsbacktoLadyGrove。”
“Andthemorningsuninitseye。”
“Likeaneagle，George，——likeaneagle！”
Sohebroachedtomewhatspeedilybecametheleadingoccupationofhisculminatingyears，CrestHill。Butalltheworldhasheardofthatextravagantplacewhichgrewandchangeditsplansasitgrew，andbubbledlikeasaltedsnail，andburgeonedandbulgedandevermoregrew。Iknownotwhatdeliriumofpinnaclesandterracesandarcadesandcorridorsglitteredatlastupontheuplandsofhismind；theplace，forallthatitsexpansionwasterminatedabruptlybyourcollapse，iswonderfulenoughasitstands，——thatemptyinstinctivebuildingofachildlessman。HischiefarchitectwasayoungmannamedWestminster，whoseworkhehadpickedoutinthearchitectureroomoftheRoyalAcademyonaccountofacertaingrandiosecourageinit，butwithhimheassociatedfromtimetotimeanumberoffellowprofessionals，stonemasons，sanitaryengineers，painters，sculptors，scribes，metalworkers，woodcarvers，furnituredesigners，ceramicspecialists，landscapegardeners，andthemanwhodesignsthearrangementandventilationofthevariousnewhousesintheLondonZoologicalGardens。Inadditionhehadhisownideas。
Thethingoccupiedhismindatalltimes，butithelditcompletelyfromFridaynighttoMondaymorning。HewouldcomedowntoLadyGroveonFridaynightinacrowdedmotor-carthatalmostdrippedarchitects。Hedidn’t，however，confinehimselftoarchitects；everyonewasliabletoaninvitationtoweek-endandviewCrestHill，andmanyaneagerpromoter，unawareofhowNapoleonicallyandcompletelymyunclehaddepartmentalisedhismind，triedtocreepuptohimbywayoftilesandventilatorsandnewelectricfittings。AlwaysonSundaymornings，unlesstheweatherwasvile，hewould，sosoonasbreakfastandhissecretariesweredisposedof，visitthesitewithaconsiderableretinue，andalteranddevelopplans，makingmodifications，Zzzz-ing，givingimmensenewordersverbally——anunsatisfactoryway，asWestminsterandthecontractorsultimatelyfound。
Therehestandsinmymemory，thesymbolofthisageforme，themanofluckandadvertisement，thecurrentmasteroftheworld。
Therehestandsuponthegreatoutwardsweepoftheterracebeforethehugemainentrance，alittlefigure，ridiculouslydisproportionatetothatforty-footarch，withthegraniteballbehindhim——theastronomicalball，brasscoopered，thatrepresentedtheworld，withalittleadjustabletubeoflensesonagun-metalarmthatfocussedthesunuponjustthatpointoftheearthonwhichitchancedtobeshiningvertically。Therehestands，Napoleonicallygroupedwithhisretinuemenintweedsandgolfing-suits，alittlesolicitor，whosenameIforget，ingreytrousersandablackjacket，andWestminsterinJaegerunderclothing，afloriferoustie，andpeculiarbrownclothofhisown。
Thedownlandbreezefluttersmyuncle’scoat-tails，disarrangeshisstiffhair，andinsistsontheevidenceofundisciplinedappetitesinfaceandform，ashepointsoutthisorthatfeatureintheprospecttohisattentivecollaborator。
Belowarehundredsoffeetofwheeling-planks，ditches，excavations，heapsofearth，pilesofgardenstonefromtheWealdenridges。Oneitherhandthewallsofhisirrelevantunmeaningpalaceriseatonetimehehadworkinginthatplace——disturbingtheeconomicbalanceofthewholecountrysidebytheirpresence——upwardsofthreethousandmen。
Soheposesformypictureamidsttherawbeginningsthatwerenevertobecompleted。Hedidthestrangestthingsaboutthatplace，thingsmoreandmoredetachedfromanyconceptionoffinancialscale，thingsmoreandmoreapartfromsoberhumanity。
Heseemedtothinkhimself，atlast，releasedfromanysuchlimitations。Hemovedaquiteconsiderablehill，andnearlysixtymaturetreesweremovedwithittoopenhisprospecteastward，moveditabouttwohundredfeettothesouth。Atanothertimehecaughtasuggestionfromsomecityrestaurantandmadeabilliard-roomroofedwithplateglassbeneaththewatersofhisornamentallake。Hefurnishedonewingwhileitsroofstillawaitedcompletion。Hehadaswimmingbaththirtyfeetsquarenexttohisbedroomupstairs，andtocrownitallhecommencedagreatwalltoholdallhisdominionstogether，freefromtheinvasionofcommonmen。Itwasaten-footwall，glasssurmounted，andhaditbeencompletedasheintendedit，itwouldhavehadatotallengthofnearlyelevenmiles。Someofittowardsthelastwassodishonestlybuiltthatitcollapsedwithinayearuponitsfoundations，butsomemilesofitstillstand。IneverthinkofitnowbutwhatIthinkofthehundredsofeagerlittleinvestorswhofollowedhis“star。”whosehopesandlives，whosewives’securityandchildren’sprospectsareallmixedupbeyondredemptionwiththatflakingmortar。
Itiscurioushowmanyofthesemodernfinanciersofchanceandbluffhaveendedtheircareersbybuilding。Itwasnotmerelymyuncle。Soonerorlatertheyallseemtobringtheirlucktothetestofrealisation，trytomaketheirfluidopulencecoagulateoutasbricksandmortar，bringmoonshineintorelationswithaweeklywages-sheet。Thenthewholefabricofconfidenceandimaginationtotters——anddowntheycome。
WhenIthinkofthatdespoiledhillside，thatcolossallitterofbricksandmortar，andcruderoadsandpaths，thescaffoldingandsheds，thegeneralqualityofunforeseeingoutrageuponthepeaceofnature，IamremindedofachatIhadwiththevicaronebleakdayafterhehadwitnessedaglide。HetalkedtomeofaeronauticsasIstoodinjerseyandshortsbesidemymachine，freshfromalighting，andhiscadaverousfacefailedtoconcealapeculiardesolationthatpossessedhim。