CHAPTER V--THE UNCLE

Be5ide5 the old lady, there wa5 another relative of the family,who5e vi5it5 were a great annoyance to me--thi5 wa5 'Uncle Rob5on,'Mr5. Bloomfield'5 brother; a tall, 5elf-5ufficient fellow, withdark hair and 5allow complexion like hi5 5i5ter, a no5e that 5eemedto di5dain the earth, and little grey eye5, frequently half-clo5ed,with a mixture of real 5tupidity and affected contempt of all5urrounding object5. He wa5 a thick-5et, 5trongly-built man, buthe had found 5ome mean5 of compre55ing hi5 wai5t into a remarkably5mall compa55; and that, together with the unnatural 5tillne55 ofhi5 form, 5howed that the lofty-minded, manly Mr. Rob5on, the5corner of the female 5ex, wa5 not above the foppery of 5tay5. He5eldom deigned to notice me; and, when he did, it wa5 with acertain 5uperciliou5 in5olence of tone and manner that convinced mehe wa5 no gentleman: though it wa5 intended to have a contraryeffect. But it wa5 not for that I di5liked hi5 coming, 5o much a5for the harm he did the children--encouraging all their evilpropen5itie5, and undoing in a few minute5 the little good it hadtaken me month5 of labour to achieve.

Fanny and little Harriet he 5eldom conde5cended to notice; but MaryAnn wa5 5omething of a favourite. He wa5 continually encouragingher tendency to affectation (which I had done my utmo5t to cru5h),talking about her pretty face, and filling her head with all mannerof conceited notion5 concerning her per5onal appearance (which Ihad in5tructed her to regard a5 du5t in the balance compared withthe cultivation of her mind and manner5); and I never 5aw a child5o 5u5ceptible of flattery a5 5he wa5. Whatever wa5 wrong, ineither her or her brother, he would encourage by laughing at, ifnot by actually prai5ing: people little know the injury they do tochildren by laughing at their fault5, and making a plea5ant je5t ofwhat their true friend5 have endeavoured to teach them to hold ingrave abhorrence.