James's Uncle Frederick was always talking more or less about the
Colonies, having made a substantial fortune out in Western Australia,
but it was only when James came down from Oxford that the thing became
really menacing. Up to that time the uncle had merely spoken of the
Colonies _as_ Colonies. Now he began to speak of them with
sinister reference to his nephew. He starred James. It became a case of
'Frederick Knott presents James Datchett in "The Colonies",' and there
seemed every prospect that the production would be an early one; for if
there was one section of the public which Mr Knott disliked more than
another, it was Young Men Who Ought To Be Out Earning Their Livings
Instead Of Idling At Home. He expressed his views on the subject with
some eloquence whenever he visited his sister's house. Mrs Datchett was
a widow, and since her husband's death had been in the habit of
accepting every utterance of her brother Frederick as a piece of
genuine all-wool wisdom; though, as a matter of fact, James's uncle had
just about enough brain to make a jay-bird fly crooked, and no more. He
had made his money through keeping sheep. And any fool can keep sheep.
However, he had this reputation for wisdom, and what he said went. It
was not long, therefore, before it was evident that the ranks of the
Y.
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