time his uncle had been supporting his sister
and her husband in all the luxury he thought befitted their rank, he had
contracted considerable debts, and he had only been able to return to
England on condition of paying so much a-year to his creditors. This
left him very little on which to maintain his family, but still his
pride made him bent on concealing his difficulties, and it was not
without a struggle that he would at first consent to receive assistance
from his nephew.

Guy resolved that these debts, which he considered as in fact his
father's own, should be paid as soon as he had the command of his
property; but, in the meantime, he thought himself bound to send his
uncle all the help in his power, and when once the effort of accepting
it at all was over, Dixon's expectations extended far beyond his power.
His allowance was not large, and the constant requests for a few pounds
to meet some pressing occasion were more than he could well meet. They
kept him actually a great deal poorer than men without a tenth part of
his fortune, and at the end of the term he would look back with surprise
at having been able to pay his way; but still he contrived neither to
exceed his allowance, nor to get into debt. This was, indeed, only done
by a rigid self-denial of little luxuries such as most young men look
on nearly as necessaries; but he had never been brought up to think
self-indulgence a consequence of riches, he did not care what was said
of him, he had no expensive tastes, for he did not seek after society,
so that he was not ill-prepared for such a course, and only thought of
it as an assistance in abstaining from the time-wasting that might have
tempted him if he had had plenty of money to spend.

The only thing that concerned him was a growing doubt lest he might be
feeding extravagance instead of doing good; and the more he disliked
himself for the suspicion, the more it would return. There was no doubt
much distress, the children were sickly; several of them died; the
doctor's bills, and other expenses, pressed heavily, and Guy blamed
himself for having doubted. Yet, again, he could not conceal from
himself traces that his uncle was careless and imprudent. He had once,
indeed, in a violent fit of self-reproach, confessed as much, allowed
that what ought to have been spent in the maintenance of his family, had
gone in gambling, but immediately after, he had been seized with a fit
of terror, and implored Guy to