The boy's mother had previously held a middling opinion at best of her husband's cousin David, fearing that he was the sort of uncle who, when in high spirits, might be prone to playing energetic games with the boy that, while undoubtedly a source of delight to the child, could result in grave injury to her maternal nervous system. And he had an unfortunate habit of giving long-winded, obscure toasts at gatherings of the extended family.
But when she observed the uncle's unreservedly glowing estimation of her child's mental qualities and his subsequent gift of a first-rate microscope, accompanied by the most detailed and patient explanations on its scientific potential and proper use, her estimation of his worth as an uncle increased in an instant, and she found herself noting as if for the first time that he seemed to be a doting father to his own infant daughter.
