Both were kind hearts; but Sir Chetwode was jovial,
Sir Tichborne rather stern. Sir Chetwode often broke into a joke; Sir
Tichborne sometimes backed into a sneer. .
A few of these characters were made known by Mr. Dacre to his young
friend, but not many, and in an easy way; those that stood nearest.
Introduction is a formality and a bore, and is never resorted to by your
well-bred host, save in a casual way. When proper people meet at proper
houses, they give each other credit for propriety, and slide into an
acquaintance by degrees. The first day they catch a name; the next, they
ask you whether you are the son of General----. 'No; he was my uncle.'
'Ah! I knew him well. A worthy soul!' And then the thing is settled. You
ride together, shoot, or fence, or hunt. A game of billiards will do no
great harm; and when you part, you part with a hope that you may meet
again.
Lord Mildmay was glad to meet with the son of an old friend. He knew the
late Duke well, and loved him better. It is pleasant to hear our fathers
praised. We, too, may inherit their virtues with their lands, or
cash, or bonds; and, scapegraces as we are, it is agreeable to find a
precedent for the blood turning out well.
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