This he soon turned to sympathy, by telling them that he was proud but poor.

Robbed of the vast estates that belonged to him by birth, he had been unwilling to take a lower position.

However, Heaven had prospered him; the wrongful heir was childless; he was the heir at law, and felt he owed it to the estate, which must return to his line, to assume a little more public importance than he had done.
Wherever he was received he was sure to enlarge upon his wrongs; and he was believed; for he was notoriously the direct heir to Bassett and Huntercombe, but the family arrangement by which his father had been bought out was known only to a few.

He readily obtained sympathy, and many persons were disgusted at Sir Charles's illiberality in not making him some compensation.

To use the homely expression of Govett, a small proprietor, the baronet might as well have given him back one pig out of his own farrow--_i.e.,_ one of the many farms comprised in that large estate.
Sir Charles learned that Richard was undermining him in the county, but was too proud to interfere; he told Lady Bassett he should say nothing until some _gentleman_ should indorse Mr.Bassett's falsehoods.
One day Sir Charles and Lady Bassett were invited to dine and sleep at Mr.Hardwicke's, distance fifteen miles; they went, and found Richard Bassett dining there, by Mrs.Hardwicke's invitation, who was one of those ninnies that fling guests together with no discrimination.
Richard had expected this to happen sooner or later, so he was comparatively prepared, and bowed stiffly to Sir Charles.