Does he read your mind at a glance?
His eyes are penetrating, but not uncomfortably so.

It is, we are inclined to think, that general and instinctive knowledge of the characters and tendencies of those with whom he converses, which commerce with the world, and a keen observation of men and manners, alone can give.

He is, in short, a man of the world.
When he first entered the army his father and an elder brother were alive.

They, dying about three years after, left him in possession of a large but greatly encumbered property.

It was estimated that it would take twenty years at least to clear the estate, and that only by letting it and never drawing upon the proceeds.
The young heir was wise enough to retain his post as officer in Her Majesty's service, though not to sequester all his income for the payment of his father's, grandfather's, and great-grandfather's debts or mortgages.