Poly. (Aside.) I dare not inform him.—No, no—a trifle.
Eustace. You are right to be severe with him: he is now arrived at an age when the strictest watchfulness over his conduct is necessary. Ah! Mr. Polyglot, your example has made him what he is; your vigilance must keep him so.
Poly. I—you flatter me.
Eustace. I will now, in few words, confide to you the object of the journey from which I have just returned: it was to make arrangements for the marriage of my son.
Poly. His marriage!
Eustace. I anticipate your objection, and will answer it.
Poly. I have no objection to offer. (Aside.) Then it turns out as it should be. Charles is already in love; so the marriage comes opportunely.
Eustace. No objection! Why, till now, you have always held that no man ought to marry till he’s sixty; that is to say, till he has finished his education, and seen a little of the world.
Poly. You make a slight mistake; I always said, at least I meant to say, four-and-twenty.
Eustace. Well, I’m glad it is so; for, to say the truth, although I am of your opinion, that it is not prudent to marry whilst a mere baby, yet I always thought sixty somewhat of the latest.