# IX: A New Friend and an Old One explained — A Gentleman of Leisure

> Chapter companion for A Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. Wodehouse.

## What happens

Jimmy Pitt, still haunted by the memory of the girl he met on the Mauretania a year ago, is dining alone at the Savoy in London. He observes a young man in distress and offers him money to cover his bill. The young man is Lord Dreever, heir to Dreever Castle. Later, they meet again on the Embankment and share their romantic troubles: Lord Dreever is in love with a girl but his uncle wants him to marry another, while Jimmy confesses he has been searching for a mysterious woman he met only once. They walk together and stop at a cabman's shelter for coffee, where a dispute about Russia is underway.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

Both Jimmy and Lord Dreever are troubled by romantic entanglements: Jimmy searches for a lost love, while Lord Dreever faces pressure from his uncle to marry against his wishes.

### Adventure and Risk

Jimmy's restless wandering across Morocco, Spain, and now London reflects his adventurous spirit, driven by the search for the mysterious girl.

### Social Class and Wealth

The contrast between Jimmy's ability to lend £5 without hesitation and Lord Dreever's embarrassment over insufficient funds highlights class and money dynamics.

## Character check-ins

### Jimmy Pitt

Sups alone at the Savoy, still restless and haunted by the girl from the Mauretania. He helps Lord Dreever with a loan and later confides his romantic troubles.

### Lord Dreever

A light-haired, weedy young man who runs out of money at the Savoy. He is in love with a girl but pressured by his uncle to marry another. He meets Jimmy on the Embankment and they become friends.

### Molly McEachern

The girl from the Mauretania who has haunted Jimmy for a year. He does not know her name or address, only that she disappeared in New York.

### Spike Mullins

Mentioned as Jimmy's young disciple in burglary who vanished after the night at McEachern's. Jimmy has searched for him in the Bowery without success.

### Arthur Mifflin

Mentioned as one of Jimmy's friends from the Strollers' who missed him after he left New York.

## Key lines

> I met a girl a year ago. Only really met her once, and even then⁠—oh, well. Anyway, it's made me so restless that I haven't been able to stay in one place for more than a month on end.

Jimmy tells Lord Dreever that a brief encounter with a girl a year ago has made him unable to settle anywhere for long.

_Jimmy explains the source of his wanderlust to his new acquaintance._

> I want to marry one girl, and my uncle's dead set on my marrying another.

Lord Dreever confides that he wishes to marry the girl he loves, but his uncle insists he marry someone else.

_Lord Dreever shares his romantic dilemma with Jimmy._

> Because you can wade over yer knees in bla-a-ad there.

A cabman says he wants to go to Russia because there is blood everywhere there.

_A cabman in the shelter expresses a grim desire to go to Russia for its violence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_gentleman_of_leisure_se/chapters/ix-a-new-friend-and-an-old-one
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_gentleman_of_leisure_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_gentleman_of_leisure_se/chapters