seven o'clock
He intended to dine at home that evening , and he anticipated some kind of disagreement with his father . The two men were too much alike not to be congenial , but too combative by nature to care for eternal peace . On the present occasion it was likely that there would be a struggle , for Giovanni had made up his mind not to marry Madame Mayer , and his father was equally determined that he should marry her at once : both were singularly strong men , singularly tenacious of their opinions . At precisely seven o'clock father and son entered from different doors the small sitting-room in which they generally met , and they had no sooner entered than dinner was announced . Two words might suffice for the description of old Prince Saracinesca -- he was an elder edition of his son . Sixty years of life had not bent his strong frame nor dimmed the brilliancy of his eyes , but his hair and beard were snowy white . He was broader in the shoulder and deeper in the chest than Giovanni , but of the same height , and well proportioned still , with little tendency to stoutness .