] Some families saw it as a matter of family pride that every member should have a useful occupation.(The General himself seems to be of this opinion, anyway.)

The timing is right for General Tilney to have served in America, where he would have met a fair number of both first and younger sons of the noble and gentry classes, including Francis Rawdon, later Lord Moira and later still the first Marquis Hastings, who (among other things in a busy career) failed to repay a loan to Henry Austen and contributed to his bankruptcy.

Here's a link to a description of the Mischianza, an extravagant piece of entertainment put on by some bored young British officers in Philadelphia, and just the sort of thing General Tilney would have joined in.