necessary tendency of their
proceedings; and I say it with all possible respect and sincerity, that,
as a public party, the Saints are not only perhaps the most powerful, but
the party which, at present, best deserves power.

The association, however, with which I have happened to become connected,
is of a very different description. Their object is, to pass through
life with as much pleasure as they can obtain, without doing anything
unbecoming the rank of gentlemen, and the character of men of honour. We
do not assemble such numerous meetings as the Saints, the Whigs, or the
Radicals, nor are our speeches delivered with so much vehemence. We
even, I think, tacitly exclude oratory. In a word, our meetings seldom
exceed the perfect number of the muses; and our object on these occasions
is not so much to deliberate on plans of prospective benefits to mankind,
as to enjoy the present time for ourselves, under the temperate
inspiration of a well-cooked dinner, flavoured with elegant wine, and
just so much of mind as suits the fleeting topics of the day. T---, whom
I formerly mentioned, introduced me to this delightful society. The
members consist of about fifty gentlemen, who dine occasionally at each
other's houses; the company being chiefly selected from the brotherhood,
if that term can be applied to a circle of acquaintance, who, without any
formal institution of rules, have gradually acquired a consistency that
approximates to organisation. But the universe of this vast city
contains a plurality of systems; and the one into which I have been
attracted may be described as that of the idle intellects. In general
society, the members of our party are looked up to as men of taste and
refinement, and are received with a degree of deference that bears some
resemblance to the respect paid to the hereditary endowment of rank.
They consist either of young men who have acquired distinction at
college, or gentlemen of fortune who have a relish for intellectual
pleasures, free from the acerbities of politics, or the dull formalities
which so many of the pious think essential to their religious
pretensions. The wealthy furnish the entertainments, which are always in
a superior style, and the ingredient of birth is not requisite in the
qualifications of a member, although some jealousy is entertained of
professional men, and not a little of merchants. T---, to whom I am also
indebted for this view of that circle of which h