n these occasions."

I was very much delighted with the reflection of my old friend, which
carried so much goodness in it. He then launched out into the praise of
the late Act of Parliament[159] for securing the Church of England, and
told me, with great satisfaction, that he believed it already began to
take effect, for that a rigid dissenter who chanced to dine at his house
on Christmas Day, had been observed to eat very plentifully of his
plum-porridge[160].

After having dispatched all our country matters, Sir Roger made several
inquiries concerning the club, and particularly of his old antagonist Sir
Andrew Freeport. He asked me with a kind of a smile, whether Sir Andrew
had not taken the advantage of his absence, to vent among them some of
his republican doctrines; but soon after gathering up his countenance
into a more than ordinary seriousness, "Tell me truly," says he, "do not
you think Sir Andrew had a hand in the Pope's procession[161]?"--but
without giving me time to answer him, "Well, well," says he, "I know you
are a wary man, and do not care to talk of public matters."

The Knight then asked me if I had seen Prince Eugenio, and made me
promise to get him a stand in some convenient place, where he might have
a full sight of that extraordinary man, whose presence does so much
honour to the British nation. He dwelt very long on the praises of this
great general, and I found that, since I was with him in the country, he
had drawn many just observations together out of his reading in Baker's
_Chronicle_[162], and other authors, who always lie in his hall window,
which very much redound to the honour of this prince.

Having passed away the greatest part of the morning in hearing the
Knight's reflections, which were partly private, and partly political, he
asked me if I would smoke a pipe with him over a dish of coffee at
Squire's. As I love the old man, I take delight in complying with
everything that is agreeable to him, and accordingly waited on[163] him
to the coffee-house, where his venerable figure drew upon us the eyes of
the whole room. He had no sooner seated himself at the upper end of the
high table, but he called for a clean pipe, a paper of tobacco, a dish of
coffee, a wax-candle, and the _Supplement_, with such an air of
cheerfulness and good humour, that all the boys[164] in the coffee-room
(who seemed to take pleasure in serving him) were at once employed on his
several errands, insomuch that