such consideration--all the strangers were as dissimilar in fortune,
profession, connections, and politics, as any four men in the class
of gentlemen could well be. I never spent a more delightful
evening.

The ablest, the most eloquent, and the most elegant man present,
without question, was the son of a saddler. No expense had been
spared on his education. His father, proud of his talents, had
intended him for a seat in Parliament; but Mr. T- himself prefers
the easy enjoyments of private life, and has kept himself aloof from
politics and parties. Were I to form an estimate of his
qualifications to excel in public speaking, by the clearness and
beautiful propriety of his colloquial language, I should conclude
that he was still destined to perform a distinguished part. But he
is content with the liberty of a private station, as a spectator
only, and, perhaps, in that he shows his wisdom; for undoubtedly
such men are not cordially received among hereditary statesmen,
unless they evince a certain suppleness of principle, such as we
have seen in the conduct of more than one political adventurer.

The next in point of effect was young C- G-. He evidently
languished under the influence of indisposition, which, while it
added to the natural gentleness of his manners, diminished the
impression his accomplishments would otherwise have made. I was
greatly struck with the modesty with which he offered his opinions,
and could scarcely credit that he was the same individual whose
eloquence in Parliament is by many compared even to Mr. Canning's,
and whose firmness of principle is so universally acknowledged, that
no one ever suspects him of being liable to change. You may have
heard of his poem "On the Restoration of Learning in the East," the