de par le monde" of whom we have spoken elsewhere. A woman's
dinner-party may succeed now and then by way of a joke, but it is a joke
that is not often repeated. Have we not lately seen how an institution
with a graceful English name, started in London for women and women
only, has just so far relaxed its rigid rule as to allow men upon its
premises between certain hours, and this relaxation we are told has been
conceded in consequence of the demand of numerous ladies. Well, well, if
men can on the whole get on better without the society of women than
women can without the society of men it is no doubt because they are
rougher creatures, moulded of a coarser clay, and are more entertained
by eating and drinking, smoking and the telling of tales than women are.

If all the men whom the Whartons labelled as wits and beaux of society
could be gathered together they would make a most excellent club in the
sense in which a club was understood in the last century. Johnson
thought that he had praised a man highly when he called him a clubbable
man, and so he had for those days which dreamed not of vast caravanserai
calling themselves clubs and having thousands of members on their roll,
the majority of whom do not know more than perhaps ten of their fellow
members from Adam. In the sense that Dr. Johnson meant, all these wits
and beaux whom our Whartons have gathered together were eminently
clubbable. If some such necromancer could come to us as he who in
Tourguenieff's story conjures up the shade of Julius Cæsar; and if in an
obliging way he could make these wits and beaux greet us: if such a
spiritualistic society as that described by Mr. Stockton in one of his
diverting stories could materialise them all for our benefit: then one
might count with confidence upon some very delightful company and some
very delightful talk. For the people whom the Whartons have been good
enough to group together are people of the most fascinating variety.
They have wit in common and goodfellowship, they were famous