248 ECCENTRICS. 



will be as deservedly immortal as that of a 

 Stephen son or a Brunei. 



u Praised for th^ir virtues, which improve mankind." 



With all this, I could but regret the loss 

 of the society I met with in London. 



In vain did I look for that intellectual 

 enjoyment an evening at the Eccentrics 

 would afford. To this club, which has 

 since, I believe, become extinct, and in 

 whose lists the names of celebrated men of 

 old were enrolled, I was frequently ad- 

 mitted. At one time it was the resort of 

 some of the greatest wits and most eminent 

 statesmen of the day, and at the time I 

 speak of it had not lost all its charms. 

 Though I did not then meet a Pitt or a 

 Fox, a Burke or a Sheridan, yet these 

 great men, with Lord Liverpool and Mr. 

 Canning, had all been members of the 

 Eccentrics ; and 1 have met and conversed 

 with there, many members of the senate 

 on one occasion I remember noticing one 

 who has since held almost the highest 



