1784 Progressive retardation of Dinner-hour 163 



3d. That when gentlemen bring servants, he be allowed to charge 

 one shilling for each servant for dinner, and a pot of porter for each, 

 as proposed by Mr Simkin to the Treasurer. 



4th. That when toasted cheese is called for, he be allowed to 

 charge it. 



" The Committee recommend that Mr Simkin do fix on a com- 

 fortable room that the Club may have every Thursday, and not 

 be moved about from room to room on frivolous pretences ; it being 

 understood that, on very extraordinary occasions, the Club will not 

 obstruct his business, but put up with another room for a day on 

 his asking leave." 



At the meeting of the Club held two days afterwards, this 

 Report was unanimously agreed to and the new regulations 

 were ordered to come into force on March 4th following. 



This rearrangement was finally confirmed at the General 

 Meeting on July 29th. At this meeting the Treasurer 

 reported that he had disbursed 12 los. 6d. during the 

 past year and had a balance of 20 2s. nd. in his hands. 

 Two vacancies were announced owing to the death of Daniel 

 Wray, who had been a member since 1744, and that of 

 John Darker. On a ballot John Topham was elected, the 

 second vacancy remaining unfilled. 



At the same meeting it was resolved : " That the time 

 for having dinner put on the table every Thursday be altered 

 from four o'clock to half an hour after four, but to be served 

 up precisely to the time, as usual." 



The new member of the Club, John Topham, had been 

 elected into the Royal Society in 1779. He was Deputy- 

 Keeper of State Papers, Bencher of Gray's Inn, Treasurer 

 of the Society of Antiquaries, Librarian to the Archbishop 

 of Canterbury and author of various antiquarian papers. 



The foreign visitors this year formed a numerous and 

 varied company. Taking them in chronological order, Baron 

 Nolcken, the envoy from Sweden, and the Chevalier de 

 Dreyer, the envoy from Denmark, again appeared on the 

 invitation of the President. Sir Joseph also brought a 

 number of new faces from abroad. In June he had at two 

 successive dinners " M. Polteratzky," probably the Russian, 

 Dmitri Poltoratzky, who took a keen interest in agriculture 



