CHAPTER I.THE NOSE OF A SPY.
"Squire." said Mr.Hopewell, "you know Sam well enough, I hope, to make all due allowances for the exuberance of his fancy.

The sketch he has just given you of London society, like the novels of the present day, though founded on fact, is very unlike the reality.

There may be assemblages of persons in this great city, and no doubt there are, quite as insipid and absurd as the one he has just pourtrayed; but you must not suppose it is at all a fair specimen of the society of this place.
My own experience is quite the reverse.

I think it the most refined, the most agreeable, and the most instructive in the world.

Whatever your favourite study or pursuit may be, here you are sure to find well-informed and enthusiastic associates.