It may be supposed that this laxity of manners influenced all ranks, when inroads upon the paths of decorum prevailed even in the Church. In order that this fact may not rest upon my mere assertion, I shall quote the concluding lines of a letter to the Author of the London Journal, dated December 21, 1720, and signed "A. A. a lover of decency and order." He speaks of an impropriety, _now_ become quite common, in the Stewards of the Sons of the Clergy permitting persons from the Theatres to perform in their annual celebration at St. Paul's; and then proceeds: "There are other things truly blameable to be observed, when the _Te Deum_ or Anthem hath been performing, yes, when the parson hath been preaching, (viz.) _persons eating, drinking wine_, laughing and talking; a conduct much more becoming those who attend the performances of Drury-lane or the Haymarket, than the Temple of the Lord. "What is here taken notice of, as it is fact, so it is abominable, and ought to be exposed; the doing of which may tend to reform such irregularities for the future, and keep those disorders from the House of God, which cannot admit of a justification unless by those who may think the same liberties may be taken in places set apart for devotion, as are in the Synagogue of Satan." The progress of the shocking Clubs already noticed became so alarming, that the King found it necessary to issue his proclamation for their suppression, in April 1721, which establishes their existence beyond all dispute. "At the Court of St. James's, the 28th day of April 1721. Present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.