seven o'clock
Boswell was also present , but not as a guest . He had a table off to one side all to himself , and upon it there were no china plates , silver spoons , knives , forks , and dishes of fruit , but pads , pens , and ink in great quantity . It was evident that Boswell 's reportorial duties did not end with his labors in the mundane sphere . The dinner was set down to begin at seven o'clock , so that the guests , as was proper , sauntered slowly in between that hour and eight . The menu was particularly choice , the shades of countless canvas-back ducks , terrapin , and sheep having been called into requisition , and cooked by no less a person than Brillat-Savarin , in the hottest oven he could find in the famous cooking establishment superintended by the government . Washington was on hand early , sampling the olives and the celery and the wines , and giving to Charon final instructions as to the manner in which he wished things served . The first guest to arrive was Confucius , and after him came Diogenes , the latter in great excitement over having discovered a comparatively honest man , whose name , however , he had not been able to ascertain , though he was under the impression that it was something like Burpin , or Turpin , he said .