Much, I think, depends upon what is meant by the expression "doing nothing". If a gentleman spends such moments in contemplation, allowing his mind to wander through questions of philosophy, reason, or the condition of the world, then he is hardly idle in any true sense of the word. A man devoted to thought ought not to feel the least embarrassment at seeming inactivity now and again, for it is frequently in those quiet intervals, when the world imagines him to be doing nothing, that the mind conducts its most valuable labours.