institution, they have smoked fifty tons of tobacco, drank thirty
thousand butts of ale, one thousand hogsheads of red port, two hundred
barrels of brandy, and _one_ kilderkin of small beer. There had been
likewise a great consumption of cards. It is also said that they
observe the law in Ben Jonson's Club, which orders the fire to be
always kept in (_focus perennis esto_), as well for the convenience of
lighting their pipes as to cure the dampness of the club-room. They
have an old woman, in the nature of a vestal, whose business is to
cherish and perpetuate the fire, which burns from generation to
generation, and has seen the glass-house fires in and out above an
hundred times.
"The Everlasting Club treats all other clubs with an eye of contempt,
and talks even of the Kit-Kat and October as a couple of upstarts.
Their ordinary discourse, as much I have been able to learn of it,
turns altogether upon such adventures as have passed in their own
assembly; of members who have taken the glass in their turns for a
week together, without stirring out of the Club; of others who have
not missed their morning's draught for twenty years together;
sometimes they speak in rapture of a run of ale in King Charles's
reign; and sometimes reflect with astonishment upon games at whist,
which have been miraculously recovered by members of the Society, when
in all human probability the case was desperate.
"They delight in several old catches, which they sing at all hours, to
encourage one another to moisten their clay, and grow immortal by
drinking, with many other edifying exhortations of the like nature.
"There are four general Clubs held in a year, at which time they fill
up vacancies, appoint waiters, confirm the old fire-maker or elect a
new one, settle contributions for coals, pipes, tobacco, and other
necessaries.
"The senior member has outlived the whole Club twice over, and has
been drunk with the grandfathers of some of the sitting members."
_The Lawyer's Club_ is thus described in the _Spectator_, No.
372:--"This Club consists only of attorneys, and at this meeting every
one proposes to the board the cause he has then in hand, upon which
each member gives his judgment, according to the experience he has
met with. If it happens that any one puts a case of which they have
had no precedent, it is noted down by their chief clerk, Will
Goosequill (who registers all their proceedings), that one of them may
go with it next day to a counsel. This is, indeed, commendable, and
ought to be the principal end of their meeting; but had you been there
to have heard them relate their methods of managing a cause, their
manner of drawing out their bills, and, in short, their arguments upon
the several ways of abusing their clients, with the applause that is
given to him who has done it most artfully, you would before now have
given your remarks.
"They are so conscious that their discourses ought to be kept a
secret, that they are very cautious of admitting any person who is not
in the profession. When any who are not of the law are let in, the
person who introduces him says, he is a very honest gentleman, and he
is taken, as their cant is, to pay costs." The writer adds, "that he
is admitted upon the recommendation of one of their principals, as a
very honest, good-natured fellow, that will never be in a plot, and
only desires to drink his bottle and smoke his pipe."
_The Little Club_, we are told in the _Guardian_, No. 91, began by
sending invitations to those not exceeding five feet in height, to
repair to the assembly, but many sent excuses, or pretended a
non-application. They proceeded to fit up a room for their
accommodation, and in the first place had all the chairs, stools, and
tables removed, which had served the more bulky portion of mankind for
many years, previous to which they laboured under very great
disadvantages. The President's whole person was sunk in the
elbow-chair, and when his arms were spread over it, he appeared (to
the great lessening of his dignity) like a child in a go-cart. It was
also so wide in the seat, as to give a wag occasion of saying, that
"notwithstanding the President sat in it, there was a _sede vacante_."
"The table was so high, that one who came by chance to the door,
seeing our chins just above the pewter dishes, took us for a circle of
men that sat ready to be shaved, and set in half-a-dozen of barbers.
Another time, one of the Club spoke contumeliously of the President,
imagining he had been absent, when he was only eclipsed by a flask of
Florence, which stood on the table, in a parallel line before his
face. We therefore new-furnished the room, in all respects
proportionably to us, and had the door made lower, so as to admit no
man above five feet high, without brushing his foretop; which, whoever
does, is utterly unqualified to sit amongst us."
Mr. Daniel, in his _Merrie England in the Olden Time_, has collected a
further list of Clubs existing in London in 1790. He enumerates the
following:--The Odd Fellows' Club; the Humbugs (held at the Blue
Posts, in Covent-Garden); the Samsonic Society; the Society of Bucks;
the Purl Drinkers; the Society of Pilgrims (held at the Woolpack, in
the Kingsland-road); the Thespian Club; the Great Bottle Club; the Je
ne sçai quoi Club (held at the Star and Garter in Pall-Mall, and of
which the Prince of Wales, and the Dukes of York, Clarence, Orleans,
Norfolk, Bedford, etc., were members); the Sons of the Thames Society;
the Blue Stocking Club; the No Pay No Liquor Club (held at the Queen
and Artichoke, in the Hampstead-road, and of which the ceremony, on a
new member's introduction, was, after his paying a fee on entrance of
one shilling, that he should wear a hat, throughout the first
evening, made in the shape of a quart pot, and drink to the health of
his brother members in a gilt goblet of ale); the Social Villagers
(held at the Bedford Arms, in Camden-town), etc. Of the Villagers of
our time, Sheridan Knowles, the dramatist, was a jovial member.
JACOBITE CLUB.
In the year 1854 a Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ communicated
to that journal the following interesting reminiscences of a political
Club, with characteristics of the reminiscent.
"The adherents of the Stuarts are now nearly extinct; but I recollect
a few years ago an old gentleman in London, who was then upwards of
eighty years of age, and who was a staunch Jacobite. I have heard him
say that, when he was a young man, his father belonged to a society in
Aldersgate-street, called 'The Mourning Bush;' and this Bush was to be
always in mourning until the Stuarts were restored." A member of this
society having been met in mourning when one of the reigning family
had died, was asked by one of the members how it so happened? His
reply was, "that he was not mourning for the dead, but for the
living." The old gentleman was father of the Mercers' Company, and his
brother of the Stationers' Company: they were bachelors, and citizens
of the old school, hospitable, liberal, and charitable. An instance
occurred that the latter had a presentation to Christ's Hospital: he
was applied to in behalf of a person who had a large family; but the
father not being a freeman, he could not present it to the son. He
immediately bought the freedom for the father, and gave the son the
presentation. This is a rare act. The brothers have long gone to
receive the reward of their goodness, and lie buried in the cemetery
attached to Mercers' Hall, Cheapside.
By the above statement, the Club appears to have taken the name of the
Mourning Bush Tavern, in Aldersgate, of which we shall have more to
say hereafter.
THE WITTINAGEMOT OF THE CHAPTER COFFEE-HOUSE.
The Chapter Coffee-house, at the corner of Chapterhouse Court, on the
south side of Paternoster-row, was, in the last century, noted as the
resort of men of letters, and was famous for its punch, pamphlets, and
good supply of newspapers. It was closed as a coffee-house in 1854,
and then altered to a tavern. Its celebrity, however, lay in the last
century. In the _Connoisseur_, January 31, 1754, we read: "The Chapter
Coffee-house is frequented by those encouragers of literature, and (as
they are styled by an eminent critic) 'not the worst judges of merit,'
the booksellers. The conversation here naturally turns upon the newest
publications; but their criticisms are somewhat singular. When they
say a _good_ book, they do not mean to praise the style or sentiment,
but the quick and extensive sale of it. That book is best which sells
most; and if the demand for Quarles should be greater than for Pope,
he would have the highest place on the rubric-post."
The house was much frequented by Chatterton, who writes to his mother:
"I am quite familiar at the Chapter Coffee-house, and know all the
geniuses there;" and to Mr. Mason: "Send me whatever you would have
published, and direct for me, to be left at the Chapter Coffee-house,
Paternoster-row." And, writing from "King's Bench for the present,"
May 14th, 1770, Chatterton says: "A gentleman who knows me at the
Chapter, as an author, would have introduced me as a companion to the
young Duke of Northumberland, in his intended general tour. But, alas!
I spake no tongue but my own."
Forster relates an anecdote of Oliver Goldsmith being paymaster at the
Chapter, for Churchill's friend, Lloyd, who, in his careless way,
without a shilling to pay for the entertainment, had invited him to
sup with some friends of Grub-street.
The Club celebrity of the Chapter was, however, the Wittinagemot, as
the box in the north-east corner of the coffee-room was designated.
Among its frequenters was Alexander Stevens, editor of the _Annual
Biography and Obituary_, who died in 1824, and who left among his
papers, printed in the _Monthly Magazine_, as "Stephensiana," his
recollections of the Chapter, which he frequented in 1797 to 1805,
where, he tells us, he always met with intelligent company. We give
his reminiscences almost in his own words.
Early in the morning it was occupied by neighbours, who were
designated the _Wet Paper Club_, as it was their practice to open the
papers when brought in by the newsmen, and read them before they were
dried by the waiter; a dry paper they viewed as a stale commodity. In
the afternoon, another party enjoyed the _wet_ evening papers; and
(says Stephens) it was these whom I met.
Dr. Buchan, author of _Domestic Medicine_, generally held a seat in
this box; and though he was a Tory, he heard the freest discussion
with good humour, and commonly acted as a moderator. His fine
physiognomy, and his white hairs, qualified him for this office. But
the fixture in the box was a Mr. Hammond, a Coventry manufacturer,
who, evening after evening, for nearly forty-five years, was always to
be found in his place, and during the entire period was much
distinguished for his severe and often able strictures on the events
of the day. He had thus debated through the days of Wilkes, of the
American war, and of the French war, and being on the side of liberty,
was constantly in opposition. His mode of arguing was Socratic, and he
generally applied to his adversary the _reductio ad absurdum_,
creating bursts of laughter.
The registrar or chronicler of the box was a Mr. Murray, an episcopal
Scotch minister, who generally sat in one place from nine in the
morning till nine at night; and was famous for having read, at least
once through, every morning and evening paper published in London
during the last thirty years. His memory being good, he was appealed
to whenever any point of fact within the memory of man happened to be
disputed. It was often remarked, however, that such incessant daily
reading did not tend to clear his views.
Among those from whom I constantly profited was Dr. Berdmore, the
Master of the Charterhouse; Walker, the rhetorician; and Dr. Towers,
the political and historical writer. Dr. B. abounded in anecdote;
Walker, (the Dictionary-maker,) to the finest enunciation united the
most intelligent head I ever met with; and Towers, over his half-pint
of Lisbon, was sarcastic and lively, though never deep.
Among our constant visitors was the celebrated Dr. George Fordyce,
who, having much fashionable practice, brought news which had not
generally transpired. He had not the appearance of a man of genius,
nor did he debate, but he possessed sound information on all subjects.
He came to the Chapter after taking his wine, and stayed about an
hour, or while he sipped a glass of brandy-and-water; it was then his
habit to take another glass at the London Coffee-house, and a third at
the Oxford, before he returned to his house in Essex-street, Strand.
Dr. Gower, the urbane and able physician of the Middlesex, was another
pretty constant visitor. It was gratifying to hear such men as
Fordyce, Gower, and Buchan in familiar chat. On subjects of medicine
they seldom agreed, and when such were started, they generally laughed
at one another's opinions. They seemed to consider Chapter punch, or
brandy-and-water, as _aqua vitæ_; and, to the credit of the house,
better punch could not be found in London. If any one complained of
being indisposed, the elder Buchan exclaimed, "Now let me prescribe
for you without a fee. Here, John or Isaac, bring a glass of punch for
Mr. ----, unless he likes brandy-and-water better. Take that, Sir, and
I'll warrant you you'll soon be well. You're a peg too low; you want
stimulus, and if one glass won't do, call for a second."
There was a growling man of the name of Dobson, who, when his asthma
permitted, vented his spleen upon both sides; and a lover of absurd
paradoxes, author of some works of merit, but so devoid of principle,
that, deserted by his friends, he would have died for want, if Dr.
Garthshore had not placed him as a patient in the empty Fever
Institution.
Robinson, the king of the booksellers, was frequently of the party, as
well as his brother John, a man of some talent; and Joseph Johnson,
the friend of Priestley, and Paine, and Cowper, and Fuseli, came from
St. Paul's Churchyard.
Phillips, then commencing his _Monthly Magazine_, was also on a keen
look-out for recruits, and with his waistcoat pocket full of guineas,
to slip his enlistment money into their hand. Phillips, in the winter
of 1795-6, lodged and boarded at the Chapter, and not only knew the
characters referred to by Mr. Stephens, but many others equally
original, from the voracious glutton in politics, who waited for the
wet papers in the morning twilight, to the comfortless bachelor, who
sat till the fire was raked out at half-past twelve at night, all of
whom took their successive stations, like figures in a magic lantern.
Alexander Chalmers, the workman of the Robinsons, and through their
introduction editor of many large books, also enlivened the box by
many sallies of wit and humour. He always took much pains to be
distinguished from his namesake George, who, he used to say, carried,
"the leaden mace," and he was much provoked whenever he happened to be
mistaken for his namesake.
Cahusac, a teacher of the classics; M'Leod, a writer in the
newspapers; the two Parrys, of the _Courier_, the organ of Jacobinism;
and Captain Skinner, a man of elegant manners, who personated our
nation in the procession of Anacharsis Clootz, at Paris, in 1793, were
also in constant attendance.
One Baker, once a Spitalfields manufacturer, a great talker, and not
less remarkable as an eater, was constant; but, having shot himself at
his lodgings in Kirby-street, it was discovered that, for some years,
he had had no other meal per day besides the supper which he took at
the Chapter, where there being a choice of viands at the fixed price
of one shilling, this, with a pint of porter, constituted his daily
subsistence, till, his last resources failing, he put an end to
himself.
Lowndes, the celebrated electrician, was another of our set, and a
facetious man. Buchan the younger, a son of the Doctor, generally came
with Lowndes; and though somewhat dogmatical, yet he added to the
variety and good intelligence of our discussions, which, from the
mixture of company, were as various as the contents of the newspapers.
Dr. Busby, the musician, and an ingenious man, often obtained a
hearing, and was earnest in disputing with the Tories. And Macfarlane,
the author of the _History of George the Third_, was generally admired
for the soundness of his views; but this worthy man was killed by the
pole of a coach, during an election procession of Sir Francis Burdett,
from Brentford. Mr. W. Cooke, author of _Conversation_, constantly
exemplified his own rules in his gentlemanly manners and well-timed
anecdotes.
Kelly, an Irish school-master, and a man of polished manners, kept up
warm debates by his equivocating politics, and was often roughly
handled by Hammond and others, though he bore his defeats with
constant good humour.
There was a young man named Wilson, who acquired the distinction of
Long-bow, from the number of extraordinary secrets of the _haut ton_,
which he used to retail by the hour. He was an amusing person, who
seemed likely to prove an acquisition to the Wittinagemot; but, having
run up a score of thirty or forty pounds, he suddenly absented
himself. Miss Brun, the keeper of the Chapter, begged me, if I met
with Wilson, to tell him she would give him a receipt for the past,
and further credit to any amount, if he would only return to the
house; "for," said she, "if he never paid us, he was one of the best
customers we ever had, contriving, by his stories and conversation, to
keep a couple of boxes crowded the whole night, by which we made more
punch and more brandy-and-water, than from any other single cause
whatever."
Jacob, afterwards an alderman and M.P., was a frequent visitor, and
then as remarkable for his heretical, as he was subsequently for his
orthodox, opinions in his speeches and writings.
Waithman, the active and eloquent Common Councilman, often mixed with
us, and was always clear-headed and agreeable. One James, who had made
a large fortune by vending tea, contributed many good anecdotes of the
age of Wilkes.
Several stockbrokers visited us; and among others of that description
was Mr. Blake, the banker, of Lombard-street, a remarkably intelligent
old gentleman; and there was a Mr. Paterson, a North Briton, a
long-headed speculator, who taught mathematics to Pitt.
Some young men of talent came among us from time to time; as Lovett, a
militia officer; Hennell, a coal merchant, and some others; and these
seemed likely to keep up the party. But all things have an end: Dr.
Buchan died; some young sparks affronted our Nestor, Hammond, on which
he absented himself, after nearly fifty years' attendance; and the
noisy box of the Wittinagemot was, for some years previously to 1820,
remarkable for its silence and dulness. The two or three last times I
was at the Chapter, I heard no voice above a whisper; and I almost
shed a tear on thinking of men, habits, and times gone by for ever!
We shall have more to say of the Chapter Coffee-house in Vol. II.
THE ROXBURGHE CLUB DINNERS.
The Roxburghe Club claims its foundation from the sale of the library
of the late John, Duke of Roxburghe, in 1812, which extended to
forty-one days following, with a supplementary catalogue beginning
Monday, July 13, with the exception of Sundays. Some few days before
the sale, the Rev. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, who claimed the title of
founder of the Club, suggested the holding of a convivial meeting at
the St. Alban's Tavern after the sale of June 17th, upon which day was
to be sold the rarest lot, "Il Decamerone di Boccaccio," which
produced £2260. The invitation ran thus:--"The honour of your company
is requested, to dine with the Roxburghe _dinner_, on Wednesday, the
17th instant." At the first dinner the number of members was limited
to twenty-four, which at the second dinner was extended to thirty-one.
The president of this club was Lord Spencer: among the other
celebrated members were the Duke of Devonshire, the Marquis of
Blandford, Lord Althorp, Lord Morpeth, Lord Gower, Sir Mark Sykes, Sir
Egerton Brydges, Mr. (afterwards) Baron Bolland, Mr. Dent, the Rev. T.
C. Heber, Rev. Rob. Holwell Carr, Sir Walter Scott, etc.; Dr. Dibdin,
secretary.
The avowed object of the Club was the reprinting of rare and ancient
pieces of ancient literature; and, at one of the early meetings, "it
was proposed and concluded for each member of the Club to reprint a
scarce piece of ancient lore, to be given to the members, one copy
being on vellum for the chairman, and only as many copies as members."
It may, however, be questioned whether "the dinners" of the Club were
not more important than the literature. They were given at the St.
Alban's, at Grillion's, at the Clarendon, and the Albion, taverns; the
_Amphytrions_ evincing as _recherché_ taste in the _carte_, as the
Club did in their vellum reprints. Of these entertainments some
curious details have been recorded by the late Mr. Joseph Haslewood,
one of the members, in a MS. entitled, "Roxburghe Revels; or, an
Account of the Annual Display, culinary and festivous, interspersed
incidentally with Matters of Moment or Merriment." This MS. was, in
1833, purchased by the Editor of the _Athenæum_, and a selection from
its rarities was subsequently printed in that journal. Among the
memoranda, we find it noted that, at the second dinner, a few tarried,
with Mr. Heber in the chair, until, "on arriving at home, the click of
time bespoke a quarter to four." Among the early members was the Rev.
Mr. Dodd, one of the masters of Westminster School, who, until the
year 1818 (when he died), enlivened the Club with Robin-Hood ditties
and similar productions. The fourth dinner was given at Grillion's,
when twenty members assembled, under the chairmanship of Sir Mark
Masterman Sykes. The bill on this occasion amounted to £57, or £2.
17_s._ per man; and the twenty "lions" managed to dispose of
drinkables to the extent of about £33. The reckoning, by Grillion's
French waiter, is amusing:--
Dinner du 17 Juin 1815.
20 . . . . . . . . 200 0 | 2 Boutelle de Bourgogne
Desser . . . . . . 20 0 | . . . . . . 1 12 0
Deu sorte de Glasse 1 4 0 | (Not legible) 0 14 0
Glasse pour 6 . . 0 4 0 | Soder . . . . . . . 0 2 0
5 Boutelle de Champagne | Biere e Ail . . . . 0 6 0
. . . . . . . . . 4 0 0 | Por la Lettre . . . 0 2 0
7 Boutelle de harmetage | Pour faire un prune 0 6 0
. . . . . . . . . 5 5 0 | Pour un fiacre . . 0 2 0
1 Boutelle de Hok 0 15 0 | ________
4 Boutelle de Port 1 6 0 | 55 6 0
4 Boutelle de Maderre 2 0 0 | Waiters . . 1 14 0
22 Boutelle de Bordeaux | ________
. . . . . . . . 15 8 0 | 57 0 0
The anniversary of 1818 was celebrated at the Albion, in
Aldersgate-street: Mr. Heber was in the chair, and the Rev. Mr. Carr
_vice_, vice Dr. Dibdin. Although only fifteen sat down, they seem to
have eaten and drunk for the whole Club: it was, as Wordsworth says,
"forty feeding like one;" and the bill, at the conclusion of the
night, amounted to £85. 9_s._ 6_d._ "Your cits," says Mr. Haslewood,
"are the only men for a feast; and, therefore, behold us, like
locusts, travelling to devour the good things of the land, eastward
ho! At a little after seven, with our fancies much delighted, we
fifteen sat down."
The bill of fare was as follows:--
FIRST COURSE.
Turtle.[A]
Turtle Cutlets. Turtle Fin.
Turbot.
_________
Boiled Chickens. | | Ham.
Sauté of Haddock. | Frame. | Chartreuse.
Turtle. | | Turtle.
Tendrons of Lamb. |_________| Fillets of Whitings.
Tongue. John Dory. R. Chickens.
Turtle Fin. Fricandeau of Turtle.
Turtle.[15]
+++ Cold Roast Beef on Side Tables.
____
SECOND COURSE.
Venison (2 Haunches).
____
THIRD COURSE.
Larded Poults.
Tart. Cheese Cakes.
Artichoke bottoms.
_________
Jelly. | | Prawns.
R. Quails. | | R. Leveret.
Salade Italienne. |_________| Crême Italienne.
Peas.
Cabinet Pudding. Tourt.
R. Goose.
The bill, as a specimen of the advantages of separate charges, as well
as on other accounts, may be worth preserving:--
ALBION HOUSE.
June 17, 1818.
Bread and Beer 0 9 0
Dinners 9 9 0
Cheas and Butter 0 9 0
Lemons 0 3 0
Strong Beer 0 9 0
Madeira 3 3 0
Champagne 2 11 0
Saturne (sic in MS.) 1 4 0
Old Hock 4 16 0
Burgundy 0 18 0
Hermitage 0 18 0
Silery Champagne 0 16 0
Sherry 0 7 0
St. Percy 2 11 0
Old Port 2 9 0
Claret 11 4 0
Turtle Punch 0 15 0
Waxlights 2 10 0
Desert 6 6 0
Pine-ice creams 1 16 0
Tea and Coffee 1 8 0
Liqueures 0 14 0
2 Haunches of Venison 10 10 0
Sweet sauce and dressing 1 4 0
50 lbs. Turtle 12 10 0
Dressing do. 2 2 0
Ice for Wine 0 6 0
Rose Water 0 5 0
Soda Water 0 12 0
Lemons and Sugar for do. 0 3 0
Broken Glass 0 5 6
Servants' dinners 0 7 0
Waiters 1 0 0
---------
85 9 6