Haslewood,) the trencher cuts, foh! nankeen displays; as intersticed
with many a brilliant drop to friendly beck and clubbish hail, to
moisten the viands, or cool the incipient cayenne. No unfamished
liveryman would desire better dishes, or high-tasted courtier better
wines. With men that meet to commune, that can converse, and each
willing to give and receive information, more could not be wanting to
promote well-tempered conviviality; a social compound of mirth, wit,
and wisdom;--combining all that Anacreon was famed for, tempered with
the reason of Demosthenes, and intersected with the archness of
Scaliger. It is true we had not any Greek verses in praise of the
grape; but we had as a tolerable substitute the ballad of the Bishop
of Hereford and Robin Hood, sung by Mr. Dodd; and it was of his own
composing. It is true we had not any long oration denouncing the
absentees, the Cabinet council, or any other set of men, but there was
not a man present that at one hour and seventeen minutes after the
cloth was removed but could not have made a Demosthenic speech far
superior to any record of antiquity. It is true no trait of wit is
going to be here preserved, for the flashes were too general; and what
is the critical sagacity of Scaliger, compared to our chairman?
Ancients, believe it we were not dead drunk, and therefore lie quiet
under the table for once, and let a few moderns be uppermost.
"According to the long-established principles of 'Maysterre Cockerre,'
each person had £5. 14_s._ to pay--a tremendous sum, and much may be
said thereon."
Earl Spencer presided at the dinner which followed the sale of the
Valdarfer Boccaccio: twenty-one members sat down to table at
Jaquière's (the Clarendon), and the bill was comparatively moderate,
£55. 13_s._ Mr. Haslewood says, with characteristic sprightliness:
"Twenty-one members met joyfully, dined comfortably, challenged
eagerly, tippled prettily, divided regretfully, and paid the bill most
cheerfully."
The following is the list of "Tostes," given at the first Dinner, in
1812:--
The Order of ye Tostes.
The Immortal Memory of John Duke of Roxburghe.
Christopher Valdarfer, Printer of the Decameron of 1471.
Gutemberg, Fust, and Schæffher, the Inventors of
the Art of Printing.
William Caxton, the Father of the British Press.
Dame Juliana Barnes, and the St. Alban's Press.
Wynkyn de Worde and Richard Pynson, the Illustrious
Successors of William Caxton.
The Aldine Family, at Venice.
The Giunta Family at Florence.
The Society of the Bibliophiles at Paris.
The Prosperity of the Roxburghe Club.
The Cause of Bibliomania all over the World.
To show that the pursuits of the Roxburghe Club have been estimated
with a difference, we quote what may be termed "another side of the
question":--
"Among other follies of the age of paper, which took place in England
at the end of the reign of George III., a set of book-fanciers, who
had more money than wit, formed themselves into a club, and
appropriately designated themselves the _Bibliomaniacs_. Dr. Dibdin
was their organ; and among the club were several noblemen, who, in
other respects, were esteemed men of sense. Their rage was, not to
estimate books according to their intrinsic worth, but for their
rarity. Hence, any volume of the vilest trash, which was scarce,
merely because it never had any sale, fetched fifty or a hundred
pounds; but if it were but one of two or three known copies, no limits
could be set to the price. Books altered in the title-page, or in a
leaf, or any trivial circumstance which varied a few copies, were
bought by these _soi-disant_ maniacs, at one, two, or three hundred
pounds, though the copies were not really worth more than threepence
per pound. A trumpery edition of Boccaccio, said to be one of two
known copies, was thus bought by a noble marquis for £1475, though in
two or three years afterwards he resold it for £500. First editions of
all authors, and editions by the first clumsy printers, were never
sold for less than £50, £100, or £200.
"To keep each other in countenance, these persons formed themselves
into a club, and, after a Duke, one of their fraternity, called
themselves the _Roxburghe Club_. To gratify them, _facsimile_ copies
of clumsy editions of trumpery books were reprinted; and, in some
cases, it became worth the while of more ingenious persons to play off
forgeries upon them. This mania after awhile abated and, in future
ages, it will be ranked with the tulip and the picture mania, during
which, estates were given for single flowers and pictures."
The Roxburghe Club still exists; and, with the Dilettanti Society, may
justly be said to have suggested the Publishing Societies of the
present day, at the head of which is the Camden. The late Duke of
Devonshire was a munificent member of the Roxburghe.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] These Tureens were removed for two dishes of White Bait.
THE SOCIETY OF PAST OVERSEERS, WESTMINSTER.
There are several parochial Clubs in the metropolis; but that of the
important parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, with "Past Overseers"
for its members, has signalized itself by the _accumulation_ and
preservation of an unique heirloom, which is a very curious collection
of memorials of the last century and a half, exhibiting various tastes
and styles of art in their respective commemorations, in a sort of
_chronology in silver_.
Such is the St. Margaret's Overseer's Box, which originated as
follows. It appears that a Mr. Monck purchased, at Horn Fair, held at
Charlton, Kent, a small tobacco-box for the sum of fourpence, from
which he often replenished his neighbour's pipe, at the meetings of
his predecessors and companions in the office of Overseers of the
Poor, to whom the Box was presented in 1713. In 1720, the Society of
Past Overseers ornamented the lid with a silver rim, commemorating the
donor. In 1726, a silver side case and bottom were added. In 1740, an
embossed border was placed upon the lid, and the under part enriched
with an emblem of Charity. In 1746, Hogarth engraved inside the lid a
bust of the Duke of Cumberland, with allegorical figures, and scroll
commemorating the Battle of Culloden. In 1765, an interwoven scroll
was added to the lid, enclosing a plate with the arms of the City of
Westminster, and inscribed: "This Box to be delivered to every
succeeding set of Overseers, on penalty of five guineas."
The original Horn box being thus ornamented, additional cases were
provided by the Senior Overseers for the time being,--namely, silver
plates engraved with emblematical and historical subjects and busts.
Among the first are a View of the Fireworks in St. James's Park, to
celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1749; Admiral Keppel's Action
off Ushant, and his acquittal after a court-martial; the Battle of the
Nile; the Repulse of Admiral Linois, 1804; the Battle of Trafalgar,
1805; the Action between the San Fiorenzo and La Piémontaise, 1808;
the Battle of Waterloo, 1815; the Bombardment of Algiers, 1816; View
of the House of Lords at the Trial of Queen Caroline; the Coronation
of George IV.; and his Visit to Scotland, 1822.
There are also--Portraits of John Wilkes, Churchwarden in 1759;
Nelson, Duncan, Howe, Vincent; Fox and Pitt, 1806; George IV. as
Prince Regent, 1811; the Princess Charlotte, 1817; and Queen
Charlotte, 1818. But the more interesting representations are those of
local circumstances; as the Interior of Westminster Hall, with the
Westminster Volunteers, attending Divine Service at the drum-head on
the Fast Day, 1803; the Old Sessions House; a view of St. Margaret's,
from the north-east; and the West Front Tower, and altar-piece. In
1813, a large silver plate was added to the outer case, with a
portrait of the Duke of Wellington, commemorating the centenary of the
agglomeration of the Box.
The top of the second case represents the Governors of the Poor, in
their Board-room, and this inscription: "The original Box and cases to
be given to every succeeding set of Overseers, on penalty of fifty
guineas, 1783." On the outside of the first case is a clever engraving
of a cripple.
In 1785, Mr. Gilbert exhibited the Box to some friends after dinner:
at night, thieves broke in, and carried off all the plate that had
been in use; but the box had been removed beforehand to a bedchamber.
In 1793, Mr. Read, a Past Overseer, detained the Box, because his
accounts were not passed. An action was brought for its recovery,
which was long delayed, owing to two members of the Society giving
Read a release, which he successfully pleaded in bar to the action.
This rendered it necessary to take proceedings in equity: accordingly,
a Bill was filed in Chancery against all three, and Read was compelled
to deposit the box with Master Leeds until the end of the suit. Three
years of litigation ensued. Eventually the Chancellor directed the Box
to be restored to the Overseers' Society, and Mr. Read paid in costs
£300. The extra costs amounted to £76. 13_s._ 11_d._, owing to the
illegal proceedings of Mr. Read. The sum of £91. 7_s._ was at once
raised; and the surplus spent upon a third case, of octagon shape. The
top records the triumph: Justice trampling upon a prostrate man, from
whose face a mask falls upon a writhing serpent. A second plate, on
the outside of the fly-lid, represents the Lord Chancellor
Loughborough, pronouncing his decree for the restoration of the Box,
March 5, 1796.
On the fourth or outer case is the Anniversary Meeting of the Past
Overseers' Society, with the Churchwardens giving the charge previous
to delivering the Box to the succeeding Overseer, who is bound to
produce it at certain parochial entertainments, with three pipes of
tobacco at the least, under the penalty of six bottles of claret; and
to return the whole, with some addition, safe and sound, under a
penalty of 200 guineas.
A tobacco-stopper of mother-of-pearl, with a silver chain, is enclosed
within the Box, and completes this unique Memorial of the kindly
feeling which perpetuates year by year the old ceremonies of this
united parish; and renders this traditionary piece of plate of great
price, far outweighing its intrinsic value.[16]
FOOTNOTES:
[16] Westminster. By the Rev. Mackenzie S. C. Walcott, M.A., Curate of
St. Margaret's, 1849, pp. 105-107.
THE ROBIN HOOD.
In the reign of George the Second there met, at a house in
Essex-street, in the Strand, the Robin Hood Society, a debating Club,
at which, every Monday, questions were proposed, and any member might
speak on them for seven minutes; after which the "baker," who presided
with a hammer in his hand, summed up the arguments. Arthur Mainwaring
and Dr. Hugh Chamberlain were among the earliest members of this
Society. Horace Walpole notices the Robin Hood as one of the
celebrities which Monsieur Beaumont _saw_ in 1761: "it is incredible,"
says Walpole, "what pains he has taken to _see_:" he breakfasted at
Strawberry Hill with Walpole, who was then "as much a curiosity to all
foreigners as the tombs and lions."
The Robin Hood became famous as the scene of Burke's earliest
eloquence. To discipline themselves in public speaking at its meetings
was then the custom among law-students, and others intended for public
life; and it is said that at the Robin Hood, Burke had commonly to
encounter an opponent whom nobody else could overcome, or at least
silence: this person was the president. Oliver Goldsmith was
introduced to the Club by Samuel Derrick, his acquaintance and
countryman. Struck by the eloquence and imposing aspect of the
president, who sat in a large gilt chair, Goldsmith thought Nature had
meant him for a lord chancellor: "No, no," whispered Derrick, who knew
him to be a wealthy baker from the City, "only for a master of the
rolls." Goldsmith was little of an orator; but, till Derrick went away
to succeed Beau Nash at Bath, seems to have continued his visits, and
even spoke occasionally; for he figures in an account of the members
published at about this time, as "a candid disputant, with a clear
head and an honest heart, though coming but seldom to the Society."
One of the members of this Robin Hood was Peter Annet, a man who,
though ingenious and deserving in other respects, became unhappily
notorious by a kind of fanatic crusade against the Bible, for which
(published weekly papers against the Book of Genesis,) he stood twice
in one year in the pillory, and then underwent imprisonment in the
King's Bench. To Annet's room in that prison went Goldsmith, taking
with him Newbery, the publisher, to conclude the purchase of a Child's
Grammar from the prisoner, hoping so to relieve his distress; but on
the prudent publisher suggesting that no name should appear on the
title-page, and Goldsmith agreeing that circumstances made this
advisable, Annet accused them both of cowardice, and rejected their
assistance with contempt.[17]
THE BLUE-STOCKING CLUB.
The earliest mention of a Blue-Stocking, or _Bas-Bleu_, occurs in the
Greek comedy, entitled the _Banquet of Plutarch_. The term, as applied
to a lady of high literary taste, has been traced by Mills, in his
_History of Chivalry_, to the Society de la Calza, formed at Venice,
in 1400, "when, consistently with the singular custom of the Italians,
of marking academies and other intellectual associations by some
external sign of folly, the members, when they met in literary
discussion, were distinguished by the colour of their stockings. The
colours were sometimes fantastically blended; and at other times one
colour, particularly _blue_, prevailed." The Society de la Calza
lasted till 1590, when the foppery of Italian literature took some
other symbol. The rejected title then crossed the Alps, and found a
congenial soil in Parisian society, and particularly branded female
pedantry. It then diverted from France to England, and for awhile
marked the vanity of the small advances in literature in female
coteries.
But the _Blue-stocking_ of the last century is of home-growth; for
Boswell, in his _Life of Johnson_, date 1781, records: "About this
time it was much the fashion for several ladies to have evening
assemblies, where the fair sex might participate in conversation with
literary and ingenious men, animated by a desire to please. One of the
most eminent members of these societies, when they first commenced,
was Mr. Stillingfleet (grandson of the Bishop), whose dress was
remarkably grave; and in particular it was observed that he wore blue
stockings. Such was the excellence of his conversation, that his
absence was felt so great a loss that it used to be said, 'We can do
nothing without the _blue stockings_;'" and thus by degrees the title
was established. Miss Hannah More has admirably described a
_Blue-Stocking Club_, in her _Bas-Bleu_, a poem in which many of the
persons who were most conspicuous there are mentioned. And Horace
Walpole speaks of this production as "a charming poetic familiarity
called 'the Blue-Stocking Club.'"
The Club met at the house of Mrs. Montagu, at the north-west angle of
Portman-square. Forbes, in his _Life of Beattie_, gives another
account: "This Society consisted originally of Mrs. Montagu, Mrs.
Vesey, Miss Boscawen, and Mrs. Carter, Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Pulteney,
Horace Walpole, and Mr. Stillingfleet. To the latter gentleman, a man
of great piety and worth, and author of some works in natural history,
etc., this constellation of talents owed that whimsical appellation of
'Bas-Bleu.' Mr. Stillingfleet being somewhat of an humourist in his
habits and manners, and a little negligent in his dress, literally
wore gray stockings; from which circumstance Admiral Boscawen used, by
way of pleasantry, to call them 'The Blue-Stocking Society,' as if to
intimate that when these brilliant friends met, it was not for the
purpose of forming a dressed assembly. A foreigner of distinction
hearing the expression, translated it literally 'Bas-Bleu,' by which
these meetings came to be afterwards distinguished." Dr. Johnson
sometimes joined this circle. The last of the Club was the lively Miss
Monckton, afterwards Countess of Cork, "who used to have the finest
_bit of blue_ at the house of her mother Lady Galway." Lady Cork died
at upwards of ninety years of age, at her house in New Burlington-street,
in 1840.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] Forster's _Life of Goldsmith_, p. 253.
THE IVY-LANE CLUB.
This was one of the creations of Dr. Johnson's _clubbable_ nature,
which served as recreation for this laborious worker. He was now
"tugging at the oar," in Gough-square, Fleet-street. Boswell describes
him as "engaged in a steady, continued course of occupation." "But his
enlarged and lively mind could not be satisfied without more diversity
of employment, and the pleasure of animated relaxation. He therefore
not only exerted his talents in occasional composition, very
different from lexicography, but formed a Club in Ivy-lane,
Paternoster-row, with a view to enjoy literary discussion, and amuse
his evening hours. The members associated with him in this little
Society were his beloved friend Dr. Richard Bathurst; Mr. Hawkesworth,
afterwards well known by his writings; Mr. John Hawkins, an attorney;
and a few others of different professions." The Club met every Tuesday
evening at the King's Head, a beef-steak house in Ivy-lane. One of the
members, Hawkins, then Sir John, has given a very lively picture of a
celebration by this Club, at the Devil Tavern, in Fleet-street, which
forms one of the pleasantest pages in the Author's Life of Johnson.
Sir John tells us:
"One evening, at the [Ivy-lane] Club, Dr. Johnson proposed to us
celebrating the birth of Mrs. Lennox's first literary child, as he
called her book, by a whole night spent in festivity. The place
appointed was the Devil Tavern; and there, about the hour of eight,
Mrs. Lennox, and her husband, and a lady of her acquaintance now
living [1785], as also the Club and friends, to the number of near
twenty, assembled. Our supper was elegant, and Johnson had directed
that a magnificent hot apple-pye should make a part of it, and this he
would have stuck with bay-leaves, because, forsooth, Mrs. Lennox was
an authoress, and had written verses; and further, he had prepared for
her a crown of laurel, with which, but not until he had invoked the
Muses by some ceremonies of his own invention, he encircled her brows.
The night passed, as must be imagined, in pleasant conversation and
harmless mirth, intermingled, at different periods, with the
refreshments of coffee and tea. About five, Johnson's face shone with
meridian splendour, though his drink had been only lemonade; but the
far greater part of us had deserted the colours of Bacchus, and were
with difficulty rallied to partake of a second refreshment of coffee,
which was scarcely ended when the day began to dawn. This phenomenon
began to put us in mind of our reckoning; but the waiters were all so
overcome with sleep, that it was two hours before we could get a bill,
and it was not till near eight that the creaking of the street-door
gave the signal for our departure."
When Johnson, the year before his death, endeavoured to re-assemble as
many of the Club as were left, he found, to his regret, he wrote to
Hawkins, that Horseman, the landlord, was dead, and the house shut up.
About this time, Johnson instituted a Club at the Queen's Arms, in St.
Paul's Churchyard. "He told Mr. Hook," says Boswell, "that he wished
to have _a City Club_, and asked him to collect one; but," said he,
"don't let them be patriots." (Boswell's _Life_, 8th edit. vol. iv. p.
93.) This was an allusion to the friends of his acquaintance Wilkes.
Boswell accompanied him one day to the Club, and found the members
"very sensible, well-behaved men."
THE ESSEX HEAD CLUB.
In the year before he died, at the Essex Head, now No. 40, in
Essex-street, Strand, Dr. Johnson established a little evening Club,
under circumstances peculiarly interesting, as described by Boswell.
He tells us that "notwithstanding the complication of disorders under
which Johnson now laboured, he did not resign himself to despondency
and discontent, but with wisdom and spirit endeavoured to console and
amuse his mind with as many innocent enjoyments as he could procure."
Sir John Hawkins has mentioned the cordiality with which he insisted
that such of the members of the old Club in Ivy-lane as survived,
should meet again and dine together, which they did, twice at a
tavern, and once at his house; and in order to ensure himself in the
evening for three days in the week, Johnson instituted a Club at the
Essex Head, in Essex-street, then kept by Samuel Greaves, an old
servant of Mr. Thrale's: it was called "Sam's."
On Dec. 4, 1783, Johnson wrote to Sir Joshua Reynolds, giving an
account of this Club, of which Reynolds had desired to be one; "the
company," Dr. J. says, "is numerous, and, as you will see by the list,
miscellaneous. The terms are lax, and the expenses light. Mr. Barry
was adopted by Dr. Brocklesby, who joined with me in forming the plan.
We meet twice a week, and he who misses forfeits twopence." It did not
suit Sir Joshua to be one of this Club; "but," says Boswell, "when I
mention only Mr. Daines Barrington, Dr. Brocklesby, Mr. Murphy, Mr.
John Nichols, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Joddrel, Mr. Paradise, Dr. Horsley, Mr.
Windham, I shall sufficiently obviate the misrepresentation of it by
Sir John Hawkins, as if it had been a low ale-house association, by
which Johnson was degraded." The Doctor himself, like his namesake,
Old Ben, composed the Rules of his Club. Boswell was, at this time, in
Scotland, and during all the winter. Johnson, however, declared that
he should be a member, and invented a word upon the occasion:
"Boswell," said he, "is a very _clubbable_ man;" and he was
subsequently chosen of the Club.
Johnson headed the Rules with these lines:--
"To-day deep thoughts with me resolve to drench
In mirth, which after no repenting draws."--_Milton._
Johnson's attention to the Club was unceasing, as appears by a letter
to Alderman Clark, (afterwards Lord Mayor and Chamberlain,) who was
elected into the Club: the postscript is: "You ought to be informed
that the forfeits began with the year, and that every night of
non-attendance incurs the mulct of three pence; that is, ninepence a
week." Johnson himself was so anxious in his attendance, that going to
meet the Club when he was not strong enough, he was seized with a
spasmodic asthma, so violent, that he could scarcely return home, and
he was confined to his house eight or nine weeks. He recovered by May
15, when he was in fine spirits at the Club.
Boswell writes of the Essex: "I believe there are few Societies where
there is better conversation, or more decorum. Several of us resolved
to continue it after our great founder was removed by death. Other
members were added; and now, above eight years since that loss, we go
on happily."
THE LITERARY CLUB.