But, _per contra_, the "Albion" _was_. Until the enforcement of the "slap-me-and-put-me-to-bed" policy there was no more justly celebrated house of entertainment than the one which almost faced the stage door of Drury Lane theatre, in Great Russell Street. One of the brothers Cooper--another kept the Rainbow in Fleet Street--retired on a fortune made here, simply by pursuing the policy of giving his customers the best of everything. And a rare, Bohemian stamp of customers he had, too--a nice, large-hearted, open-handed lot of actors, successful and otherwise, dramatic critics ditto, and ditto journalists, also variegated in degree; with the usual, necessary, leavening of the "City" element. The custom of the fair sex was not encouraged at the old tavern; though in a room on the first floor they were permitted to sup, if in "the profession" and accompanied by males, whose manners and customs could be vouched for. In winter time, assorted grills, of fish, flesh, and fowl, were served as supper dishes; whilst tripe was the staple food. Welsh rarebits, too, were in immense demand. And I think it was here that I devoured, with no fear of the future before my plate, a _Buck Rarebit_. During the silent watches of the rest of the morning, bile and dyspepsia fought heroically for my soul; and yet the little animal is easy enough to prepare, being nothing grander than a Welsh rarebit, with a poached egg atop. But the little tins (silver, like the forks and spoons, until the greed and forgetfulness of mankind necessitated the substitution of electro-plate) which the Hebes at the "Old Cheshire Cheese" fill with fragments of the hostelry's godfather--subsequently to be stewed in good old ale--are less harmful to the interior of the human diaphragm. A favourite Albion supper-dish during the summer months was _Lamb's Head and Mince_. I have preserved the recipe, a gift from one of the waiters--but whether Ponsford, Taylor, or "Shakespeare" (so-called because he bore not the faintest resemblance to the immortal bard) I forget--and here it is: