Club Life of London, Vol. 1 (of 2): With Anecdotes of the Clubs, Coffee-Houses and Taverns of the Metropolis During the 17th, 18th, and 19th CenturiesTimbs, John
History
Club Life of London, Vol. 1 (of 2): With Anecdotes of the Clubs, Coffee-Houses and Taverns of the Metropolis During the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
Timbs, John
Clubs -- England -- London; Literary landmarks -- England -- London; London (England) -- Social life and customs
_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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account