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
Mackreth prospered; for Walpole, writing to Mann, in 1774, speaking of
the New Parliament, says: "Bob, formerly a waiter at White's, was set
up by my nephew for two boroughs, and actually is returned for Castle
Rising with Mr. Wedderburne;
"'Servus curru portatur eodem;'
which I suppose will offend the Scottish Consul, as most of his
countrymen resent an Irishman standing for Westminster, which the
former reckon a borough of their own. For my part, waiter for waiter,
I see little difference; they were all equally ready to cry, 'Coming,
coming, Sir.'"
Mackreth was afterwards knighted; and upon him appeared this smart and
well-remembered epigram:
"When Mackreth served in Arthur's crew,
He said to Rumbold, 'Black my shoe;'
To which he answer'd, 'Ay, Bob.'
But when return'd from India's land,
And grown too proud to brook command,
He sternly answer'd, 'Nay, Bob.'"
The Club-house was rebuilt in 1825, upon the site of the original
Chocolate-house, Thomas Hopper, architect, at which time it possessed
more than average design: the front is of stone, and is enriched with
fluted Corinthian columns.
WHITE'S CLUB.
This celebrated Club was originally established as "White's
Chocolate-house," in 1698, five doors from the bottom of the west side
of St. James's-street, "ascending from St. James's Palace." (Hatton,
1708.) A print of the time shows a small garden attached to the
house: at the tables in the house or garden, more than one highwayman
took his chocolate, or threw his main, before he quietly mounted his
horse, and rode down Piccadilly towards Bagshot. (Doran's _Table
Traits_.) It was destroyed by fire, April 28, 1733, when the house was
kept by Mr. Arthur, who subsequently gave his name to the Club called
Arthur's, still existing a few doors above the original White's. At
the fire, young Arthur's wife leaped out of a second floor window,
upon a feather-bed, without much hurt. A fine collection of paintings,
belonging to Sir Andrew Fountaine, valued at 3000_l._, was entirely
destroyed. The King and the Prince of Wales were present above an
hour, and encouraged the firemen and people to work at the engines; a
guard being ordered from St. James's, to keep off the populace. His
Majesty ordered twenty guineas to be distributed among the firemen and
others that worked at the engines, and five guineas to the guard; and
the Prince ordered the firemen ten guineas. "The incident of the
fire," says Mr. Cunningham, "was made use of by Hogarth, in Plate VI.
of the Rake's Progress, representing a room at White's. The total
abstraction of the gamblers is well expressed by their utter
inattention to the alarm of the fire given by watchmen, who are
bursting open the doors. Plate IV. of the same pictured moral
represents a group of chimney-sweepers and shoe-blacks gambling on the
ground over-against White's. To indicate the Club more fully, Hogarth
has inserted the name Black's."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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