Club Life of London Volume I Part 16

20 ... ..... 200 0 2 Boutelle de Bourgogne Desser ... ... 20 0 ... ... 1 12 0 Deu sorte de Gla.s.se 1 4 0 (Not legible) 0 14 0 Gla.s.se 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.

Saute 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. _________ Creme 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 b.u.t.ter 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 Gla.s.s 0 5 6 Servants' dinners 0 7 0 Waiters 1 0 0 --------- 85 9 6

"Consider, in the bird's-eye view of the banquet, (says Mr.

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 subst.i.tute 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 c.o.c.kerre,'

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 Jaquiere'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 Schaeffher, 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 Ill.u.s.trious 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 n.o.blemen, 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 t.i.tle-page, or in a leaf, or any trivial circ.u.mstance 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 n.o.ble 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 _acc.u.mulation_ 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 c.u.mberland, 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 Piemontaise, 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 circ.u.mstances; 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.