Edwin, Mr. Woodfall, Mr. Brownlow,
Captain Morris, and a host of other highly-gifted men, the first lyrical
and political writers of the day,--who frequented the Cider Cellar after
the meetings of the _Anacreontic, beefsteak_, and _humbug_ clubs then
held in the neighbourhood, to taste the parting bowl and swear eternal
friendship. In later times, Her Majesty the Queen of Bohemia{7} raised
her standard in Tavistock-row, Covent Garden, where she held a midnight
court for the wits; superintended by the renowned daughter of Hibernia,
and maid of honour to her majesty, the facetious Mother Butler--the
ever-constant supporter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, esquire, and a
leading feature in all the memorable Westminster elections of the last
fifty years. How many jovial nights have I passed and jolly fellows
have I met in the snug _sanctum sanctorum!_ a little _crib_, as the
_fishmongers_ would call it, with an entrance through the bar, and into
which none were ever permitted to enter without a formal introduction
and the gracious permission of the hostess. Among those who were thus
specially privileged, and had the honour of the _entre_, were
the reporters for the morning papers, the leading members of the
_eccentrics_, the actors and musicians of the two Theatres Royal, merry
members of both Houses of
7 The sign of the house.
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