No reader of the 'Spectator' can fail to remember the ridicule
to which this was turned by descriptions of imaginary clubs for which
the qualifications were absurd, and of which the business, on meeting,
was preposterous nonsense of some kind. The idea of such fraternities,
as the Club of Fat Men, the Ugly Club, the Sheromp Club, the Everlasting
Club, the Sighing Club, the Amorous Club, and others, could only have
been suggested by real clubs almost as ridiculous. The names, too, were
almost as fantastical as those of the taverns in the previous century,
which counted 'The Devil,' and 'The Heaven and Hell,' among their
numbers. Many derived their titles from the standing dishes preferred at
supper, the Beef-steak and the Kit-kat (a sort of mutton-pie), for
instance.
The Beef-steak Club, still in existence, was one of the most famous
established in Anne's reign. It had at that time less of a political
than a jovial character. Nothing but that excellent British fare, from
which it took its name, was, at first, served at the supper-table. It
was an assemblage of wits of every station, and very jovial were they
supposed to be when the juicy dish had been discussed.
Pages:
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205