Part 33 (1/2)

”Then,” continued the Hon. Tom Dashall, ”it is not only admirable as a whole, its const.i.tuent and individual beauties are as provocative of respect as the ma.s.s is of our veneration. From among its innumerable excellencies--I will mention one which deserves to be held in recollection and kept in our contemplation-what is more delightful than a fine beef-steak?-spite of Lexicographers, there is something of harmony even in its name, it seems to be the key-note of our best constructed organs, (organs differing from all others, only because they have no stops,) it circles all that is full, rich and sonorous--I do not mean in its articulated enunciation, but in its internal acceptation--there--there we feel all its strength and diapas, or force and quant.i.ty.”

”Admirable arrangements, indeed,” said Bob. ”True,” continued Tom; ”and all of them comparatively comfortable, according to their gradations ana the rank or circ.u.mstances of their customers. The Tavern furnishes wines, &c.; the Pot-house, porter, ale, and liquors suitable to the high or low. The st.u.r.dy Porter, sweating beneath his load, may here refresh himself with heavy wet;{l} the Dustman, or the Chimney-sweep, may sluice

1 Heavy wet-A well-known appellation for beer, porter, or ale.

~256~~Am ivory{1} with the Elixir of Life, now fas.h.i.+onably termed Daffy's.”

”Daffy's,” said Tallyho-”that is somewhat new to me, I don't recollect hearing it before?”

”Daffy's Elixir,” replied Dashall, ”was a celebrated quack medicine, formerly sold by a celebrated Doctor of that name, and recommended by him as a cure for all diseases incident to the human frame. This Gin, Old Tom, and Blue Ruin, are equally recommended in the present day; in consequence of which, some of the learned gentlemen of the sporting'

world have given it the t.i.tle of Daffy's, though this excellent beverage is known by many other names.

”For instance, the Lady of refined sentiments and delicate nerves, feels the necessity of a little cordial refreshment, to brighten the one and enliven the other, and therefore takes it on the sly, under the polite appellation of white wine. The knowing Kids and das.h.i.+ng Swells are for a drap of blue ruin, to keep all things in good twig. The Laundress, who disdains to be termed a dry washer,--dearly loves a dollop {2} of Old Tom, because, while she is up to her elbows in suds, and surrounded with steam, she thinks a drap of the old gemman (having no pretensions to a young one) would comfort and strengthen her inside, and consequently swallows the inspiring dram. The travelling Gat-gut Sc.r.a.per, and the Hurdy-Grinder, think there is music in the sound of max, and can toss off their kevartern to any tune in good time. The Painter considers it desirable to produce effect by mingling his dead white with a little sky blue. The Donkey driver and the Fish-f.a.g are bang-up for a flash of lightning, to illumine their ideas. The Cyprian, whose marchings and counter marchings in search of custom are productive of extreme fatigue, may, in some degree, be said to owe her existence to Jockey; at least she considers him a dear boy, and deserving her best attentions, so long as she has any power. The Link-boys, the Mud-larks, and the Watermen, who hang round public-house doors to feed horses, &c. club up their brads for a kevartern of Stark-naked in three outs. The Sempstress and Straw Bonnet-maker are for a yard of White Tape; and

1 Sluice the ivory--Is originally derived from sluicery, and means was.h.i.+ng, or pa.s.sing over the teeth.

2 Dollop--Is a large or good quant.i.ty of any thing: the whole dollop means the whole quant.i.ty.

~256~~the Swell Covies and Out and Outers, find nothing so refres.h.i.+ng after a night's spree, when the victualling-office is out of order, as a little Fuller's-earth, or a dose of Daffy's; so that it may fairly be presumed it is a universal beverage--nay, so much so, that a certain gentleman of City notoriety, though he has not yet obtained a seat in St. Stephen's Chapel, with an ingenuity equal to that of the _Bug-destroyer to the King_,{1} has latterly decorated his house, not a hundred miles from Cripplegate, with the words Wine and Brandy Merchant to her Majesty, in large letters, from which circ.u.mstance his depository of the refres.h.i.+ng and invigorating articles of life has obtained the appellation of the Queen's Gin Shop.”

Bob laughed heartily at his Cousin's interpretation of Daffy's.

While Tom humm'd, in an under tone, the f.a.g end of a song, by way of conclusion--

”Why, there's old Mother Jones, of St. Thomas's Street, If a jovial companion she chances to meet, Away to the gin-shop they fly for some max, And for it they'd p.a.w.n the last smock from their backs;

For the juniper berry, It makes their hearts merry, With a hey down, down deny, Geneva's the liquor of life.”

By this time they were at the Globe; upon entering which, they were greeted by Mortimer and Merry well, who had arrived before them; and dinner being served almost immediately, they were as quickly seated at the table, to partake of an excellent repast.

1 It is a well-known fact, that a person of the name of Tiffin announced himself to the world under this very seductive t.i.tle, which, doubtless, had the effect of bringing him considerable custom from the loyal subjects of his great patron.

LONDON VOL I. Part 2.

CHAPTER XVII

”Here fas.h.i.+on and folly still go hand in hand, With the Blades of the East, and the Bucks of the Strand; The Bloods of the Park, and paraders so gay, Who are lounging in Bond Street the most of the day-- Who are foremost in all that is formed for delight, At greeking, or wenching, or drinking all night; For London is circled with unceasing joys: Then, East, West, North and South, let us hunt them, my boys.”

~258~~ THE entrance to the house had attracted Tallyho's admiration as they proceeded; but the taste and elegance of the Coffee-room, fitted up with brilliant chandeliers, and presenting amidst a blaze of splendour every comfort and accommodation for its visitors, struck him with surprise; in which however he was not suffered to remain long, for Merrywell and Mortimer had laid their plans with some degree of depth and determination to carry into execution the proposed ramble of the evening, and had ordered a private room for the party; besides which, they had invited a friend to join them, who was introduced to Tom and Bob, under the t.i.tle of Frank Harry. Frank Harry was a humorous sort of fellow, who could tell a tough story, sing a merry song, and was up to snuff, though he frequently got snuffy, singing,

”The bottle's the Sun of our table,

His beams are rosy wine: We, planets never are able

Without his beams to s.h.i.+ne.

Let mirth and glee abound,