Volume Ii Part 23 (2/2)
The origin of the Ministers' Fish Dinner, already mentioned, has been thus pleasantly narrated:
Every year, the approach of the close of the Parliamentary Session is indicated by what is termed ”the Ministerial Fish Dinner,” in which Whitebait forms a prominent dish; and Cabinet Ministers are the company. The Dinner takes place at a princ.i.p.al tavern, usually at Greenwich, but sometimes at Blackwall: the dining-room is decorated for the occasion, which partakes of a state entertainment. Formerly, however, the Ministers went down the river from Whitehall in an Ordnance gilt barge: now, a government steamer is employed. The origin of this annual festivity is told as follows. On the banks of Dagenham Lake or Reach, in Ess.e.x, many years since, there stood a cottage, occupied by a princely merchant named Preston, a baronet of Scotland and Nova Scotia, and sometime M.P. for Dover. He called it his ”fis.h.i.+ng cottage,” and often in the spring he went thither, with a friend or two, as a relief to the toils of parliamentary and mercantile duties. His most frequent guest was the Right Hon. George Rose, Secretary of the Treasury, and an Elder Brother of the Trinity House. Many a day did these two worthies enjoy at Dagenham Reach; and Mr. Rose once intimated to Sir Robert, that Mr. Pitt, of whose friends.h.i.+p they were both justly proud, would, no doubt, delight in the comfort of such a retreat. A day was named, and the Premier was invited; and he was so well pleased with his reception at the ”fis.h.i.+ng cottage”--they were all two if not three bottle men--that, on taking leave, Mr. Pitt readily accepted an invitation for the following year.
For a few years, the Premier continued a visitor to Dagenham, and was always accompanied by Mr. George Rose. But the distance was considerable; the going and coming were somewhat inconvenient for the First Minister of the Crown. Sir Robert Preston, however, had his remedy, and he proposed that they should in future dine nearer London.
Greenwich was suggested: we do not hear of Whitebait in the Dagenham dinners, and its introduction, probably, dates from the removal to Greenwich. The party of three was now increased to four; Mr. Pitt being permitted to bring Lord Camden. Soon after, a fifth guest was invited--Mr. Charles Long, afterwards Lord Farnborough. All were still the guests of Sir Robert Preston; but, one by one, other notables were invited,--all Tories--and, at last, Lord Camden considerately remarked, that, as they were all dining at a tavern, it was but fair that Sir Robert Preston should be relieved from the expense. It was then arranged that the dinner should be given, as usual, by Sir Robert Preston, that is to say, at his invitation; and he insisted on still contributing a buck and champagne: the rest of the charges were thenceforth defrayed by the several guests; and, on this plan, the meeting continued to take place annually till the death of Mr. Pitt.
Sir Robert was requested, next year, to summon the several guests, the list of whom, by this time, included most of the Cabinet Ministers.
The time for meeting was usually after Trinity Monday, a short period before the end of the Session. By degrees, the meeting, which was originally purely gastronomic, appears to have a.s.sumed, in consequence of the long reign of the Tories, a political, or semi-political character. Sir Robert Preston died; but Mr. Long, now Lord Farnborough, undertook to summon the several guests, the list of whom was furnished by Sir Robert Preston's private secretary. Hitherto, the invitations had been sent privately: now they were dispatched in Cabinet boxes, and the party was, certainly, for some time, limited to the Members of the Cabinet. A dinner lubricates ministerial as well as other business; so that the ”Ministerial Fish Dinner” may ”contribute to the grandeur and prosperity of our beloved country.”
The following Carte is from the last edition of the _Art of Dining_, in Murray's _Railway Reading_:--
_Fish Dinner at Blackwall or Greenwich._
La tortue a l'Anglaise.
La bisque d'ecrevisses.
Le consomme aux quenelles de merlan.
De tortue claire.
Les ca.s.seroles de green fat feront le tour de la table.
Les tranches de saumon (crimped).
Le poisson de St. Pierre a la creme.
Le zoutchet de perches.
” de truites.
” de flottons.
” de soles (crimped).
” de saumon.
” d'anguilles.
Les lamproies a la Worcester.
Les croques en bouches de laitances de maquereau.
Les boudins de merlans a la reine.
Garnis { Les soles menues frites.
de { Les pet.i.ts carrelets frites.
persil { Croquettes de homard.
frit. { Les filets d'anguilles.
La truite saumonee a la Tartare.
Le whitebait: _id._ a la diable.
_Second Service._
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