the dilettanti—the club—cosmopolitan —kit-kat—royal societies’—burlington fine arts—athen?um—alfred
of the many convivial dining clubs which once abounded in london few now survive, though the famous and venerable dilettanti society happily still flourishes. its dinners are held at the grafton galleries, and certain quaint old usages are still maintained. a member who speaks of the society as “the club” has to pay some petty fine, whilst the secretary when reading the minutes puts on bands. the presence of these somewhat ecclesiastical additions to costume in one of the beautiful portraits belonging to this club once caused the late mr. gladstone to take the picture for that of a bishop—which aroused some merriment.
the society was founded about 1734 by a number of gentlemen who had travelled much in italy, and were desirous of encouraging at home a taste for those objects which had contributed so much to their intellectual gratification abroad. accordingly they formed themselves into a society, under the name of dilettanti (literally, lovers of the fine arts), and agreed upon certain regulations to keep up the spirit of their scheme, which combined 258friendly and social intercourse with a serious and ardent desire to promote the arts. in 1751 mr. james stuart (“athenian stuart,” as he was called) and mr. nicholas revett were elected members. the society liberally assisted them in their excellent work, “the antiquities of athens.” in fact, it was in great measure owing to the dilettanti that, after the death of the above two eminent architects, the work was not entirely relinquished, and a large number of the plates were engraved from drawings in possession of the society. it was mainly through the influence and patronage of the dilettanti society that the royal academy obtained its charter. in 1774 the interest of ￡4,000 three per cents. was appropriated by the former for the purpose of sending two students, recommended by the royal academy, to study in italy or greece for three years.
in old days the funds of the society were greatly increased by the fines. those paid “on increase of income, by inheritance, legacy, marriage, or preferment,” were very odd—for instance, 5 guineas by lord grosvenor, on his marriage with miss leveson gower; 11 guineas by the duke of bedford, on being appointed first lord of the admiralty; 10 guineas compounded for by bubb dodington, as treasurer of the navy; 2 guineas by the duke of kingston, for a colonelcy of horse (then valued at ￡400 per annum); ￡21 by lord sandwich, on going out as ambassador to the congress at aix-la-chapelle, and 2?d. by the same nobleman, on becoming recorder of huntingdon; 13s. 4d. by the duke of bedford, on getting the garter, and 16s. 8d. (scotch) by the duke of buccleuch, on 259getting the thistle; ￡21 by the earl of holderness, as secretary of state; and ￡9 19s. 6d. by charles james fox, as a lord of the admiralty.
the general toasts originally proposed and adopted by the society were “viva la virtù” “grecian taste and roman spirit,” and “absent members.” to these was added, by a minute of march 7, 1741/2, “esto pr?clara, esto perpetua.” on march 29, 1789, it was resolved to add the toast of “the king,” which was to precede all others. this addition was no doubt due to the outburst of loyalty which took place when the king resumed his authority, after his recovery from his first attack of insanity, on march 10 of the same year.
walpole was very severe upon the dilettanti. “the nominal qualification for membership,” said he, “is having been in italy, and the real one, being drunk; the two chiefs are lord middlesex and sir francis dashwood, who were seldom sober the whole time they were in italy.” were the owner of strawberry hill to attend a meeting of the society at the present time, he would be surprised to observe the sobriety which now prevails.
in the distant past, some of the more juvenile members occasionally did behave in a riotous manner. on january 30, 1734, for instance, a party of young men, seven of whom (harcourt, middlesex, boyne, shirley, strode, denny, and sir james gray) were members of the dilettanti, met to celebrate the birthday of one of the company present, by a dinner at the white eagle tavern in suffolk street. the disorder caused by their drunken revels attracted a crowd of people, who were led to believe 260that the dinner was held to commemorate the execution of charles i. on that day, and that a calf’s head had been served at table by way of ridicule. a bonfire was lit, and on the diners appearing at the windows they were stoned by the mob, in spite of their protestations of fidelity to the government and the king. it ended in a riot, stirred up by a catholic priest, which the newspapers converted into an event of historical importance.
the dilettanti society has never lost sight of the main objects for which it was founded, and in 1855 a project was started for reproducing by some process of engraving the whole of the society’s collection of portraits. sir richard westmacott, r.a., communicated with mr. george scharf, jun. (afterwards director of the national portrait gallery), and received from him an estimate of the cost of engraving on wood the thirty-one portraits in question. the cost, however, was probably the reason which deterred the society from proceeding in the matter.
the society once met at the star and garter tavern in pall mall, but in 1800 transferred its meetings to a great room in the thatched house tavern in st. james’s street.
the ceiling here was painted to represent the sky, and was crossed by gold cords interlacing one another, from the knots of which hung three large glass chandeliers.
the room formed an admirable setting for the society’s pictures, the most remarkable of which are, of course, the three painted by sir joshua reynolds.
a dinner of the dilettanti society at the thatched house.
from a drawing by t. h. shepherd.
the first of these is a group in the manner of 261paul veronese, containing the portraits of the duke of leeds, lord dundas, constantine lord mulgrave, lord seaforth, the hon. charles greville, charles crowle, esq., and sir joseph banks. another group in the same style contains portraits of sir william hamilton, sir watkin w. wynne, richard thomson, esq., sir john taylor, payne gallwey, esq., john smythe, esq., and spencer s. stanhope, esq. the portrait of sir joshua shows him in a loose robe, wearing his own hair.
it should be added that earlier portraits in the possession of the society are by hudson, reynolds’s master.
some are in eighteenth-century costume, others in turkish or roman dress. there is a convivial spirit in these pictures. lord sandwich, for instance, in a turkish costume, is shown casting an affectionate glance upon a brimming goblet in his left hand, while his right holds a flask of great capacity. sir bourchier wrey is seated in the cabin of a ship mixing punch and eagerly embracing the bowl, of which a lurch of the sea would seem about to deprive him; the inscription is, dulce est desipere in loco. the dilettanti possess a curious old portrait of the earl of holderness in a red cap, as a gondolier, with the rialto and venice in the background; there is charles sackville, duke of dorset, as a roman senator, dated 1738; lord galloway in the dress of a cardinal. a curious likeness of one of the earliest of the dilettanti—lord le despencer—portrays him as a monk at his devotions, clasping a brimming goblet for his rosary, and with eyes not very piously fixed on a statue of the venus de’ 262medici. some of these pictures, indeed, recall the medmenham orgies, with which some of the dilettanti were not unfamiliar.
in 1884 the two groups by sir joshua reynolds and the portrait of himself were lent by the society to the grosvenor gallery for an exhibition of the collected works of the great master. in march, 1890, on the society’s removing from willis’s rooms, the two fine groups by sir joshua were once more deposited on loan with the trustees of the national gallery, until the whole collection of pictures was removed and rehung in the society’s new room in the grafton gallery.
during recent years the society has from time to time added to its pictures.
in january 1894, a portrait of mr. william watkiss lloyd, painted by miss bush, was received by the society from his daughter, miss ellen watkiss lloyd, having been bequeathed to the society by her late father, who had for many years been one of its most active and respected members. after the death of lord leighton, president of the royal academy, in january 1896, the dilettanti, being anxious to obtain a portrait of one of the most illustrious of their body, decided to have a copy made of the portrait painted by lord leighton of himself for the uffizi gallery at florence. the work was entrusted to mr. charles holroyd (now keeper of the national gallery of british art), and completed before the close of the same year. in february 1896, on the resignation by mr. (now sir) sidney colvin of his post as secretary and treasurer of the society, the society ordered that a portrait of that 263gentleman should be added to their collection. sir edward poynter undertook to paint the portrait of mr. colvin, which was, by permission of the society, sent to the royal academy exhibition of 1897. another modern portrait of interest is sir edward ryan, by lord leighton.
the dilettanti, the membership of which at the present day is largely composed of high legal and government officials, generally have six dinners a year, and sometimes more, at the grafton galleries. the ancient ceremonies, including the appointment of a functionary known as the imp, are retained. the father of the club at the present day is mr. w. c. cartwright, who was originally introduced by the late lord houghton.
the thatched house tavern, in the large room of which the members of the dilettanti society were once wont to assemble, was for a time also the meeting-place of another somewhat similar society, the literary club. this is now represented by the club, which is perhaps the most exclusive institution in europe. so little known is the existence of this society that at the foundation of the turf club it was at first proposed to call it the club; and, indeed, it was some time before the discovery that the name had been long before appropriated placed the adoption of such an appellation out of the question. the membership of the club is limited in the extreme, which may be realized when it is stated that since its foundation, in 1764, not 300 members have secured election. forty, according to the regulations, is the extreme limit of membership. amongst 264distinguished men who have been members appear the names of dr. johnson, boswell, garrick, sir joshua reynolds, oliver goldsmith, burke, fox, and gibbon. in more modern times many prominent personalities have been members—amongst them mr. gladstone, lord leighton, professor huxley, lord salisbury, lord rosebery, lord goschen, the duke of argyll, lord herschell, lord dufferin, lord wolseley, sir mountstuart grant duff, mr. arthur balfour, lord peel, mr. asquith, sir edward poynter, and many others whose names are well known in legal, political, artistic, and literary circles.
the club was founded in 1764 by sir joshua reynolds and dr. samuel johnson, and for some years met on monday evenings at seven. in 1772 the day of meeting was changed to friday, and about that time, instead of supping, they agreed to dine together once in every fortnight during the sitting of parliament. in 1773 the club, which soon after its foundation consisted of twelve members, was enlarged to twenty; march 11, 1777, to twenty-six; november 27, 1778, to thirty; may 9, 1780, to thirty-five; and it was then resolved that it should never exceed forty. it met originally at the turk’s head, in gerrard street, and continued to meet there till 1783, when their landlord died, and the house was soon afterwards shut up. they then removed to prince’s, in saville street; and on his house being, soon afterwards, shut up, they removed to baxter’s, which afterwards became thomas’s, in dover street. in january 1792, they removed to parsloe’s, in 265st. james’s street; and on february 26, 1799, to the thatched house, in the same street.
the club received the name of literary club at garrick’s funeral.
in the early days of the club, dr. johnson was exceedingly particular as to the admission of candidates, and would not hear of any increase in the number of members. not long after its institution, sir joshua reynolds was speaking of the club to garrick. “i like it much,” said the great actor briskly; “i think i shall be of you.” when sir joshua mentioned this to dr. johnson, the latter, according to boswell, was much displeased with the actor’s conceit. “he’ll be of us!” growled he; “how does he know we will permit him?”
sir john hawkins tried to soften johnson, and spoke to him of garrick in a very eulogistic way. “sir,” replied johnson, “he will disturb us by his buffoonery.” in the same spirit he declared to mr. thrale that, if garrick should apply for admission, he would blackball him. “who, sir?” exclaimed thrale, with surprise: “mr. garrick—your friend, your companion—blackball him?” “why, sir,” replied johnson, “i love my little david dearly—better than all or any of his flatterers do; but surely one ought to sit, in a society like ours,
‘unelbowed by a gamester, pimp, or player.’”
by degrees the rigour of the club relaxed; some of the members grew negligent. beauclerk lost his right of membership by neglecting to attend. 266nevertheless, on his marriage (with lady diana spencer, daughter of the duke of marlborough, and recently divorced from viscount bolingbroke), he claimed and regained his seat in the club. the number of the members was likewise augmented. the proposition to increase it originated with goldsmith. “it would give,” he thought, “an agreeable variety to their meetings; for there can be nothing new amongst us,” said he: “we have travelled over each other’s minds.” johnson was piqued at the suggestion. “sir,” said he, “you have not travelled over my mind, i promise you.” sir joshua, less confident in the exhaustless fecundity of his mind, felt and acknowledged the force of goldsmith’s suggestion. several new members therefore were elected; the first, to his great joy, was david garrick. goldsmith, who was now on cordial terms with the great actor, zealously promoted his election, and johnson gave it his warm approbation.
the meetings of the literary club were often the occasion of much discussion between edmund burke and johnson. one evening the former observed that a hogshead of claret, which had been sent as a present to the club, was almost out, and proposed that johnson should write for another in such ambiguity of expression as might have a chance of procuring it also as a gift. one of the company said: “dr. johnson shall be our dictator.” “were i,” said johnson, “your dictator, you should have no wine; it would be my business ‘cavere ne quid detrimenti respublica caperet.’ wine is dangerous; rome was ruined by luxury.” burke replied: “if 267you allow no wine as dictator, you shall not have me for master of the horse.”
dr. johnson for a time completely dominated the club, and once, in his usual grandiloquent manner, said to boswell: “sir, you got into the club by doing what a man can do. several of the members wished to keep you out; burke told me he doubted if you were fit for it. now you are in, none of them are sorry.” boswell: “they were afraid of you, sir, as it was you proposed me.” johnson: “sir, they knew that if they refused you they would probably have never got into another club—i would have kept them all out.”
at last, owing to his ill-temper and rudeness, the great lexicographer’s influence in the club sensibly decreased.
the club possesses a very valuable collection of autographs of former distinguished members, and amongst its memorials is a portrait of sir joshua reynolds, with spectacles on, similar to the picture in the royal collection; this portrait was painted and presented by sir joshua, as the founder of the club.
another club which was once the resort of many clever and distinguished men was the cosmopolitan, in charles street, berkeley square. this ceased to exist not very many years ago. the house in which it held its meetings had been pulled down, and though the cosmopolitan migrated to the alpine club, it did not long survive the change. its meetings were held twice a week, in the evening, no meals whatever being served, though light refreshments were supplied. the house in charles street had previously contained the studio of watts 268the painter, and a great feature of the club-room was a very large picture representing a scene from the “decameron,” which had been painted by that artist. this is now in the tate gallery. when the cosmopolitan was dissolved, a certain sum of money remained, and this, on the suggestion of a former leading member, is gradually being spent in dinners at which former members from time to time foregather.
a dining club which for a time attracted considerable attention was the roxburghe, which originated under the following circumstances: the duke of roxburghe was a noted bibliophile; the sale of his library, which excited great interest in 1812, lasted for forty-two days, and on the evening when the sale had been concluded the club was formed by about sixteen bibliomaniacs, after a dinner at the st. albans tavern, lord spencer being in the chair. the roxburghe consisted mostly of men devoted to rare books. tomes containing alterations in the title-page, or in a leaf, or in any trivial circumstance, were bought by these collectors at ￡100, ￡200, or ￡300, though the copies were often of small intrinsic worth. specimens of first editions of all authors, and editions by the early printers, were never sold for less than ￡50, ￡100, or ￡200. so great became this mania that, in order to gratify the members of the club, facsimile copies of clumsy editions of trumpery books were reprinted. in some cases, indeed, it became worth the while of unscrupulous people to palm off forgeries upon the more credulous of these collectors.
the club issued various publications, but its 269costly dinners attracted more attention than anything else. on one occasion the bill was above ￡5 10s. per head, and the list of toasts included the “immortal memory” not only of john, duke of roxburghe, but of william caxton, dame juliana berners, wynkyn de worde, richard pynson, the aldine family, and “the cause of bibliomania all over the world.” in one year, when lord spencer presided over the club feast, the “roxburghe revels” thus recorded the fact: “twenty-one members met joyfully, dined comfortably, challenged eagerly, tippled prettily, divided regretfully, and paid the bill most cheerfully.”
the bill of one of the dinners of the roxburghe club held at grillion’s hotel has been preserved. its curious phraseology is due to the french waiter who made it out:
dinner (sic) du 17 juin, 1815.
￡ s. d.
20 20 0 0
desser 2 0 0
deu sorte de glasse 1 4 0
glasse pour 6 0 4 0
5 boutelle de champagne 4 0 0
7 boutelle de harmetage 5 5 0
1 boutelle de hok 0 15 0
4 boutelle de port 1 6 0
4 boutelle de maderre 2 0 0
22 boutelle de bordeaux 15 8 0
2 boutelle de bourgogne 1 12 0
[not legible] 0 14 0
soder 0 2 0
biere e ail 0 6 0
for la lettre 0 2 0
pour faire une prune 0 6 0
pour un fiacre 0 2 0
— — —
55 6 0
waiters 1 14 0
— — —
￡57 0 0
270amongst the curious old clubs of the eighteenth century, the kit-kat, founded about 1700, deserves attention. this was composed of thirty-nine noblemen and gentlemen zealously attached to the house of hanover, among them six dukes and many other peers. the club met at a small house in shire lane, by temple bar, where a famous mutton-pie man, by name christopher katt, supplied his pies to the club suppers and gave his name to the club, although it has been stated that the pie itself was called “kit-kat.”
the extraordinary title of the club is explained in the following lines:
“whence deathless kit-kat took its name,
few critics can unriddle;
some say from pastrycook it came.
and some from cat and fiddle.
“from no trim beaux its name it boasts,
grey statesmen or green wits.
but from the pell-mell peck of toasts
of old cats and young kits.”
a feature of the club was its toasts. every member was compelled to name a beauty, whose claims to the honour were then discussed; and if her name was approved, a special tumbler was consecrated to her, and verses to her honour engraved on it. such of these tumblers as still survive must be very rare. when only eight years old, lady mary wortley montagu enjoyed the honour of having her charms commemorated on one of these “toasting tumblers.” her father, afterwards duke of kingston, in a fit of caprice proposed “the pretty little child” as his toast. the other members, 271who had never seen her, objected, but, the child having been sent for, found her charming, and yielded. the forward little girl was handed from knee to knee, petted and caressed by the assembled wits. another celebrated toast of the kit-kat, mentioned by walpole, was lady molyneux, who, he says, died smoking a pipe.
several of the more celebrated of these “toasts” had their portraits hung in the club-room.
the character of the club was political as well as literary, but its chief aim was the promotion of culture and wit. the members subscribed the sum of 400 guineas to offer as prizes for the best comedies written.
this club at one period of its existence had a room built for the members at barn elms (now the highly prosperous ranelagh club). this was hung with portraits painted by kneller, which, being all of one size, originated the name “kit-kat,” which is still in use.
a prominent member of the kit-kat club was the famous court physician, dr. samuel garth, who, while dining one evening, protested that he must leave early, as he had many patients to visit. nevertheless he lingered on hour after hour. sir richard steele, who was present, reminded him of his professional duties, when garth produced a list of fifteen patients. “it matters little,” he cried, “whether i see them or not to-night. nine or ten are so bad that all the doctors in the world could not save them, and the remainder have such tough constitutions that they want no doctors.”
a celebrated early eighteenth-century literary 272club was the royal society, instituted by a number of literary men who met in dean’s court, there to dine on fish and drink porter. one of these gatherings expanded into the club of royal philosophers, or, as it came to be called, the royal society club. they dined together on thursdays, usually to the number of six, but sometimes more. a favourite dining-place was pontack’s, the celebrated french eating-house in abchurch lane, city; and they also dined at the devil tavern, near temple bar, and at the mitre tavern, in fleet street. in 1780 the club, as it had become, went to the crown and anchor tavern, in the strand; and here they remained for sixty-eight years, only removing to the freemasons’ tavern, in fleet street, in 1848. finally, when the royal society was installed at burlington house in 1857, the club held its meetings at the thatched house, in st. james’s street, which they frequented until that tavern was demolished.
as time went on, the cost of the club dinner gradually rose. it began at 1s. 6d. per head, then went to 4s., including wine and 2d. to the waiter, and was afterwards increased to 10s. the wine was laid in at ￡45 the pipe, or 1s. 6d. per bottle, and charged by the landlord at 2s. 6d. this club was sometimes known as dr. halley’s, for halley was said to have been its founder.
an eccentric member was the hon. henry cavendish, commonly called the “club cr?sus.” though wealthy, he seldom had enough money in his pockets to pay for his dinner, and his manners were extraordinary. he picked his teeth with a 273fork, carried his cane stuck in his right boot, and was very angry when anyone else hung his hat on the peg he preferred in the hall. yet he was not unsociable; he is said to have left a large legacy to a fellow-member—lord bessborough—in gratitude for his pleasant conversation.
cavendish was rather a misogynist. one evening a pretty girl chanced to be at an upper window on the opposite side of the street, watching the philosophers at dinner. she attracted notice, and one by one they got up and mustered round the window to admire the fair one. cavendish, who thought they were looking at the moon, bustled up to them in his odd way, and, when he saw the real object of their study, turned away with intense disgust, and grunted out “pshaw!”
the president of the royal society was always elected president of the club. princes, ministers, men of high rank, and ambassadors were entertained together with men of science, great ecclesiastics, and distinguished soldiers and sailors; franklin, jenner, john hunter, sir joshua reynolds, sir thomas lawrence, gibbon, wedgwood, turner, de la beche, and brunel were amongst these.
the modern royal societies club, in st. james’s street, has no connection with the ancient institution just mentioned. it was founded in 1894, and its members either belong to learned societies, universities, and institutions of the united kingdom, or are well known in the spheres of literature, science, and art. the committee possesses the right of granting the use of certain rooms in the club-house for lectures or for meetings of any of 274the societies or institutions recognized by the constitution of the club. this club has a somewhat peculiar subscription, town members—that is, those residing within a radius of twenty miles—paying eight guineas, country members six, and colonial and foreign members two.
a club which has done much to promote a knowledge and appreciation of art in london is the burlington fine arts, now at 17 savile row. this was founded in 1866, when the marquis d’azeglio, then sardinian minister in london, and a well known connoisseur, was chairman. in the early days there were 250 members, and the club premises were at no. 177 piccadilly. at that time the fine arts club was still in existence, and most of its members joined what was called the burlington fine arts club, on account of its premises being opposite burlington house, into which the royal academy had just moved. exhibitions of considerable importance were held in the rooms in piccadilly, the first chiefly of french etchings, and the last (in 1870) of original drawings by raphael and michael angelo. in that year the club moved to savile row, where was built the present gallery, which has been the scene of a series of annual exhibitions.
the membership of this flourishing association of art-lovers is now 500, and since the foundation of the club its annual exhibitions have gathered together many priceless works of art in the club-house. this, however, contains no furniture or objets d’art calling for mention, with the exception of an italian sixteenth-century mirror boldly carved 275out of walnut wood in the style of michael angelo. the present chairman is lord brownlow, whilst the secretarial duties are most ably performed by mr. beavan.
the foremost modern literary club in england is of course the athen?um, which was first established in 1824, under the name of the society. the latter appellation was, however, changed to the athen?um at an inaugural dinner given at no. 12 waterloo place.
three years later the committee, having obtained possession of a more convenient site, part of which had been occupied by the recently demolished carlton house, entrusted decimus burton with the task of building a suitable club-house. in the course of its construction croker insisted that the scotch sculptor, john heming, should contribute a frieze designed as a reproduction of that of the parthenon—an ornamentation at the time characterized as an extravagant novelty. in spite of a good deal of opposition, croker carried the day, and the construction of an ice-house, which had been advocated by several members, was abandoned in order to afford funds for the classical decoration.
in connection with this was written the epigram:
“i’m john wilson croker,
i do as i please:
they ask for an ice-house,
i’ll give ’em—a frieze.”
the new athen?um club-house was formally opened in february 1830, some soirées being given, to which ladies were admitted, though not without protest. the building, which is of some architectural 276interest, was erected on the west end of the courtyard of old carlton house, the smoking-room being exactly under what was the prince regent’s dining-room.
in the finely-proportioned hall eight pale primrose pillars on broad bronzed bases, copied from the temple of the winds at athens, support the panelled waggon roof, the pompeian ornamentation being of an original design. the two statues in niches, “venus victrix” and “diana robing,” were chosen by sir thomas lawrence, who also designed the club seal.
on the right of the hall is the morning-room, redecorated in 1892, when the ceiling was elaborately painted by sir edward poynter. the bust of milton in this room was bequeathed by anthony trollope; in the adjoining writing-room hangs a portrait of dr. johnson by opie, the gift of mr. humphry ward. the drawing-room upstairs, one of the finest rooms in london, has no fewer than eleven windows. but the chief glory of the athen?um is its library, the view from which embraces the pretty garden, where a rookery once existed. the annual expenditure on books since 1848 has averaged about ￡450. the athen?um library is by far the finest and most important club library in the world, all departments of foreign as well as english books being represented by rare and complete examples. moreover, there is on its shelves one of the best collections of reference books in england, and the bookcases are stored with valuable volumes—rare tomes dealing with history, topography, and arch?ology, as well as 277sumptuously-bound books on art. of these a number were obtained under a legacy of the rev. charles turner, and others were left by the late mr. felix slade. the collection of english pamphlets is also singularly complete, and includes 21 volumes collected together by sir james mackintosh, 43 by dr. nasmith the antiquary, 139 volumes by morton pitt, 23 volumes by gibbon on historical and financial subjects, 23 volumes devoted to foreign and colonial affairs, and 52 volumes of smaller publications relating to america. amongst literary matter of a lighter description preserved in this library are 26 portfolios containing newspapers and caricatures collected during the siege of paris and the commune. in a case is preserved a large number of proof engravings, most of them after portraits of members. these were executed by george richmond, r.a., who presented the collection. an interesting relic of thackeray is the original manuscript of “the orphan of pimlico,” in the great novelist’s beautiful handwriting.
a portrait of george iv was formerly over the fireplace. sir thomas lawrence, its painter, was engaged in finishing the sword-knot and orders only a few hours before his death. he intended to present it to the club, but, as his executors declined to part with it, the painting was eventually purchased for ￡128 10s. this portrait is now in the museum of the royal pavilion at brighton, having been handed over to the corporation of that town in 1858. busts of dr. johnson (presented by mr. percy fitzgerald) and of pope (a bequest) are 278here, together with the carved armchair used by dickens at gad’s hill, in which, on the day of his death, the great novelist had been sitting at work on “edwin drood.” many will remember “the empty chair” which appeared in the then newly-founded graphic in june 1870. macaulay’s corner, near the books on english history, is a well-known feature of this library, which the late mark pattison said he thought the most delightful place in the world, especially on a sunday morning. at the table in the south-west corner thackeray used constantly to work. a great habitué of the library in the early days of the club was isaac disraeli, who, as befitted the author of the “curiosities of literature,” was one of the earliest members—indeed, one of the founders of the club. his invariable costume consisted of a blue coat with brass buttons, a yellow waistcoat, and knee-breeches. a similar fashion was followed by another member—dr. booth—as late as 1863.
one evening, in or about the year 1830, a non-member, young benjamin disraeli, in defiance of the club rules, coolly walked upstairs to the library, and there proceeded to confer with his father. he was duly requested to withdraw, and it is perhaps not extraordinary that the future prime minister should have been blackballed in 1832. the reason given at the time for this rejection was that his proposer or seconder had rendered himself particularly unpopular.
it was not until thirty-four years later that the great statesman became a member of the athen?um, to which he was admitted under the rule 279allowing the committee to elect annually a limited number of persons “who have attained to distinguished eminence.” as lord beaconsfield he seems to have used the club but little, although, according to tradition, he abstracted from the library his own “revolutionary epick,” written in 1834.
in a corner of the athen?um library the late cardinal manning, who had been elected at a time when he was attending the vatican council, used to sit quietly reading. at one time he used the club a good deal, as did another venerable ecclesiastic, dr. tatham, noted for eccentricity and long sermons. yet another divine well known at the athen?um was the nonagenarian bishop durnford, of chichester. bishops have always been more or less abundant at this club, for which reason, when an unusually large number were collected together for convocation, abraham hayward is said to have grumbled out: “i see the bishops are beginning to swarm: the atmosphere is alive with them; every moment i expect to find one dropping into my soup.”
there was a great storm amongst the bishops when bishop colenso visited england, and, as can be imagined, his admission to the athen?um as an honorary member was violently opposed.
samuel wilberforce, lord lytton the novelist, abraham hayward (the vernon tuft of samuel warren’s “ten thousand a year,” still remembered by some), and many other celebrated characters, were frequenters of this peaceful room. here, too, theodore hook dashed off much brilliant 280work. this spontaneous and volatile wit at one time used the club a great deal. he it was who wrote the lines:
“there’s first the athen?um club, so wise, there’s not a man of it
that has not sense enough for six (in fact, that is the plan of it);
the very waiters answer you with eloquence socratical,
and always place the knives and forks in order mathematical.”
hook dined much at the athen?um—often, it was said, “not wisely, but too well.” the name of his favourite spot in the dining-room—“temperance corner”—is still preserved. here he used to call for toast-and-water and lemonade, which the waiters quite understood was his humorous way of indicating the various alcoholic beverages of which he was so fond. hook loved to sit long over his meals, in which respect it is interesting to remember he was quite unlike dickens, who often lunched standing, off sandwiches.
it was at the foot of the athen?um staircase that the author of “pickwick” ended his unfortunate estrangement from thackeray, being intercepted by the latter and forced to shake hands.
intellect rather than love of comfort formerly distinguished most members of the club, and for this reason, perhaps, the athen?um has never been noted for its cooking. “asiatic sundays” was the name given to the sabbaths, on which curry and rice always appeared on the bill of fare. another athen?um dinner was known for its marrow-bones and jam roly-poly puddings. sir edwin landseer 281once denounced an athen?um beefsteak in a terse manner: “they say there’s nothing like leather; this beefsteak is.” a boar’s head on the sideboard was described by a witty member as the head of a certain member who had at last met with the thoroughly deserved fate of decapitation.
kinglake, the historian, lived almost entirely at the athen?um, even when aged, infirm, and terribly deaf. people used to say that, when they talked to him, everybody in the room heard except kinglake. like many deaf men, he was given to shouting in people’s ears, and on one occasion was heard screaming to thackeray at the top of his voice: “come and sit down; i have something very private to tell you: no one must hear it but you.” another distinguished soldier, equally deaf, used to select the smoking-room of his club for confidential conversations with members of his staff, putting momentous questions and receiving answers which were given in such a loud tone that everyone heard his official secrets.
the athen?um has never been very favourable to the stage. some of the great actors of the past, however, belonged to it, notably sir henry irving, who was a most popular member.
other actor members were charles mathews the elder, macready, charles mayne young, charles kemble, charles kean, and daniel terry.
considering the partiality of literary men for tobacco, it seems curious that the only smoking-room in this club used to be in the basement. to supply a pressing need, an upper floor was a short time ago constructed at the top of the building; 282and smokers can now be conveyed by a lift, put in at the time of the alterations in 1900.
membership of the athen?um would seem to favour a man’s chances of living to a green old age, and certain members have belonged to the club for an extraordinary number of years. mr. lettsom elliot, for instance, who died in 1898, had been a member since 1824, when he was elected at the first committee meeting of the club. mr. elliot had kept a copy of the first list of members, and in 1882 he had a reprint of this produced, which forms a record of considerable interest. on this committee were chantrey, the sculptor; john wilson croker; sir humphry davy; sir thomas lawrence; sir james mackintosh; tom moore, the poet; sir walter scott; together with some others. amongst distinguished ordinary members have been benjamin brodie; mark isambard brunel, the engineer; dibdin; isaac disraeli; lord ellenborough; michael faraday; john franklin; henry hallam; james morier, the diplomatist, and author of “haji baba”; samuel rogers; sir john soane, who bequeathed to the nation the soane museum in lincoln’s inn fields; joseph turner; charles kemble; charles mathews the elder; westall, the artist; david wilkie; henry holland; blanco white, a friend of coleridge’s; whately; newman; jekyll, the wit; john stuart mill; and herbert spencer.
the last-named was fond of playing billiards in the club, where he is said to have made the famous remark to a very skilful antagonist: “though a certain proficiency at this game is to be desired, 283the skill you have shown seems to argue a misspent youth.”
a club which somewhat resembled the present athen?um in character was the alfred, founded in 1808 for men of letters, travellers, and the like. it was first started at a house in albemarle street, when it appears to have been a very solemn institution. a member, indeed, not in sympathy with its tone, called it the “dullest place in the world, where bores prevailed to the exclusion of every other interest, and one heard nothing but idle reports and twaddling opinions. it is,” said he, “the asylum of doting tories and drivelling quidnuncs.”
lord byron, however, called it “a pleasant club—a little too sober and literary, perhaps, but, on the whole, a decent resource on a rainy day.”
in 1811, three years after its foundation, there were no fewer than 354 candidates for six vacancies, but this happy state of affairs did not last.
sir william fraser described the alfred as having been “a sort of minor athen?um,” which perhaps caused a wag to say the title should be changed from alfred to “halfread.”
lord alvanley, who was a member, once said at white’s: “i stood the alfred as long as i could, but when the seventeenth bishop was proposed i gave in; i really could not enter the place without being put in mind of my catechism.” the bishops, it is said, resigned the club when a billiard-table was introduced. in the course of time the alfred languished, and was finally dissolved in 1855.
hatred of tobacco, it is said, caused the end 284of the alfred. a certain influential section of members persistently opposing any improvement in the smoking-room, which was at the top of the house and stigmatized as an “infamous hole,” the committee would make no concession, and so the club was eventually closed.
when it was evident that the alfred could not maintain an independent existence (though perfectly solvent), a sort of coalition was formed with the oriental. a large number of members were admitted to the latter without entrance fee, but most of the alfred members joined other clubs, especially the athen?um.
a flourishing little literary club of modern origin is the savile, in piccadilly. this possesses a very curious table, which was purchased some years ago. it would appear to have been made during the mid-victorian period, and is embellished with a number of curious designs in various woods—masterpieces of the inlayer’s art. amongst these is a portrait of the late queen victoria.
