Fifty years ago . in the nut-brown ale, or the October humming ale, or the meaddrunk from the gold-rimmed horn—they still drinksomething out of a gold-rimmed horn in the Hall ofCorpus Christi, Cambridge; or the lordly ypocras wherewith Sir Eichard Whittington entertained hisSovereign, what day he concluded the banquet byburning the Kings bonds ; or the once-popular mixtureof gin and noyaxi; or the cup of hot saloop from thestall in Co vent Garden, or on the Fleet Bridge. The Tavern ! We can hardly understand how largea place it filled in the lives of our forefathers, who didnot live scattered
Fifty years ago . in the nut-brown ale, or the October humming ale, or the meaddrunk from the gold-rimmed horn—they still drinksomething out of a gold-rimmed horn in the Hall ofCorpus Christi, Cambridge; or the lordly ypocras wherewith Sir Eichard Whittington entertained hisSovereign, what day he concluded the banquet byburning the Kings bonds ; or the once-popular mixtureof gin and noyaxi; or the cup of hot saloop from thestall in Co vent Garden, or on the Fleet Bridge. The Tavern ! We can hardly understand how largea place it filled in the lives of our forefathers, who didnot live scattered about in suburban villas, but overtheir shops and offices. When business was over, all ofevery class repaired to the Tavern. Dr. Johnson spentthe evenings of his last years wholly at the Tavern ;the lawyer, the draper, the grocer, the bookseller, eventhe clergy, all spent their evenings at the Tavern, goinghome in time for supper with their families. You maysee the kind of Tavern life in any. small country, town. 174 FIFTY YEARS AGO to this day, where the shopkeepers assemble everyevening to smoke and talk together. The Tavern wasfar more than a modern club, because the tendency ofa club is to become daily more decorous, while theTavern atmosphere of freedom and the equality of allcomers prevented the growth of artificial and conventionalrestraints. Something of the Tavern life is left still inLondon ; but not much. The substantial tradesman isno longer resident; there are no longer any clubs whichmeet at Taverns; and the old inns, with their sanded
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Keywords: ., bookauthorwordsworthcollection, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880
