The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-29
BOuDLEs ANO cROCKFoRp,s CLuBs.


Boobies is chiefly frequented by country
gentlemen, whose status has been thus satiri-
cally insinuated by a contemporary;-''E Every
Sir John belongs to Boobies, as you may see,
for when a waiter comes into the room and
says to some aged student of the Morning He
raid, Sir John, your servant has come every
head is mechanically thrown up in answer to
the address," Captain Gronow relates that
some gentlemen of both Whites and Brookes'
had on one occasion the honor to dine with the
Prince Regent. Compassionating the mem
bers of these clubs for the monotony of their
fare at dinner, his Royal Highness summoned
his cook Waiter, on the spot to ask him if he
would take a house and organize a dinner
club Waiter assented, and hence the club
which bore his name. Macao was played at
Walters to q ruinOus extent, and 'the club, -
according to Mr.. Raikes ''did not endure for
twelve years altogether; the pace was too
quick to last; it died a natural death in 1919
from the paralyzed state of its members; the
house was then taken by set of blacklegs,
who instituted a common bank for gam
bling. To form an idea of the ruin
produced by this short-lived establishment
among men whom | have so intimately known,
a cursory glance to the past suggests a melan-
choly list, which only forms part of its de-
plorable results. None of the dead reached
the average age of man. One evening at the
Macao table, when the play was very deep,
Brummell, having lost a considerable stake,
affected, in his farccal way, a very tragic air,
and cried out Waiter, bring me flat candle
stick and pistol = Upon which Blgh "a no
torious madman, and one Of the members OF
Watiers), who was sitting opposite to him,
calmly produced two loaded pistols from his
coat pocket, which he placed on the table, and
said, 'Mr. Brummel if you are really desirous
TO put period to your existence, l am ex-
tremely happy to offer you the means, without
troubling the waiter. The effect upon those
present may easily be imagined, at finding
themselves in the company of known madman
who had loaded weapons about him." Crock
ford's Club, also noted for its devotion to play,
was instituted in 1927, in the house No. 20, on
the west side of St. James street. Crockford
had begun life with ish-basket, and ended
with the "most colossal fortune that was ever
made by play He began" according to the
Edinburqh ReUietc, "by taking Walters old
clubhouse, in partnership with man named
Taylor. They set up hazard bank, and won
a great deal of money, but quarreled and
separated at the end of the first year. Taylor
continued where he was, had bad year, and
failed. Crockford removed to st. James
street, had good year, and Immediately set
about building the magnificent clubhouse
which bears his name. 1t rose like creation
of Aladdin's lamp, and the genii themselves
could hardly have surpassed the beauty of the
internal decoratlOn or turulShed more accom-
plished md5tre d'h6teL than Ude. To make the
company as select as possible, the establishment
was regularly organized as a club, and the cleo
tion of members vested in committee. Crock
ford's became the rage, and the votaries of
fashion, whether they liked play or not,
hastened to enrol themselves. The Duke of
Wellington was an original member, though
(unlike Blucher, who repeatedly lost every
thing he had at play the great captain was
never known to play deep at any game but
war or politics. Card-tables were regularly
placed and whist was played occasionally; but
the aim, end, and final cause of the whole was
the hazard bank, at which the proprietor took
his nightly stand, prepared for all comers. LIE
Wellington des Joueurs lost 923, 900 at a sit
ting, beginning at twelve at night and ending
at seven the following evening. He and three
other noblemen could not have lost less,
sooner or later, than 9100 600 apiece. Others
lost in proportion, or out of proportion, to
their means; but we leave it to less occupied
moralists and better calculators to say how
many ruined families went to make Mr.. Crock
ford a millionaire, for millionaire he was in
the English sense of the term, after making
the largest possible allowance for bad debts. "
London So ciety.