The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-01-09
A Tennysonian Tavern.
The famous Cock in Fleet Street where
the:Plump Head d-waiter Abode.
New York World.1

Another famous London tavern, the name oil
which is familiar to allreaders Of English liter
ature,s about to pass out of existence, or at least
to suffer land change into something new
and-undetermined as yet. This is the Cock,
in Fleet street, which the Poet Laureate has
immortalized in his "Will Waterproof's Mon,
ologue," along with its plump head-waiter, and
its sign, which last, it is whispered
if it is brought to the hammer is
altogether likely to take another flight. this
time across the Atlantic, commission having
long ago been given to secure it for an eastern
hostelry. That increase of traffic in Fleet
street before which Temple Bar went down
has demanded the setting back of the building,
the roof of which has been removed and the
upper portion taken off, so that, even if the
room and its boxes, larded with the steam OF
considerably more than $4,000 dinners be re-
tanned, new front will have to be built, and
the size of the apartment will be lessened. The
Cock. the most primitive Of London places OF
the kind, stands just to the east Of Apollo
court, which commentaries the Apollo club az
the Devil tavern, aad was anciently the Cock
and Bottle, the sign meaning that liquors were
on sale on draught (cock-tap) and by the bottle
a sign which has, by the way, by not unnat-
ural process Of evolution, become in many
places the Cork and Bottle 1.-The mighty ale
within the receptacle being shown as sending
the stopper forth as from a volcano, and boil
ing over the sides OF the vessel in amber floods
of promise. The gilded bird above the low
doorway is ascribed-not upon incontroverti-
BILE evidence-to Grinling Gibbons, the famous
carver in woods The narrow passage leading
to the ground floor dining-room and the dining
room itself were all that remained OF the an
cient inn and they had a long history Pepys
frequented the Cock-or, to speak more accu-
rately, visited it, as he records under date OF
April 20, 1888, 'Thence by water to the Tenn
pie, and there 10 the Cock ale-house, and drank
and eat a lobster, and sang nightly merry. SO
almost might, carried Mrs. Pierce home, and
then Mrs Knipp and to the Temple again
and took boat, it now being night" Three
wears before that the landlord, the plague then
raging, had shut up the tavern and retired
into the country, advertising his intentions as
follows "This is to certify that the Master OF
the Cock and Bottle, commonly called the
Cock alehouse, at Temple Bar, hath dismissed
his servants and shut up his house flor this long
vacation, intending, God willing, to return at
Michaelmas next, so that all persons whosoever
who NAV have any accounts with the said mas
ter. OF farthings belonging to the said house,
are desired to repair thither before the 0th OF
this instant, and they shall receive satisfac-
tion" The farthings alluded to were tokens
of the sort that go out within the decade. In
the middle of the 18th century there was Ia
mentable want of small change, very made
quately met by the coinage by government OF
silver pence and farthings The great monas-
tic establishments issued Abbey pieces of cop
per and the merchants imported Nuremberg
counters'' and put ont their tokens-small &C
commodation billsin metal payable on sight in
effect Elizabeth was too much opposed TO put
ting her august efigy on anything but the
precious metals to favor the scheme for replac-
ing these tokens by legitimate copper cur
rency. and the monopoly of the copper coinage
given by James 1. to Lord Harrington was
abused so abominably that the people preferred
the irregular pennies and farthings. Thus it
came about that under Charles /. and the COM
monwealth nearly every trader and tavern
keeper carried his own tokens 'for necessarie
change" Some OF the Cock tokens are extant
and show on one side cock surmounted by a
star, with the inscription, THE Cock Ale
Hoyse" and on the other "G. IL. M. sur
rounded by the legend cat Temple Bar,
1867 (star) One Of them, worn to the thlnness
of wafer and scarcely decipherable, is pre-
served at the Cock in little round ebony box
in the custody of the head-waiter.
The dlning-room of the Cock is long low
room, divided into snug boxes OF o blackened
mahogany brass-rodded and green curtained,
with sawdusted floor, and large open tre-
place ysurmounted by carved black oak man
tel-piece, all being in much the same condition
as when the plague was devastating the city
round about and the great fire raging only
hundred yards away. limbs records, apropos
of the carving of the time of james over the
mantel-piece, that in the first quarter Of this
century the whole room was similarly carved
and furnished with a huge black and gilt
clock and settle.
Though some slight innovations have in
modern times been permitted in the cuisine
the Cock long restricted its bill Of fare with
great jealousy to chops and steaks, sausages
and kidneys, cold beef, Welsh rabbit and eggs
on buttered toast, primitive cast-steel FORKS OF
the trident variety being in use. For llbatlons
there were the port Tennyson has described,
and the famous stout the only malt liquid
drawn within the doors, although later Burton
pale ale made its insidious way in. Spirits OF
noted strength and quality were also at call.
Dickens was an habitue of the place and from his
favorite seat by the fire used to take special de-
light in one of the grinning heads carved on
the ceiling. Tennyson, who immortalized the
place, used to dine there whom he
lived high up under the roof OF 81
Lincoln's Inn square-freqUently, accord
sloppy article about the tavern in Time (The
bard now frequents Verrey's in Regent street,
when he dimes in town. But Mr.. Wall is
very poor authority, as he labors under the be-
lief that the laureate's plump head-waiter still
comes and goes, returning like the pewlt,
whereas civilian" was called from the boxes
by mellow death many years ago and never
was quite reconciled to the fame that bad been
thrust upon him and which really made his
fortune. "You see, sir, he said, with his
customary affable condescension to a guest,
who had started the inevitable subject, sit
isn't as if Mr.. Tennyson had been, as you may
saw. a reg'lar customer; he only came in just
off and on like; and so, think, you know, It
was rather of liberty on his part" He ruled,
we read, with undisputed and .benignant sway,
not unmixed with a certain tone OF severity
toward the chance visitor who demanded
strange and contraband refreshment. The
diner who deposited the statutory penny was
received with a gracious and patronizing,
"Thankee, sirl" Whose doubled the amount
was regarded with suspicion and distrust, and
q rather stately "Thank you'll" was returned
to his misplaced act of generosity, but the
luckless wight who exceeded the latter amo1nt
in tho lavishness of his gratuity was plainly re-
garded as an imbecile and unworthy OF serious
notice. whose money was swept Off the table
without any further remark.