The state capital., 1891-12-26
A BEEFSTEAk SOCIETY.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE
SUBLIME SOCIETY OF STEAKS"

Sole Purpose Seemed to Be to See VINO
Could Eat the Greatest Number of Fried
Cuts of Meat-Famous Men In 1t.
The first club with the title "Beefsteak"
of which we have any historical record was
formed in-the reign of Queen Anne. Est
court, the actor, was made steward, and
for a mark of distinction wore the club
badge, a small golden gridiron, hung about
the neck by green silk ribbon. Estcourt
was a character in his day.
Estcourt opened a tavern in Covent Gar
den, which he called The Bumper, and
here the club, which, according to Chet-
wood in his History of the Stage" 1749
was composed of the chief wits and great
men of the nation, used to meet. The sue
cess Of these gatherings was SO great that
it led to the creation of ''The Sublime So
ciety of Steaks" which, after century
and a half, still lives in the periodical
gatherings at the Lyceum theater.
The Sublime Society of Stakes-which
SO despises being called a club that one of
it's members once fought duel with per-
son who persisted in SO specifying twas
founded by John Rich In 1875. Rich was
at that time the lessee and manager Of the
Covent Garden theater. He was the father
with the idle aristocrats of the town, who
liked to drop in on him in his private room
at the theater and handy with him while
he was inventing new tricks and comic
scenes for his stage.
ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY.
One day the earl of Peterborough was
lounging on his settee, when 2 o'clock came
round. This was Rich's invariable dinner
hour, from which he would no more have
departed than he would have refrained
from eating altogether The manager,
calmly Indifferent to the presence of his
noble visitor, spread his table with the
cloth, poked and beat the coal fire in the
CRATE down till it produced clear cooking
flame and then proceeded to cook steak,
which a servant brought him from the
butchers, on a gridiron which he fetched
from a closet.
The incense of this culinary altar piqued
his lordship's appetite. Rich invited him
to share in the repast, and he accepted.
Another steak was sent for while they were
eating the first, and wine was brought
from a ghboring tavern. 1t was late in
the afternoon when the jolly old peer drove
home in his coach, and before he departed
he made an engagement for another dinner
brought three or four friends with him, all
men of wit and pleasure about town, and
there and then they laid the plans which
resulted in the formation of the Sublime
Society Of Steaks. 1T was to meet every
Saturday during the town season.
The bill of fare was to be restricted to
beefsteaks, punch and port wine. AS the
club grew, the apartments of Rich became
too restricted for its convenience, and the
meetings were held in the painIing room
of the theater. This gave rise to the ac-
count that Lambert, the principal scene
painter at Covent Garden. was the origi-
nator Of the club, but Rich was really its
parent. Lambert, who was champion
beef eater, being only an early, however,
honored member.
SOME NOTABLE MEMBERS.
Carrick was a member, and among the
club relics are still preserved his hat and
sword for the part of Ranger.
The membership of the Steaks was orig
inally restricted to twenty-four. In 1875
the society celebrated its fiftieth anniver-
sary by increasing it's number to twenty,
five. in order to admit the Prince of Wales.
Other royal and noble members were the
Dukes of Clarence and Of Sussex and the
Duke of Norfolk. The latter was truly
royal feeder, and before he came to the
Steaks to dinner would whet his appetite
with a fish at a neighboring tavern. He
would eat two or three steaks, then gravely
rub clean plate with shalot for the fourth.
John Kemble was another member, and a
great crony of the dukes. Their rival feats
at the table, the enormous quantities they
could consume, rendered them noteworthy
even among men gifted with gustatory
powers which would awaken amazement
In our own time.
1t was hard living age. The members
of the Steaks belonged to the hardest
livers of the age; rich idlers, rollicking
players, authors who dipped deeper into
the wine bottle than the ink pot. Within
the society the most perfect equality
reigned The junior members, irrespect
i've of title or station, had to perform such
menial offices as might be required of them
To every one at table belonged the priv
ilege of chaff. He who stood the fire o
the Steaks in good humor was soon left ii
peace, but woe befall the man who lost hi
temper. Him the wags never allowed I
respite and we may read Of members wh'
were literally ioked out of the society be
cause they could not take as good as the.
could give.
HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY.
The Sublime Society of Steaks, as ma,
readily be seen, soon outgrew the catering
powers of Rich and his gridiron. Thel
Lambert came to help him. Next, regula
cooks were hired. Up to 1854, and prob
ably some years after, the steaks wer
cooked in the same room with the eater
thereof. curtain being drawn between tn
fire and the company when the room be
came too hot. In the early days the mem
bers put on sort of uniform coat Of blu
cloth. with red cuffs and collar and bras
buttons, bearing the initials "B. >.
When the Covent Garden theater wa
burned. in 1908, the society was given
temporary home at the Bedford hotel.
When Covent Garden was rebuilt, the Sc
ciety returned to it, and in 1880 it wa
burned out again. They returned to tn
Bedford. when in due time Mr.. Arnold IL
yited them to take up their quarters in th
Iyceum theater, and there they remal1
The old gridiron, survivor of two famou
confiagrations, now forms part OF the de-
orations of the meeting room ceiling. A
one time the gridiron was to be seen on a
nj the paraphernalia of the society. 1t Wa
csrved on the panels of the walls, wove
in the tablecloths and napkins, burne
into the dishes, engraved upon the glass
ware and worn as an emblem by the men
bers. The early dinner hour of o'cloc
was gradually advanced to- 5.
When the clock struck, curtain DIRE
mn disclosing to the banqueters in the dil
ing room the cooks in the kitchen, benin
grating, bearing the slightly paraphrase
inscription from Macbeth:
II IL were done when tits done, then tive
well IL were quickly done.
This genial application OF murdero!
sentence was certainly ingenious u
perhaps, the Only instance on record Oh q
discovery of an analogy between the outc
ery of king and the cookery OF a oee
.tooL Alfred Trumble in New York A
vertiser.