Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-05-20
LIFE IN OLD LONDON.
LIVELY SCENES ALONG THE HAY
MARKET FORTY YEARS AGO.


a ree.ees.h,e street Of To-day That Once
Glisse.sa with Gorgeous Palace Where
Wealth and Beauty Passed Night Afssrs
Night In Dancing. /
The Haymarket Of the present seems
10 me thoroughly respectable, well be- !
lzayed and prosperous business thorough
fare. And in the daytime. if l take q
walk down the well remembered street,
| / am never tired of admiring the hand
to,neness of the buildings and the dis
Jay Of articles of all kinds in the spa
cious and well appointed shops. But
the Haymarket of other days! From IL
y. H. TO and a. III. all the year round,
and Sundays scarcely excepted. the Hay.
market was n wild scene Of bowling,
yelling, shrieking reyelry and deviltry.
Somewhere on the site of the present
Criterion restaurant there was a succur-
sal to the Haymarket, socially speaking.
in u horrible haunt of dissipation called
| The Piccadilly Saloon where rowdy
people of both sexes danced, drank.
smoked and fought TO their own content
and to the delight, should say, Of the
devil who was watching them from the
gallery above.
The place was rather handsomely dec
GRATED. nor We're the liquors adulterated,
but ii was impossible toprevent disorder
i'll place the very foundations of which
Were laid in defiance of all order, ard
| the consequence was that the Pccadllly
| saloon became Il convertible term Tor
permanent row and riot, the results Il
| which went occasionally far beyond t.
punching of heads and the backing If
| eyes More than one of the fatal dnels
which began to shock society at the be-
| ginning of her maJesty's reign were the
direct outcome. of row at The Pic.
Bob Somebody's, in the Haymarket it
| self, was another resort of night birds,
quite as dissilated as The Pic" but not
half so noisy, the proprietor being,
apart from the equivocal nature of his
business, really worthy fellow, who
| exercised some kind of selection and
control with respect TO the guests. male
or female, whom he admitted to his es-
tablishment.
1t was in Panton street, however
panton street. now so thoroughly unim-
peachable from a moral point of view
that the night houses did most thickly
congregate. They might be covered in
horse racing phrase by q pocket hand
kerchief, So closely did they pollulate to-
gether. The champagne was bad, the
| spirits were worse, the cigars were vile
and the company was miNed-that Is to
say, noblemen and guardsmen rubbed
shoulders with rachety clerks and bust
ness men and young men from the coun-
try burning to gain an insight into Lon
don street life. The ladies were splen-
dldly dressed, and until they had taken
too much of the bad champagne they
usually behaved themselves.
The night houses We're not altogether
unfortunately opened to the public.
You had to knock for admission and be-
fore ingress was conceded to you Judas
wicket or trap was opened in the portal,
and you We're scrutinized by a janitor
inside--the normal qualifications which
in his eyes entitled Il candidate to be in
lucted into the gay scene being that he
should be well dressed. and that he
should not be either in an uproarious or
helpless condition of intoxication.
These night houses had been i'll existence
for some years, with the full cognizance
of the police. but without suffering any
interference from the authorities, when
public opinion having begun, through
| Yba of tho fn nralya nm u
the matter. steps were taken to overhaul
the licensed houses of the Haymarkct
and Panton street and ascertain some
thing definite us to the character of the
festivities common there - festivities
which the respectable shopkeepers of the
neighborhood had come to regard as a
scandal and IA nuisance.
\ system WAS introduced of paying
police visits at irregular intervals during
the night to the more notorious places
of nightly resort. The lady and gentle
men jewellers would be enjoying them
selves with delightful hilarity, say at 80
III the morning, when knock of author
ity would be heard at the outer portal,
and the janitor would enter the room
with well affected CONSERVATION and i'll
form the boauteous 'damo de compton
that the "boblics was come" admit
them at once was the stereotyped an
swer of the lovely and for the nonce law
abiding female.
The janitor took minute or so to open
the heavy door, and meanwhile the wait
ers, who We're in the joke, carefully re-
moved every lady and gentleman's glass
of champagne or tumbler of Rrated wa
ter with something in it, and concealed
these Bacchanalian ''piece de conviction
behind the counter. Then, with solemn
march and stern mien, an inspector of
police, accompanied by a sergeant, made
his appearance, to find only large num-
Der of well dressed gentlemen chatting
and smoking, and an equally large num-
Der of ladies', attired in the highest style
of fashion, and smiling around with an
expression Of innocence quite enchant-
ing to behold.
The inspector produced notebook
from his pocket and wrote something
down. Whether it was the name of the
house or the titles Of some Of the noble
lords present. or a verse of the latest
comic song, or the SlavOnic alphabet, it
did not matter much, the whole pro
ceedings being, as the landlady knew
well enough and the police authorities
knew even better, an egregiors and pre-
posterous farce. The attendant sergeant
did little more than cough below hi
right hand in II vaguely ominous and
mysterious manner. Then tho polio
would retire and the revelries would be
gin again. only through some curious
phenomenon it was found that the wines
and liquors which had formerly sparkled
in tumblers and glasses had unacconnt-
ably disappeared during the time of the
police INVASION. Perhaps there was a
night .ro1,se cat which drank mp all that
vas Jortable.--G. A. sala in London
Telegraph.
| fhotoGraphing Letters by Telegraph.
Professor Jacques is said tn be of tn
opinion that lett rs can be Photographic