Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-15
TAvERNs OF OLD EDINBURGH.
They We're Popular Resorts With All
Glasses of Men.


Some excuse may he found for the uni
VerSal devotion to tavern life which for
merly prevailed in Edinburgh in the harsh
ness of the northern winter. 1T is one of
the vilest climates under heaven" wrote
Stevenson, as if he shivered at the renarn-
brance of it; you are liable to be beaten
upon by all the winds that blow. to be
drenched with rain, TO be buried in cold sa,
fogs out OF the east, or to be powdered
with the snow as it comes flying southward
from the Highland hills"
1t is small wonder that a Sco+srnan,s
IDEAL OF enjoyment should have been a
warm coy corner by the freside in one of
the lnnumerable "howfs' or 'laighs'' (tav-
ems and oyster cellars) which studded the
closes on either side of the High street or
mat every poet, from Allan Ramsay to
ferguson and Burns, should have sung of
the delights of the joyous evenings at John
Dowles or the CrCchallan Club with high
links. the uproarious mirth. the hilarious
songs, when the air was thick with the
steam from the punch bowls
Another reason for the popularity Of the
tavern was the cramped space and limited
accommodation in the tall flats and lands,
Where large family was often crowded
INTO couple of small rooms. There could
be no comfort O. social enjoyment in such
narrow quarters, and so the tavern he
came the mutual rendezvous for business
ana pleasure, and IL was here that doctors
would see their patients, lawyers interview
their clients and tradesmen meet their Gus
toners Indeed, the, time had not long
passed since the lord provost of the d,V
would invite his guests to supper at CIeri
hugh's or Fortunes
Even men of the highest social position
preferred the ease and freedom from re-
straiht a the "howf'' to the decorOus duTl
ness of their own fresides and lust as the
Baron of Bradwardine's guests left the cas-
tie 10 rnish TIE evening in the genial IL
cenSe OF LuCkfe MacAlrOy's tavern, so Lord
Cockburn in his youth saw some dozen of
the aristocracy of Midlothian, including the
Duke of Buccleugh and the lord advocate,
crowded in the loW-roofed room of a viii
lage alehouse, drinking huge pctations of
claret and whisky punch and making the
rafters echo with songs and toasts and up-
roariOus festivity.
These taVernS varied in degree and anal
ity from the larger and more fashionable
''howfs," frequented by the lords of SEES
sions. the great advocates and men Of let
tiers, to the humble "lagh shops" where
clerks and shop assistants repaired after
the days work and where fun and merri-
ment were as unrestrained as at "Poosie
NanCy's, which sheltered the Jolly Beg
gars.' The prices-for eitables at ali
events-ruled low and at many of the
clubs with strange and convvial names, of
which the humor has now evaporated a
man might sup frugaIly off collops or a
haddock or roasted skate and onions for
a few pence.
The spendthrift Club was said to have
derived its name from the extravaganza
of its members, who paid no less than four
pence halfpenny for a repast. Gut in the
! matter of potations the case was different,
and the members of the Crochallan or An
temanum could assuredly not have awaited
themselves of Mr.. Shorthouse's excuse for
Wordsworth, who had got so lamentably
drunk at ST. Johns that the poets stand
ard of intoxication was probably miserably
| low"
The quality as well as the quantity OF
wine and spirits consumed by the hardened
revelers of that day is appalling to more
| temperate age. For the humber topper
| there was "twopenny ale" in mutchkins
| as strong the home brew immortalized
! by Nyren. and drains of gin as potent as
| turpentine. For richer customers there was
| genuine mountain dew-Glenlivet and us
| quebaugh; huge forums of steaming punch
prepared after some immemorial recipe like
| that of Bailie Nicol Jarvie "tappithens >
mantiing with claret fresh drawn from the
cask, and at later date port, strong and
fiery as the Newcastle blackstrap," OF
which Lord Eldon used to drink his three
| bottles with impuniH. 1t is no wonder
that nights passed in the consumption OF
| such potent beverages should have played
| havoc with the strongest constitutions, ol
| that sobriety at table should have been re
| garded as the exception rather than tht
| rule.