New-York tribune., 1909-12-04
OLD TIME INNS.
The Lore Of Some 4ncient
London Houses.
r,,,-s ~ TAvERNs o. ON LoN

IL
non By Henry c Shelley. Illus
frsted. Emo. pp. SS. l. {. Page & Co
Mr.. Shelley has gathered into this be-
ssiang book the results Of many excur-
sio,s into a field rich IN historical Incl
ssnt. Not only does he deal with the
tostleries ~ the past and their associa-
.,ons-the ancient coffee houses, chooo-
late houses, clubs and pleasure gardens
~ the great city yield TO him material
a. entertaining as Il is oopious. His text
s,s-lles with anecdote and with the
,ict,resque details which make the men
and the customs Of departed centuries
I've before rs.
The Tabard. that fourteenth century
ann n southwark whence Chauoer made
rs pflerims 70 start on the road 20
,,arterbury. IS the first house that figures
N these pages We may not be ready 10
i5ertifv Chsucers host. bold OF his
sueche and Wys and well-y-taught."
.rieht merry man" with the Henry
1snev who actually conducted the
Tsbar5 toward the end OF that century
and was twice a Member OF Parliament
.-om Southwark, but II may De easily
believed that the poets accounts OF the
company al the inn and the welcome
.rev received were drawn from life. For
many a YEAR the Tahard plumed itself
or Chaucer's praises. though the actual
s--,.ctu-e ne knew must have perished
ssrIv IN the seventeenth century. The
huHding then reconstructed was burned
down in the great fire OF 1876. Then
cane into being 8 Tabard which. when
n was torn down IN 1875. was popularity
supposed 70 have been the Identical inn
n the poet, though the building was in
fact Two removes from that Another
Southwark Inn was the Bear. Ct which
81 John Sucking wrote his comical ad-
tress. The Wine Drinkers 10 the Water
Drinkers Pepys. too-the naughty. i'm
mortal d!a-ist-re5 5oiced IN the Bear IN
his DAY. ss he did. indeed. IN many
tave-ns q his acquaintance. That par
ucuiar inn survived until 1871 It's
Southwark neighbor. the George. ha.
beer more f0rtunate-tnuch OF its fabric
Is Still ln existence, and wears substan-
ua-y the same gIlise II wore IN 1872
one of -.e most famous OF these inns
vas t-e White Hart, which was the
hssd1ua-ters II 1880 % the rebel Jack
Csde. and appears thus n Shakespeare's
text y was not until four hundred and
it.rty-rine years after Cade passed
th-ough is doors that the ancient build
"a VHs rorn down-in July. 1880. II had
rzn-sined its business all those years.
Eri 4 he6 II the last century served as
ne scene of the beloved Sam weller's
gt-y into ''Pickwick
AT oid tavern which has not shared
he fate OF the White Hart is the
Cheshire Cheese. whose age. our author
rs,ss. no one can decide. The original
h-iitlg vanished IN the Great Fire of
leH and the present building arose in
20 following year. II keeps all its old
tine Qualrrness and is one OF the spots
issociated with the memory OF Dr. Sam
us. Johns0n-thoUgh. 10 be sure. the
Ec-v of his attachment thereto and of
his fsvo-I-e scat in the corner rests on
so-eWhs- insecure ground. II can hard
F be doubted. however, that he and
Burke and Goldsmith knew the good
1aeer n that pleasant tavern. OF the
venerable Cock Tavern. over against
Temple Bar, the house celebrated by
Te-nysou. only one room remains, the
sztire outside of the building having
beer demolished ans the inside otherwise
'sno1eIed. In this room are preserved
ae Mahogany boxes sung by the poet.
ine The fireplace. moreover. Is that be
iore which sar NJ Pepys when he
drunk and Eat lobster and sang with
is theatrical friends. Ben Jonson's
Pee, street tavern called The Devil and
= Duns-an has passed away. AL that
s ~ % f. IS The tablet with his poetical
g'seting Inscribed upon il. which came
ron me Apollo room wherein he pre-
Aaec over tre witty encounters OF the
sons of Ben AS for that other resort
q MS, The Mermaid. not even the site IS
no"n. t-- it lives in BeaumOnt's IA
-ols lines. = .s good 10 remember that
e. ieast tle names Of the old inns are
Deserved .l their modern representa-
IVES which often stand on the original
A-s. Some of these names suffered, in
-ef Gay curious changes. The Belle
savage. f.- example, is supposed 10
'e't been EeEt in the fifteenth century
man named Savage who called his
--se the brL and from being IN IA
---ar converse SaEage's Bell il was
sal-aliy turned into Bel Savage. In
'---ar Fashion. a tavern named after the
',-.ogue Cate al Calais became the
s-- and Gate
II he history u the coffee houses Of
-1aon is traced by Mr.. Shelley from
open-ng ~ the first. in lG52. by
~s-a ho-ee Who advertised the bey-
g as tE-ug which would make one
t business q one have occasion 20
- b-t nor "a thing 70 drink after
~f Toy t VIII hinder sleep for
-" pr -FOUR hours" il Is 10 be pre-
--sa Aat rre Br.ton liked 10 be kept
SAs Tor within ffty years il is said
We're nearly 5000 coffee houses in
CITY They offered pleasant sur
-Ags and pleasant company al a
-lg expense. and patriots Of the tip
ST snaddered al the thought that