The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-08

though I never open my lips but In my own club
 Tory Headquarters
 Early in it's history the Cocoa Tree seems to have become q recognized headquarters of the tories, for Mackay wrote to a friend in 1724, "I must not forget to tell you that the parties have their different meeting places. where, however. Il stranger is always well received but a whig will no more go to the Cocoa Tree or Orzinda's than tory will be seen at the coffee house a St. James"
 'If you would know. our manner of living" he added, it Is this: We rise by 9 and those that frequent great mems levees find entertainment at them until II, or as in Holland, go to tea tables. About. 12 the beau monde assemblies in several chocolate and cof- fee houses. of which the Cocoa Tree and Whites are the best, and all these so near one another Sat in less than an hour you see the company of them all We are carried to these places in chairs Cor sedans) which are very cheap guinea a week or a shilling per hour and your chairmen serve you for DOT ters to run on erra nds, a s your gondo- Hers do at Venice,
 Gibbon the historian, was one of the first members of the Cocoa Tree as club, which it became in 1761, and de- scribed it as "affording every evening sight trnlv English: 70 or perhaps 30 of the first men in the kingdom in point of fashion and fortune supping al little tables covered with a napkin in the middle of coffee room, upon a bit of cold meat or a sandwich. and drink ins glass of punch At present. he added, we are full of Kings, councillors and lords of the bedchalnber, who. hay ing jumped into the ministry, make 3 very singular medley of their old prin- ciples and language with their mod ern one
 Principle at Discount
 s. Principles, in fact, seem to, have been at discount at tho Cocoa Tree. At this time political sbrtbery sHas at its height and was largely engineered by the Ministerial club. which met at the Cocoa Tree, under the presidercy of Lord Butte. The gossip of the day averred that the lowest bribe for a vote upon the peace of Fontainebleau was a bank note for s1000 and the secretary of the treasury acknowledged openly that sf25,0OO had been expend ed thus in single morning.
 Perhaps some of the emincntly re spectable gentlemen who pocketcd bribes at the Coca Tree left some of the money behind them in the shape of losses over cards and died, for Wal pole, writing to Mann, in February, '11S0. says;
 Within this week there has been a cast at hazard at the Cocoa Tree in St. James street, the difference of which amounted to one hundred and four score thousand pounds. Mir. OBrine, an Irish gamester, had just won ll00,00O of a young Mir Harvey of Chigwell, just started into an estate by his eld- est brothers death. O'Birne said, You can never pay me I can said the youth; my estate will sell for the debt No said O'Birne, I will win ten thousand; you shall throw me for the odd ninety. They threw and IIar- vey won"
 ThackeraN, you may remember, makes Henry Esmond tell the dowager at Chelsea the number of bottles he had the honor of drinking with Mir. St John Cthe Right Hon. Henry St John) at the Cocoa Tree and at the Garter with Mir. Walpole and Mir, Steel This was about tT0s Another century saw Lord Byron a. member of the Coca Tree not to mention dozen or more fother social organizations of greater or Hess distinction including tho Rack cts club,' the '.pugiiists.' the rcndeZ- vous of the Italian Carbonari and tho famous owl" which was known anon Y ! tho ''bloods'' as the Ifly-b bN-NiGht' and ] enjoyed d not too choice reputation.