John Bright was often at the Reform, where it was said he passed his time indulging in billiards and abstaining from wine. Other well-known men who were members were Douglas Jerrold, Sala, William Black, James Payn, and Thackeray, who became a member in 1840. He used to stand in the smoking-room, his back to the fire, his legs rather wide apart, his hands thrust into his trousers pockets, and his head stiffly thrown backward, while he joined in the talk of the men occupying the semicircle of chairs in front of him. It is said that on one occasion, observing beans and bacon on the evening dinner list, he cancelled without hesitation a dinner engagement elsewhere, on the ground that “he had met an old friend he had not seen for many a long day.”
At one time a small group of men, which Bernal Osborne nicknamed “the press gang,” met daily for lunch at a table in one of the windows looking out upon the gardens in front of Carlton Terrace. This group was originally composed of James Payn and William Black, J. R. Robinson of the Daily News, J. C. Parkinson, and Sir T. Wemyss Reid, but as time went on others joined. At these luncheons there was always a great deal of pleasant and harmless chaff, with some more serious talk, although by mutual agreement politics were generally tabooed. James Payn was the life and soul of the party, and dedicated one of the best of his novels—“By Proxy”—to the group which he had so often enlivened. Another lively spirit here was William Black, who, though not as brilliant a talker as Payn, could cap his jests with an epigram or quaint joke of much flavour.
Bernal Osborne occasionally attended these lunches, where, however, he curbed that mordant wit which was known to all and feared by most. At the Reform lunches he was always harmless, though unable to resist referring to Black’s habit of drinking a pint of champagne at luncheon. He would point to the bottle, and say: “Young man, in ten years’ time you will not be doing that.” Ten years later, however, Black recalled Bernal Osborne’s warnings, and dwelt with pride upon the fact that he had survived his censor.
The very large political clubs, such as the Constitutional, the Junior Constitutional, and the National Liberal, hardly come within the scope of this book. It may, however, be mentioned that, whilst the National Liberal has an ingeniously contrived system (the idea of which was originally conceived by Mr. Arthur Williams, sometime M.P. for Glamorgan) whereby very young men are attracted to join the club, nothing of the sort seems to have been attempted by any similar institution purporting to further the spread of Conservative principles.
CHAPTER IX
THE NATIONAL—OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE—UNITED UNIVERSITY—NEW UNIVERSITY—NEW OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE—UNITED SERVICE—ARMY AND NAVY—NAVAL AND MILITARY—GUARDS—ROYAL NAVAL CLUB—CALEDONIAN—JUNIOR ATHENÆUM
About the most valuable artistic possession owned by any London club is the fine set of Flemish tapestries in the drawing-room of the National Club, 1 Whitehall Gardens. These were acquired with the club-house in 1845 from Lord Ailsa, who had bought them in Belgium shortly after Waterloo. The price paid was very moderate—£200—and at the present time the tapestries in question are in all probability worth over ten times as much.
A curious and interesting feature at the National is the building which now serves as a billiard-room; careful inspection reveals that in the days before the construction of the Thames Embankment this was a boat-house, up to which water flowed. An old member of the club perfectly remembers barges coming up the river and unloading the bricks with which an additional story was built.
The National Club was originally founded for those holding strongly Evangelical views; the late Lord Shaftesbury, of philanthropic fame, was a member, and to it some staunch pillars of Protestantism still belong. Of recent years a number of Government officials and literary men have somewhat relieved the austerity of tone which formerly prevailed, but the National yet adheres to most of the practices instituted at its foundation, and remains the only club where morning and evening prayers are regularly read.
The tone of the National is rather more intellectual than that of the majority of West End clubs. It somewhat resembles that of the grave institutions frequented by Deans and Bishops, where the membership is limited to those who have been at one of the great Universities.