Dinners And Diners - free ebook by Lieut.-Col. (Nathaniel) Newnham-Davis

GRANT RICHARDS

To all the gentlemen, the managers of the various restaurants and the masters of the culinary art, who have assisted me in the making of this little book, I give my most grateful thanks . THE AUTHOR ....

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PREFACE

When the series of articles now collected in this volume was first discussed between their author and myself in the early part of 1897, we found it a matter of no slight difficulty to determine what range they should take, and to what class of establishments they should be confined. There is no accounting for the variety of people's tastes in the matter of eating and drinking, and among the readers of the Pall Mall Gazette persons no doubt could be found ranging from the Sybarite, who requires L

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FOREWORD

I would be willing to make you, my dear sir, a very small bet, that if in the early afternoon you go into the restaurant where you intend to dine in the evening and disturb the head waiter, who is reading a paper at one of the side tables, suddenly breaking the news upon him that you want a simple little dinner for two at eight o'clock, and wish to commence the repast with clear soup, he, in reply, after pulling out a book of order papers and biting his lead pencil, will, a moment of thought int

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CHAPTER I

She is a charming little lady, and her husband, to tell the truth, spoils her just a little. Most married dames would have been content, if they wished to dine at a restaurant on the occasion of their birthday, with one dinner; but Mrs. Daffodil—if I may so call her, from her favourite flower—insisted on having a dinner out on Saturday, and another on Sunday, and another on Monday, because, though her twenty-first birthday really fell on Saturday, she was going to keep it on Monday, when a great

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CHAPTER II

I had been kept late in Fleet Street on Saturday, and at a little before seven I woke to the fact that it was near the dinner hour, that I was in the clothes I had worn all day, that I was brain-weary and tired, and not energetic. I should be late for dinner if I went home, half across the width of London; I could not well dine at a club without evening clothes, and a smart restaurant was equally out of the question, for I felt, being in the state of humiliation which weariness and London grime

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CHAPTER III

The American Comedian and myself stood at a club window and looked out on London. He was rehearsing, and so enjoyed the rare privilege of having his evenings free to spend as he liked. I had no business, except to get myself a dinner somewhere, so we agreed to eat ours in company. The difficulty was to decide where to dine. The Comedian dined at one club or another every day of his life before going to the theatre, so a club dinner was out of the question. Not having a lady to take out we agreed

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CHAPTER IV

Sometimes after a period of depression one wants a tonic in dinners, as one does in health. My gastronomic malady had been a family feast at which I had sat next to a maiden aunt who, after telling me that I was getting unpleasantly fat, recounted anecdotes of my infancy and childhood all tending to prove that I was the most troublesome baby and worst conducted small boy that ever was. Something had to be done to banish that maiden aunt and her anecdotes from my memory. The happy thought came to

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CHAPTER V

The battle-painter and I were walking down the Strand, uncertain where to lunch, when just by the theatrical bookshop a man in a shabby suit of tweed and a billycock hat, drawn rather low down on his forehead, passed us quickly, looking into our faces for a second as he did so. "It's Smith," said the battle-painter. "Poor fellow!" It was the man we had been talking about only that morning, the good fellow who had been at school with me, who had made a voyage on board a P. and O. in which both th

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CHAPTER VI

If I had to set an examination paper on the art of dining, one of the questions I should certainly ask the examinee would be: "What occupation or amusement would you suggest for your guests after a dinner at a restaurant on Sunday?" The Hans Crescent Hotel management have answered this question in a practical way; and not the least pleasant part of a dinner at the smart hotel Sloane Street way is the coffee and liqueur and cigarette taken under the palms in the winter garden, where the red-shade

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CHAPTER VII

"None of your d—d à la's , and remember I won't get into dress clothes for anybody." That was what the old gentleman wrote, and it was not an easy matter to find a dining place and a theatre to go to afterwards that would suit my prospective guest. The old gentleman lives his life in a little country town which is favourable to the growth of characters; he always wears a plain, double-breasted broadcloth coat; a bird's-eye cravat, taken twice round his old-fashioned collar, folded in a manner th

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CHAPTER VIII

The little curly-headed, light-haired page, who is the modern Mercury, in that he gives warning when one is rung up at the telephone in the club, came to me in the reading-room and told me that a lady at the Hotel Cecil wished to speak to me. "Hullo! Are you there?" was answered by a "Yes" in a lady's voice, and in a few seconds I was informed that Myra Washington was in London, that she would like to see me, that she would be busy all the afternoon shopping, but that if I was not otherwise enga

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CHAPTER IX

It was in the noble cause of conversion of fellow-man that I dined at the Hotel Cecil. One of my uncles, the Nabob—so called by us because he spent many years in the gorgeous East—affects the belief that there is no good curry to be had outside the portals of his club, the East India; and for that reason, when he is not dining at home, dines nowhere but there. I would not dare to trifle with the Nabob's digestion, for I have reason to believe that he has remembered me in his will; but I also tho

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CHAPTER X

I was somewhat in a quandary. I was going to the new play at the St. James's, and had made up my mind to dine at a little club not far from Charing Cross, of which I have the honour to be a member. I went into the sacred portals. I found the hall without a hat or coat hung up in it, and entering the big room of the club I disturbed the meditation of the club servants. There was, for a wonder, nobody in the club, no one had ordered dinner, and as I do not like being a solitary diner at a long tab

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CHAPTER XI

The first information that I received as to Mrs. "Charlie" Sphinx having returned from Cannes was in a little note from the lady herself, delivered on Sunday at lunch-time, to the effect that Charlie had been asked to dine that evening with his official chief, and that if I was not otherwise engaged I might take my choice between dining quietly with the pretty lady at her home, or taking her out somewhere to dinner. I went to the telephone at once. "No. 35,466, if you please"; and being switched

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CHAPTER XII

Whenever I have come across a Philistine who has eaten a vegetarian dinner, he always professes that he narrowly escaped with his life. Now this I knew must be an invention, and I was anxious to try for myself whether a dinner of herbs meant contentment or whether it did not, so I approached one of the high priests of the order, and asked which would be the restaurant in London at which it would be wisest to try the experiment. The answer I received was not of the most encouraging. The high prie

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CHAPTER XIII

I was getting to the end of a tiring day in a dingy office in Fleet Street, and the little printer's devil, who was sitting on a chair in the corner by the fire playing cat's-cradle, had brought word that all that was now wanted from me were a few short notes. It is not easy when one is brain-tired to be playfully humorous as to the European Concert, and I had struggled through a few lines, only to lay down my pen and take up a bundle of exchanges and a pair of scissors, when one of the clerks i

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CHAPTER XIV

The superior person and I were chatting in the club as to eating generally, and he was holding forth on the impossibility of discovering any dining place, as Kettner's was discovered by our fathers, where a good meal could be had at a very small price. I turned on him and rent him figuratively, giving him a list that commenced with Torino's and ended with the Hôtel Hanover, and asked him if he had been to any of them. He had not. His system was to go to the Savoy or Willis's, or the Princes' Hal

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CHAPTER XV

I dined one day early last week at the Trocadero, a little specially-ordered tête-à-tête dinner over which the chef had taken much trouble—his Suprêmes de sole Trocadéro , and Poulet de printemps Rodisi are well worth remembering—and while I drank the Moët '84, cuvée 1714, and luxuriated in some brandy dating back to 1815, the solution of a problem that had puzzled me mildly came to me. An old friend was sending his son, a boy at Harrow, up to London to see a dentist before going back to school,

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CHAPTER XVI

It was half-past seven, or it may have been even a little later, when I encountered the recorder of racing romances wandering along the eastern half-mile of Piccadilly, and both he and I had been too indolent to get into the conventional sables. To him it was a matter of no moment. Many racing campaigns had so "taken the corners off" him that, like that excellent warrior, but distinctly casual diner, Frederick the Great, he could sit himself down in any garb and return grateful thanks to Heaven

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CHAPTER XVII

"So you are the man who is writing those articles about 'Dinners and Diners,'" said old Sir George, when I dined quietly last week with him and Lady Carcanet. "Good Lord! Who'd have thought it!" This sounded rather a dubious compliment; but pretty Miss Carcanet, "Brighteyes" as her family nickname is, began to take more interest in me than she had ever shown before. Did I go alone, or did I really take the people I said I did? she asked. And I told her that I really did take the people I describ

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CHAPTER XVIII

While I sat in the anteroom of the Hôtel Avondale and waited for the Epicure, whom I had asked to come and dine with me, as a general practitioner would call in a specialist in a delicate case, I pondered over the vicissitudes which, during the past few years, have befallen the hotel that has now come into the hands of the two young and energetic men from the Savoy. It opened with a great flourish of trumpets, I remember, as the Cercle de Luxe, just at the time that Society seemed inclined to ta

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CHAPTER XIX

It is not the least pleasant part of writing of dinners and those who eat them that it brings me some varied correspondence, and perhaps the pleasantest letter I have received was one asking me if I would like to dine with the Company of Mercers; for if I would, my correspondent offered to send me an invitation. If there was one City Company that I was anxious to dine with it was the Mercers, for most of my forebears had been of the guild. My great-great-uncle, who was Lord Mayor and an M.P., an

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CHAPTER XX

Yet another invitation to dine from an unknown friend, and this time with a tinge of mystery to give it piquancy. My would-be host offered to give me what he believed to be one of the cheapest obtainable dinners in London, as well as one of the most amusing; but as an introduction is required before any guest is able to use this dining-place, I was asked, should I describe it, to give no clue as to its whereabouts. As I waited for my host at a club which happened to be not far from the district

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CHAPTER XXI

The honorary secretary of the Regimental Dinner Club, who is the gentleman who, in one of the little rooms, somewhat resembling loose boxes, of Cox and Co., the military bankers, presides over the ledgers containing the accounts of Ours, had sent six weeks ago to every member of the club, and that means nearly every officer past and present, a notice that the annual dinner of the regiment would take place at the Hôtel Victoria, on a certain day in Ascot week, at 8 p.m. "Regimental dinner, sir? Y

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CHAPTER XXII

"I thought your Galatea a superb creation, and flatter myself I gave an entirely new reading of the part of Chrysos's slave," I said; and our leading lady was kind enough to say in reply that through force of genius I raised the part of Chrysos's slave into a principal character. I never inflict the fact upon my friends, but I am an amateur actor. I do not play Hamlet or Othello, for owing to the jealousy of "casting" committees, those parts are never offered me. I have some original readings wh

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CHAPTER XXIII

The white-faced house with gilded balconies that stands at the corner of Berkeley Street and Piccadilly is an old friend with a new face, for in the year of grace '97 the old hotel was much altered, the restaurant almost doubled in size, and the Berkeley may now, in its latest development, be said to be the blonde beauty among London hotels. The Editor invited me to dinner, a little dinner for three, the Gracious Lady, himself, and myself—the handsome niece who completed the partie carrée on a p

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CHAPTER XXIV

It was pleasant to see Miss Dainty's (of all the principal London theatres) handwriting again. She had read all the "Dinners and Diners," she told me, and did not think that any of them were as good as the one when I had the inspiration or her presence. She had been very ill—at the point of death, indeed—owing to a sprained ankle, which prevented her going to Ascot, for which race-meeting she had ordered three dresses, each of which was a dream. Why did I take out to dinner nobody but Editors an

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CHAPTER XXV

I have a vague remembrance of having as a small boy been taken round the Houses of Lords and Commons as a holiday treat. The Houses cannot have been sitting at the time, and the only thing that I remembered was the fact that the Lords sat on red seats, the Commons on green. I did once, in later years, make an attempt to gain admission to hear a debate; but, after some waiting, the legislator to whom I had sent in my card came out with rather a long face. He had moved heaven and earth, he said, t

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CHAPTER XXVI

In the morning, with my shaving water, was brought a note in a dashing feminine handwriting. It was from the little American prima donna to say she was sorry that she had forgotten, but she was engaged to dine with some friends who were leaving England, and would I take her out some other night instead; and she considerately suggested two evenings on which she should have known that I would be out of town for Goodwood. I felt inclined to reply, like Uncle Gregory, that I knew those friends—"they

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CHAPTER XXVII

The little American prima donna was not so faithless as I thought, for when, Goodwood being over, I wrote to her and asked her if she would not take pity on a poor bachelor stranded in a deserted town, and drive down to Richmond and dine, she telegraphed back a "Yes," and told me that I might come and pick her up at the Hôtel Cecil. The covered-in space before the big caravanserai in the Strand in June and July, is almost as representative of English life as is church parade in the Park. In Augu

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CHAPTER XXVIII

I first met Arthur Roberts in the buffet of the Cavour, and first heard there the tale of "The Old Iron Pot." On that occasion I was taken by a friend into the buffet, a long room with a bar decorated with many-coloured glasses, a broad divan running along the wall, and many small tables by it. Seated on the divan was a thin, clean-shaven little man, talking to a very tall man, also clean-shaven. So immersed in their conversation were the two that they hardly acknowledged me when I was introduce

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CHAPTER XXIX

My sister-in-law is the daughter of a dean. I do not make this statement through family pride, but because it is pertinent to what follows. Man and boy, these six years or so, I have known little Oddenino, who now rules the destinies of the Café Royal. The little man, with his quiet, rather nervous manner and big serious eyes, went from the management of the East Room at the Criterion to the Washington in Oxford Street, then to the big hotel at Cimiez, and has now put the Café Royal into shape.

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CHAPTER XXX

I am beginning to flatter myself that I am a success in clerical circles. One week I took out to dinner my sister-in-law—who, I omitted to state, is the daughter of a dean; and the next week I successfully entertained a dear, simple-minded, white-haired old clergyman who had come from his parish in the North to London on business. Two little boys home from Harrow are sitting at a table by an open window, looking through the frame of rose sprays and streamers of virginia-creeper to the turn of th

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CHAPTER XXXI

The Victory Chapter of the Knights of the Pelican and the Eagle, perfect and puissant princes of Rose Croix, has been closed, and gentlemen in evening clothes are being helped into their great-coats in the entrance corridor of Mark Masons' Hall by the rotund sergeant who keeps guard there in a glazed box. Most of these gentlemen have mysterious flat tin cases, which they hand over to the sergeant or another official to be taken care of for them until spring brings round again another meeting of

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CHAPTER XXXII

He was the junior subaltern when I commanded H company in the old regiment, and a very good subaltern he was. It was only the other day that I read how in one of the first skirmishes in an Indian trouble he had distinguished himself by standing over a wounded man and keeping off the hillmen till assistance came; and it seemed strange to meet him now in crumpled, sun-scorched clothes, with a soft handkerchief round his neck, and with a very thin white face, walking up the Haymarket. "They hit me,

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CHAPTER XXXIII

"I want father to take me to see 'The Liars,'" said pretty Miss Carcanet ("Brighteyes" to her friends), "but he says that he sees too many of them as it is in his club smoking-room, and won't go with me." There was naturally only one thing to do, and that was to offer to take Lady Carcanet and Miss Brighteyes to the play at the Criterion. Sir George was evidently relieved at not having to go to the theatre, and thanked me. "It is just the play that ought to suit you," he added, "for I hear it's

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CHAPTER XXXIV

He, a gentleman on the Stock Exchange, who has generally a stock of good stories, mentioned in the course of a letter to me that he had heard a really good tale of the last bye-election, and would tell it to me the next time that we met, as it was too long to write. Now, that particular election is fast becoming ancient history, and if that story had to be retailed to my circle of country friends, it would have to be done quickly. Therefore I wrote to my stockbroker, who lives in Shaftesbury Ave

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CHAPTER XXXV

Hors-d'œuvre. Smoked Salmon. Solomon Gundy. Olives. Soups. Frimsell. Matsoklese. Pease and beans. Fish. Brown stewed carp. White stewed gurnet. Fried soles. Fried plaice. Entrées. Roast veal (white stew). Filleted steak (brown stew). Poultry. Roast capon. Roast chicken. Smoked beef. Tongue. Vegetables. Spinach. Sauerkraut. Potatoes. Cucumbers. Green salad. Sweets. Kugel. Stewed prunes. Almond pudding. Apple staffen. When I looked at the above I groaned aloud. Was it possible, I thought, that any

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CHAPTER XXXVI

La Princesse Lointaine was passing through town on her way to Rome, to her husband's palazzo—to the great grim building where the big suisse stands on guard by the entrance, and soft-footed servants in black move noiselessly about the high tapestried rooms. Her note with the tiny monogram and the coronet on it said that she was at the Savoy for a few days, and would I come and dine, on her last evening in England, and talk of old days? I always call the pretty lady who has the honour of bearing

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CHAPTER XXXVII

My Dear Aunt Tabitha —First, let me thank you for the tracts entitled "The Converted Clown" and "The Journalist Reclaimed"; they will have my attention. It was no doubt your nephew John's conscience which impelled him to place my devotion to Shakespeare, and other dramatic authors of like calibre, and my efforts to improve humanity through the press, before you in the light he has done. When I have an opportunity of a personal interview with him I shall attempt to change his opinions. That I sha

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CHAPTER XXXVIII

"The best dinner in London, sir!" was what our fathers always added when, with a touch of gratification, they used to tell of having been asked to dine on the Queen's Guard at St. James's; and nowadays, when the art of dinner-giving has come to be very generally understood, the man who likes good cooking and good company still feels very pleased to be asked to dinner by one of the officers of the guard, for the old renown is still justified, and there is a fascination in the surroundings that is

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CHAPTER XXXIX

There were some portions of my aunt Tabitha's letter from the North which were distinctly satisfactory. She was kind enough to say that both she and my cousin Judith, the most delightfully demure little lady possible, had enjoyed their short stay in London, and had appreciated the oratorio, the museums, and the picture galleries I had escorted them to. She animadverted on the strange conduct of my cousin John, who went to call on the old lady after being up all night at a Covent Garden ball, whe

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CHAPTER XL

The dramatic moment of the evening came when Juliette, the new French maid, with despair painted on her face, out of breath, and with her bonnet on one side of her head, came running into the dining-room at the Midland Hotel, and told Miss Dainty that the dog had escaped. Miss Dainty for one moment was overwhelmed, for she pictured Jack in fierce combat with every big dog in London; but, recovering herself, said that she wanted boy messengers. The wild duck was getting cold, the manager was begi

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CHAPTER XLI

"I have no amusement at all now," said little Mrs. Tota—we always called her Mrs. Tota up at Simla, for she was as bright and perky as her little namesake, the Indian parrot. "George says that the night air brings on his fever, and refuses to go out after dinner." George looked up from behind his paper and grunted; but there was a quiver of his left eyelid which looked very like a wink. "I never go to a dance now, and you know I love dancing. I never have any fun like we used to have at the Blac

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CHAPTER XLII

"If you will dine with me on Sunday night I will give you dinner in the most interesting private dining-room that any restaurant in London can show," I said to little Mrs. Tota. "She'll do nothing of the sort," said George, her husband, from behind his paper. "George!" said little Mrs. Tota, and there was a mixture of astonishment, query, and reproof in the way she spoke her husband's name. George laid down his newspaper. "Since you took her to dine in that private room at Kettner's nothing has

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CHAPTER XLIII

The Princess was passing through town, and wrote that she would graciously deign to dine with me. The responsibility of giving dinner to a Princess, even though she be not a British Princess, but the bearer of an Italian title, is no light one. Claridge's, "the home of kings," occurred to me at once as the right restaurant at which to entertain Her Highness, for the new and stately hotel that has sprung up in Brook Street has a quiet grandeur that is in keeping with its old nickname. The Claridg

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CHAPTER XLIV

He is a rising young artist with an idea, an idea which is, or was, to make him and me rich beyond dreams of avarice; all that is wanted now being a publisher who will see matters in the same light that the rising young artist does, and who will spend a hundred thousand pounds to back his belief. Gentlemen, do not all speak at once. The rising young artist wanted to talk to me quietly for an hour, to unfold his brilliant idea, and it seemed to me that it would be an economy of time to eat dinner

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CHAPTER XLV

"Oh, yes," said my maiden aunt. "I read of your going out to dinners and taking actresses and grass-widows and other pretty ladies to dine. I wonder you are not tired of so much frivolity." I answered meekly that the worthlessness of my life was often felt seriously by me, and that I took actresses and grass-widows out to dinner because they were kind enough to say that they enjoyed such little outings; but that I would really prefer much more serious company. My aunt drew down the corners of he

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CHAPTER XLVI

I felt like an extract from a Christmas story after the manner of Charles Dickens. I was the unfortunate, desponding individual driven at Christmas time to eat a solitary dinner in a deserted club, and as I sat down to the little table, with three waiters regarding me with placid curiosity, I felt a savage discontent that no spirit of a dead sweetheart of days gone by, no child-angel, would appear to me as they always do to the morose heroes of Christmas stories. I had been reduced to solitude,

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CHAPTER XLVII

The handwriting on the letter was familiar. The letter bore a U.S.A. stamp. I wondered why Miss Dainty, of all the principal London theatres, whom I had seen off one day last summer from St. Pancras, whence she started for the land of Dollars, and from whom I had not heard since, should have suddenly found reason to correspond with me. Miss Dainty informed me that she was having a high old time in the States, that she was drawing a princely salary, that Jack, the fighting fox-terrier, was very w

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Max Greger's Hungarian Wines

BARON LIEBIG, in a letter which excited much attention at the time, announced boldly the reason of his belief in the use of Hungarian Wines. Recommended, alike for the Anæmic and the Robust, by the highest Medical Authorities for over 35 years. See that every cork bears the brand "MAX GREGER," without it the Wine is not genuine. In Bottles and Screw-Stoppered Flagons. From 15s. to 60s. per doz. OF ALL WINE MERCHANTS. Sole Proprietors: SEPTIMUS PARSONAGE &amp; Co., Ltd., 45, St. Thomas Street

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SCOTT'S

Telegraphic Address—"SCOTT'S, LONDON." Telephone No. 2513 Gerrard. Rebuilt 1893. Cuisine of the Highest Quality. 18, 19, &amp; 20 Coventry St. AND 1 &amp; 2 Gt. Windmill St. Top of the Haymarket. Suppers after the Theatres a Speciality....

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HOTEL CECIL & RESTAURANT,

Largest and Most Magnificent Hotel in Europe. BEDROOMS FROM 6/- PER DAY INCLUDING LIGHT AND ATTENDANCE. Telegraphic Address—"CECELIA," LONDON. A. JUDAH, Manager ....

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The Walsingham House Hotel & Restaurant

Overlooking the Green Park, and occupying the finest position in London. AMERICAN and CONTINENTAL Visitors will find "The Walsingham" with its Private Rooms, Restaurant, Terrace, and Garden, overlooking the Park, one of the most comfortable and recherché resorts in London....

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Gentlemen's Entrance, NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE.

These Baths stand on what was formerly part of the grounds of Northumberland House, occupied nearly three years in building, and involved an expenditure of £30,000. They comprise a suite of Bath Rooms, having a floor space of about twelve thousand feet for gentlemen, with a smaller set in a separate contiguous building for the exclusive use of ladies. The cooling rooms, which are surmounted by a lofty dome designed to permit the free circulation of air and to ensure perfect ventilation, are fitt

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Princes' Restaurant, Piccadilly,

Table d'Hôte Luncheon , 4s. 6d.; Dinners à la Carte; Suppers , 5s. A large Banqueting Hall, seating 150 People, is now open for Regimental and City Dinners, Wedding and other Receptions; also smaller Dining Rooms for Parties, and Institute Picture Galleries for Balls. Also a Nice and Comfortable Hotel, the Entrance of which is in Jermyn Street....

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RESTAURANT DIEUDONNÉ,

HANDSOMELY DECORATED IN THE LOUIS XV. STYLE, CELEBRATED FOR ITS EXCELLENT AND DELICATE CUISINE AND ITS LARGE STOCK OF FINE WINES. Dinners, Luncheons, and Suppers à la Carte. Special Menu on Sunday. Great attention paid to the 3/- Luncheon, which is pronounced to be the best in London. Telegraphic Address, "Guffanti, London." Telephone No. 5265 Gerrard....

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CHOCOLAT-MENIER

The Largest Factory in the World. WORKS: NOISIEL-SUR-MARNE, PARIS. SOLD RETAIL EVERYWHERE....

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ROMANO'S RESTAURANT,

This palatial restaurant has been entirely rebuilt, and lighted throughout by electricity. The decorations, lighting, and ventilation have rendered Romano's one of the sights of London. Veritable cuisine Parisienne. Choicest wines. Elite orchestra. Quietude, comfort, personal supervision of A. ROMANO, Proprietor, C. A. ANTONELLI, Manager. Telephone No. 5428. Telegrams: "Romano, Strand, London."...

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"VERREY'S"

(Corner of Hanover Street). To Reserve Tables apply to Manager. Telephone No. 1742 Gerrard....

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The Queen's Hotel and Restaurant,

( BAKER and CO., Proprietors. ) Manager, Mons. G. GUILLOT. Chef de Cuisine, Maître CHARPENTIER. This magnificent Hotel and Restaurant is NOW OPEN for the reception of guests. The building is planned and decorated upon the most approved modern principles, and has been furnished throughout by Messrs. MAPLE &amp; CO. A TABLE D'HÔTE LUNCHEON Served at 3s. 6d. per head in the Grand Hall from 1 to 2.30 p.m. TABLE D'HÔTE DINNER At 5s. per head from 6 to 9 p.m. SUPPERS After the Theatre (à la carte)

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THE OLD BLUE POSTS

(Close to Burlington House, between Bond Street and Regent Street.) DINNERS AND LUNCHEONS À LA CARTE. Coffee-Room, Private Dining-Rooms for Large and Small Parties. Genuine First-Class Cuisine. The very best Vintage Wines and the Choicest Brands of Cigars....

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SCHLETTE'S HOTEL,

SINGLE BEDROOMS from 4/- per day. SMALL SUITES OF ROOMS from 2½ Guineas per week....

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SAVOY HOTEL, LONDON.

Overlooking River and Embankment Gardens. By Day the most beautiful Garden and River View in Europe. By Night a Fairy Scene. Under the direction of the famous Maître d'Hôtel "Joseph." DINNERS À LA CARTE. PRIVATE ROOMS FOR PARTIES. The Savoy Déjeuner , 5s. The Opera Supper , 5s. Prix Fixe Dinner (7s. 6d.) served in the new Salle à Manger. The Orchestra plays during Dinner and Supper....

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CLARIDGE'S HOTEL, LONDON,

BROOK STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE, W. In the centre of fashionable London. The old Royal Hostelry resuscitated. The Orchestra plays in the Restaurant during Dinner. SUITES OF ROOMS OF ALL SIZES. Over 300 Rooms. Nearly 100 Bathrooms. General Manager— MR. H. MENGAY....

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THE SHIP, GREENWICH.

Telephone 201 Deptford. Public and Private Rooms facing the River . Al-fresco dining in the very hot weather. Telegrams and Letters, Address BALE....

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LERINA

LIQUEUR made by the Monks of the ABBEY OF OUR LADY OF LERINS On the Island of St. Honorat, CANNES (Alpes Maritimes). Well known to all Visitors to the Riviera. ESSENTIALLY DIGESTIVE....

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EPITAUX'S RESTAURANT,

This famous Restaurant has been reconstructed and appointed in the most recherché style, and is now open for Luncheons at 2/6, Dinners à la Carte or at fixed prices, and Suppers at 3/-, after the theatres (speciality). Also on Sundays, from 6 till 11 p.m. The High-class Cuisine is under the personal superintendence of the proprietor, and the well-known cellars of M. Costa , late of the Washington, Oxford Street, have been carefully removed to this establishment. Telephone No. 1486 Gerrard....

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PAGANI'S RESTAURANT,

Telephone—2710 Gerrard. Telegrams—Soufflé, London. RENOWNED FRENCH &amp; ITALIAN CUISINE. Luncheons, Dinners and Suppers à la Carte. Open from 8 a.m. till 12.30 p.m. The Famous ARTIST ROOM can be Reserved for Private Parties, etc. Best Vintage Wines. M. &amp; G. PAGANI, Proprietors....

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THE EQUITABLE

ASSETS exceed 53¾ MILLIONS STERLING. SURPLUS over all LIABILITIES exceeds 11¾ MILLIONS STERLING. Paid to Policyholders during 1898— Over £4,980,000 Sterling. Paid to Policyholders in less than 40 years— Over £62,270,000 Sterling. The Policies of the Equitable of the United States secure:— 1. A Lucrative Investment. 2. Protection for a Wife. 3. Endowment for Children. 4. Education for Children. 5. Provision for Old Age. Amounts of Cash Surrenders, Loans, Paid-up Assurance are written in the EQUIT

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The Criterion Restaurant,

Entirely remodelled and charmingly redecorated in Louis XV. style, is now one of the most elegant Restaurant Salons in the world, and overlooks Piccadilly. Cuisine Véritablement fine. Déjeuners, Dîners et Soupers à la Carte, or at fixed prices. Has also been remodelled and redecorated in Louis XVI. style, and can be strongly recommended for its comfort and elegant service. Academy Luncheon at 2/6. Dîner parisienne at 5/-. A most excellent dinner is served at the very moderate price of 3/6. On th

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The Criterion Restaurant,

SPIERS &amp; POND, LTD., Proprietors ....

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The Flowing Bowl:

A Treatise on Drinks of all Kinds and of all Periods, interspersed with sundry Anecdotes and Reminiscences By EDWARD SPENCER WITH COVER DESIGNED BY PHIL MAY Small 4to. Cloth, 5s. GRANT RICHARDS 9 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. " Most useful companions to the traveller ."— Punch....

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HISTORICAL GUIDES

Fcap. 8vo (Pocket Size), Limp Cloth, Round Corners, 3s. 6d. net each. PARIS. FLORENCE. CITIES OF BELGIUM (Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp). VENICE. MUNICH CITIES OF NORTH ITALY (Milan, Verona, Padua, Bologna, Ravenna). DRESDEN (with Nuremberg, etc.). ROME, Pagan and Christian CITIES OF NORTHERN FRANCE (Rouen, Amiens, Blois, Tours, Orleans). THE TIMES .—"Such good work in the way of showing students the right manner of approaching the history of a great city.... The execution of the little volum

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The Pall Mall Magazine.

The Finest Illustrated Magazine of the Day. Edited by LORD FREDERIC HAMILTON. The PALL MALL MAGAZINE is published on the 18th of each month. It numbers among its contributors all the leading writers and artists of the day. The exquisite illustrations form a special feature of this beautiful Magazine. During the next few months Stories and Article will be written by— H.G. Wells. Gilbert Parker. W.E. Henley. H.B. Marriott Watson. E. Nesbit. Louis Becke. F.C. Burnand. Mrs. F.A. Steel. William Arche

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The Pall Mall Magazine.

Illustrated by the best Black-and-White Work of the Day. Edited by LORD FREDERIC HAMILTON. In its Pages will shortly appear:— Stories of the Year 2090. Six Stories. By H.G. Wells , Author of The Time Machine , etc. Anglo-Egyptian Tales. Six Stories. By Gilbert Parker , Author of The Seats of the Mighty , etc. The American Stage. Three Articles. By F.C. Burnand , Editor of Punch . American Architecture— Chicago. Peter B. Wight. Boston. Montgomery Schuyler. Readers are respectfully requested to or

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