where you remark
the mouldy lobsters, the fly-blown picklesammon, the playbills, and
the gingybear bottles in the window--above all, by the "Constantinople"
Divan, kep by the Misses Mordeky, and well known to every lover of "a
prime sigaw and an exlent cup of reel Moky Coffy for 6d."
The Constantinople Divann is greatly used by the foring gents of Lester
Squar. I never ad the good fortn to pass down Pipping's Buildings
without seeing a haf a duzen of 'em on the threshole of the
extablishment, giving the street an oppertunity of testing the odar
of the Misses Mordeky's prime Avannas. Two or three mor may be visable
inside, settn on the counter or the chestis, indulging in their fav'rit
whead, the rich and spisy Pickwhick, the ripe Manilly, or the flagrant
and arheumatic Qby.
"These Divanns are, as is very well known, the knightly resott of the
young Henglish nobillaty. It is ear a young Pier, after an arjus day at
the House of Commons, solazes himself with a glas of gin-and-water (the
national beveridge), with cheerful conversation on the ewents of the
day, or with an armless gaym of baggytell in the back-parlor."
So wrote at least our friend Jools to his newspaper, the Horriflam;
and of this back-parlor and baggytell-bord, of this counter, of this
"Constantinople" Divan, he became almost as reglar a frequenter as the
plaster of Parish Turk who sits smoking a hookey between the two blue
coffee-cups in the winder.
I have oftin, smokin my own shroot in silents in a corner of the Diwann,
listened to Jools and his friends inwaying aginst Hingland, and boastin
of their own immortial country. How they did go on about Wellintun,
and what an arty contamp they ad for him!--how they used to prove that
France was the Light, the Scenter-pint, the Igsample and hadmiration of
the whole world! And though I scarcely take a French paper now-a-days
(I lived in early days as groom in a French famly three years, and
therefore knows the languidg), though, I say, you can't take up Jools's
paper, the Orriflam, without readin that a minister has committed
bribery and perjury, or that a littery man has committed perjury and
murder, or that a Duke has stabbed his wife in fifty places, or some
story equally horrible; yet for all that it's admiral to see how
the French gents will swagger--how they will be the scenters of
civilization--how they will be the Igsamples of Europ, and nothink shall
prevent 'em--knowing they will have it, I say I
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