ffee-house, one day, there came in Sir James Lowther, who
after changing a piece of silver with the coffee-woman, and paying
twopence for his dish of coffee, was helped into his chariot, for
he was very lame and infirm, and went home: some little time
afterwards, he returned to the same coffee-house, on purpose to
acquaint the woman who kept it, that she had given him a bad
half-penny, and demanded another in exchange for it. Sir James had
about L40,000 per annum.

Shenstone, who found "the warmest welcome at an inn," found
George's to be economical. "What do you think," he writes, "must be
my expense, who love to pry into everything of the kind? Why, truly
one shilling. My company goes to George's Coffee-house, where, for
that small subscription I read all pamphlets under a three
shillings' dimension; and indeed, any larger would not be fit for
coffee-house perusal." Shenstone relates that Lord Oxford was at
George's, when the mob, that were carrying his Lordship in effigy,
came into the box where he was, to beg money of him, amongst
others; this story Horace Walpole contradicts, adding that he
supposes Shenstone thought that after Lord Oxford quitted his place
he went to the coffee-house to learn news.

Arthur Murphy frequented George's, "where the town wits met every
evening." Lloyd, the law-student, sings:

By law let others toil to gain renown!
Florio's a gentleman, a man o' the town.

He nor courts clients, or the law regarding,
Hurries from Nando's down to Covent Garden.
Yet, he's a scholar; mark him in the pit,
With critic catcall sound the stops of wit!
Supreme at George's, he harangues the throng,
Censor of style, from tragedy to song.

* * * * *

The Percy Coffee-house, Rathbone-place, Oxford-street, no longer
exists; but it will be kept in recollection for its having given
name to one of the most popular publications of its class, namely,
the "Percy Anecdotes," by Sholto and Reuben Percy, Brothers of the
Benedictine Monastery of Mont Benger, in forty-four parts,
commencing in 1820. So said the title pages, but the names and the
locality were _suppose_. Reuben Percy was Thomas Byerly, who died
in 1824; he was the brother of Sir John Byerley, and the first
editor of the _Mirror_, commenced by John Limbird, in 1822. Shol