The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE STEAM PACKET. 9 my intellect, his whole countenance was expressive indeed. Then the lips would fall apart, and the weight of important matters pressing upon the brain would cause Mr. Pifpaf to sit very unsteadily in his chair. In person he was stout, with a remarkable protuberance of stomach, which, in the technical language of common-councilmen, is called the ‘‘corporation.”” His attire was a black coat, white cravat, buff waist- coat, drab knee-breeches, worsted stockings, and shoes. His family consisted of an amiable wife and three lovely daughters ;—but of these pledges of the fortunate perpetuation of the Pifpaf race, we shall have to speak more anon. . Let us introduce the reader at once to the club. The Luminaries assembled, at the epoch of which we are writing, at the Musical Bee public-house, in a narrow but respectable street in the vicinity of the Custom-House—consequently in the district of Eastcheap, Thames Street, &c. A large room on the first floor was appropriated to the use of the club every Monday evening. The club consisted of about sixty members, upwards of forty of whom were generally present on the nights of assembly. Those who.did not attend, and who did not assign, on a future occasion, a sufficient reason for their absence, were fined one shillmg each. This appeared from the Aules and Regula- tions which were suspended over the mantel-piece, and which were painted in gold letters upon a black ground, the whole surrounded by an oaken frame. From these enactments, which were as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and Persians, it appeared that any member who should arrive at such a point of intoxication as to render it neces- sary to convey him home upon a shutter, should be mulcted at the next meeting in the sum of ten shillings. Any member who should decline to drink himself, was compelled to pay for two glasses for the benefit of the chairman. Any member who was quarrelsome, was to be immediately expelled from the room; but he might make his peace by calling for a crown-bow! of punch ;—and, in case the strength of the executive could not succeed in turning the offender out, and he persisted in his obstreperous conduct, the wisdom of the chairman was to be referred to. But what.appeared more singular than anything else in the legislative enactments of this club, is the fact that any one who should propose ‘“‘ that the chairman do leave the chair, and that this meeting do adjourn until another night,” should pay a forfeit of glasses round. From this law it was evident that the Luminaries endeavoured to sustain their conviviality, on their nights of meeting, as long as possible; and the consequence was, that, as no individual member chose to pay for forty or fifty glasses of punch, at one shilling each, as the penalty for breaking up the evening’s entertainment, each member Gomichbooks (E(0)