enquire at london 'mongst the taverns there.
—richard ii. v. 3.
you know the place well enough, or failing yourself—if so be that you are less than three-score years and ten—then your father would remember it well.
it was situate in the strand until that time, close to its junction with fleet street and within a pebble's throw from st. clements. a tall narrow building, raftered and gabled, the timbers painted a dark chocolate colour, with alternate lines of a luscious creamy tint rendered mellow with the dirt and smoke of london. it stood on that selfsame spot two hundred and more years ago, when it was the favourite resort of that band of young rakes who adorned the court of the merry monarch.
it were somewhat difficult to say why my lord of craye, or sir anthony wykeham, or the earl of stowmaries had chosen this very unprepossessing tavern for their evening assemblies. the exterior, as your father could tell you, was certainly not inviting, for the gables were all askew, the stories low and widening one over another, all awry as if ready to fall, the front door, too, was cracked from corner to corner, nor were the public rooms much more alluring. in the coffee room the window with its small panes of bottle glass hardly allowed any daylight to filter in; the floor had once been neatly covered in bricks, but now most of these were broken in half, with pieces of them[63] missing, showing little three-cornered holes which suggested dirt-grubbing insects and storehouses of dust.
there were other disadvantages, too, about the place, which should have scared off any fastidious young man however bent on pleasure he might be, but we have it on m. misson's own authority—and he was no great admirer of things english and speaks somewhat ill-naturedly of everything he saw during his voyage—that the cellars at the sign of the three bears were exceedingly well stocked with spanish and rhenish wines and even with french brandies which were heady and vastly pleasing to the palate first and to the temper afterwards.
we are also told by that same highly-critical french traveller that mistress janet foorde, wife of the landlord of the three bears, could turn out a better supper than any other cook in london, and fashioned a lamprey pie, or a fricassée of rabbits and chickens, in such a delicious manner that once eaten it could never be forgotten.
be that as it may, we know it for a fact that in this year of grace 1678 the tavern in the strand at the sign of the three bears was, every evening after the hour of eight, frequented by the very élite of london society. supper was served in one of the smaller rooms at a table around which sat those same gentlemen who in the earlier part of the day had graced his majesty's levee, or the court of the unhappy queen, or that narrow circle which stood as a phalanx round the person of the unpopular duke of york.
the assembly purported to be political. there was more than a mere suggestion of roman catholic discontent freely expressed around that congenial board, and it was well known that on more than one occasion the king himself had been present at these gatherings—incognito, of[64] course—his identity known only to his own intimate friends.
but the discussion of the political and social position of roman catholics in england, was, we must admit, not the primary object of the nightly reunions in the private room at the three bears. supper after the play in the king's house came first, then dice, hazard or the more fashionable game of spanish ombre, all well interlarded with the chief gossip and scandals of the day.
reputations for beauty, wit or morals were made or marred around that table in the small room; the latest fashions were discussed, which to adopt and which to reject. the young fops fresh from the grand tour here recounted their impressions, displayed—for approval or disfavour—the latest modes from paris, the new surcoats, the monstrous periwigs, the very latest notion in lace cravats.
here, too, the young rakes aired their—oft scandalous—literary efforts, bonsmots unfit for ladies' ears were invented and retailed, and we all know that my lord of rochester never thought of publishing verse or prose without first submitting it to the censorship of the select party at the three bears.
we may take it that sir john ayloffe—despite the vicissitudes of fortune which had brought him to the pass of empty pockets and of unavowable shifts—was still a persona grata at the nightly assemblies of the distinguished tavern, for some few hours after his interview with his beautiful kinswoman on this memorable evening of february 8th, 1678, we see him turning his footsteps unhesitatingly in the direction of the "three bears" in the strand.
closely wrapped in his cloak, for the wind blew bitter[65] gusts, he bent his head against the driving rain as he walked. the rickety door of the tavern stood invitingly open and as one accustomed to the place sir john with quickened steps entered the narrow passage.
immediately his nostrils were greeted with the pungent odour of onions and of boiling fat, and his ears with loud shouts of merriment, which raised a boisterous echo in the tumble-down building and seemed to make the walls totter on their insecure foundation.
this hilarious noise, wherein songs, sung in hoarse voices very much out of tune, mingled with violent outbursts of prolonged laughter and with volleys of full-toned oaths, proceeded from behind a door on the cracked panels of which the ten letters of the word coffee room tumbled one against the other, like a row of drunken men.
for a moment sir john paused just outside that door, bending his ear to listen in an attitude of deep attention, like one trying to catch one special sound from out that confused babel which went on within.
the passage in which he stood had been wholly dark but for the dim, uncertain light which came from a brass lanthorn suspended from the blackened ceiling just above his head. sir john waited a second or two, until a loud and merry shout of laughter rose above the bibulous din. it was the laughter which comes from a young and lusty throat, the laughter of careless irresponsibility and of thoughtless debauchery.
it seemed to be also the sound for which sir john had been waiting in the ill-lighted passage outside, for now he threw up his head and flung his cloak back with a gesture of satisfaction, whilst a strange laugh, which had but little of merriment in it and a great deal of contempt, broke from his lips as an echo to the light-hearted gaiety beyond.
[66]
sir john now continued his way, past the coffee room to a door beyond the stairway at the extreme end of the passage. this he threw open without further ceremony and found himself in that small room of the tavern, wherein master foorde—the host—served his more distinguished guests. as a rule merriment and noise, equal at least to that which obtained in the public coffee room, reigned in this private sanctum: many would have said that the great and courtly gentlemen who foregathered here indulged usually in carouses and drunken orgies which would have put the more plebeian merrimakers to shame.
but to-night, at the moment that ayloffe entered the room, a kind of sullen silence reigned therein. through the thick haze of tobacco smoke which hung like a grey pall above the feebly flickering light of some half dozen tallow candles, the newcomer could perceive four faces—flushed with wine and heavy meats, dimly outlined against the full greyness of drab-coloured walls, and dark oak wainscotting.
the candles themselves guttering in their sockets threw forth fillets of thick grimy smoke which mingled with the fumes of tobacco, and helped to cast fantastic and trembling shadows on fine cloth surcoats and vests of broidered silk. from the coffee room immediately adjoining the parlour came—echoing faintly through the thick timbered walls—the shouts of laughter, the loudly-uttered oaths, the ribald songs of the merry company, and at intervals, against the tiny panes of the small casement window the dull patter of the rain or the occasional distant call of the watchman challenging an evening prowler.
in the furthest angle of the room, my lord rochester seated in the chair of honour had apparently been reading aloud to this moody company, the expressions of his latest[67] poetic fancy. he was in the act of rolling up his manuscript and tying it up with a length of rose-coloured ribbon, but his face usually so self-satisfied and so gay bore an expression of keen discontent.
as a rule his poems—highly prized by the king and the ladies—were listened to here among the circle of his intimates with the greatest delight and oft with noisy appreciation. but on this occasion he had been quite unable to hold the attention of his audience, and even whilst he read his most impassioned verses he could not help but notice that all eyes were fixed on the young earl of stowmaries, who sat with his head resting in his hand, leaning forward half across the table in an attitude of the deepest dejection.
the young man had arrived late, only joining the convivial party when supper was already at an end, and mistress foorde had removed the remains of the finest venison pie which she had ever concocted.
he had taken his place at the table after a curt and sullen nod to the company who had greeted him most sympathetically. he had declared himself unable to eat, but had ordered a bottle of strong sherry and also a bottle of brandy, which expensive liquid—so 'twas said afterwards by some of the company present—he freely mixed with sherry and drank very plentifully.
the story of his unfortunate early marriage and of his hopeless passion for mistress julia peyton had somehow or other leaked out, and before his arrival had been freely discussed in a facetious and irresponsible spirit.
"old rowley liked the tale, and was vastly amused thereby," lord rochester had said, thus unceremoniously referring to the merry king of england. "i told it him in all its bearings, and he laughed immoderately at thought[68] of a tailor's wench being actually married to my lord of stowmaries, and expecting to be presented at court. but after that first outburst of hilarity he looked very grave and said that the matter must presently be arranged to the satisfaction of all those concerned."
"but how can that be done?" queried sir anthony wykeham, who was a strict catholic and liked not this light talk of breaking marriage vows.
"bah! money will do a great deal nowadays," sighed sir knaith bullock, a young irishman but scantily blessed with the commodity.
"as for me," quoth my lord rochester with easy bonhomme, "i am on the side of the angels. mistress julia peyton is the most beautiful woman in london. she at any rate would be worthy to become chatelaine of maries castle and to be our hostess in the many feasts to be given there to my lord of stowmaries' friends. as for a tailor's daughter!—bah!—gentlemen, i ask you, can we see ourselves being entertained by a tailor's daughter? she would feed us on pottage and small beer—"
a roar of laughter greeted this exposé of the situation. lord rochester had of a truth voiced the opinion of the majority.
"but—" protested sir anthony wykeham.
"tush man," interrupted my lord with scant ceremony. "i know what you would say. the marriage sacrament and all that—odd's fish! we are none of us heathens, and ye papists are not the only ones, by my faith! who know how to keep vows. but there are other ways of unravelling an undesired tangle—and old rowley had no thought of suggesting irreligious measures—"
"hush!" said one of the others suddenly, "i hear stow[69]maries' voice outside. i fancy he'll not be in a mood for jesting over the matter."
it was at this point that stowmaries had entered the room. there was no doubt that he looked excessively glum, and the first attempts at treating his disappointed love in a hilarious manner were met with such obvious moodiness, that gradually the subject was dropped, and the company, who at supper had been fairly numerous, soon began to dwindle away, each seeking in turn more cheerful society than that of this sober young man who seemed determined to look at his own future life in its very blackest aspect.
only lord rochester remained awhile longer for he wanted an audience for his latest poem, also sir anthony wykeham—an intimate friend of my lord stowmaries—and sir knaith bullock, an irresponsible youth who seemed to scent an adventure in the romantic child-marriage, and vaguely hoped to find sport therein.
these three gentlemen with lord stowmaries himself formed the little group around the table of the private parlour at the "three bears" at the moment that sir john ayloffe entered it.
