112 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



any public event or holiday took place, a stage was 

 erected in the yard, and the ladies with their friends 

 occupied the open gallery and witnessed the sparring 

 matches and cock fighting which took place there. 

 The new inn was built from the bath stone and 

 timbers from Lord Chesterfield's house at Eythrope, 

 which was then being pulled down, and the portico 

 was from the stables there. 



I have feebly described a well-known inn of 

 some centuries' repute, and before the railways there 

 were plenty as good, but few possessing the great 

 advantage of extensive gardens and grounds, al- 

 though there was one I remember, and which still 

 exists — the ' Swan,' at Bedford, on the banks of 

 the Ouse, although the gardens and grounds have 

 been much curtailed during the past few years. 



I have alluded to the 'Old Bell,' Holborn, now 

 closing and pulling down, and I was tempted to enter 

 through the gateway a few months since, and found 

 the coffee room of my boyhood occupying the same 

 spot, yet strangely altered internally. I am not 

 aware if there is any coffee room in London 

 left as it existed in my early days. This room 

 was fitted with mahogany divisions, partitioning off 

 the place into ' boxes,' as they were called, some 

 holding two persons, some four, and one held six or 

 eight, who could find room to dine ; they had stuffed 

 horsehair seats fitted to the walls and partitions, and 

 a fixed dining-table in the centre, whilst the waiter 

 was obliged to hand the viands and the wines over 

 the shoulders of the occupants ; these were always 

 ample and of the best quality. The proprietor, 



