Page:The George Inn, Southwark.djvu/33

 creator &hellip; There is only one relic of a courtyarded inn left—the "George"—and that has been mercilessly reduced; although what remains is perfect. It is Dickens in essence. How any Dickensian visitor to London can possibly stay anywhere else is inconceivable, for here are the bedrooms opening on to the balconies, exactly as on the day when Sam Weller was first discovered cleaning the boots of Mr. Alfred Jingle and Miss Rachel Wardle at the adjacent "White Hart"; here is the cosiest and brightest of bars, with a pair of pistols in it such as the guards of coaches carried, where you may still sip punch, a cordial beverage practically unknown in the rest of London and England, and very likely fine pineapple rum too.

5 From time to time the George Inn has been the favourite meeting place of several little coteries of business men who found the glamour of its surroundings ideal for friendly, yet restricted dinner parties on certain fixed days of the year, where conviviality could be indulged in isolation and comfort.

Prominent amongst these was "The Four O'Clockers," a small circle of well-known men who carried on business in the parish of Southwark. The name of the club was derived from the fact that they dined together each day at four o'clock in the afternoon. They had a special room reserved for their function in the wing of the building which was demolished in 1889-90, a picture of which will be found on another page. The "Four O'Clockers" was founded about the year 1860 and was only disbanded when their favourite room was demolished in 1889, the members then declining to be transported to the opposite side of the courtyard. It was one of the rigid laws of this coterie that no member should be late for dinner under penalty of a fine. There were many culprits in this respect, we are assured, for sufficient sums accrued in this way to enable the wines to be paid for out of the fund at the special annual festivity.