THE CHARACTER OF A Coffee-House.
WHEREIN Is contained a Description of the Persons usually frequenting it, with their Discourse and Humors, AS ALSO The Admirable Vertues of COFFEE.
By an Eye and Ear Witness.
When Coffee once was vended here,
The Alc'ron shortly did appear:
For (our Reformers were such Widgeons,)
New Liquors brought in new Religions.
Printed in the Year, 1665.
THE CHARACTER OF A Coffee-House.
A
Coffee-house,
The derivation of a Coffee-house.
the learned holdIt is a place where
Coffee's sold;
This derivation cannot fail us,
For where
Ale's vended, that's an
Ale-house.
This being granted to be true,
'Tis meet that next the
Signs we shew
Both
where and
how to find this house
Where men such
cordial broth carowse.
And if
Culpepper woon some glory
In turning the
Dispensatory
From
Latin into
English; then,
Why should not all good
English men
Give him much thanks who shews a
cure
For all
diseases men endure?
As you along the streets do trudge,
Signs how to find it out.
To take the pains you must not grudge,
[Page 2]To view the Posts or Broomsticks where
The Signs of
Liquors hanged are.
And if you see the great
Morat
With Shash on's head instead of hat,
Or any
Sultan in his dress,
Or picture of a
Sultaness,
Or
John's admir'd curled pate,
Or th' great
Mogul in's Chair of State,
Or
Constantine the
Grecian,
Who fourteen years was th' onely man
That made
Coffee for th' great
Bashaw,
Although the man he never saw:
Or if you see a
Coffee-cup
Fil'd from a Turkish pot, hung up
VVithin the clouds, and round it
Pipes,
Wax Candles, Stoppers, these are types
And certain signs (with many more
VVould be too long to write them 'ore,)
VVhich plainly do Spectators tell
That in that house they
Coffee sell.
Some wiser than the rest (no doubt,)
Say they can by the smell find 't out;
In at a door (say they,) but thrust
Your Nose, and if you scent
burnt Crust,
Be sure there's
Coffee sold that's good,
For so by most 'tis understood.
Now being enter'd, there's no needing
Of complements or gentile breeding,
For you may seat you any where,
There's no respect of persons there;
Then comes the
Coffee-man to greet you,
VVith welcome Sir, let me entreat you,
To tell me what you'l please to have,
For I'm your humble humble slave;
[Page 3]But if you ask, what good does Coffee?
He'l answer, Sir, don't think I scoff yee,
If I affirm there's no disease
Men have that drink it but find ease.
The vertues of Coffee.
Look, there's a man who takes the steem
In at his Nose, has an extreme
Worm in his pate, and giddiness,
Ask him and he will say no less.
There sitteth one whose Droptick belly
VVas hard as flint, now's soft as jelly.
There stands another holds his head
'Ore th'
Coffee-pot, was almost dead
Even now with Rhume; ask him hee'l say
That all his Rhum's now past away.
See, there's a man sits now demure
And sober, was within this hour
Quite drunk, and comes here frequently,
For 'tis his daily Malady.
More, it has such reviving power
'Twill keep a man awake an houre,
Nay, make his eyes wide open stare
Both Sermon time and all the prayer.
Sir, should I tell you all the rest
O' th' cures 't has done, two hours at least
In numb'ring them I needs must spend,
Scarce able then to make an end.
Besides these vertues that's therein,
For any kind of
Medicine,
The
Commonwealth—Kingdom I'd say,
Has mighty reason for to pray
That still
Arabia may produce
Enough of Berry for it's use:
For 't has such strange magnetick force,
That it draws after 't great concourse
[Page 4]Of all degrees of persons, even
From high to low, from morn till even;
Especially the
sober Party,
And News-mongers do drink 't most hearty.
Here you 'r not thrust into a
Box,
As
Taverns do to catch the
Fox,
But as from th' top of
Pauls high steeple,
Th' whole
City's view'd, even so all
people
May here be seen; no secrets are
At th'
Court for
Peace, or th'
Camp for
War,
But straight they'r here disclos'd and known;
Men in this Age so wise are grown.
Now (Sir) what profit may accrew
By this, to all good men, judge you.
VVith that he's loudly call'd upon
For
Coffee, and then whip he's gone.
Here at a Table sits (perplext)
A griping
Usurer,
The company.
and nextTo him a gallant
Furioso,
Then nigh to him a
Virtuoso;
A
Player then (full fine,) sits down,
And close to him a
Country Clown.
O' th' other side sits some
Pragmatick,
And next to him some sly
Phanatick.
The
gallant he for
Tea doth call,
The
Usurer for nought at all.
The several liquors
Pragmatick he doth intreat
That they will fill him some
Beau cheat,
The
Virtuoso he cries hand me
Some
Coffee mixt with
Sugar candy.
Phanaticus (at last) says come,
Bring me some
Aromaticum.
The
Player bawls for
Chocolate,
All which the
Bumpkin wond'ring at,
[Page 5]Cries, ho, my
Masters, what d'ye speak,
D' ye call for drink in Heathen Greek?
Give me some good old
Ale or
Beer,
Or else I will not drink, I swear.
Then having charg'd their
Pipes around,
They silence break; First the profound
And sage
Phanatique, Sirs, what news?
Their discourse.
Troth says the
Us'rer I ne'r use
To tip my tongue with such discourse,
'Twere news to know how to disburse
A summ of mony (makes me sad)
To get ought by 't, times are so bad.
The other answers, truly Sir
You speak but truth, for I'le aver
They ne'r were worse; did you not hear
VVhat
prodigies did late appear
At
Norwich, Ipswich, Grantham, Gotam?
And though prophane ones do not not 'em,
Yet we—Here th'
Virtuoso stops
The current of his speech, with hopes
Quoth he, you will not tak 't amiss,
I say all's lies that's news like this,
For I have Factors all about
The Realm, so that no
Stars peep out
That are unusual, much less these
Strange and unheard-of
Prodigies
You would relate, but they are tost
To me in letters by first Post.
At which the
Furioso swears
Such chat as this offends his ears,
It rather doth become this Age
To talk of bloodshed, fury, rage,
And t' drink stout healths in brim-fill'd
Nogans,
To th' Downfall of the
Hogan Mogans.
[Page 6]VVith that the
Player doffs his Bonnet,
And tunes his voice as if a Sonnet
VVere to be sung; then gently says,
O what delight there is in
Plays!
Sure if we were but all in
Peace,
This noise of
Wars and
News would cease;
All sorts of people then would club
Their pence to see a Play that's good.
You'l wonder all this while (perhaps)
The
Curioso holds his chaps,
But he doth in his thoughts devise,
How to the rest he may seem wise;
Yet able longer not to hold,
His tedious tale too must be told,
And thus begins, Sirs unto me
It reason seems that liberty
Of speech and words should be allow'd
VVhere men of differing judgements croud,
And that's a
Coffee-house, for where
Should men discourse so free as there?
Coffee and
Commonwealth begin
Both with one letter, both came in
Together for a
Reformation,
To make's a free and sober
Nation.
But now—With that
Phanaticus
Gives him a nod, and speaks him thus,
Hold brother, I know your intent,
That's no dispute convenient
For this same place, truths seldome find
Acceptance here, they'r more confin'd
To
Taverns and to
Ale-house liquor,
VVhere men do vent their minds more quicker,
If that may for a truth but pass
VVhat's said,
In vino veritas.
[Page 7]With that up starts the
Country Clown,
And stares about with threatning frown,
As if he would even eat them all up,
Then bids the boy run quick and call up
A
Constable, for he has reason
To fear their Latin may be
treason.
But straight they all call what's to pay,
Lay 't down, and march each several way.
At th' other table sits a
Knight,
The company.
And here
a grave old man ore right
Against his
worship, then perhaps
That
by and
by a
Drawer claps
His bum close by them, there down squats
A dealer in old shoes and hats;
And here withouten any panick
Fear, dread or care a bold
Mechanick.
Their discourse.
The
Knight (because he's so) he prates
Of matters far beyond their pates.
The grave old man he makes a bustle,
And his wise sentence in must justle.
Up starts th'
Apprentice boy and he
Says boldly so and so 't must be.
The dealer in old shoes to utter
His saying too makes no small sputter.
Then comes the pert
mechanick blade,
And contradicts what all have said.
The end of all their
Chat is this,
Each for the
Dutch have
rods in
piss.
There by the fier-side doth sit,
One freezing in an
Ague fit.
Another poking in' t with th' tongs,
Still ready to cough up his lungs.
Here fitteth one that's melancolick,
And there one singing in a frolick.
[Page 8]Each one hath such a prety gesture,
At Smithfield fair would yield a tester.
Boy reach a pipe cries he that shakes,
The songster no Tobacco takes,
Says he who coughs, nor do I smoak,
Then
Monsieur Mopus turns his cloak
Off from his face, and with a grave
Majestick beck his pipe doth crave.
They load their guns and fall a smoaking,
Whilst he who coughs sits by a choaking,
Till he no longer can abide,
And so removes from th' fier side.
Now all this while none calls to drink,
Which makes the
Coffee boy to think
Much they his pots should so enclose,
He cannot pass but tread on toes.
With that as he the
Nectar fills
From pot to pot, some on 't he spills
Upon the
Songster, Oh cries he,
Pox, what dost do? thou 'st burnt my knee▪
No says the boy, (to make a bald
And blind excuse,)
Sir 'twill not scald.
With that the man lends him a cuff
O' th' ear, and whips away in snuff.
The other two, their pipes being out,
Says
Monsieur Mopus I much doubt
My friend I wait for will not come,
But if he do, say I'm gone home.
Then says the
Aguish man I must come
According to my wonted custome,
To give ye' a visit, although now
I dare not drink, and so
adieu.
The boy replies, O Sir, however
You 'r very welcome, we do never
To daily customers and such,
They 'r
Company (without expence,)
For that's sufficient recompence.
Here at a table all alone,
Sits (studying)
a spruce youngster one,
VVho doth conceipt himself full witty,
And's 'counted
one o' th' wits o' th' City,)
Till by him (with a stately grace,)
A Spanish
Don himself doth place.
Then (cap in hand) a brisk
Monsieur
He takes his seat, and crowds as near
As possibly that he can come.
Then next a
Dutchman takes his room.
The Wits glib tongue begins to chatter,
Though 't utters more of noise than matter,
Yet 'cause they seem to mind his words,
His lungs more tattle still affords.
At last says he to
Don, I trow
You understand me?
Sennor no
Says th' other. Here the Wit doth pause
A little while, then opes his jaws,
And says to
Monsieur, you enjoy
Our tongue I hope?
Non par ma foy,
Replies the
Frenchman: nor you, Sir?
Says he to th'
Dutchman, Neen mynheer:
VVith that he's gone, and cries, why sho'd
He stay where
wit's not understood?
There in a place of his own chusing
(Alone) some
lover sits a musing,
VVith arms across, and's eyes up lift,
As if he were of sence bereft,
Till sometimes to himself he's speaking,
Then sighs as if his heart were breaking.
[Page 10]Here in a corner sits a
Phrantick,
And there stands by a frisking
Antick.
Of all sorts some and all conditions,
Even
Vintners, Surgeons and
Physicians.
The
blind, the
deaf, and
aged cripple
Do here resort and Coffee tipple.
Now here (perhaps) you may expect
My
Muse some
trophies should erect
In high flown verse, for to set forth
The
noble praises of its
worth.
Truth is,
old Poets beat their brains
To find out high and lofty strains
To praise the (now too frequent) use
Of the bewitching
grapes strong juice.
Some have strain'd hard for to exalt
The
liquor of our
English Mault,
Nay
Don has almost crackt his
nodle
Enough t' applaud his
Caaco Caudle.
The
Germans Mum, Teag's Usquebagh,
(Made him so well defend
Tredagh,)
Metheglin, which the
Brittains tope,
Hot
Brandy wine, the
Hogans hope.
Stout
Meade which makes the
Russ to laugh,
Spic'd
Punch (in bowls,) the
Indians quaff.
All these have had their pens to raise
Them
Monuments of lasting praise,
Onely poor
Coffee seems to me
No subject fit for
Poetry.
At least 'tis one that none of mine is,
So I do wav t, and here write—
FINIS.