Excerpt from Sabina Zembra a Novel
On a certain Wednesday afternoon in March, the billiard-room of the Waldegrave Club, Pall Mall, was the scene of a remarkable occurrence. The Waldegrave, it may be said parenthetically, is held in much veneration by our country cousins as the headquarters of a great political party; there the chiefs of that party are supposed to meet and direct the operations of a general election; thither impecunious candidates look for the sinews of war; and the honor of its membership is understood to be the crowning glory and reward of him who has wooed and won over to the cause a doubtful constituency. All this may be so, or it may not be so; but to the Londoner, and especially to the London diner-ont, the Waldegrave is chiefly known for its noble hall and its stately galleries, its excellent cuisine and cellar, its pleasant outlook into Carlton Gardens, and the proportions and decoration of its library, which is far and away the most beautiful room in Europe. As for the more modest apartment in which this remarkable occurrence took place, no visitor is allowed to enter within its door, which may account for the rumor that the proceedings there arc not always conducted with a dignity and repose befitting the fame and name of so notable a club. Indeed, it has been affirmed (but doubtless by political enemies) that the pool-players of the Waldegrave, safe in the friendly secrecy of that upper chamber, occasionally, and even frequently, break out into wild revelry; that derisive cheers overwhelm the "sniggler;" that groans of execration bring the "fluker" to open shame; and that the timid and nervous player is frightened out of his wits by the sudden cry that he has "missed the ball!"
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