"
Men who belong to the Grill Club never mention that fact. If you were
to ask one of them which clubs he frequents, he will name all save
that particular one. He is afraid if he told you he belonged to the
Grill, that it would sound like boasting.
The Grill Club dates back to the days when Shakespeare's Theatre
stood on the present site of the "Times" office. It has a golden
Grill which Charles the Second presented to the Club, and the
original manuscript of "Tom and Jerry in London," which was
bequeathed to it by Pierce Egan himself. The members, when they write
letters at the Club, still use sand to blot the ink.
The Grill enjoys the distinction of having blackballed, without
political prejudice, a Prime Minister of each party. At the same
sitting at which one of these fell, it elected, on account of his
brogue and his bulls, Quiller, Q. C., who was then a penniless
barrister.
When Paul Preval, the French artist who came to London by royal
command to paint a portrait of the Prince of Wales, was made an
honorary member--only foreigners may be honorary members--he said, as
he signed his first wine-card, "I would rather see my name on that
than on a picture in the Louvre.
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