Esoteric London

The Athenaeum Club, Waterloo Place, London, SW1. Photo © Roger Dean 2011

Lights and Shadows of London Life, Volume 2 – James Payn, 1867:

It was late one afternoon in December last that I found myself on the roof of a Bayswater ‘bus, but travelling eastward. It is well known to my readers that I am not at all above taking the air in that manner, and I particularly like it just before dinner. I do not mean before a banquet whereat evening-dress is indispensable, but previous to that more comfortable meal which awaits one at a club. The mind is then prevented from growing impatient by observations of men and things; the liver soon, perhaps, to be tried by some too gorgeous viand, is vastly benefited by the violent oscillation, and the appetite is titillated to the proper pitch.