XLVI / 174
THE BON VIVANT's COMPANION
was even then the possessor of a mustache of considerable
renown; connoisseurs regarded it as second in luxuriance
and beauty only to the hirsute marvel which adorned the lip
of Professor Thomas. However, it was generally conceded
that the latter's was more thoroughly trained, or cowed,and
lay closer to his cheek.
Another popular drinking place was the barroom of the St.
James Hotel, at Broadway and Twenty-sixth Street, where
Charley McCarty presided with dignity and efficiency. Mc-
Carty is said to have changed the designation of his im
portant office from Principal Bartender to Head Bartender,
a revolution in nomenclature which affected all subsequent
practitioners of his art. He was also a patron of the theater,
and attracted much attention by suggesting to Tony Pastor
that he interpolate twelve clog dancers in the action of
Pinafore, which Pastor produced in his variety theater in
1879.
Tommy Lynch was his own Principal Bartender in the
Bennett Building Bar in Nassau Street, but he had as as
sistants two gifted and industrious young men, his cousin,
Michael Lynch, and his brother, also Michael Lynch. The
former was commonly called Doctor, for he kept various
medical books behind the bar and prescribed for all illnesses.
Generally he recommended a stout snifter of Monogram
whiskey.Mr.L5mch is said to have owned stock in the Mono
gram distillery. The Bank Exchange at Broadway and
Twenty-ninth Street, owned by Billy Tracy, was a favorite
resort of sporting and political figures. The stage entrance
of the San Francisco Minstrels was just across the street,
and members of the troupe gathered nightly in Tracy's place
to discuss the problems of the day. Billy Burch was a regular
visitor, and so was Charley Backus, then famous as an
American Tragedian, while Jem Mace, the prize fighter,
made the Exchange his headquarters.
Farther downtown, in John Street, Theodore Stewart's
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