Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-01-08
THE CLUBS OF LANCASTER.
Some Of the Phases of Our Social Develop
mentS.

ments
Notwithstanding the increasing popul
tion of Lancaster and its rapid advanc
ment in all the refinements of mode
society, it has thus far been singularly fir
from that sort Of club life which in so maj
cities of greater Or less Importance exc
cises demoralizing social influence, oite
tending to the ruin of individual membe
and frequently going far to break u
family life or entirely change that dome
tic order which experience has proved
be the best for the general purposes {
rightly organized society. Nevertheless
the elegance. hospitality and general hig
tone which have always characterize
society in this city are steadily maintaine
generation after generation and ncve
were more marked than at present. Th
passing season has witnessed some out
growths of this social development whicl
are worthy of special notice, no less be
cause of their intrinsic excellence thai
because Of some enduring qualities which
promise to make them permanent feature
of Lancaster polite society.
The Book CLUBS.
Fora number of years a party of ladies
and gentlemen of congcnial literary tastes
residing at a convenient distance for tho
Interchange of periodicals. &C., have had
Il - Roundabout - club, which subscribes
for number of the standard English,
French and American publications about
as many as there are members) and passes
them around from one member to the
other, i'll an order determined at the begin
ming Of the year, slight fines being imposed
for any detention over a specified time and
members desiring them for second reading
being allowed this privilege after they have
made the complete circuit. Occasionally a
new book is bought and passed around in
the same way and at the close of the year
the yearly volumes of unbound periodicals
and the books are sold to the highest bid
Gers in the club. This arrangement secures
to each member the use of a large number
of periodicals at the price of a single one
and has been found to work admirably in
all its details. The secretary of the club
receives all the publications, covers them
with stout paper, cnclOscS the rules and Or
der OF the circuit and delivers each -espcc-
lively to its starting place.
The success of the Roundabout and
its charging membership led to the forma-
tion of several others on its pattern, and
the West End RcvoIvcr' and another
down town club Of the same kind are well
established and i'm successful operation. The
three aggregate a membership of over fifty
persons.
The Thursday Club.
This is Il social organization OF nearly
fifty members, mostly unmarried people,
which meets SucceSSivcIy at the residences
OF its members Oh the Thursday evenings
of alternate weeks, and has for its object
the amusement and diversion of its mem
bcrs and of invited guests at special enter
tainmelts. It's different evenings are oc-
cuped with a variety of amllscments such
as dancing, phantom parties, char:des,
illustrated ballads, private tlIeatricalS, mu-
SicaleS and other diversions of the highest
order of refined and intelligent social
amTsemen:S. Early hours and moderate |
entertainments are some of the features of
the club which have done much to make it |
success this winter and give promise of its |
permancncy.
The Cooking Club.
\ dozen young ladies OF commendable
domestic ambition and household accom-
plishments compose the Cooking Club"
and every Saturday afternoon they give Il
luncheon, in courses. at the residence of ,
some one of the members. Each member
one dish. exclusively pre-
pared and served by herself and though
these meetings are entirely private, the
Savory reports of toothsome compounds
which have reached the haplcss disbarred.
tell OF accomplishments that are an essen
tial and esteemed feature of female cduca-
ton.
The CIiosOphic Society.
or a more weighty if not more attrac-
tive character than any of its contempor:-
ries is the 'Cliosophic society," ltsmem-
bcrShip runs up to about thlrty-five, en-
braciny the families OF the college
md theological seminary professors
md a number of other residents of
his city and its suburbs, of literary
astcs and Studious habits. 1t is the pur-
pose Of the club to adopt each winter some
general historical theme of investigation
md discussion, that its members in turn
shall prepare and read an essay of about
hirty minutes length on some phase of
he general topic under review, its reading
% be followed with free discussion by
he members of the subject presented, in
is historical and philosophical relations.
Rev. DIR. T.. G. Apple is president of the {
lub, and at its first meeting outlined in a
general way the plan of the organization
md the logical order of the special topics
o be treated. LIN accordance with this
iea the club adopted the subject of the
Iedi;eval period of history and its relation
0 Modern times for this winters study {
nd there have already been read before !
he club Il paper by Rev. Dr. Dubbs Oh
The MEDIEVAL Romance = by Prof.
Vm. NJ. Nevin on THE Beginnings of {
English Literature - 10y Z. X. Martin. esq, {
IL The Feudal System, and future essays .
re announced in preparation by Rev. DIR. $
:. g. Apple on 'Scholasticism in the Mid S
lie Ages - by ". L. Hensel, esq, on the S
and on topics of kindred inter
st by Profs. Stair and Smythc, Rev. Drs.
'erhart and Theo. Appel, DIR. Blackwood
nd other members of the club. j
Besides the above, the private character
f which iorbds a more detailed pubiica- {
ion of their workings there are number G
+ smaller social clubs, card parties. as II