The Portland daily press., 1892-02-08
NEW YORK LETTER.
A kast Delightful Record Of Social
Gossip.
Iridescent Social Event-The Clover Club,
Philadelphia, and Its Annual Dinner
brilliant "Guying" and Illus
trious Victims.
rcopyRrcBr. 1892 l

it in this country. 1t has membership
of about forty, believe, and yet its en-
tertainments are famous in the convivial
world. The Clover is simply u dining
club and it's annual dinner is the one iri
descent social event in Philadelphia The
club celebrated its tenth anniversary
the other evening, and it was my pleas
ure to assist" as the French say, at
the dinner. The Hotel Bellevue is fam-
GUS for it's Clover club dinners, and the
gentlemen who have the clubs affairs
in charge are particularly renowned for
their ingenious display in decoration,
menu and all the concomitants which
make the clubs dinners unique.
Col. Mcclure, the editor of the Times,
is now president of the club. He
is a very excellent presiding officer;
but he lacks a little of the sparkle of
Moses P. Handy, who has handled the
gavel for ten years and who is regarded
as the most successful dinner chairman
in the country. The intellectual enter
tainment of the dinner last week was
pitched in rather a lugubrious key on
account of the delivery of eulogy on
the late William Florence by Clayton
McMichael, and a similar tribute by
Congressman Bingham to another mem
ber of the club. At the conclusion OF
each of these feeling addresses the
members of the club, with glasses in
hand, rose and sang that remarkable
dirge which has come down to us from
the cholera-smitten cantonments of the
British in India:
Then stand to your glasses steady;
This world is world of lies;
Here's cup to the dead already,
Here's q toast to the next one that dies.
The strain begotten of this mournful.
ness resulted in a request for somebody
to sing the ''Sweet By and By" This
gave Col. Ingersoll an opening to dilate
somewhat upon the saccharine Hence
and this he did in magnificent way.
The Glover club is celebrated for the
ability with which it's members inter-
polate bright thoughts and suggestions
into the speeches of distinguished gen
tlemen who are invited to its board.
Quite number of the ablest orators
of the country have found themselves
unable to contend against the flow OF
wit and raillery which the Cloverites
turn out when in their best form. The
rule of the club is to listen attentively
to man who has anything new to say
or who can say it in an interesting way.
But the heavy oratorical blunderbuss
has never yet been able to finish his
speech to that organization or to even
earn his own goodwill. There was
very little disposition to interrupt Mr..
Ingersoll. His address was an appeal
for liberty of thought and action and
synopsis of his agnostic beliefs. Never
was the doctrine of love, hope or human
unselfshness more beautifully eX
pounded. His effort made an opening
for Congressman W. c. P. Breckenridge,
of Kentucky, an eloquent man and
stanch old school Presbyterian. Mr..
Breckinridge did not attempt to COM
bat Mr.. Ingersoll's views, but he fur
nished the dinners with beautiful ex-
position of faith. After him came a
reverend gentleman, DIR. Mcconnell, of
the Episcopal church, who declared that
he had never heard his theological views
more strongly expressed than by Bishop
Jngersoll. These religious efforts,
while highly edifying, provoked one of
the members on the back seats to in
quire vociferously when the camp meet
ing was to be closed. A striking incident
of the evening was a bit of resentment
toward Col. Ingersoll shown by exon
gressman Breckenridge, of Arkansas. In
the course of his remarks Col. Ingersol1
said that he did not pretend to say that
a man born in Arkansas and brought
up on three Methodist sermons week
might not go to heaven, ETC., etc. This
MIR. Breckenridge, who is a son of
John C. Breckenridge, the once vice
president of the United States and
distinguished general in the confeder-
acy, regarded as reflection on his
adopted state. Being called upon by
the chairman he started in with most
heroic defense of Arkansas, such, per-
haps, as Daniel Webster might have Of
fered in behalf of Massachusetts, IN the
eaters were camping on his trail. Col.
Ingersou Immediately apologized, see
ing that his good-natured remarks were
being taken with Quixotic seriousness;
but it required all the efforts of the
chairman and his gavel and two or
three solicitous friends to get MIR.
Breckenridge into his chair and con-
vince him that there had been no
intention to injure his adopted state
or wound his personal feelings. The
fact that Mr.. Breckenridge has not
entirely recovered from the treatment
which he received at the hands of the
republicans in the last house may have
had something to do with his manifes-
tation Of hostility toward Mr.. Ingersoll,
whom he regards as one of the follow
ers of the republican party. AS mat
ter of fact, Col. Ingersoll is a very poor
republican at this time, in partisan
sense. He found during the Hayes adj
ministration that, while he might con-
tribute somewhat to the success of the
republican party there was no chance
for advancement because of the handi-
,of unbelief which he has placed up
nself In other words, when Mr..
e wanted to secure a foreign mis-
or the colonel he was given to def
understand by the good people
g white house that the appoint