The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-27
4 PHEASANT OCCASION.
Meeting of the Clef Club of New York
 New Haven Men,

New Haven Men.
 The sixth season of the Clef club of New York was lnaugurated by it's for ty-second banquet and meeting, which was held at Hotel Bristol, 42d street and Fifth avenue, New York, Tuesday evening, The organization began it's career in 1893. and since then has en- joyed the distinction of having among it's members many of New Yorks most prominent musicians and instructors, as well as a number of well known muicians from the surrounding terri tory. The object of the club is to meet monthly for its meetings and at such times 1t has always been its GUS tom to sit around the festive board, thus promoting better acquaintance and good fellowship among it's mem bers, among which to-day are several New Haveners. F. A. Fowler of this city has of late years become interested in musical matters in New York, being strongly identified with the Music Teachers National association, of which organization he has for some time been a member of the executive committed, and vice president for Con- necticut The next Metropolitan prom thence he achieved was to be elected president of the popular Clef club of New York
 At the conclusion of each banquet it has been the custom to have prominent speakers address the club, but the nioh ha hpor as members night.
 F. A. Leopold, the New Haven voice teacher, was one of the evenings speakers. MT. Fowler, in a few happily chosen words, introduced his towns man, who was announced to speak on the subject, Europe" After a short sketch of his student life MT. Leopold took his hearers through an interesting tour of northern and middle Europe, beginning at Bremen, to Hanover, Der lin and Dresden. Of his southern trip he had this to say: My first vacation was spent in visiting Prague Vienna and Budapest Vienna is I think, the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Its government buildings are superb and located as they are on the Ring strasse with the emperor's marble pal ace in the center, one has but a com paratively short distance to go to see them all. One of the most interesting places to me was "Schatzkammer," or treasury in the imperial palace. Here are exhibited the crowns and jewels of the present monarchs and those of former rulers. The crown of her late majesty, the reigning empress, is com posed of diamonds entirely, and is es- timated to be worth over a million and a half florins, or more than $500, 000 Some two dozen diamonds, about the size of walnuts, help to comprise this gorgeous headgear. Scores of other pieces of jewelry composed of the most precious gems, the Florentine diamond the fifth largest in the world, the Frankfort solitaire, weighing fortyfour and five -eights carats, the finest gem I've ever seen, are among the other ex- hibits. As the records state: "A nail from the cross of Christ, a piece of the cross, the piece at Rome being the only larger one, an arm bone of Saint Anne, a tooth of St. John the Baptist, piece of the holy tablecloth used at the LOrQ last supper ana d FellqudTy cOH- taining earth saturated with the blood of the martyr St. Stephen" are shown and are closely guarded relics.
 MT. Leopold then also oscompared most interestingly the superiority of the Dresden symphony and opera with that of England, Denmark and America and by number of humorous inci- dents kept his auditors in the best of spirits Narrations of his trip year ago up through North Germany, Hol- land and Belgium, returning up the Rhine, also the trip to Denmark and Sweden this spring closed a most in- teresting chat.
 Other speakers were Perry Averill, a New York vocal instructor, who set forth the beauties of Switzerland: E. A. Blackmore of the Kit-Cat club and Carl G. Schmidt, the organist, who spent several weeks camping with Mir. Fowler in the Adirondacks, gave a jol- ly talk perpetrating several good jokes on the president. Herbert w. Greene, the vocal instructor who formerly was a New Havener, also made a few inn promptu remarks. Willis G. Alling was Mir. Fowler's guest at the gathering.