The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-06-27
CHATS AND SKETCHES
About Town and Elsewhere.
OF CLUBS.

Of CLUBS,
The celebrated DR.. johnson divided
men into two classes: "clubbable and
non-clubbable."
There seems to have arisen, during
the past years, mania for clubs and
societies. Men now living can remem-
Der the time when the only society was
the Masonic fraternity. Since then
have sprung up the Odd Fellows, sew
eral temperance lodges, such as the
Rechabites, the Sons of Temperance,
the Templars of Honor, and the Good
Templars; the knights of Pythias, the
Red Men, the Foresters, the Macca-
bees, the Essences, and / know not
what others, all founded upon, or imi-
tations of, the Masonic institutions.
So numerous are these fraternai organ
izations, that the man who does not
belong to one or more of them is al
most an exception to the rule.
II you will notice the men you meet
on the street, you will see that four out
Olive wear "button" or badge of
some kind. 1t denotes that he is
member of some "club" or fraternity"
Besides the societies l have named
above, there is long list of patriotic
or military societies. Among these
are the Order of the Cincinnati, found
ed, L believe, among the officers of the
Continental Army in 1888; the Grand
Army of the Republic, the Loyal Le-
gion, composed of commissioned Off
Gers who served in the Civil War, the
Society of Colonial Wars, the Society
of Foreign Wars, and many others.
Almost every year witnesses the es-
Enlistment of another military society.
And then there are women's socie-
ties, whose name is legion. All the
benevolent societies have their Gam
nexes," female branches, or "auxil-
isries"-the Masons, the Order of the
Eastern Star; the Odd Fellows, the
Order of Rebekah; the knights of
Pythias, the Rathbone; the Foresters,
the Companions of the Forest; the
Grand Army, the Woman's Relief
Corps; and so forth, and so on.
The women also, have their own
clubs and societies - the Colonial
Danes, the Daughters of the Revolu-
ton, the Daughters of the Cincinnati,
etc.
Every church has its societies. The
Roman church has many "sodelities,"
30 called, such as the Children of Mary,
the Catholic Foresters, etc., etc.
Nor ere societies wanting among the
Protestant churches: The Society of
Christian Endeavor, the Epworth
League, the ST. Andrews Brother
hood, the Kings Daughters, the
Daughters Of the King, etc.
And then there are the countless So
cia clubs, the Apollo, the Themas, the
Agathai, the Glover Club, the Univer-
sity Club and innumerable others.
1t goes without saying that Man is a
social animal. AS an instance of it, to
quote the words of distinguished au-
thor, 1--WE take all occasions and pre-
fences of forming ourselves into those
little nocturnal assemblies which are
commonly known by the name of club.
When set of men find themselves
agreeing in any particular, tho ever
so trivial, they establish themselves into
a kind of fraternity and meet once or
twice week on account of such q re-
semblance." And then he instances q
club of Fat Men, who did not come to-
gether, as may we'll be supposed, to en-
tertain one another with sprightliness
and wit, but to keep one another in
COuutCbohCOs L uO lOOn WHOIO IlC CluU
met had two entrances, the one by
door of moderate dimensions, and the
other by pair of folding doors. If
candidate for the corpulent club could
enter thro' the first, he was rejected as
disqualified, but if he stuck in the pas
sage, and could not force his way thro'
it, the folding doors were Immediately
thrown open for his reception, and he
was ssluted as brother. 1t is said
that this club, tho it consisted of but
fifteen persons, weighed above three
tons.
In opposition to this society there
sprang up another composed of scare
crows and skeletons, who, being very
spare and envious, did all they could to
bring their bulky brethren into disfa-
vor, by representing them as men of
dangerous principles. These factions
tore the court of aldermen to pieces for
several years, till at length they made
this compromise: that the bailiffs of