New-York tribune., 1902-01-04

Guys dinners called that organization 1.-The
shifialah among clubs" being "brandished
oftener than any other club before the public; ;
and, speaking more seriously. characterized it as
one that had contributed more to the public
fame and public hospitality. intellectually, Of
the city Of New-York than all Of the other clubs
in the city put together 1t is this quality of
the club that makes the appearance Of the pres
ent volume of speeches peculiarly welcome. 1t
is a handsome piece Of bookmaking. and its ele-
gance testifes 20 the artistic leanings Of the
club. The editors have prepared an uncommon
pleasure for their fellow members who Will re-
call through these pages notable occasions in
the history of the club, and the book will delight
those outside OF the club membership who may
become possessed of it. 1t illustrates the art Of
after dinner speaking in its best estate, it has
been practised by some of the wittiest and
wisest Of two continents. men Of accomplish
ment in q wide range OF intellectual activity,
under circumstances calculated to elicit from
them their best
The Lotos Club. since its organization. in 1870,
has been lavish in it's hospitality, and has espe-
cially sought to honor men of letters, although
visiting artists and musicians have been fire.
Guently entertained; and. the editors justly
remark in their preface ii has done gracious
and important service in greeting eminent for
eigners and bringing them in contact with
prominent Americans and those of congenial
tastes. In these thirty-one years there have
been accumulated many good things from
which TO make a book The editors say. how
ever, that they have by no means exhausted the
supply. Long periods in the life Of the club
have been passed over without a contribution,
for It was not till 1895 that systematic steno-
graphic reports were made Of the speeches de-
livered at the dinners. They have therefore.
given preference. in making their volume, to
authoritative reports of the later years and in
those chosen for printing the freedom and
spontaneity Of the original utterance have been
preserved by giving them nearly as possible
exactly as they were delivered
The reader, however. would not willingly fore
go the earliest speeches here preserved-the
brief addresses of Charles Kingsley, James
Anthony Froude. Wilkie Collins. Lord Hough-
ton, Edmund Yates and Thomas Hughes. among
the English visitors, and the remarks made by
Bayard Taylor and General Grant Kingsley is
first on the list, with a speech he delivered at a
dinner given in his honor in 1872. His book
Alton Locke" had been spoken of. and in his
speech he referred to it thus:
have never regretted and have not altered
except in one case which does not refer TO any
one here, single word in that book. That book
written out of my hearts heart. and l go
by that book, whether 1 stand or fall 1t was
the youngest and ugliest egg ] ever laid, yet
am proudest of it
Thomas Hughes. referring in a speech made
at a reception in his honor in 1880 to an allu-
sion to his friendship with James Russell Lowell
gave an interesting glimpse into his own
younger years:
am proud to say it is a fact that thirty
wears ago when those first papers known as the
"Bglow Papers" began TO appear in the jour
nails of your country. 1 came across them and
admired them any man who has any sense
Of freedom right in him must admire them;
and it was the occasion Of my first communi-
cation with Mr.. Lowell; and l am proud TO say
that 1 was the first person who procured an
edition Of those poems in the British Empire,
and It Is to the reading Of those poems at that
particular period that 1 owe one of the greatest
obligations that l ever owed to any man or TO
any writings. for they turned my attention to
what going on in this country, and raised
the deep interest which 1 have taken ever since
in the great problems which you are fighting
out for yourselves and for the whole world in
these United States
But It is perhaps in the lighter and more
humorous elements of after dinner speech that
the member of the Lotos Club will find his most
pleasurabe memories. There are many pages
here of graceful turns and witty points, of keen
and humorous allusion. The speech Of William
NJ. Evarts at the decennial dinner in 1880. when
he represented the Union Club. is most en-
gaging specimen of after dinner raillery. In
speaking of the Lotos Club, he said:
You have said, sir, that your club Is now COM
pleting its decade. and it must be bold club
that mark by a festivity the stage OF its
decadence. The LotOs Club is profound and
mysterious club. ] observe that your beau
tiful menu, and these beautiful souvenirs
which bear the sphinx and the lOtOs flower, so
artistic and permanent, YOU preserve the
exotic notion that you take your name from the
lotos plant But students Of history and stu
dents of mysticism know that the name Of your
club is Of those artificial words which
made up of the initials Of other words con-
Csaled but Of profound meaning: "LeSeS Om-
MUM Tegumenta Ossaque Salutis" Claws
make the tissue and the framework Of public
safety'O. The laws Of and the laws
of trade equally banished from this do
minion; but the laws o. civility the laws of
charity, which you to a multitude of
sins-these are the laws which dominate here.
And five years later. when he had just been
elected United States Senator. he said:
have never been able to understand the
Lotos Club What is there TO be known
that can be written and set down either as an
announcement or as a warning? L know that
YOU have debt, and that shows, Of course
that you have credit. 1 know that you have
no wealth; and l know that poverty in this
world is the best incentive to genius and
growth. But these traits have marked many
men and many associations; and 1 have looked
find the charms that have made you the
most popular, the most prosperous, the most
charming. the most useful the most graceful
and the most powerful association in the city.
II rests in this, am sure, and no one will gain
say me in the proposition-it rests in the fact
that you have principlesl
General Porter thus touched on another char
acteristic of the club when he was honored there
by a dinner in 1897:
What 1 really like about the Lotos Club is the
good fellowship that always prevails here. Here
we always have the true comrades touch Of
the elbow and the shoulder to shoulder contact
Here in the language of the redoubta BILE
Richard Chevalier, lis the spot that proves most
acceptable to the choice few. Here meet