The sun., 1908-08-09
FAMOUS DINING CLUBS.
The Bread and Cheese Luneh-Diner Magny
The Bread Pills."

The Bread and Cheese Luneh-Diner Magny
THE Bread Pills."
There IL dining club in New York from
which one Of the most distinguished men In
the United States and one OF the most
interesting personalities was excluded half
a dozen years ago by the objection Of
single member. who. as 1t happened, had
moved away from New York and therer
fore no longer attended the dinners.
| This particular club has been in existence
for forty years or more. dining together
seven times every winter. 1t has soma
thirty members. oil men who have been
successful In their several professions and
all Of them more or less well known.
To osll the roll Of its membership would
be indiscreet, writes Brander Matthews In
the Forum, but mention may be made Of
the fact that among the members whom II
has lost by death within tho last few years
were James G. Carter. Z. l.. Godkin. George
E. waring. John Hay, Clarence King and
Augustus Saint Gaudens. Its continued pros
perity Is due probably in great measure to
the care taken to prevent any one profession
from having too heavy proportion. Among
Its members are lawyers and doctors. paints
ers and architects. novelists and historians
college presidents and college professorss
men Of affairs and executives Of important
enterprises, s
Two American reunions OF scholars hava
a certain likeness to "The Club.' Of which,
DIR. johnson was the autoorat and Of whiclx
Boswell was tho recorder. One OF then1j
came into being In New York when the
Knickerbocker writer's formed the chief
literary group In the United States some
seventy years ago, and the other fourished
In Boston . score or two Of years later.
when the New England group Of authors
had wrenched from their New York prede-
oessors the literary supremacy OF the United
States.
The first was formed by Fenimore
Cooper and certain OF his friends Bryant.
Chancellor Kent. President King Of Colum.
bia College and q few others. 1t was called
seems 70 have been often more directly
styled the Cooper Club, and 1t had inter-
mlttent meetings at q hotel In Fulton street.
The second was the Saturday Club which
had q midday meal at Parker's in Boston.
another by nearly every one Of the poets3
and prose writer's who were then adorning
the. Athens Of America and Its immediate
In the Journals Of Longfellow and In
the letters OF Holmes and Lowell there ID
frequent mention OF their attendance at
these Saturday dinners. Emerson came
often, and Charles Sumner also. So did
the elder Henry James, whose son has told
youth to listen to the talk Of bis elders. 4
Whittier came and the shy Hawthorne.
Envfous outsiders, unbidden to these simple
bouquets, neered at the men who took
part, calling it the mutual admiration
To be compared with this club of men
Of letters is the Diner Magny, which exc
isted for Q series OF years little later iII
Renan, Taine and Gautier. Sainte-Beuvs
Other Parisian dining clubs there were
in abundance. For example, the Normans
who have gone to Paris meet now and
C{dre, and in like manner the southerners
who have come up 10 the capital from
Provence have an association Of their own
which they term Le Tomato.
Obviously these Partisan gatherings bear
striking likeness to certain organisations
In New York, such as the, New England
Society, the Southern Society, the Ohio
Society and the Missouri Society, which
seem 70 have as the chief end Of their
Shsssas there sas shal Be "a an A q
after dinner tratory, words flowing Ike
water, with list of toasts extending from
coffee almost TO the crack OF doom.
eosAip NJ. jules Claretle tells an anecdete
Of French dining club composed OF authors
and painters and known as the Bread
Pills because Of Its methods OF election.
After the name OF q candidate for admis-
sion had been proposed at one meeting
It was discussed at the next dinner. and
thereupon q waiter was sent around the
table with 9 soup tureen, into which every
member In turn inserted his closed hand.
IN he desired the election OF the man
proposed he left nothing in the tIreen.
n he wished TO exclude the candidate he
oruinb Of his bread. and when q certain
number OF these bread pills was found ip
the tireen the man proposed was rejected.
On one occasion, as NJ. Claretie records,
the candidate was 90 unpopular that the
the mass OF which one member, moro
hostile than tbs rest. insisted on thrustine