Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-20
CHAPTER lX-Continued


TNliE Judges in social parlance were re-
u garded as being possessed OF too slender
RESOURCES to be expected to entertain but
1t was the proper thing TO invite them TO
all of the important functions. and my
cards of invitation and menus. all of which
are preserved and bound in volumes. give
quite complete picture OF this phase Of life
in Philadelphia, and even of the State, for
twenty-five years The best dinners of
public nature were served at the Bellevue,
which stood at the northwest corner OF
Broad and Walnut streets and has since
been torn down and been succeeded by the
Bellevue Stratford There I have heard
all of the leading statesmen, politicians
generals admirals literary men and other
conspicuous persons of my time make
aftcrdnner speeches. The Glover club and
tho Five o'clock club were the principal
dining clubs. and their style Of entertain
ment was pretty much alike, giving their
guests plenty Of good champagne and cX-
pecting them 10 endure with complacence
all of the ribaldry which the combined wit
of perhaps d hundred hosts could devise
Tho Society of the Cincinnati always gave
an attractive dinner They had a consid-
cradle fund Of money, aud after their
Washington Monument in Paramount Parl;
and other expenditures were provided for
had nothing to do with it except once or
twice a year to have a beautiful dinner. II
was only cNceed by that of the directors
of the Pennsylvania Company for Insur.
ances on Lives and Granting Aunuities an
nj
They gathered about a circular table upon
which everything was of the best which
money could secure and the space in the
center was banked with rare flowers. No
outsiders were invited save the Judges and
their counsel, john g. johnson, who never
drank anything except from pitcher of
lemonade prepared for him alone The
dining room at the Bellevue was too lin.
tied in space to entertain crowd. and
therefore the dinners were never unwieldy
and never delayed. At the dinner of the
Clover club George G.. Pierre always sang
a crude song called The Darby Ram and
at the dinner Of the Five O'Clock Club to
each guest was presented a timepicce of
some kind as a souvenir
In 1892 the Pennsylvania Society Of the
Colonial Danes Of America, a society or
women whose forefathcrs had borne some
part in colonial public affairs prior TO the
Revolutionary War, was organized. Mrs.
PcnnypaCker became Il member and one OF
it's controlling committee of thirteen. About
the same time | was selected 10y the Penn
sylvania Society Sons of the Revolution
and of which | have since become the
senior vice president, u delegate to the
national convention which met at Mount
Vernon. 4 little later in the same year
the Netherlands Society of Philadelphia
comprised of descendants Of the Dutch VINO
were in America prior to the Revolution,
was formed at the suggestion of Dr. Peter
Dirck keyser was one Of the first MEM
bers and have since become its president
The spirit and the literature of this society
have been excellent. Each year on the an
niversary of the Convention OF Utrecht
January 20, 1873, they drink a glass OF
schnapps, smoke a long pipe, listen to the
rendering of "Wilhelmus van Nassauwe'
by members of the Orpheus club and sing
the song Of THE Dutch on the Delaware
written by my brother, Isaac X. Penny
uacker. and set to music by DR.. Arnold
Gantyoort. director Of the College Of Music
Of Cincinnati