"the
rag-tag and bob-tail of all that was best in the country." Many times
has it been introduced under thin disguises in the fiction dealing with
New York. In some of the novels of Robert W. Chambers it appears as the
Pyramid. Twenty years ago Paul Leicester Ford brought it into "The
Story of an Untold Love," calling it The Philomathean. According to the
hero of that tale, the Philomathean was the one club where charlatanry
and dishonesty must fail, however it succeeded with the world, and where
the poorest man stood on a par with the wealthiest. The Centurion of all
times has had much to be proud of, and he has not been blind to his
blessings, nor ashamed to acquaint the world with his great good
fortune.

Although most of them began in side streets, and many of them have in
the later years migrated again to side streets, through the greater part
of their history the clubs here discussed belong essentially to the
"Avenue" from which they have drawn so much of their inspiration. It
does not matter that the present home of the Century is at 7 West
Forty-third Street, or that the Lotos for the past few years has been at
110 West Fifty-seventh Street. They remain, as they always have been,
Fifth Avenue clubs. Part of the history of the Lotos Club is written in
the chapter dealing with "Some Great Days on the Avenue." For the fame
of the organization as a giver of elaborate banquets to distinguished
guests has spread through the land. The Lotos dates back to the early
spring of 1870, when a group of young New York journalists met in the
office of the New York "Leader" to take the initiatory steps necessary
for the formation of a club. These men were De Witt Van Buren of the
"Leader," Andrew C. Wheeler of the "Daily World," George W. Hows of the
"Evening Express," F.A. Schwab of the "Daily Times," W.L. Alden of the
"Citizen," and J.H. Elliot of the "Home Journal." As the founders were
all connected with the literary, musical, art, or dramatic departments
of their papers, it was not surprising that the projected association
was to be modelled upon the Savage, Garrick, and Junior Garrick of
London. Earlier failure had shown that a strictly literary organization
was out of the question. A wider and more comprehensive membership was a
necessity. As set forth in Article I., Section 2 of the Lotos
Constitution, the primary object of the club was "to promote social
intercourse among journalists, literary men, artists, and members