THE REOPENING OF A CLUB.
lTo ras EDITOR or nu " 8PrenToa."1
Elm,—One hears rumours from time to time that many London clubs are "on their last legs," and that if they do not dis- appear altogether they can survive only by amalgamation with other clubs. I wonder. It continually happens in this country that the gossips busy themselves with the events of the year before. Of course, clubs went through an extremely anxious time and either raised their subscriptions or sent the hat round. But I venture to think that things are going to turn out better than the prophets of woe predicted. Thom who had the good fortune to be guests at the reopening dinner of the New University Club in St. James's Street—Waterhouse's building kaving•been closed for four months while more bedrooms were added and the inside of the house was improved in several ways —must have been impressed by the boldness with which a con- siderable scheme had been undertaken in such times as these. When you see a club so confident of its future you cannot help feeling that the clubs whose members take a real interest in the welfare of their foster homes are going to pull through and make good.
May I add, though this is apart from my main purpose in writing, that the speeches on the occasion to which I refer were a delight. Mr. Birrell and Sir Charles Lucas afforded a con- trast between the wit that seems to well up naturally and the wit that is polished like a gem. Very good, too, were Sir Charles Oman and Major Comber in interpreting the present generation at Oxford and Cambridge to their elders.—I am,
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