than that of the Bread-and-Cheese Club.
This remained so long in the germ that the realization seemed far off,
but finally, in 1824, began the holding of its fortnightly meetings in
Washington Hall--afterwards swept away to give place to the Stewart
Building at Broadway and Reade Street. The club derived its name from
Cooper's conceit of having candidates balloted for with bread and
cheese, a bit of bread favoring election and cheese deciding against
it.

[Illustration: Washington Hall]

As Cooper had in the main originated the club, he was the leading
spirit around whom gathered Halleck and Bryant, Percival, Professor
Renwick, Dr. J.W. Francis, and all the writers of the day. An
enthusiastic member was Philip Hone, who had just retired from
business and bought a house at 235 Broadway opposite the park, a site
considered a good way up-town for a residence. His diary, which in
after years led him to be called the Pepys of America, was commenced
in this house, but the greater part was written at his residence of
later date, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Great Jones
Street.

Gulian C. Verplanck was a member too. At the time he occupied a
professorship in the General Theological Seminary. From one of the
meetings he walked down Broadway and through Wall Street past the
house, near Broad Street, where he was born, discussing with Bryant
and Robert C. Sands an early suggestion of the _Talisman_ magazine,
which was not to ripen into an accomplished fact for a good three
years. On this same walk, too, he took part while Bryant and Sands
discussed plans for the _Atlantic Monthly_, which Sands established
the next year.

But writers were not the only members of the Bread-and-Cheese Club.
There were scholars and professional men, and often there were
statesmen and men of national distinction as guests. But as Cooper was
its leading spirit, when he left for his trip abroad the club went to
pieces. He started in 1825 on his foreign travels, and at the time of
his going was living at 345 Greenwich Street, where he had finished
work on _The Last of the Mohicans_.

In the year after his going there was a gala night at the Lafayette
Theatre, when _The Spy_ was enacted. The Lafayette was the largest
theatre then. Upon its site in West Broadway near Canal Street St.
Alphonsus's Church now stands. To that performance came from up-State
Enoch Crosby, who was said to be the original Spy, and when he
appeared in a box with