membership. It is the headquarters of the
Republican leaders, and has perhaps the largest membership of any of the
city clubs. It possesses a fine restaurant, conducted on club
principles, a collection of works of art, a private theatre, and lodging
rooms which may be used by the members upon certain conditions.

The Union Club is emphatically a rich man's association. Its members are
all men of great wealth, and its windows are always lined with idlers who
seem to have nothing to do but to stare ladies passing by out of
countenance. The club house is one of the handsomest buildings in the
city, and its furniture and decorations are of the most costly
description.

The Travellers' Club was originally designed for affording its members an
opportunity of meeting with distinguished travellers visiting the city.
This object is still kept in view, but the club is becoming more of a
social organization than formerly. Travellers of note are invited to
partake of its hospitalities upon arriving in the city, and frequently
lecture before the club.

Many club members never see the interior of the club houses more than
once or twice a year. They pay their dues, and remain on the rolls, but
prefer their homes to the clubs. Others again pass a large part of their
time in these elegant apartments in the society of congenial friends.
Club life is not favorable to a fondness for home, and it is not
surprising that the ladies are among the bitterest opponents of the
system.

The ladies themselves, however, have their clubs. The most noted of
these is the _Sorosis_, the object of which seems to be to bring together
the strong-minded of the sex to enjoy a lunch at Delmonico's. Some of
the most talented female writers of the country are members of the
organization. It was stated in several of the city newspapers, about a
year ago, that at one of the meetings of _Sorosis_ the members became
involved in a fierce dispute over some question concerning the management
of the club, and that when the excitement became too intense for words,
they relieved their overcharged feelings by "a good cry all around."

It is said that there is another club in the city, made up of females of
nominal respectability, married and single, whose meetings have but one
object--"to have a good time." It is said that the good time embraces
not a little hard drinking, and a still greater amount of
scandal-monging, and that many of the "leading ladies"