Note 322 — Chapter XIX · CLUBS.
Reading edition
The name of Club is undoubtedly taken from the practice of a jovial company to 'club,' or divide the whole expenses of the entertainment; and 'the payment of our Clubs'[322] is a frequently mentioned wind-up of any festivity. Naturally, such agreeable meetings were repeated until they became habitual, and the society, or club, was formed; and these humble beginnings laid the foundation of that great social organisation which nowhere flourishes better than in England.