"The Lord gives good meat but the devil sends cooks," but Chames apparently lending a willing ear, we take his life in our hands, and firstly:-- And that is, that P. D. is not an abbreviation for Poor Debtors, as some would have it, but for Poor Draughtsmen; which is after all, perhaps, a distinction without a difference. Poor in this case has no reference to the quality of the draughtsmen's work, for, as our song truly says,-- "The P. D. is a man Who does the best he can, No matter what the problem it may be. He can draw a quarter scale, He can draw a full detail, And draw his pay upon a Saturdee." The club, for such it is, was at first overburdened with the name of The Poor Draughtsmen's Saturday Night Club, but the member who wrote the specification of the club, started in by writing the name and then proceeded as follows: "The name of the club shall be the above (it is too long to write again)." The hint was taken and it has since been known as the P. D.'s. The club resulted from the more or less accidental coming together of men of congenial spirit, and the desire to cultivate each other's acquaintance more intimately than was possible in the larger Architectural Club of which they are all members, and over which are their club rooms. [Illustration: SEAL OF THE P. D.'S.] The work of fitting up these rooms was done by the members themselves, and an added interest is given them by the constantly changing exhibitions on their walls. The bulletin board is also a never-ending source of delight. The club at present consists of thirteen members, all of whom on entering it, as a sort of architectural baptism, receive new names, and, ye gods, what names! What more is to be desired when one may, when he dines or designs, touch elbows with such choice spirits as Ictinus, Michael Angelo, Vitruvius, Vignola, Piranesi, San Gallo, Bramante, Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Charles Bulfinch, Viollet le Duc, Gamier Frères (N.B.--There is only one of him), and Brian Boru. [Illustration: A GALA NIGHT IN THE ROOMS OF THE "P. D.'S."] The one requirement for admission is good fellowship with the saving clause, that this good fellowship, like Faith, must be accompanied by good works. Its organization is of the simplest character, there being no constitution or rules of any kind, except the joke known as the specification be regarded as such. Much of the charm of the club is due to this absolute freedom from restraint. The officers are the president, treasurer, and secretary, who manage the affairs of the club during their term of office. Each member presides in turn, the term of office being one month, the succession being arranged by lot. A well-known writer deplores the lack of humor in the fiction of the day, and the tendency of those who should know better, to constantly preach us sermons upon our least admirable failings.