SIMON NEWCOMB. 
163 
As soon as lie had a home of his own he showed his dis- 
position to entertain his friends in sensible ways. There 
were a number of young unmarried men in the Naval service 
with whom he often came in contact, and he established a 
custom of having several of these at supper on Sunday even- 
ings, with a musical hour afterwards, singing hymns, which 
he was fond of hearing, though not himself a singer. 
All through his life he was a hospitable host to men of 
science visiting Washington and to scientific organizations 
holding meetings here. 
When Professor Langley entered upon his duties as Secre- 
tary of the Smithsonian Institution, Professor Newcomb gave 
a reception in his honor, and some here present will remem- 
ber a brilliant dinner he gave in honor of a distinguished 
diplomat, which brought together more than sixty of the 
scientific and literary men of the Capital. 
During many years he kept up a custom of inviting a 
number of friends to dinner on his birthdays. On his 60th 
and 62d birthdays, the last marking his retirement from 
active service, his house was hospitably open to his many 
friends. 
That Professor Newcomb’s sentiments and practice in dis- 
charging the duties of hospitality had been accepted and 
followed in the Cosmos Club, of which he was an early mem- 
ber, and later the president, is shown in an address he 
delivered on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the foundation 
of the Club when he said: 
“There are some features of our organization which are 
not only distinctive, but almost unique. I believe that . al- 
most every other club, here or elsewhere, has no other im- 
portant purpose than that of affording facilities for the social 
reunion of its members, and for promoting some idea of 
common interest to them. But we had what almost might 
be called a philanthropic object from the start. Our mem- 
bership has been, from the beginning, largely composed of 
members of the various scientific societies of Washington. 
These societies had keenly felt the need of a place of meet- 
ing. Such a need the Club supplied from the time when its 
funds permitted it to join to our house an assembly hall. 
But we did not stop there. We all considered it not only 
