When Saki formed a dinner club

Yesterday’s note was about Saki, Hector Hugh Munro.

He was one of the great short story writers — and undoubtedly the greatest to have been killed by a sniper.

Munroe died on Nov. 14, 1916, while serving with the 22d Royal Fusiliers. He was 45.

One of his fellow soldiers said his last words were a shout: “Put that bloody cigarette out!” He had a reputation for looking out for the younger men.

Munro was too old for war, but it brought something out in him. He turned down commissions twice. He liked being close to the troops as a sergeant.

The spring before he died, he formed The Back Kitchen Club after seeing a pig killed. He and his comrades bought pork and found an old woman who had a grocery with a kitchen in back. She did the cooking. Munro wrote the club rules on the back of a Chocolat-Menier advertising card.

Membership was limited to nine. Attendance at dinner was mandatory, with the call of duty the only excused absence. The members looked after each other. Perhaps because they did, they made it a point to behave well. They expected nothing but the best from each other.

Camaraderie is an intriguing topic. Munro had a gift for it.

Christopher Morley says that Saki’s sister, Edith, wrote an 80-page biography of her brother that ends: “He had a tremendous sympathy for young men struggling to get on, and in practical ways helped many a lame dog.”