The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-22 00:00:00

General Garibaldi,

Yesterday morni❑g the members of the Reform
Club had the honour of entertaining the great
Italian General at, luncheon in the large saloon of
the club. The fact of his intended visit appeared
to be well known, and a large crowd collected to
see Garibaldi pass down Pall-mall. The entrance
to the club and the saloon were filled with ladies
who wished to see the great guest as he proceeded
to the banquet, while in the room where the de.
jeuner was laid M. Jullien's band was stationed,
with the leaders of the chorus of Her Majesty's
Theatre. The room was beautifully decorated, and
when the company, to the number of 200, were
seated the scene was exceedingly animated. Lord
Ebury presided, and at the conclusion of the repast,
end when the customary and loyal toasts had been
given with all the honours, he gave the health of
the guest of the day, amid loud and continued cheer,
ing.

In proposing the toast Lord Ebury said,—
We, gentlemen, are assembled together because we are
admirers of liberty, and we are so because we believe that
liberty promotes the best interests of mankind. We believe
also that one of the greatest curses that can befall a coun-
try is war, and, therefore, we are promoters of peace. But
there is oae curse that we think is even more terrible
than war, and that is despotism, whether it be a de-
spotism of Kings, of Lords, or of Commons ; and if there
were cause we should be as ready as our ancestors to draw
the sword and shed our blood in defence of the principles of
our country. We have, therefore, General,watched your ca •
reer from its commencement to its zenith. Judge for your-
self, General, what our feelings may be when we see him of
whom we have heard so much bodily in our presence.
(Cheers.) There is one quality which I hope I may venture
to claim for my countrymen, and that is that we are a reli-
gi pus people. By that I mean that we believe that there is
a superintending Providence over all things both in heaven
and on earth, It was, therefore, General, our first act,when
we heard of your great deeds, to offer up thanksgiving to
the Great Almighty that he had been pleased to raise up
such a man to perform such deeds. But this, General, does
not prevent us from honouring the instrument on earth.
(Cheers.) Far from it. The same book which inapires the
former sentiment tells us to give honour to whom honour is
due. Thus it is, General, that you have received that con-
tinual, hearty, and enthusiastic welcome which scarcely, I
fear, leaves you time for repose, but which may, perhaps,
fatiguing as it is, have afforded you some little compensa-
tion for the life of toil, of danger, and suffering which you
have undergone for your country, and which also may make
a little compensation for some apparent ingratitude from a
quarter whence that ingratitude was least to be expected.
(Hear.) But, sir,what generous mind would not appreciate,
how much more then your own would not duly appreciate,
the spontaneous:applause of a free, happy, and a Christian
people ? (Hear, hear.) General, I have but a few more re-
marks to make—forgive me if I am obliged to address them
somewhat personally. You have displayed very rare, very
daring, and very unusual qualities for your country's good,
How many examples are there of men who have struggled
ardently, who have fought and bled for their country, who
have endured reverses and sufferings with unshaken forti-
tude, but who, when the time of prosperity came, have
lost their equilibrium, sullied their fair fames, and done
irreparable injury to the enterprise in which they first em-
barked I You, General, have shown that you have the
power of self-denial in whatever position you may be•
(Cheers.) I believe that history affnids no example of a
man whose constancy has been so tried. What it has ccst
you, General, to resist the many temptations that have come
to you no one but yourself can know; but we owe yen a
debt of gratitude for having given the world such a name as
yours. (Cheers.) We regret that we must no longer prolong
the pleasure which your presence here causes us. We know,
alas I that your stay in this country is numbered not by
days, but by lours. (No, no, no,) At all events you have
much to du. (I,Lear; hear, and cheers.) But I will say, on
the part of thou gentlemen whom I have the honour to re-
present, that our heart's desire is that it may please God to
watch over your health and grant you a speedy recovery,
in order that you may be enabled to devote the influence of
Sour good name and your powers to that cause which is as
yet far from ichieved—(prolonged cheere)—a cause that
will require all the perseverance, all the courage, all the
counsel, all the wisdom of all the patriotic children of your
country—that cause for which you era ready to lay down
your life—the salvation and regeneration of Ital) (Pro-
longed cheering.) I propose the health of our illustrious
guest.

The toast was then drunk amid great cheering,
'which continued for some minutes. When it hetd
subsided the chorus of her Majesty's Theatre, led
by Signor Arditi, sang the Garibaldi Hymn with
beautiful precision and effect. At its conclusion
Garibaldi rose, amid prolonged applause, and said :

My Lords and Gentlemen,--My gratitude to }ou for the
great sympathy you have for me I think is very great ; but
I cannot express my feelings of gratitude for your kind
sympathy to my poor country. (The members here cheered,
and then came a pause for some minutes). lam almost
an Englishman now—(cheers repeated)—and certainly I
am very proud to be so, and I invite you to a toast—" To
the prosperity of my adopted country ;" and I pray you to
eceive my thanks for your kindness. Never in my life will
I forget the kindness I have received in this illustrious
associwion.

The " Health of the President" was next proposed
by Mr. Gore Langton, M.P., to which Lord Ebury
made a brief response, which brought the proceed-
ings to a close. General Garibaldi was then escorted
from the club by the President, the Duke of Suther-
land, and the principal members of the club. He
was warmly received by the company in the saloon,
and loudly cheered by the crowd us he left and
returned along Pall Mall.

The General visited the House of Commons yes-
terday afternoon, accompanied by Mr. Seely. He
sat on the front bench under the gallery. Of course,
there was no expression of feeling, although for
some minutes he was the observed of all observers.
After remaining about a quarter of an hour, he pro-
ceeded to the House of Lords. The General was
conducted by Sir Augustus Clifford, bearing the
Black Rod, through the Peers' library and the
private apartments of the Gentleman Usher, and
afterwards entered the House of Lords accompanied
by the Earl of Shaftesbury. He was led by Sir A.
Clifford to the space within the railing at the foot
of the Throne. He bowed slightly to their lord-
ships, and afterwards shook hands with the Bishop
of Oxford]and the Earl of Harrowby. Earl Russell
left the Treasury Bench, and, after warmly greeting
the General, engaged him for a few moments in
conversation. The General did not remain in the
House of Peers more than five minutes, and then
proceeded to the Prince's Chamber, the sculpture
and portraits in which he passed a few minutes in
examining. On leaving the Houses of Parliament
the General returned to his carriage and took the
route over Westminster Bridge to Fishmongers'

In the evening the Company of Fishmongers
entertained the General at dinner in their stately
corporate hall at the north end of Louden
Bridge, and afterwards conferred upon him the
honorary freedom of their order, enclosed in a
handsome gold box, studded with precious stones,
of the value of 100 guineas. Corers were laid
for 130 guests, many of whom were ladies, and the
b Impel was served with all the sumptuous magni-
ficence which has always characterised the hospi-
tality of the guild of Fishmongers. The D awager
buchees of Sutherland, the Duchess of Suther-
land, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll,
and the Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury
honoured the company with their presence on the
occasion, and among the rest of the visitors were
Vice-Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood and L tdy Wood,
Sir Rowland and Lady Hill, Lady Easthope, Sir S.
M. Peto, M.P, and Lady Peto, Sir Edward Dering,
M.P., Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, the Dean of
Ripen, :%s3 Cast, and Mrs. Goode, Col. and Mrs.
Chambers, c il, Elsey, Mr. Seely, M.P., and Mrs.
Seely, Major Snell, Captain Forbes, R.N., Captain
Robert and Mrs. Robert Richardson, Alderman and
Miss Lawrence, Mr. e. C. Trevor and Mrs. Trevor,
Mr., Mrs, and Miss Wykeham Martin, Mr. D.
Loveless and Mrs. Loveless, Mr. Harvey Lewis
M.P., and Mrs. Lewis, Mr. J.
J. Tweed, IV r. Barnes,
M.P., Mr. S. Olding, the Chairman of the Union
Society, Mr. and Mrs. P. Northall Laurie, Mr. F.
Captain Grant, Mr. Fenton, de-
L2izhton, R.A.,
puty chairman of the Great Western Railway Com-
pany, and Mr. H. G. Uederclowe.
For some time before the General arrived a
crowd had assembled in front of the hail to catch
a glimpse of him, and on his making his appear-
ance, which he did shortly after 6 o'clock, he was
received at the entrance by the Wardens of the
Company, headed by
Mr. James Weston, their cub-f,
and conducted to the drawing-room, where most of
the guests had by that time assembled, the band of
the Grenadier Guards playing the " Garibaldi
Hymn." As usual the General wore the gray
capote familiar to all who have seen him in this
country and elsewhere.

Ahout 7 o'clock the guests sat down to dinner,
Which WAS served in the Great Hail, Mr. Weston,

the Prime Warden, occupying the chair. The
General conducted the Dowager Duchess of Suther-
land to her seat, and then took his own, which was
on the left of her Grace and on the right of the
Prime Warden. The Duchess of Sutherland sat
immediately on the left of the chair, and the Duke
and Duchess of Argyll and the Earl and Countess
of Shaftesbury on either hand of the Prime Warden.
On the removal of the cloth the Loving Cup was
passed round the board, and then the PRIMEIWARDEN
gave in succession the toasts of "The Queen" and
"The Prince and Princess of Wales, with the rest of
the Royal Family," which were received with every
mark of respect. The Prince of Wales happens to
be an honorary member of the company, and a
smile was occasioned by his royal highness being
described, in the customary language of the guild,
as " our brother fishmonger" on his health being
proposed from the chair.
The PRIME WARDEN said he had next to propose
what was in every sense the toast of the evening—
the health of their illustrious guest, Gen. Garibaldi.
(Cheers.) Disclaiming all intention to give to their
meeting the character of a political demonstration,
they desired at the same time to show their appre-
ciation of the high qualities of the General as a hero,
a patriot, and an enlightened and consistent sup-
porter of liberty in every sense. By the magic of
his name alone, greater and more enduring benefits
had been achieved for his country than the great
Napoleon had ever achieved with all his vast armies.
To the General self was nothing, his country every-
thing, and that was the true secret of his fame.
(Hear, hear.) The Prime Warden proceeded to
mention a circumstance to the credit of the General,
not generally known, he believed, and which had
come under his notice last year when in Naples.
The General, he said, when Dictator, had presented
a site in that city worth about 12,000 on which to
build an English church, and the decree confirming
the gift, and which was drawn up in his own hand,
recited that he had been moved to make the gift in
consideration of the generous sympathy evinced by
the English people in the cause of Italy.
The toast was drunk with acclamation.

Gen. GARIBALDI, speaking in English, expressed
his gratitude briefly for all the kindness and consi-
deration shown him by the English people, and
particularly for their sympathy with his country.
England, he added, was the home of freedom and
the hope of slaves in all the world.

The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, in responding to the
toast of " The honorary members of the Company,''
of whom he is one, said on that occasion honorary
membership was converted into a reality when they
found it coupled with the illustrious and beloved
name of General Garibaldi, of whom for a long
time few Englishmen would be able to speak with-
out emotion, as a man who represented in himself
all the virtues and qualities that adorned human
nature, and who combined the loftiest and most
disinterested patriotism with a simplicity of cha-
racter and a modesty of demeanour never yet united
in one single man. And to what was all that due ?
Not simply to commanding intellect, but to what
God had given him, an immense and profound heart,
or, as was said in Scripture of that of Solomon, " a
heart as vast as the sands of the sea." He was happy
in having an opportunity to express in public the
heartfelt love he entertained for his character, and
he would say for the people of England that the
name of Garibaldi would be a household word
among them for all time. (Cheers.)
The PRIME WARDEN, in complimentary terms,
then proposed as a toast " The Dowager Duchess
of Sutherland, the Duchess of Sutherland, the
Duchess of Argyll, and the Ladies,"
The Duke of ARGYLL, whose name was coupled
with the toast, said it had been a source of pride
and pleasure to the ladies there as elsewhere to
associate themselves with the reception which had
bee❑ given by all classes of the people of this coun-
try to the extraordinary and illustrious man who
was their guest that night. That sense of honour
and pleasure, he added, was founded on a deep par-
ticipation on the part of the ladies of this country
in both those feelings, which, like two great streams,
had resulted in a mighty river, or, as Tennyson ex-
pressed it, " a perfect tumult of acclaim," first for
the completed freedom of the Italian people, and,
secondly, for the extraordinary and singularly pure
and noble character of the man who had done so
much to achieve that freedom. Same of the best
,reits and features of our own national character
would have indeed decayed if ever the day came
when the entire devotion of such a character to such
a cause should cease to elicit from the English
people of all ranks tl-e utmost expression of their
admiration and their homage. (Cheers.)
The toast of " The Visitors" was then drunk, and
Vice-Chancellor Sir Page Wood having responded
to it, the whole of the company left the Great Hall
and proceeded to the drawing-room. There each of
the guests were presented to the General, who re-
ceived them seated, a ceremony which lasted some
considerable time. The General then returned with
the Prime Warden, Wardens, and Court of Assis-
tants to the Great Hall, where the honorary freedom
of the Company was presented to him, " in testi-
mony of their appreciation of his exalted patriotism,
his distinguished valour, and his eminent services in
the cause of civil and religious liberty." The Prime
Warden, in a brief address, enumerated the names
of many illustrious personages which adorned the
Company's roll of honorary citizenship, and he ex-
pressed the pleasure it now afforded the governing
body to add that of the General himself. The docu-
ment conferring the freedom elegantly emblazoned
was contained in a gold box richly chased on all
sides. At each corner were stars of diamonds on
blue enamelled ground, and in the centre the
Fishmongers' arms engraved within a border of blue
enamel. It was made by Mr. Hancock of Bruton-
street.

General Garibaldi, in acknowledging the gift,
said :—" I am certainly proud to belong to this
noble company. I will keep this box as the talis-
man of my future career in the service of the liberty
of the people, and I shall be very grateful to you
all my life."

With that the ceremony ended, and shortly after-
wards the General, accompanied by the Dowager
Duchess of Sutherland, the Duchess of Sutherland,
and the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, took his de•
parture, and as he did so was enthusiasticaliy
cheered by the crowd outside, Most of the com-
pany remained afterwards to dance in the Great
1-1,111.

The Duke of Sutherland's Screw S teaal Yacht
Ondine arrived at Plymouth yesterday morning,
and is gone to Millbay to fill up with coal. She will
proceed probably to-day, either to Looe or Fowey,
to embark Garibaldi f,r conveyance to Caprera
after his visit to P4nquite, the scat of Colonel
Peard, in Cornwall is concluded.

MEETING OF THE WORKING MEN'S
COMMITTEE.

A special meeting of the Working Men's Exception Com-
mittee was held last night at the Whittington Club, Mr
11. Gray, mason, in the chair, to consider the final decision
of General Garibaldi as to leaving England. About 100
delegates were present, and Messrs Plimsoll, Nicholay,
Shaen, Morris. and Taylor attended as a deputation from
the City Committee.

Mr TAYLOR, a member of the deputation, reported the
reply of Garibaldi to the deputation as follows:
" Prince's gate, Kensington, April 21.

" Dear Friends,—Pray accept my heartfelt thanks for
your sympathy and affection. I shall be happy to see you
again on a better occasion, when it will be poosible for me
to enjoy at leisure the hospitality of your noble country.
For the present I feel obliged to leave England. Again and
again my gratitude to you all.

"Mr J.ltlchardson:" " G, GARII3ALDI,
Ile stated that a strong resolution of indignation had
be^n adopted by the City Committee on the receipt of that
letter, considering that the word used in the letter

" obliged," was a convincing proof that undue pressure had
been used on the General to hurry his departure. The
City Committee were prepared to co-operate with the
Working Men's Committee in any action they might take
upon the matter.

After considerable discussion, in the course of which much
indignation was expressed at the course taken by some per-
son or persons in causing the General to leave Eagland, the
following resolutions were unanimously adopted:--
Proposed by Mr POTTER, seconded by Mr GROSSMITII—
" That this committee has ascertained that General
Garibaldi is in very good health, and that the cause of his
intended departure is not illness, but pressure exercised on
him by members and adherents of the Government, and
especially by Mr Gladstone."
Proposed by Mr TIUMLETT, and seconded by Mr
PETRERIDGE—
" That this committee looks on this attempt of the go-

verning classes to expel an illustrious guest of the nation as
a scandal to this country and a violation of all the principles
of freedom; and it repudiates any such culpable subser-
vience to Royal dictation, at home or abroad."
Proposed by Mr, WIEAss, seconded by Mr. MILDRED:—
" That this committee resolves on organising a series of
public demonstrations to express the indignation of the
working men of London at this insult offered to their great
representative."
Proposed by Mr. POTTER, and seconded by Mr. TRIM-
LETT :

" That the first public meeting be held on Primrose-hill
on Saturday afternoon next, at five o'clock."

Proposed by Mr. CREMES, and seconded by Mr,
ODGERS :

" That this committee put itself into communication
with all the working men's societies in this metropolis and
in dm provinces."

A deputation was then appointed to carry a copy of the
resolutions to ➢lr. Gladstone at the House of Commons,
and copies were also sent to Mr. Seely, M,P,, and to Gen,
Garibaldi.

The meeting then adjourned.

Stratford-on-Avon Tercentenary Festival.

STRATFORD-ON•AVON, Wednesday Night,
The weather is superb, but visitors have not as
yet begun to arrive in any great number. Some ex-
citement, however, has been caused by the issue of
the official programme, which was first sold to-day.
It is very well got up, and is adorned with, inter
alia, a capital woodcut of the house in which Shaks-
pere was born. Besides the announcement of the
amusements that are to begin on Saturday, it con-
tains a description of the local objects of interest,
with a short biography of the poet, and other mat-
ters. But the visitor who is not thoroughly
" posted" in the life of Shakapere and its illustra-
tion by means of the monuments preserved at Strut.
ford will do well to provide himself with Chambers's
" Tercentenary number," which is not only very
complete, but compiled with much critical acumen.
It is also perfectly readable, which in the case of a
professed " cram book" is remarkable.
Of the three Festivals by which Shakapere has
already been honoured et Stratford there does not
seem to be any complete description withiu the
reach of the general public. Some account of these
will scarcely be out of place, as a sort of preface to
the coming celebration.
None of these three jubilees had any reference to
the anniversary of Shakspere's birth. The first took
place in September, 1769, when the fame of Garrick
was at its height, and owed its origin to an atrocity
which ardent Shakspereans can only compare
with the wilful destruction of the Temple of
Ephesus. New-place, the residence of Shaks-
pere in his latter days, had been purchased of the
executors of its last owner, Sir Hugh Clopton
(who died in 1751), by a luckless clergyman,
named Gastrell, who little thought he was
thus taking the first step towards universal execra-

tion. The famous mulberry tree, planted by Shaks-
pere's own hand, flourished in the garden of New.
place, and attracted a large concourse of visitors.
Annoyed by the intrusion of these devotees, the
Rev. Gastrell, who ardently loved quiet, but was
singularly mistaken as to the best means of obtain-
ing it, cut the tree down. It was immediately pur-
chased by a tradesman, who at once converted it
into small fancy articles, and sold them as memo-
rials of the past. These trinkets were eagerly sought
about the middle of last century, and one of the
choicest, a handsome carved snuffbox, is now pre-
served in the room of Shakspere's birthplace, set
apart as a museum. As for the Rev. Gastrell, he
went on from bad to worse, proceeding from a crime
to a blunder. He razed New-place to the ground,
but in so doing he in no respect insulted the memory
of Shakspere, as in the case of the mulberry tree ;

_ -
for Sir John Clopton, another Vandal, father to Sir
Hugh, had been in the field before him, having
pulled down Shakspere's house and built another in

its stead. Thus Gastrell was a sort of unwilling
Nemesis in the cause of the poet, for, as Ciopton had
demolished the house of Stiakspere, so did GAstrell
demolish the house of Clopton. The wicked clergy-
man, however, meant mischief, and therefore is not
entitled to the credit of going to perdition on the
proverbial pavement of good intentions. Stratford
was too hot to hold him,and he fied--probably into
infinite space, leaving all rightminded persons to
regret that he had not shared the fate of Orpheus
and John de Witt.

Garrick being the great Shaksperian actor of

the day, the corporation of Stratford thought it
would be a graceful compliment to send him the

freedom of their town in a box made of the dese-
crated mulbErry tree. The actor, pleased with the
compliment, at once formed a scheme fur a grand

jubilee, to be held at Stratford, and whon he closed
Drury lane in the summer of 1769 he delivered an
epilogue, hi which he thus took leave of the
audience :

"My eyes till then (the next season) no sights like this
will see,
Unless we meet at Shakspere's Jubilee.
On Avon's banks, where flowers eternal blow,
Like its full stre4m, our gratitude shall flow.

There let us revel, show our fond regard.
On that loved spot first breathed our matchless bard,

To him all honour, gratitude is due,
To him we owe our all--to him and you."
This, of course, was intended as an invitation to
Stratford, where preparations were soon made for
the coming Festival. An amphitheatre, decorated
with various devices, was erected on the model of
the Ranelagh Rotunda, and was doubtless the origin
of the present Pavilion. Transparencies represent-
ing Shaksperean characters were made for the win-
dows of the Town-hall ; and as Victor, the chief
hissorian of the event, remarks with admirable
naivete, "A very small old house, in which this
great poet was born, was covered with a curious

,ransparency; the subject was the sun struggling

through clouds to enlighten the world in whiCh was
figuratively delineated the low circumstances of
Shnkspere, from which his strength of genius raised
him to become the glory of his country !" A very
small house, which looks so humble with its inthll-
- article, is now the most noted obj,cc in all
Warwickshire.

The Festival began on the oth of September.
Several pieces of cannon rare discharged at day-
break, and shortly aftPL wards a troop of singers in
masquerade habits appeared in the streets with
guitars to op, enade the principal visitors to the
Jubilee. At 9 o'clock (people kept early hours in
tho', days) a public breakfast was held at the
cown.hall, where Garrick, who acted as steward,
and arrived before the company, was presented by
the Mayor with a medallion of Shakspere, carved on
a piece of the mulberry tree, and richly set iu gold.
At hal•past 10 the breakfast being over, the com-
pany proceeded to the church, where the oratorio of
" Judith" was performed under the conuuct of Dr.
Arne. From the church everybody went to the
Amphitheatre, where an elegant dinner was served
for 600 or 700 persons. A ball, which opened soon
after 10 o'clock, and a general illumination wound
up the firstday, which did not practically terminate
till three in the mornitag,
On ihe 7th there was another breakfast at the
Town-hall, and there was to have been a pageant
or procession of Shaksperian characters, but the
rain prevented this portion of the entertainment.
An ode written by Garrick was delivered in the
Amphitheatre, where there was again a dinner at
4 o'clock, the chief delicacy served on the occasion
being a turtle of 150 lb. weight. Fiteworks on the
other side of the Avon were to have amused the
populace, but the rain was not more, merciful to
them than it had been to the procession. More suc-
cessful was a masquerade, which took place in the
evening, the most conspicuous figure of which was
James Boswell, attired in a C..)rsican habit, with
pistols at his belt, a musket at his back, and the
words " Paoli and Liberty" inscritied in gold letters
on the front of his cap. He intended to deliver a
poetical address, but was prevented by the crowd.
Indeed, disappointment seems to have been the
order of the day at the Stratford Jubilee of 1769.

On the Bth there was more breakfasting and dining
in the Ampltheitre, but the distinctive feature of
the day was a race between five colts, at which
"Pratt the groom," who rode his own horse, won a
cup worth £5O. Pratt declared his resolution never
to part with the prize, though, as he honestly
avowed, " he knew very little about plays or Mas-
ter Shakepere." The night of this third day was fine
and the fireworks went off without let or hindrance.
This account of the jubilee of 1769 is derived im-
mediately from " Victor'B History of the Theatres or