The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-16 00:00:00

ROYAL LT

Last night the 72d anniversary dinner of the
Royal Literary Fund was held in the Freemasons'
Tavern. His Royal Highness the Due d'Aumale
presided, and among those present were, his Royal
Highness the Comte de Paris, the Due de-Chartres,
the Prince de Conde, and the Comte d'Eu ; the
Marquis of Clanricarde, Lord Stratford de Red-
cliffe, Lord Ravensworth, Lord J. Manners, Mr.
Disraeli, M.P., Mr. Joseph Napier, Sir J. Peking-
ton, his Excellency M. van de Weyer, his Excel-
lency Count Platen, Lieut.-General Sir E. Cust,
Lord Harry Vane, Mr. Haliburten, M.P., the Earl
of Shrewsbury and Talbot, Mr. Twisleton, the
Hon. G. Denman, M.P., Sir J. Simeon, Sir J.
Boileau, Sir R. Murchison, Sir H. Rawlinson, Sir
E. Perry, Sir H. Ellis, Sir H. Holland, Dean of
Canterbury, Mr. M. Milnes, M.P., Mr. Harcourt,
M.P., Mr. C. Fortescue, M.P., Mr. Stirling, M.P.,
Mr. Egerton, M.P., Mr. Macaulay, M.P., Mr. Grant
Duff, M.P., Mr. Beresford Hope, M.P., Mr. Del-
fosse, Mr. Thackeray, Mr. Higgins, Mr. R. Bell,
Mr. Longman, Mr. John Murray, Commander
Forbes, RN., Mr. Anthony Trollope, Mr. Augustus
Trollope, Mr. J. W. Kaye, Mr. Theodore Martin,
Mr. Lowe, Sir J. Prior, Mr. George Godwin, Mr.
(4. A. Sala, Dr. Copland, Rev. Dr. Vaughan, Rev
C. Mericale, Mr. Bohn, Mr. Bentley, Mr. E.
Dallas, Mr. W. R. Grey, &c,
The cloth having been removed,
His ROYAL HIGHNESS, who was received with
loud and repeated cheering, said, —Gentlemen,
beg to propose the health of her Majesty the Queen.
These are the first words I have to address to you,
and also the first words I have uttered in public for
years. Nothing could be more gratifying to me
than in this way to break a long silence—(cheers)—
for I have not now to fulfil a mere formal duty of
etiquette, but to express feelings which are deeply
seated in my heart. (Hear, hear.) I have no right
to speak the language which might be used on
this occasion by a loyal Englishman, but I venture
to say that nobody can feel more respect than
myself for her Majesty or a more sincere devotion
to her Royal person. (Cheers.) I see in yoar Queen
the personification of your free and noble institu-
tions, the Sovereign of a country which is, and I
hope will remain, the friend and ally of my own
native land—(loud cheers)—which affords shelter
to all exiles, without asking them to submit to any
humiliating condition, but only to respect the laws
under whose protection they live. (Hear.) I also
admire in your Queen the most accomplished of
ladies, for I have myself had more than one personal
occasion to observe—nay, to feel that extreme deli-
cacy and tenderness of heart which is not common
among persons born in so elevated a situation, and
of which she has given so touching a proof on a re-
cent and most melancholy occasion. Thus, gentle-
men, I am sure that my words correspond to the
feelings of all those who surround me when I ask
you to drink with me the health of the model of
constitutional Sovereigns, the most devoted of
daughters, the best of wives and mothers, the most
faithful and affectionate of friends, and, finally, the
august munificent patroness of this institution—
your good Queen Victoria. (Cheers.)
The toast was received with all the honours.
His ROYAL HIGHNESS, in giving "The health of
the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the
other members of the Royal Family," said—lf there
is a meeting where the name of the Prince Consort
ought not to be omitted it is certainly the present,
for I don't know any one, not only more worthy of
universal respect and sympathy, but more fit, by his
own personal achievements, to understand and ap-
preciate intellectual works of all kinds, more inces-
sant in his efforts to promote the progress of art,
science, and literature, and to encourage by all
means the establishment of charitable institutions.
(Hear.) With his name we will couple heartily that
of the heir to the Crown, who, by useful travels and
intercourse with the studious youth of the country,
is preparing himself for the great duties which I
hope, with all my heart, but certainly not more
sincerely than himself, he will be called upon to
fulfil as late as possible. (Hear hear.) Our
good wishes belong also to all the members of
the Royal family, whether at the head of the
army or learning by active practice the hard duties
of a sailor, whether they adorn foreign Courts
by their graces and virtues, profit at home by the
lessons and good example of their parents, or add by
their presence to the charms of social life in Eng-
land. (Cheers.)
The toast having been duly honoured,
Lord STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE gave " the
Army, Navy, and Volunteers." In doing so his lord-
ship referred to the distinction which many great
soldiers had gained in the republic of letters, and
dwelt upon the influence which literature had
always exercised in subduing or exciting the war-
like passions of nations.
The toast having been drunk was acknowledged by
Lieut.-General Sir E. CUST on behalf of the
army.
Sir J. PAKINGTON, in responding for the navy,
observed that that service was distinguished in the
arts of peace as well as in those of war. Modern
science owed much to the officers of the navy. They
had also made valuable contributions to literature.
Who had not perused with delight the writings of
Marryat and Basil Hall, or derived instruction
from the works of Parry, M'Clure, M'Clintock, or
Sherard Osborn ? (Hear.) He assured his Royal
Highness that the navy, no less than the rest of the
English people, entertained the deepest respect, not
only for his illustrious race, but for the ability and
dignity of his personal career. (Cheers.)
The Earl of SHREWSBURY replied for the Volun-
teers.

His ROYAL HIGHNESS then gave the toast of the
evening. He said,—Gentlemen, from the first mo-
ment when your committee did me the honour of
calling upon me to preside at this meeting I felt
how utterly unqualified I was for such a distinction,
and when I remember the names of those who have
preceded me in this chair—when I look around me
and see so many persons who would have been per-
fectly competent to offer the toast I am now pro-
posing, perhaps with some awkwardness, I feel
really astonished to find myself where I am. But,
if I had no literary claim to the distinction you
have conferred upon me, I may at least say that
nobody can wish greater success than I do to this
Institution, nor admire it- more sincerely in its
double character, literary and charitable. (Hear.)
I cannot pretend to be thoroughly acquainted with
your literature, but if I know something of it I owe
it to two circumstances. The first is, that I was
educated by a father who had been an exile, as I
am now, who had found on. your shores the same
hospitable shelter, and who both knew and loved
your country, your language, the great works of
your literature, as well, I suppose, as any foreigner
ever did or can. (Hear, hear.) I remember that
in the earliest days of my life when he was him-
self free from all political responsibility, in the
happy and quiet evenings of Neuilly, lie used often
after having shown to his children the engraved
Portraits of celebrated men and told their deeds, or
Plates which commemorated the military achieve-
Talents of our countrymen, to take down from the
shelves of the library some huge folio volume of
110ydell's Illustrated nakspeare, a copy which he
had bought himself at the Auction-room at Chel-
tenham, and give us an outline of the finest scenes
of your great dramatist, reciting occasionally some
of the beautiful passages which had remained en-
graved in his wonderful memory. (Hear, hear.)
That was my first impression of English literature,
and one which Rill never be effaced from my mind;
for it is connected with one of my earliest recollec-
tions of the best of fathers. (Cheers. I grew up
with one of the first French generations who, aban-
doning an old tradition, began to study foreign
literature—l mean the literature which does not
belong to the great Latin family of languages.
Well, when I was a young man, the great authors
of this country were understood and admired in
France, and numerous translations of their works
were published for the benefit of those who could
not read them in your idiom. Shakspeare was com-
mented on, quoted, and even imitated by some who
were daring enough to try the experiment. (Hear,
hear. The walls of our picture exhibitions were
covered with works of art signed by the first
names, the subjects of which were borrowed
from your stage, your poets, or your male.