New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-21
NEW YORK, MONDAY, AUGUST 81, 1877.

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full men have combined to build with many more cen
turtles than one for the doing Of their work.
THE BANQUET.
The Committees programme, however, was much more
ambitious and included banquet The banquet was 10
be the great celebration of the day. Not an original
idea banquet Most OF us know too well what IL means
in London and elsewhere-a heavy dinner followed by
heavier speeches. The canny Scot who managed this
found means TO tighten IL by one-ha He omitted the
dinner The magic OF ScOts name was potent enough
to induce 2c0 people TO pay IS apiece for dinner winch
they were fairly told In advance was not TO be dinner
II was to "a dessert Of fruit and wne But IL was
held at g. which is early for dining, and lasted til
near midnight, which Is certainly late, 30 that
the two and somewhere in the inter-
yening hours the natural man, his appetite sbarpened
by the keen DIR Of the north, would surely need 10 Hi
his stomach with something else than the east wind OF
with long wnded harangues Hence the fruit ana what
was called wne believe the reason why no dinner
was given was that the Committee wanted money fOr
other purposes; very audabe purposes no doubt me-
mortal more permanent than dinner; perhaps new
hall for the University scholarships for poor Scotch
students with competitive examination In the "aVer-
ley Novels and tho Lay of the Last Minstrel AT any
raro they got their ten thousand dollars some day
they may tell us what they are going to do with IT,
What we got for 1t dish Of fruit alternating with
dish of cake and nanked by decanter Of sherry OF
caret Zone was yellow and the other red and the walters
said they we're sherry clare at every plate. had
seen by chance the Secretary In the morning. who Old
me he thought the speaking would last six hours-and
this what speakers and hearers were to support ma
ture on, meantime.
The Banquet nevertheless success in It's way IL
was held in the Corn Exchange in great room whose
sze I'm feet and inches do not know, but room surely
deserves the adjective great In which two thousand per
sons, male and female, did actually sit down 10 table
doubt II could have been done anywhere but In scot
land country where mathematical science has long
been applied TO close measurements The tables were
each eleven inches In width the benches on which we
sat the same What the hall may be in its usual state
have not the least notion 1t decorated beyond all
| recognition The walls hung with cloth OF pink
and white in alternate belts the pillars were clothed
from top to bottom the roof or ceiling itself was pa
pered over and hardly inch OF the real structure
was anywhere visible. Huge escucheons and coats OF
arms as big as the side OF house bazoned on the
walls Wherever they could find foothold, dollhouse
plants bloomed and shed their pungen and youptuous
perfumes through the air. and wherever there was room
for a flagstaff the banners Of all nations were grouped
and from the capitals of the clothed pillars sprang
smaller flags motto-bearing and crestilumined FROM
the roof hung hoops of blazing gaets while In the cen
trail arena the hail were endless ranges OF apes anu
benches and along each four sides rose galleries
which again supported moro tables, at which sat the
chairman and vcechairman, the speakers, ana elher
the more fortunate or distinguished guests. AS
whole the room lacked hight but the variety OF orna-
OF
of the ladies' dresses with here and there
a uniform and everywhere beaming faces, made up
scene not unworthy Of the occasion.
THE SPEAKERS AND THE SPEAKING.
You will not ask TO say much about the speaking
The Earl of Dakeith presided. High functonares sup
ported himthe Lord Provost the Lord Justice General
the Lord Justice Clerk and others. Whether you know
what these titles not they are imposing The
Lord Mayor Of London was there. You know who he Is
lives the Guildha, never eats anything but turtle
soup, and always appoints the Prime Minister LORD
Houghton waa there I believe he appoints the Lord
Mayor. began this morning 10 read list OF guests In
Guiding Mr. Gladstone, Mr. MIL the Archbishop of Can
terbury, and Oliver Wendell Holmes; but when got to
the last found IL was list OF United guests, and
that charming and brilliant Doctor had declined for
himself and for Emerson, Lowell Fields, ana NUMBER
of of her eminent Americans. Not few Of our country
men were present. The only names recognized were
those OF Mr.. Conway Mr.. Cyrus Field, and Mr.. Nc
Culloch
Sir william Maxwell Stirling responded to the toast OF
the evening 1.-THE Memory Of Sir Walter Scott III
speech than hour long great part OF which was
naudble TO great part Of the audience. 1t was their
own fault largely, for they had not dined, and would
keep rafting knives and glasses. Sir William had at
tempted what Mr. Everett OF the few who ever
did perfectlyto commit long speech TO memory ana
deliver IL verbatim. He broke down during the
first ten minutes. and though he went on az
ter al WHILE there came other awkward pauses
hearers Dean Stanley made the best OF the long
speeches The mistake-will orators and committees
ever learn iti-of the whole evening was that the
speeches were long II to be said 10 the credit of the
foreigners who replied to their toast that they were
brief Mr.. Cyrus Fields speech, not exceeding five
minutes wac one of the hits OF the evening There was
nothing better than the pointed and graceful way in
which he completed the connection Of the two countries
with reference to Scott giving equal pleasure to Scotch
| men and 20 Americans and winning applause for both
| at almost every sentence.
They say that the end OF a Scotch public dinner Is
usually noisy cannot say whether this was for did
not wait for the end if Il the guests must have
| brought their own whisky The audience that saw,
and 30 long as saw It, orderly and 1t struck me as
collection OF singulary intelligent and Interesting
faces The men and who gathered TO marx THIS
hundredth anniversary SCOTS birth looked worthy TO
| be his countrymen and countrywomen he helped to
mako them what they all honor to him for his SER
vice 70 them and 10 us count no effort failure which
tends 10 spread an influence as heahfu as Scots
As for Yesterdays 1t was spite OF such shortcomings
AZ have taken the liberty to touch on ceremony not
soepdd but sufficient the purpose, and which those
who shared In IL will remember with considerable pleas
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