The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-01-26

- f---ss 4.
AT eight O'Clock the assembled guests were mar
shalled into the banquettng hall, and In couple
of hours the serious business Of the evening, in the
shape OF innumerable courses, among which was
naturally numbered the inevitable "haggls," Was
disposed Of Towards ten O'Clock the gavel
Of thechairman brought the jewellers to order, and
in few brief remarks Mr.. Gotten worthiiy intro
duced the first toast OF "lhe Day we Celebrate"
MR.. WILLIAM ). ROSES sfEE6G.
Mir. WILLIAM J. ROSE responded in an eloquent
and pithy address to the next regular toast-the
toast of the evening-'sThe Genius OF Burns" After
y few Introductory remarks he SAID
Genius, that GIT OF JOY and terror In a world as
yet unharmonzed was, indeed, the peculiar char
acteristic OF hum whose memory We celebrate
genius In storm and in sunshine, In the wild tumult
of passion as In the repose Of domestic quiet-but
ever real genius. The most charming popularity Of
the muse OF ''the Poughman Poep reveals itself
everywhere in his love Tor "home'-that true altar
through the tenderest lines that the bard has Be-
qucatned to us, like the friendly glow OF the dear
ingleslde itself deserted in the essenng distance by
the weary tOller returning, as night draws on, and
when
November chill blaws loud wi angry SUCH
across the wintry heath or down the bleak mountain
Abiding next to the sCotteI's Saturday Nghtn
Mr.. Rose said:-Here the most impressive
glimpse Is accorded TO us OF the rich, profound,
abundant strain Of true religious feeling that
pervades the nobler work VI Burns, as he describes
the father and his little fock a. their evening wor
ships when tine old patriarch 'wales portion WI ju-
dlcOus care from "the big ha Btole and alter brief
DISCOURSE kneels with the rest TO Heavens Eternal
king.n Who, l ask you, has ever pondered this
wondrous word paln1ng-as graphic, In Its way, as
anything IN the rural and patriarchal scenes that
light which never illumlned the soul OF the pagan
bard, or who has felt the solemn melody
mourn,n or OF his paraphrases on the Psalms, and
yet could question the depth and earnestness OF the
religious yeneratoa That ha!i0wed the innermost
without making US grayely doubt their own sincerity
and sense. Mol take hum as we will, in his worst
hours as in his best when he had become the libel
OF every small, unco pious dabstcr vino had the pre-
sumption, in lieu OF the ability, to WELD pen, or
while the cnried darlines Of Ednourg and Dumfries
delighted to do MN honor we find in
him the same abiding love Of domestic
IS this oss aas pecua for
lstc, sons OF Scotia, that, breathing in the great
utterance Of both Burns as the social and Scott as
the romantic bard OF your mountain land, has made
her bleak SUBMITS an altar and her record an i'm.
perishabe testimony to liberty and liberty's God.
High on crag or plain viii seldom crook through
fear to fawninR before mortal man, and the voices
that most purely and constantly have sung HIS
Peace be with We and blessing rest on We, then oh |
wild hills and smiling valleys Of old Scot
whose echoes are still hallowed by voices
OF canticle and legend that our fathers knew
through centuries Of faith and glory-peace ard
blesslngl May generation after generation and age
succeeding age still find the hearts OF thy children
as warm, thy crest OF thistle and bluebc as proudly
lifted, the courage or thy SONS as lefty and the vir
tue ana beauty OF thy lassies, Heland and Lowand,
as firm and as freshly blooming as when they fired
TO song the rustic David OF Mossgiel and tipped with
Abbotsford.
The CHAIRMAN then said he had determined to de.
part from the programme, and propose next, as an
episode, the health or one whom probably the grand
children Of those present would han as the father OF
American song-Mr. Bryant. The toast was drunk
with Highland honors, which consist in the guests
mounting on the chairs and with uproarious cneers
MIR. BRYANT's REMARKS.
MT. BRYANT, IN responding, thanked the audience
ad asemeG o. to do y he a OF the
ploughman bard. 1t was he thought, quite unmeet
that the small poets should be passed over in
silence on such on OCCASION The ocean had Its
minnows as well as Its whales. Naturalists studied
the habits OF the mole as mlnutey as those Of the
and high mountain; some climbed to Its summit
but others only reached Its lower slopes. He
could also say nsroa something IN favor Of bad
bad authors All books we're but experiment. II
the experiment were never made we should never
have any books; therefore the bad author even was
advantage to society. lie concluded by t0astlng
the agreeable and excellent people who formed the
Burns Club.
Mr.. KIERyANs SPEECH.
M, Mr.; L; D; kIERN.N In humorous and telling
lie said that ne must confess that he knew very little
Of the history OF Scotland OF her people; but their
conduct on this occasion reversed MS ideas OF their
liberality for they had called upon their smallest
quest respond to their largest toast Having the
wnolc Continent to reply for, he did not know where
to begin; but he thought he could say that this Is
Q great country and that we are great people.
He could only claim spiritual connection with
Scotchmen through 81. Patrick. who was reputed
admiration for the ploughman poeb who made
Scotland as great in poetry as she had before been
In philosophy or history. No critic could deprive
her OF the glory OF Robert Burns. That was her
brightest legacy. He regarded the American eagle
as the MODEST OF all birds-(three cheers for the
American eage)-and he was embarrassed when
he saw around him men who In poetry, law and
satesnanshp had done so much to make America
away since this republic began It's career and It mad
already done moro to ennoblo ana ChrIsuanize the
human race than all the nations or Europe had done
In all the ages previous to Its birth. All the dis
tinctions Of caste had here been levelled,
and the presumed authority Of divine ruling
OF religious bigotry forever broken. 1t was here
that the power OF darkness had been dspelled when
the school house doors were ung open to oil classes