Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-01-04

And he whose bright image no distance can dim,
THROUGH hundred d,sguises we cin't mistaEi
wh"so play is all earnest. whose wit i- ths edge
with beetle behind Of sham splitting wcdse.
Do you know whom We scad you, IIidalgos 0
Spain
f"you know our Old friends when you see then
again
Hosea WIS Sancho you dons of Madrid,
but sincho that welded the lance Of the Cid.
And the wood thrush Of E-sex-ycu know whom
mean,
Whose song echoe, round US while he sits un
seen,
Who's hcart-,brobs Of verse through our N, NOR e.
thrill
Like breath from the wood like a bIet zr from th(
hill.
So iervid, So simple, So loving. "a pure.
We hear hut ore strain NJ our verdict il sure
Thee cannot elude us-nO further we search
'lls Holy George Herbert cut loose from his church
We think 1t the voice Of Il seraph that sings
Alas we remember that an ge Il have wings
what sory is this Ofthe DAY of his birth,
Let him live to a hundred We wait him on earth
One life has been paid him in gold by the sun;
One account has been squared and another be ,un ;
But he never will die il he Fingers below
TIL we've paid him in love half the balance We
The next gentleman called upon was
Charles Eliot Norton. who Was introduced
by Mr.. Howells as the representative of
the absent and much-missed Lowell Mr.
Norton made happy speech. After an
aflectiOnate tribute to Lowell as "wit, hu-
mOrist. scholar, thinker, sage and friend 4"
be said that he regarded him as in a very
>pecial sense the envoy Cf the company
gathered around that table. Every one
OF u.s." be went on. has or has had pos
sessions in Spain which need to be well
looked after. Lowell himself has had con-
siderable estates of this kind. And you.
sir, his friend turning to LongfellOw) +,
whom We greet with all love and honor
always. you, too, have had very large do
mains in that lair land. How maLy cas-
ties in Spain not built Of stone have yOr
dwelt in, and how many of us have you
welcomed as guests within their stately
walls. And you, sir, our guest. even you,
modest AS your retirement has been. have
mad your private speculatiOns in Spanish
real estate, and from some OF them you
have enjoyed large revenues And even
you and /, Mr.. Editor. and all the rest of
US, have our smaller domains there. Such
being the case, | am not surprised that
Lowell should write to me that he finds
tine legation at Madrid i one OF the busiest
in Europe. lie has to look out for our
title deeds. And when he returns let him
bring Us the assurance that henceforth We
shall enjoy undisturbed and unencumbered
all our castles in Spain"
Then came Mark Twain. While his
"reminiscences" do not indicate that Marks
bump OF reverence j. abnOrnally developed
there is no gainsaying their roaring iun.
Emerson, Longfellow and Holmes at whose
expense his unique narrative was told.
laughed and applauded as heartily as the
rest. William W. Story. the distinguished
artist-pOet. followed Twain. Then Warner
made some clever remarks, in which he
discOursed of characterization and the
conditions out OF which the Atlantic rose
serenely from Boston bay." Further
speeches were made by Colonel Iligginson,
Colonel Waring, William +. Apthorp, mus
ical critic of the Atlantic. William ii.
Bishop, :he Atlantic's latest discovered
novelist, and Francis Ii, Underwood and
a fine sonnet was read by Richard Henry
StOddard. Letters Of regret were read
from Bryant. Curtis, Stedman, John Hay
ard Others who were unable to attend.
Ii was after one O'Clock in the morning
before the feast reached its fms, and the
company separated with renewed express
sions OF distinguished consideration Tor
Whittier God bless him, and NAV his
last days be his hest days Cor. Albany
Journal. condensed