New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-24

INF enhanced by novel and brilliant
,1iucs this eighty fifth New England
d;,uor fell lamcntablT short of the just eNPcc''-
.;',,, If those who attended 1t Ill not low
imnortant particulars. The late hour at when
u'a .rcaking began might naturally suggest
no. tho menu wa, one of those dls,enaeu cie"-
.;".. which caterers too often succeed III I'M
';,c mon the unNary: but this was not the
rc, # contained few superiutieS, ana Nou'"
,, m,de no excessive demand upon tne en-
Jnrarce If the banqucers if they had SAT down
., = reasonable hour and been served with ue-
,;,ablc celebrity. In respect to the NUMBER vi
curses we are glad to say that the blil-oi-lafe
,,s 4 cIcditablc innovation.
nut the toaSt> There were ten OF them ana
...t ono failed of a response that WAS Intrlnsical-
l., admirable except the one to which no re-
,pouse was made and in respect to that some
r. tho rucsts must have felt they sank to
Gloon at > CT 3 O'Clock in the morning that the
proyidcuce which kept the President from
the feast was not altogether unmcrcIiui. NOT
,hoso who listened 10 the speeches. Tor no
.pccch after the first four or five was hNteheu
to but these who read them III TIE ! tribune
Yesterday, are aware how excellent they were
The tables were half deserted before the llSt
If toastS had been half finished. and when, past
midnight, Mr.. Everett. OF Massachusetts, rose
70 BEGIN hi, dlShcarcnng task, the FIVE Hun
drcd had suffered scvcrcr losses than the SIX
Hundred suffered at Balalllava. And those
who remained were Surfcted. Clustered III
Euo,> -, scattered tables and around the exits
they chartered und>guiscdy, 81 that the ar
bummcd with the vibration of many tongues,
while at intervals the chairman raped IN
vain for order, until at last the speaker telt
| himself impclcd To- conccdc that not his al
dress but their own conversation was the thihS
| that pleased them. This WAS no fault OF Mr..
Everett \ man of great public fame or an
orator Of Supo rlatvc attachments might pos
,iblv have been able TO bring the surviving
I fragment Of the original company to silence ana
! attention But Nh Everett ieryd and scholar
" haranguc was lost. The speakers who sue
| cccdcd him Jared still worse. for every moment
the audience was dubhliug away and the con-
dtions Of effective speech were becoming more
impossible.
! Now il must he acknowledged that such
ruhic dinner ~ this comes near to being a
/ rcdGctio al absurdum. The speaker who has
! been invited months in advance To address "A
distinguished aS,cmblagc on a conspicuous oc-
u.
who pcrhap, la, come a long distance to keep
/ his engagement a.. for example, the clever
and eloquent Mr.. Cummins came from Iowa ;
and who j. forced 10 watch his audience ana
! his opportunity vanish away and to rise ut last
| before handful of adcd Individuals engaged
in private conyor,aiion-Such speaker may
! Justly complain thai hi> il-trcatnent would be
! intolerlhly insulting II il were not FOR the tact
that thofc i limit 10 human endurance.
TIE TRIRyNE has made the New-tngland
society - heartily welcome 10 is space and ~
services for 80 many years n 10 forbid the sup
position that wo entertain the slightest iIl-WlI
! toward the >ncictN or any member ot II: and
! these observation, are submitted solely in Tho
! hope thai they may suggest - those VIII" have
public dinners in charge the propricty Of bring
| ing them within a reasonable compass.