New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-24
LONDON NOTES.
York of the PiIgrimS-Mr. Cham
berIain'S Health.
London. February o.

cGIFn
ss the coming and speeds the departing am
to.ssdor and takes advantage Of supreme OPP
,-.,,nities for influencing public opinion It's
so-.z,eu dinner 10 Mr.. Bryce was admirably
,aze5 and converted into q representative
s.,r of exceptional distinction The risks that
+e-+sinr.lent might be sacrificed to dignity
ra r7inirl!zed when MI Patrick Murphy, Of
.,a Neyy York Society. was brought forward at
she close Of the evening. His speech was a
,-sr,ant example of persifage epigram and
,o-adox following another like gIitterlng
t,bN1es and every sentence having a subtle
tee II was a revelation OF the artistic quail
,,.s - American after dinner speaking and was
generally admired. But nobody at the tables
.,,ngl7t Of challenging comparison Of wit. The
pilgrims has established the reputation of hsv-
,-r the most unconventional and delightful din
e-s IN London. Its services are invaluable
.he-sver International or imperial interests are
,nvolved Il IS now organizing demonstration
:, welcome 10 the colonial Premiers In April,
end the government has gladly taken advantage
- It's good Offices. Lord Elgin has accepted an
Invitation 10 attend the dinner, and has changed
,he date Of an official function for the conven-
,.nce Of the society. There Will be a similar
,,,rt+ Of official accommodation If the Pilgrims
carries out the plan Of entertaining the British
and American delegations TO the congress at The
Hague
The secret Of the success Of the Pilgrims has
heen hearty cooperation Of Englishmen and
Americans In every undertaking. Other organ
izations have lacked this essential element, be-
cause they have been either exclusively English
ar exclusively American. Mr.. Bryce's own So
ciety. the Anglo-American League, has been
English on this side Of the Atlantic. and has not
carried a single American name on its rolls
here Il has reserved itself for diplomatic crises
which have never arisen. and while il has num-
bere5 many distinguished members the weight
NJ their names has not been felt in international
notifies The Atlantic Union has also been an
English organization, with the modest aim OF
helping American tourists 70 the sights OF
london and the kingdom 10 the best advantage
As the majority Of transatlantic tourists know
England more thoroughly than their good nat
ured hosts the Atlantic Union has not accom-
piished great results. The American Society
having an exclusively American membership
confines its operations TO the celebration Of ma
tional holidays and the management OF a char
fly fund Il fills a long head table, with English
guests Of honor Il does not bring Englishmen
and Americans directly together IN the manage
nent Of the society OF in the ordering Of its hos
pitalicy. In the executive committee OF the Pill
grirs there IS the most harmonious co-opera-
ton of representative men Of the TWO countries,
end when dinner is served without the long top
table overlooked with dignitaries and with
Americans and Englishrnen cheek by :owl at
score or more OF small tables Fellowship is
promoted and good feeling created. The Pill
grins IS we'll supported by a body Of over
three hundred subscribers English and Ameri-
can who are assessed two guineas a year for
general purposes. They get the full weight OF
their money in the entertainments ct the Savoy
Hotel. and are doing much 10 bring Englishmen
and Americans into cordial personal relations
The Rogers house, overlooking Green Park,
has become 80 shabby that tablet recting the
banker-poet's dates Of residence and death has
been necessary IN order 20 advertise such dis
tinction It has It IS now an old house. for
he lived il ST. Jeu1es's Place over fifty years
and died there half e century ago II was
never large house. but It was furnished IN
Samuel Rogers's tine with fastidious taste
Flaxnan had designed the main .nantelp!ece
stotherd had ornemented the bookcase in the
library with painted groups from Shakespeare
Boccaccio and Chaucer; there was wood carving
by Chantrey in the dining room. and the draw
ing room was decorated and furnished with
hnenent OF art. Rogerss breakfasts, judged by
modern standards, were simple and unpreten-
tous entertainments, but the great men who
accepted his hospitality were impressed with
the elegance Of the house In those days Ma
CaUlay had comfortable apartments with half a
dozen rooms IN the Albany and paid 90 guineas
Tor them, and Byron, Moore and the literary
lights who shone at the breakfasts were con-
tent with cheap lodgings. Rogers a rich
man Who wrote for pleasure and not 10 make a
living, and his house was the home OF & diIet-
tsnte and impressed his visitors with its artis-
tic qualities II is easy 70 identify this plain
structure on the edge OF Green Park with the
literary salon OF which many famous writer's
have recorded their impressions. The carvings
we're cut away long ago: the art treasures were
auctioned of and scattered and one Of the most
Doubtful Of the paintings. the Rogers Raphael,
has found its way 10 the National Gallery, where
i iE discredited by genuine work the same
wall The literary salons OF London have al
ways been fated TO short life and subsequent
neglect Lady Blessington's two houses have
disappeared completely. and Holland House has
been rebuilt and transformed since It was the
social headquarters Of the Wing party. tab
let has also been placed the first London
home Of Carlyle-a dingy house in a dull street
running out OF Gray's Inn Road, where he lived
when trying 10 find publisher for "sartor Re
sartus" Many literary celebrities called on the
csryles in this house. and for a few years 1t
Tss the centre Of intellectual life.
The constant denials from Highbury OF re-
ports that Mr.. Chamberlains public life has
ended have failed TO reassure his political
friends The cornrnonest version is that he had
slight stroke Of paralysis in London after his
exhsusting labors in connection with the Biz
ninghaH jubilee His mind was left perfectly
clear, and there loss Of memory, as
there was IN Earl SpenceTis case. but both his
sight and hearing were affected temporarily
There was slow and not altogether promising