Evening journal., 1911-06-07
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Guest Who Forced Him
self Upon James Russell
Lowell
By ~HOIIAnd."

When James Russell Lowell was
minister from the United States to the
Court of st. James he entertained at
dinner and in other formal ways many
men Of distinction and official charac-
ter. and he was esteemed a most
charming host But there began to be
heard complaints from plain Ameri-
can citizens that Mr. Lowell was not
as Hospitality inclined towards them
as he was towards the great dignitar-
les. So the report spread abroad
through the United States that Mr..
Lowell had at no time invited an
American citizen, who had no official
distinction, 10 dine with him
Whatever truth there may have been
in this criticism II inspired a very
brilliant but also very eccentric Chi
cago lawyer. the late Emory Storrs,
with the ambition to secure an invita-
tion from Mr.. Lowell for a dinner not
only for himself but also for several
American friends Of Mr.. Storrs who,
he knew, we're in Europe at that time.
Mr. Storrs was regarded by the
American bar up to the time Of his
death in 1884 as one of the most bril-
liant Of American advocates. He was
also a very successful stump speaker.
He gained as high reputation as any
OF the speakers who appeared upon the
stump advocating the election OF Ruth
erford b. Hayes in 1876. And far and
wide he was noted as being as full
of fun and wit as a nut is Of meat,
and as fond Of a joke as the original
Joe Miller
II was in the summer of 1882, two
years after Mr.. Lowell had become our
Minister to Great Britain, that Mr..
Storrs undertook to have some fun
with the distinguished New England
man Of letters On his way abroad he
fell in with Chauncey NJ. Depew.
81 am on this steamer" said Mr..
Storrs, gravely. "in an official capacity
am a commissioner appointed by
the packing interests of Chicago toI
inspect the ocean cattle-carrying
methods. | am a genteel cowboy"
'Well, you must nave some other
purpose in going abroad than an in
vestigation of live cattle upon an ocean
steamer said Mr. Depew, incredu-
lously "You don't need to do that for
a living. What do you expect to get out
of it?"
"Well, will tell you what / expect
to get, and what / will get out of 1t,
Mr.. Storrs replied even more gravely
than before. Il am going to get a din
ner out of James Russell Lowell, our
exquisite literary critic who is now
occupying the post of Minister to the
Court Of st. James. And / am not only
going to get an invitation from Mr..
I fct a I a1cn Qninq
10 name my fellow guests"
you are joking, Storrs," protested
Mr. Depew This is one of your jests.
at is no joke at ALL" was the re-
sponse. "I tell you ! am going to make
Jas Russell Lowell do what he never
did before, and probably what he will
never do again; l am going to make
him invite me, a plain, humble, Ameri-
can citizen, to dinner at the American
embassy, and to invite also the guests
whose names / will furnish him."
Some weeks later. Mr.. Depew met
Mr. Storrs upon the Continent.
well, did James Russell Lowell
give a dinner in your honor% he ask
ed the Chicago lawyer.
"He certainly did, and he tried TO
appear happy" was Mr.. Storrs reply.
did he invite the guests whom you
named to him?"
Everyone excepting two. who hap
pened to be away from London at the
time"
"How did you do it?" Mr.. Depew
asked, at the same time expressing his
surprise at this unwonted achieve
ment
"Well, ] just made him do it.; l told
| him | wanted him TO do it," replied
Mr. Storrs. 81 intimated that, unless
| IL were done I would be compelled TO
say in my report as commissioner an
pointed to see whether the COW stables
upon ocean going vessels we're kept as
clean as the stables Hercules swept
out that in my task ! had received no
encouragement or recognition from
the American Minister at the Court OF
St. James.
1T came hard" continued Mr.. Storrs
"the American Minister at the Court OF
St James inviting a plain American
citizen, who had crossed over as gen.
teel cowboy, to dinner; but he did it
and l shall go back to the United
States proud Of the fact that was the
first. and will probably be the only
plain American citizen whom this dis.
tinguished and dilettante man of let
ters. the new American minister 10 the
Court Of st. James, ever invited to din.
ner"
And not until then did Mr.. Depev
realize that Mr. Storrs had doubtless
got himself temporarily appointed ar
Inspector of cattle in order to make
the joke all the better on James Rus
sell Lowell
(Copyright. 1911, by f. ]. Edwards. AL
rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell O
"Peter COOper's Contribution to OceaI
Telegraphy."