An Englishman's View of Harvard's Anniversary Celebration. II.

Then he says of the banquet: "The hall at Harvard is a truly noble building which under some stress was made capable of holding 1200 guests. The repast was simple in the extreme; there was no wine on the table and the eating was soon over. It was a refreshing contrast to the uncomfortable grandeur of English public dinners. The audience had come to listen and did not waste time needlessly! (This exclamation mark is our own.) There was no formality, cigars were speedily lighted and every one prepared to endure the speeches as long as speeches were forthcoming. Even the departure of the president at half-past four did not break up the company, which sat without any display of weariness till half-past seven. Truly the Americans are a patient and much enduring race."

In conclusion the article says: "The chief impression left on the spectator was the homeliness, the simplicity and the heartiness of the entire proceedings. There had been no thought of grandeur, no waste of time in elaborate preparations. The men of Harvard welcomed their guests and gave them of their best with abundant cordiality, but appealed to those who knew and esteemed it for its work's sake. It was clear that it did not appeal in vain and that it was strong in the affections of a vast body of its graduates, and in the kindly regard of its academic rivals. An Englishman might meditate on Mr. Lowell's eloquent tribute to the historic glories of Oxford and Cambridge, and think that Harvard was not without compensation for their absece. In England the alumni of the old Universities feel that they are immemorial institutions which need little help from them. The alumni of Harvard felt that the college belonged to themselves, had been enriched by the munificence of many who were present and looked to them all for the means of increasing her future usefulness."