But, in the presence of our guest and my old friend the President of the St. George's Society, who sits near me, I may not violate the ancient principles of hospitality established by our fathers, and dwell as seriously as I might upon the cruel South African spectacle. It would be pleasanter, indeed, to stroke the handsome mane of the British Lion than twist his royal tail at this time when the Lion is at the Dutchman's dinner table as his guest, and sacred by all the laws of the Dutch.

However, I venture to say that if, as President of this Holland Society, this Society of the earliest Americans, I should be permitted to take the American Eagle to South Africa on an errand of mercy and good-will offering,- peace with honor might well be the outcome.

Then smoke away, my brothers. Smoke is one of the few things your fathers made which have disappeared from the earth.

While the clouds of reverie are about our heads, let us for a moment see the old vision: The long lines of the dikes and dunes are before us-the thousand windmills, the languishing canals, the fishermen in the boats, the farmers in their gardens, and the cattle in the meadows. We look again, and we see the burghers gathering in the cities, and the farmers in the villages, muttering about freedom and the rights of men, while across the lowlands are moving the cohorts of Spain. We see again the nobles at their dinner take up the scornful jest of the "Beggars," and defiantly wave the "Beggar's platter and his wallet. We see them hang the "Beggar's Penny" about their necks, and soldiers and sailors and burghers and farmers do the same on land and sea. We behold again the fall of the noble

Orange, and see again, as they tear away his shirt to staunch the wound, the "Beggar's Penny" around his neck, stained with his patriot blood.

In

O little land of the mighty few! Again we read the truce in those eighty years of war, and see, before the ink was dry upon that treaty of peace, the Half Moon dash bravely across the unknown sea and cast its anchor off the island of the Manahattoes. We see the other ships that come with hardy men and women to settle these shores. vision their lives of struggle and privation come before us, and we see those old homes of our greatgrandsires, built of stone and heavy timbers, made not for time but for eternity. To-night we see again those strong-willed men, whose eyes looked you straight, and whose hands gripped you true. And by the hearthstones we see again the broad, benignant brows of those grand dames of ours, where love and purity and tender mercy sat on their throne! Oh, you men from Jersey hills and meadows, and the Catskills, from the Hackensack, the Rondout, the Mohawk, from Long Island's bays and shores, from Hudson's mighty river— will you forget? No; by the God of our fathers, and these colors that float above us, we shall remember!

ADDRESS OF JUDGE GILDERSLEEVE.

"NIEUW AMSTERDAM THE BUD;

NEW YORK THE FULL-BLOWN FLOWER."

And if on daily scandals fed,

We seem at times to doubt thy worth,
We know thee still, when all is said,
The best and dearest spot on earth.

Mr. President and Gentlemen:

HERE is New York? It will be conceded that this is a proper inquiry at the outset of a response to the toast that has been assigned to me. Some years ago, a well-known New York gentleman, travelling in Egypt, wished to communicate with his Wall Street office by telegram. He wrote out his message and passed it in to the clerk, who, upon reading it, much surprised my friend by asking, "Where is New York?" The shocked banker pulled himself together, and the best reply he could make was, "It is opposite Jersey City." It is not my purpose to introduce you to-night to New York, by way of Jersey City, and spend the evening around the Battery. I ask your kind

indulgence for a few moments, that I may state some facts and reasons that warrant an honest New Yorker in feeling proud at being able to say, "I am a resident of the Metropolis of the New World." The course of its early history is found in the political history of the Province. In 1743 it was practically the capital of the Province. Here the principles of social, political, and religious liberty were nourished, and have ever found earnest and capable advocates. Universal liberty was recognized as a principle incident to national prosperity, and the Empire State, adhering to this sentiment, was among the first to grant freedom to the slaves. Love of liberty and the desire of freedom from foreign dominion, on the night of July 9, 1776, caused the residents of New York to hurl from its pedestal in Bowling Green the equestrian statue of George III., and mould his leaden majesty into patriotic bullets. Its people have never been wanting in love of liberty and loyalty to their country. They have been among the first to offer their services to the Government in time of war, and many a bloody battle-field attests their valor. No troops in the Civil War made a better record at the front than the Excelsior Brigade. The New York soldiers were in the hottest of the fighting at Bull Run, Antietam, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, and other battles, and in the last struggle at Appomattox, which was more ceremony than conflict, the New York soldiers took a conspicuous part.

It is indeed a fit place for our living heroes to come to receive the grateful homage of our common country. It is also most appropriate that the mortal remains of our most distinguished men.

should here find their final abode. With the unanimous approval of the American people, the remains of Ulysses S. Grant rest in Manhattan soil, upon the banks of the noble Hudson. Its constantly moving waters carry to every land the story of his glorious achievements in both war and peace. He was the greatest soldier of our day, and every true New Yorker, not only to-day, but for ages to come, will point with pride and devout affection to Morningside Heights and the tomb there that marks his grave. Other objects of interest are enthroned upon these Heights, and deserve especial mention. Columbia University is there, to furnish learning for those seeking mental development; St. Luke's Hospital provides relief for those who are the victims of physical ailments; and St. John's Cathedral will be an everlasting monument to religion, and one of the grandest temples ever dedicated to Deity. To those who survive all, and seek for true happiness in domestic bliss, Barnard College can furnish wives who will insure a happy life. And as a last resort, if the worst comes to the worst, for the poor devil who can find nothing good in this world, the river is near at hand.

It was in this City, on March 4, 1789, the United States Government was formally launched upon the world. On that day, George Washington, first President of the United States, took the oath of office where now stands the Sub-Treasury Building in Wall Street.

New York enjoys the honor of having furnished the first Chief Justice of the United States. John Jay, of New York, served as Chief Justice from 1789 to 1795. Daniel Webster, in speaking of John Jay, said, "His character is a brilliant jewel