of Priscilla and John Alden, that a New Englander may be too modest to
speak for himself. [Laughter.] But this modesty, like some of the
greater blessings of the war, has been more or less disguised to-night.

We have heard from the eloquent gentleman [Noah Porter, D.D.] on my left
all about the good-fellowship and the still better fellowships in the
rival universities of Harvard and Yale. We have heard from my sculptor
friend [W. W. Story] upon the extreme right all about Hawthorne's tales,
and all the great Storys that have emanated from Salem; but I am not a
little surprised that in this age, when speeches are made principally by
those running for office, you should call upon one engaged only in
running cars, and more particularly upon one brought up in the military
service, where the practice of running is not regarded as strictly
professional. [Laughter.] It occurred to me some years ago that the
occupation of moving cars would be fully as congenial as that of
stopping bullets--as a steady business, so when I left Washington I
changed my profession. I know how hard it is to believe that persons
from Washington ever change their professions. [Laughter.] In this regal
age, when every man is his own sovereign, somebody had to provide
palaces, and, as royalty is not supposed to have any permanent abiding
place in a country like this, it was thought best to put these palaces
on wheels; and, since we have been told by reliable authority that
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," we thought it necessary to
introduce every device to enable those crowned heads to rest as easily
as possible. Of course we cannot be expected to do as much for the
travelling public as the railway companies. They at times put their
passengers to death. We only put them to sleep. We don't pretend that
all the devices, patents, and inventions upon these cars are due to the
genius of the management. Many of the best suggestions have come from
the travellers themselves, especially New England travellers.