of remembrance--_hollow-ware_. When Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane,
Macbeth was conquered, and it seems to me that you have come almost as well
provided with timber as Macduff and Malcolm were. Your articles, however,
although of wood, are not of the Burn 'em kind, and I am not such a Dunce
inane as to decline accepting them. Indeed, my wife, who, notwithstanding
her matrimonial vows, has a _single eye_--to housekeeping--would not
permit me to refuse them were I so inclined. She knows their value better
than I do, and with the assistance of her kitchen cabinet will, I have no
doubt, employ them usefully.

The speech closes with thanks and good wishes in return.




TOASTS


A toast may be given either with or without sentiment attached, and in
either case a response equally fitting; but in the former the subject is
narrowed and defined by the nature of the sentiment. Yet the speaker need
not hold himself closely to the sentiment, which is often made rather a
point of departure even by the ablest speakers. Indeed, the latitude
accorded to after-dinner speeches is very great, and a sentiment which
gives unity and direction to the speech made in response to it is, on that
account, of great value.

To illustrate these points we will take the toast "Our Flag." A speech in
response would be practically unlimited in scope of treatment. Anything
patriotic, historical or sentimental, which brings in some reference to the