w two years since I was present at this annual
gathering, and I regret to say I miss the kind and genial face
of the late Deputy Master, Sir Frederick Arrow; but in Admiral
Collinson we have an excellent substitute. On the present
occasion it is a matter of peculiar gratification to us as
Englishmen to receive as our guest General Grant. I can assure
him, for myself and for all the loyal subjects of the Queen,
that it has given us the greatest pleasure to see him as a guest
in this country. My lords and gentlemen, before resuming my
seat, it is my privilege to propose to you another toast--one
which always recommends itself most heartily to the public, and
that is 'The Army, Navy, and Reserve Forces,' connecting with it
on this occasion the name of a distinguished officer, Lord
Strathnairn, and that of the Hon. Sir Henry Keppel."

The toast was received with three times three. Lord Strathnairn and Sir
H. Keppel replied to the compliment, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
responded to the toast of "Her Majesty's Ministers," proposed by His
Royal Highness the Chairman. Other toasts having been given and
acknowledged, the Earl of Carnarvon proposed "The Health of the Guests,"
coupled with the name of General Grant; saying that "there never has
been one to whom we willingly accord a freer, a fuller, a heartier
welcome than we do to General Grant on this occasion. We accord it to
him, not merely because we believe he has performed the part of a
distinguished General in many a 'well-foughten field,' nor because he
has twice filled the highest office which the citizens of his great
country can fill, but because we look upon him here present to-night as
representing, so to speak, that good-will and that affection which ought
to subsist between us and the United States of America. It is not a
century since there befell this country what we believe to have been the
greatest misfortune that her pages record. Not a hundred years ago the
States of America separated from us; and, great as the loss was, I do
not think that the separation was the greatest part of the calamity. The
disaster lay in this, that the separation on each side was effected amid
the storms of passion, resentment, and animosity. Yet not a century has
rolled by, and I believe, and thank God for believing, that in a great
measure that animosity and resentment have passed away, and we are
entering on a new stage