went from England to Scotland,
which, at that time, was a more formidable undertaking than is a voyage
from England to America at the present time, met at a reception at St.
Andrew's a young professor who said, breaking the gloomy silence of the
occasion: "I trust you have not been disappointed!" And the famous
Englishman replied: "No; I was told that I should find men of rude
manners and savage tastes, and I have not been disappointed." So, too,
when I set out for your shores I was told that I should meet a kindly
welcome and the most friendly hospitality. I can only say, with Dr.
Johnson, I have not been disappointed.

But in my vivid though short experience of American life and manners, I
have experienced not only hospitality, but considerate and thoughtful
kindness, for which I must ever be grateful. I can find it in my heart
even to forgive the reporters who have left little of what I have said
or done unnoted, and when they have failed in this, have invented
fabulous histories of things which I never did and sayings which I never
uttered. Sometimes when I have been questioned as to my impressions and
views of America, I have been tempted to say with an Englishman who was
hard pressed by his constituents with absurd solicitations: "Gentlemen,
this is the humblest moment of my life, that you should take me for such
a fool as to answer all your questions." But I know their good
intentions and I forgive them freely.

The two months which I have spent on these shores seem to me two years
in actual work, or two centuries rather, for in them I have lived
through all American history. In Virginia I saw the era of the earliest
settlers, and I met John Smith and Pocahontas on the shores of the James
River. In Philadelphia I lived with William Penn, but in a splendor
which I fear would have shocked his simple soul. At Salem I encountered
the stern founders of Massachusetts; at Plymouth I watched the Mayflower
threading its way round the shoals and promontories of that intricate
bay. On Lake George and at Quebec I followed the struggle between the
English and the French for the possession of this great continent. At
Boston and Concord I followed the progress of the War of Independence.
At Mount Vernon I enjoyed the felicity of companionship with Washington
and his associates. I pause at this great name, and carry my
recollections no further. But you will understand how long and fruitful
an experience has thus been added to