The Marquis de Villalobar said it gave him great pleasure to convey to his illustrious compatriot the message which his Majesty, the King of Spain, had sent to him just now through his Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was as follows: "By command of his Majesty the King, congratulate personally Señor Garcia on the day of the celebration of his 100th birthday. Convey his royal best wishes to the grand old Spaniard who, by his invention and works, has glorified and exalted the name of Spain."
The chairman, resuming, said he had heard a whisper that the honour conferred by the King of Spain carried with it the title of His Excellency, so that in future they might regard their dear old friend as His Excellency, Señor Garcia. Again, his Majesty the German Emperor, mindful of the benefit which he himself not long since obtained from the knowledge of the instrument invented by Señor Garcia, had conferred upon him a great distinction. It had been brought to London by the most distinguished laryngologist in Germany, Professor Fränkel. It was the medal which was called the Great Gold Medal for Science. They would appreciate its importance when he said that previously it had only been conferred upon Professor Virchow, Professor Koch, Ehrlich, and Mommsen. These three Sovereigns had that day combined to recognise in Señor Garcia the ability which had influenced science and art in all countries. He gave them the toast of the King of Spain, and then of the German Emperor.
The toasts having been honoured, Sir Felix Semon proposed the health of the hero of the evening in a long and eloquent speech.
The toast was drunk with enthusiasm, and the company sang, "For he's a jolly good fellow."
Then, in an atmosphere of electrical excitement, Manuel Garcia stood up, and amid a thrilling silence made his response.
It was almost the only occasion in the world's history that a man of world-wide fame had ever attained his 100th anniversary. It was, moreover, the first time that any centenarian, whether illustrious or "born to blush unseen," had been in such full possession of his faculties and bodily strength as to make his own reply to the hundreds assembled to do honour to his birthday. He was almost overcome by emotion in making his response in English.
"Sir Felix Semon, Ladies and Gentlemen,—Words, it is said, are given us to conceal our thoughts. They will admirably fulfil that purpose if you take mine as a full and complete expression of my feelings on this extraordinary occasion. But words, whatever use we make of them, are not mere masks. They are living things, intensely living things to some—to those of us who hold the magic ring that makes them slaves. They are as mighty friends, friends such as you to me, who from the ocean depths of your indulgence fling back to me my own poor and trivial deeds, transfigured into something 'rich and strange.'"
At this point Señor Garcia, who had become almost inaudible, and who was evidently somewhat exhausted by fatigue and excitement, handed the MS. of his speech to the chairman, who read the remainder. It ran as follows:—
"There are so many of you to be greeted,—old friends out of the past, old pupils, comrades, children! Ah, children! Sixteen societies of laryngologists, and mostly come of age, calling me 'Father'! They will have it so, and I am pretty proud of the title, I can tell you. Well, do you think one solitary man could find fit word to answer all these voices? But you can do it for me. There is an old story some of you may remember, which, when I read it, changed the aspect of things for me by its very name, for that was a stroke of genius: 'Put yourself in his place.' What a different world it would be if we all did that! Well, you try now. Try hard. Think yourself each one hundred years old to-day. Not the ladies. I will not ask them. Though they may come to that they will never look it, and they will never know it, and no one will ever believe it. But you men can try. Fancy you each lived one hundred years and woke to-day to find yourself surrounded by kindly clamorous voices, 'troops of friends'! What would you say? I think you would say nought. Only the infinite nought which circles all things could give an adequate answer to you all. I shall say nought to this great master of the brush, Mr Sargent, who with his creative touches in a moment brought life from void. It is a strange experience to see one's very self spring out at one from nothing in a flash. I shall say nought to this rash friend of mine, Sir Felix Semon, who into the midst of a busy life crammed all the work and worry of the labour of love that has brought you here to-day. Nought, nought to the friends so very near my heart, the Laryngological Society of London, and the chosen band whose terrible labours fill me with remorse whenever I think of them, the Members of the Garcia Committee. I shall say nought, nought, nought to all of you, except just this, 'God bless you every one!'"
The chairman next proposed "Our Foreign Guests," for whom Herr Emanuel Stockhausen (son of one of his most distinguished pupils), Dr Puttner, Dr Harman Smith, Dr Goris, Dr Lermoyez, Dr Poli, Dr Botella, Dr Burger, and Professor Chiari responded. During the dinner a number of congratulatory telegrams were received. Among them was one from the Prime Minister.