After a brief interval the Chairman again rose, his rising being the signal for prolonged cheering. He said:—
“Gentlemen,—I first knew Bill Beresford over thirty years ago in the playing fields of Eton, where they say battles are won, to the inspiration of which thought we may both trust to fight against the extreme nervousness our respective positions entail on us to-night. His nervousness needs no apology, as he has to respond to a whole evening in his honour, which nobody could face with perfect equanimity. Mine perhaps requires this explanation, that in assuming my duty, which is to now call a toast to his name, and bid him farewell on behalf of this large company, I find it difficult to do so in appropriate terms, lest I be charged with personal bias from my well-known feelings for him of affectionate friendship and regard—(cheers). I have been selected for this task which, for this reason, I would rather have deputed to some other, because amongst Calcutta residents proper (and this dinner is meant to bear a Calcutta complexion) I have known him longer than most, if not than all of you. This qualification I claim with pride. I beg you however to believe I mean to be impartial in the few remarks regarding his career which I now make—(cheers).
“I must not date back too far, so I leave Eton days and get straight to India, where his main career has been spent, and with distinction—(cheers)—for it is with that portion of his life that this company is chiefly concerned. What fortunate accident brought him here I do not quite know, unless it was the natural termination of the short life and a merry one dear to youthful soldiers in the old country, but having arrived here eighteen years ago, here he has remained, and I would briefly recall to you the various phases in which he has appeared before us. I think I can best cut him into four—(laughter and cheers)—the soldier, the official, the sportsman, and the social companion—(cheers).
“As soldier I cannot speak of him from personal knowledge. I have the satisfaction of being a member of society who, when war is abroad, is entitled to seclude himself from its ranks—(laughter)—but it is a consolation to feel that a good plucked one, like our friend Bill, is to the fore to protect me—(hear, hear, and laughter). I recollect I first saw him as a soldier, gay and dapper, in 9th Lancers uniform, brown hair, sufficient of it, and a straight nose—(laughter)—escorting the Prince of Wales from Prinseps Ghât to Government House, but this is only the show side of a soldier’s life. For its realistic side one must go further afield, and there are those amongst us from whom no doubt I could glean facts to set forth his worth, but there is no need. He bears on his breast the sign manual of merit in the proud insignia of the Victoria Cross, and I am justified in accepting that as sufficient evidence—(loud and prolonged cheers).
“As official, we have all known him best as Military Secretary to the Viceroy of India. He has (after six years’ service as A.D.C. to Lords Northbrook and Lytton) held the post for twelve years under three successive Viceroys; has raised the office to a science, and himself from an official into an institution—(cheers)—acquired a reputation absolutely unique, and so identified himself with the position that when a new Viceroy is appointed it seems more natural to ask who is to be his ‘Bill Beresford’ than his ‘Military Secretary’—(cheers and laughter)—and when it is Bill himself the Viceroy elect has secured, what is of great value, the same capacity and undeviating loyalty enjoyed by his predecessor—(cheers). In all this I need not rely upon my own judgment, for it is proved a hundred-fold in the fact that he has been the choice and acquired the confidence and esteem of successive men of high intellect and such different characters as Lords Ripon, Dufferin and Lansdowne—(cheers). More than that I understand his worth has been recognised by a power higher even than a Viceroy’s, and testified to by his elevation to a Knighthood in the Order of the Indian Empire, of which he is already a member—(loud and continued cheering). I knew that would elicit the hearty congratulations of you all, and I am glad we are the first to offer them.
“In the social part of his duties, his capacity extends to, and is felt by all of us, for the influence of the Chief of the Staff is visible in every detail of the social functions and hospitality of Government House. I can assure him we not only know it, but appreciate very warmly the advantages we have derived from it. He has won all this by sheer force of character, and we find it hard to realise he is really giving up.
“As sportsman, I can best sum him up in the current colloquialism that he is absolutely undefeated—(loud and continued cheers). His stable of racehorses has been for years the chief mainstay of Calcutta racing; in all weathers and all vicissitudes of fortune he is to the fore, full of pluck, always has horses to run or to back, buys freely, and is generally a dispensation of Providence to stewards, being a staunch supporter of ruling powers and frequent offers of useful advice born of long experience. His most remarkable virtue to my mind is his exuberant cheerfulness even when luck is against him—(cheers). I never met a better loser, and it means possession of a combination of enviable qualities rarely met with. I have known his career on the turf for over twenty years, and to speak of him as I know him he has throughout raced like an honest English gentleman. As you all know, he is a splendid whip, and was a first-class performer over jumps, especially on difficult horses, until he ended his career to that game, and it was then that he spoilt the shape of the nose I before alluded to—(much laughter and cheers).