On a prior occasion M. Gabriel Hanotaux expressed the pleasure of the delegation at the reception given it in this country, saying that from the moment they had placed foot upon this soil they have been captivated and carried away in a whirlwind of cordiality and good-fellowship. About the reception by President Taft the French statesman said:
The President, despite his overwhelming occupations, received us at his table; in the very kindest manner he honored, in our persons, the thought which has brought us here. He was so kind as to give us personally, in connection with our visit, assurances of his encouragement and approval; which have been for us an ample reward. These countless acts of friendship of all kinds we have looked upon—and rightly so—as being addressed to our beloved mother country and to the Government of the French Republic which has so splendidly encouraged and aided us in the accomplishment of our mission.
On its return from America, the French delegation which had attended the Champlain exercises, was entertained in Paris at a grand dinner, on June 17, 1912. It was a truly brilliant assemblage, presided over by M. Raymond Poincaré, President of the Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prominent among the large number at the tables were the sculptor, Rodin; Paul Hervieu, of the French Academy; Louis Barthou, deputy and former Minister; General Brugère, former vice-president of the Conseil Supérieur of War, and president of the United States section of the Franco-American Committee; and many others eminent in the official, military, naval, financial, literary and art circles of France. The aviator, Blériot, was a guest, representative of a putative new science. Many ladies also graced the occasion.
Among the Americans in attendance was the American Ambassador, the Hon. Myron Herrick, to whom the presiding officer, M. Poincaré, in his opening remarks, most happily referred as having come “to testify that his country, less near to us by parentage than is Canada, is still just as near at heart.” American hospitality, he said, which surprises and charms the French, whenever they cross the ocean, is but an expression of a constant memory. “As Monsignor Ireland so well says: ‘The United States forget nothing. In learning the history of his own country, an American learns to love France. The Past has not ceased to be felt in the Present. American sentiment is unable to detach itself from France. Emigrants, it is true, arrive in vast numbers on our soil; but there is a something, I know not what, in the air we breathe, that assimilates them in less than a generation. And the new-comers become like the earlier ones.’”
M. Gabriel Hanotaux, of the French Academy, President of the Franco-American Committee, reviewed the experiences of the French delegation in their journey to Lake Champlain, and in his very felicitous remarks, “addressed, across the seas, a salutation of thanks and of gratitude, on the part of France to the United States of America and to the Dominion of Canada, in response to the welcome extended by these two countries, last month, to the French delegation visiting Lake Champlain.” He drew a lively picture of incidents of the journey, especially of the arrival at Ticonderoga:
“It is impossible to express the emotion which we felt when we saw that there was the goal of our journey; that our feet would tread in the footsteps of our great compatriots of by-gone ages; that this little bay was where Champlain embarked, in the Indian canoes, to go to discover, southwards, the land where sprang up Boston and New York; that here were those famous passes, defended, later on, foot by foot by the French heroes of the 17th and 18th centuries; that these ruins are of Fort Carillon; that these fields, these hills and woods, were the battle ground where Montcalm had fought and conquered; and that here, in a word, was the lake toward which we had fared all these weeks, and where we came to enshrine, at the foot of the commemorative monument, the image which we had brought, with precious care—from the land of France, on the ship La France, the image of France!”
The speaker paid graceful tribute to the genius of Rodin; dwelt upon the welcome which the delegation had met with in Canada; thanked all who had contributed to the pleasure and success of the mission, and concluded by proposing the health of the President of the United States, His Majesty George the Fifth, the people of all Latin America, of the delegation’s hosts in the United States and Canada, and of the Franco-American Committee.
He was followed by Senator Dandurand, President of the Franco-American Committee of Montreal, who spoke of Canadian development, and of the relations of Canada and the United States. At the close of his address he was invested with the insignia of the Legion of Honor.
Then followed the address of the Deputy, Louis Barthou, which sparkled with wit and happy hits. The speaker paid particular tribute to M. Hanotaux; dwelt upon the enthusiasm with which their delegation had been met, and made repeated acknowledgment of the courtesies they had received. His Excellency, M. Puga-Borne, Minister from Chili, spoke briefly, and was followed by the American Ambassador, Mr. Herrick, who happily acknowledged the compliments and courtesies bestowed upon him and his country, and closed by proposing the health of the President of the French Republic. The exercises were concluded by a brief address from the presiding officer, M. Raymond Poincaré, who referred to the part which the Franco-American Committee had borne in the carrying out of the Champlain commemorative project.
On May 25, 1912, the newly-appointed Ambassador from the United States to France, Mr. Myron T. Herrick, and Mrs. Herrick, gave a reception at the American Embassy to the French delegation which represented France in the Champlain ceremonies. Some seventy guests were present, and were welcomed by the Ambassador in a felicitous speech, to which M. Hanotaux replied most happily in behalf of the delegation. M. Antonin Dubost also spoke on the unbroken amity so long existing between France and the United States.