"Here's to Mr. Bradley
Who smiles on us so badly,
gladly,
madly,
sadly!"
The whole 350 found chairs in the gymnasium of the university and disposed of every one of the doughnuts promised to them by Mr. Thwaites in his eloquent address on Luncheons the previous day. The afternoon was spent in inspection of the beautiful new library building, and here an hour or so later the "official photograph" was taken, the delegates being seated on the steps of the library with its stately façade for background.
Madison refused to maintain us after five o'clock, and on our return to Waukesha we found that the City Federation of Women's Clubs of Waukesha would be "at home" in our honor, so we put on our prettiest frocks and were presented in due form. The reception committee comprised Mrs. H. Y. Youmans, president of the State Federation; Miss L. E. Stearns, Mrs. O. Z. Olin, Mrs. C. E. Wilson, Miss Winifred Winans, Miss Emily Marsh and Miss Kate Kimball. A bevy of pretty girls served tempting ices and a musical program was delightfully rendered.
Tuesday's program was almost too much for even the most confirmed conference attendant. From 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. till 6 did we sit and listen or stand and discuss the program. [At 9 p.m. Mr. Eastman's] display of library architecture, by means of a stereopticon, proved to be one of the most interesting features of the meeting. It is wonderful the advancement made in this form of library development; and still more wonderful how many bad libraries are still being built when so much information is to be had on the subject.
Later the dining-room was cleared and the conscientious librarians who had sat all day in interesting sessions were invited to relieve [the monotony of work] with the terpsichorean muse. It was a pretty sight to see the girls in their muslin frocks and all the young and old members meet in the measures of a Virginia reel. And such a reel; it will go down to history as the dance of the Waukesha meeting. Staid librarians growing bald with the weight of a nation's libraries; quiet instructors in library economics, all unbent to the fascination of this old-fashioned country dance.
Wednesday's sessions were somewhat broken by the necessary preparations for departure. In order to leave nothing undone the hotel management arranged a fire spectacle this last afternoon of the conference and the fair grounds looked their best with flames leaping in the air and the black smoke rolling on. There was a large attendance of spectators, including the town fire department who declared the exhibition a great success.
Then came the leavetakings, and after many handshakings and hearty appreciations of hospitality, the conference gradually disintegrated and only a small number of us were among that fortunate party lined up along the wharf at Milwaukee to take the lake trip to Buffalo en route to our homes.
We stood in silence as the big white Northwest loomed in sight. This ship and its twin-sister the Northland represent the perfection of modern lake travel and rival the trans-Atlantic liners in elegance and comfort. It was a sleepy party that sought staterooms early. The morning came fine and cloudless, and although the dawn and sunrise on the water seemed to come very early in this high latitude, it was a thing of beauty—an aquarelle of Nature's best workmanship. The trip to Mackinac was marked by the organization of the Infinite Eight, a secret society having blood-curdling ritual and banded together for offensive and defensive tactics in the war upon the cuisine—led by the gallant survivor of the "Adventures of a house-boat." This company attacked everything that was before it and demolished everything within its reach. Not until the last day were any reverses recorded and then Neptune with his trident reduced the gallant band to four. In memory of this glorious record the survivors have applied for arms consisting of a ship rampant on a field azure and the motto
Puellæ Pallidæ non ad cenam veniunt.
When Buffalo was reached the Pan-American exhibition claimed everyone's attention. Most of the party were there by eleven o'clock and spent the rest of the day. Mr. Elmendorf claimed a number of the men and gave them a delightful dinner in "In Nuremburg," and everyone was in front of the great pilons in time to see the electricity turned on at 8.30, after which the gondoliers became popular. It was Georgia Day at the Exposition and the A. L. A. members who had attended the Atlanta conference were greeted by a familiar figure in the person of Mr. Cabiniss, who had addressed the Association at Atlanta and was one of the orators of the day. The most popular part of the proceedings, however, was the singing of the refrain