This naïveté of the old man reminds one of the proud boast of some old French family, that they had an ark of their own at the time of the Flood, and were quite independent of Noe and his ship of refuge!
Lord G——, in his earnest reply, gracefully alluded in the following words to the long tenure of land by the farmers’ ancestors: “There can be nothing more gratifying than the existence of cordial good feeling between the occupiers of land and their landlords; and there can be no better evidence of this happy state of things than to find, upon reference to records of the past, numbers of families living upon the same estate for generations—for a longer time, perhaps, than the owners of the estate themselves (hear, hear). I believe there are many people here whose ancestors have been for centuries upon this property; and one can only hope that the same families, from father to son, may continue here for centuries hereafter, and that what has happened in years past will be repeated in years to come, so that, by your descendants and the descendants of my son a long time hence, the same mutual good feeling may be evinced and similar occurrences be witnessed as these we celebrate this evening.”
Lord D——, an early friend of the host, proposed the health of the young recipient of the day’s honors. His speech, quite the best of all, is worthy of notice. After a very apt and graceful beginning, he said: “I am speaking to tenant-farmers and breeders of stock, and you know that, when you look upon a young animal, you always inquire after his sire—what he came from (laughter and cheers); and you judge, from what has been, what will be (renewed cheering). But you know what the N——s are—what their stock is (great cheering). They have lived in this country among you and before your eyes for generations. You know they are a family who love to live among their own. They prefer spending their money among their own people, and sharing their interests, to going abroad, as so many others do, and spending their money away. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon, in speaking of a man, to say how few vices he has, and not how many virtues; and many a time I have heard it said, when there were no virtues to speak of, ‘Well, he is a good-natured fellow.’” He then warmly eulogized his young friend, whom he had known “ever since he could crawl,” and ended by wishing that he might be a worthy “chip off the old block.” Then, with well-deserved praise, he spoke thus of the father:
“For I will say this of the father, whom I have known most intimately for the last twenty years: that he is one of whom it may be truly said, in the full meaning of the word, he is a ‘just man’ (hear, hear), and I hope his son will walk in his footsteps. May all health and happiness accompany him through life, and, when his time is up, and he is called away from this world, may he leave a memory behind him as of one who lived blessing and blessed, and may he be handed down to posterity as one who did his duty to God and man!”
Mr. Wortley—another principal tenant, and the orator of his neighborhood, a man whose kind heart is father to his innocent pride of speech—then stood forward on behalf of the committee who had managed the subscriptions for the birthday gift, and spoke as follows:
“My Lord C——: I have now the great pleasure and the distinguished honor to ask your acceptance of this plate, which is contributed by tenants and friends of the Earl of G—— on the occasion of your coming of age, as a substantial evidence from us of the cordial manner in which we share the general joy of this day, and of the great respect we entertain towards your noble father and the family of the N——s.... It is given to you, my lord, just stepping, as it were, on the threshold of active and responsible life, with the earnest wish that you may be largely blest with those talents for which so many of your family have been celebrated, and may, like them, enjoy the high blessing of a disposition to use them, as they have used theirs, for the greater benefit and advantage of their fellow-creatures.” Then making his favorite quotation, one largely used on these occasions as strikingly appropriate, he repeated sonorously the well-known lines:
“Kind words are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood.”
“And still,” he went on, “we, the living, have what past generations could point to—the bright coronet of old N——l blood to boast of, and their natural crest of real and crowning charity to be thankful for (cheers).”
The presentation plate was a beautiful silver épergne, also convertible into candelabra, thirty-nine inches high, and a pair of flower-stands with finely modelled figures of a stag and a doe standing beneath an oak. According to the universal custom in country neighborhoods, these costly articles were not procured from London, but from some local silversmith of good standing; for in England everything like centralization is instinctively avoided. How much the prosperity of every part of the kingdom is thereby increased may be seen at a glance. Mr. Wortley concluded with these words: “It is not presented with the power of words, but it comes with the far stronger power of hearts within and without this gorgeous assemblage—warm, devoted, and glowing hearts—hearts joining with yours, my Lord C——, in wishing that you may long remain the heir to the title and estate; while we join most sincerely with each other in the fervent hope and humble prayer that through life, in whatever clime or condition, God’s blessing may be your unfailing portion (cheers).”
Lord C—— made a modest and graceful acknowledgment in a few well-chosen words, telling his guests “what a value he should always set on the testimonial as a remembrance of the happy hours he and they had been permitted to enjoy together” and begging them “to take what he had said for what it was worth.” “I do not say this by way of any excuse for what I am certain must be my shortcomings, but I say it lest you should think I am expressing myself in any way too feebly, or with too little warmth of feeling.”