Allwasmagnificent。Nothingofitskindcouldbemoresplendidthanthemassivegoldandsilverplatepileduponthelordmayor’stableandbehindit，nothingmoresumptuousthanthedinner，nothingmorequaintthantheceremonial。Nearthelordmayor，whowasarrayedinhisrobes，chain，andallthegloriesofhisoffice，stoodthetoastmaster，whoannouncedthetoastsinamannerfittomakeanAmericanthinkhimselfdreaming，——something，infact，afterthissort，inaqueersingsongway，withcomicalcadences，broughtupattheendwithasharpsnap:``Melawds，la—a—a—diesandgentleme—e—e—n，bycommawndoftheRightHonorabletheLawrdMarr，I
cha—a—awrgeyoufillyourglawse—e—e—sanddrinktothehealthoftheRightHonorabletheUr—r—rllofBeck’nsfield。’’
Amainfeatureoftheceremonywastheloving—cup。
Downeachlongtablealargesilvertankardcontainingapleasingbeverage，ofwhichthefoundationseemedtobeclaret，waspassed;and，asitcame，eachofusinturnarose，and，havingreceiveditsolemnlyfromhisneighbor，whohaddrunktohishealth，drankinreturn，andthen，turningtohisnextneighbor，dranktohim;thelatterthenreceivedthecup，returnedthecompliment，andinthesamewaypassediton。
DuringthewholeentertainmentIhadfrequentlyturnedmyeyestowardtheprimeminister，andhadbeenmuchimpressedbyhisapparentstolidity。Whenhepresentedhisarmtotheladymayoress，whenhewalkedwithher，andduringallthetimeattable，heseemedmuchlikeawoodenimagegalvanizedintotemporarylife。Whenherosetospeak，therewasthesamewoodenstiffnessandhewentoninakindofmechanicalwayuntil，suddenly，hedartedoutabrilliantstatementregardingthepolicyofthegovernmentthatarousedthewholeaudience;then，aftermoreofthesamewoodenmannerandmechanicalprocedure，anotherbrilliantsentence;andsoontotheendofthespeech。