The banquet at the Royal Academy on Saturday was less
fertile than usual in good speeches. Lord Salisbury said com- paratively little about Art, though he made jokes about the health of the Government, declaring that the difference between the last Session and this, as regards the Ministerial Members of the House of Commons at least, is the difference between "11 Penseroso" and " L'Allegro,"—so admirably do the shorter hours suit their health. As for the House of Lords, it appeared that they were to be reformed by their sons, and the processes proposed reminded him very much of Medea's prescription for the rejuvenescence of her father-in-law. Passing from this lighter vein, he referred with great feeling to the sick-bed of the Emperor of Germany, declaring that there was no one in Europe with whom artists should feel more sympathy, since the Emperor and Empress of Germany are some of the truest friends of culture and art to be found in the Old World.
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