The annual dinner of the Royal Academy was held on
Satur- day, and attended by the usual crowd of representative men. The speeches, with the exception of one by Dr. Farrar, which was both- eloquent and graceful, were not as good .as -usual. They were injured by that tendency to conventional and factitious admiration on which we have animadverted else- where; and the best speakers were in bad form. Lord Granville was, for him, almost tedious, though there is interest in noting that he believes the admiration for the beautiful to increase with advancing age. That is true about Art, because the eye grows experienced, and sees more ; but is it true about Nature P The President's numerous speeches were wanting in the "purple patches," which, as purple patches, are so perfect of their kind ; and the Archbishop of Canterbury gave the impression, pro- bably accidental, of not knowing precisely what he wanted to -say. It takes a Catholic Archbishop to be enthusiastic about Art, and. Dr. Benson was fain to bring in that -ever-present spectre, the British Working Man. The. Archbishop did, how- ever, say one pregnant thing. He thinks the mystery of mirth more wonderful than the mystery of pain. Did he mean that he wondered how man could laugh, or is his cause. of surprise that man does laugh That should puzzle the men of science who hold man an animal, but not Christians.
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