Mr. Choate, the outgoing United States Ambassador, from whom the
British nation parts with genuine regret, was entertained at a farewell banquet by the Bench and Bar in the ball of Lincoln's Inn yesterday week, the Lord Chancellor presiding. Mr. Choate spoke with all his wonted geniality and wit, but with an added note of fervour and earnestness befitting so remarkable an occasion. His task as a diplomatist had, he declared, been rendered absolutely easy by the fact that he had been received and met half-way by Lord Salisbury and Lord Lansdowne; by the resolute determination of Queen Victoria and King Edward, of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, that the two countries should be friends; and by the temper of the great mass of the two peoples. He spoke with enthusiasm of his lifelong love of his profession and its great responsibilities and splendid opportunities ; and illustrated the intimate and enduring relations between the Bench and Bar of England and the United States, and the substantial identity of English and American law. Finally, he declared that his experiences had entirely justified the prediction of his predecessor, Mr. Phelps, when he told him that the lawyers were the best company in England, and that he would certainly have his reward if he cultivated their friend- ship. It is interesting to know that Mr. Choate endorses the view of Sir Walter Scott, who thought the lawyers beat the Bishops and the Bishops the wits.
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