YALE ALUMNI WHEKLY >
369
the Philippine Islands, and on terms
of full citizenship, which the President
said was the only condition on which
a representative of those islands could
be admitted. “And now, gentlemen,”
continued the President, “I have the
great pleasure of introducing to you a
representative from Germany, a repre-
sentative of the German Government in
former time, a representative of German
education now, a representative of a
university that is located in one of the
most beautiful cities that I have ever
seen—I introduce to you Baron von
Rottenburg of the University of Bonn.”
Baron von Rottenburg.
“Mr. President and gentlemen: I am
very glad that the degree of LL.D. has
been conferred upon me before I got
examined. I am afraid otherwise’ I
would never have got this degree. You
must acknowledge I am in a very dif-
ficult position. It is difficult to talk
in a foreign language. The remarks
of your President brought back into my
memory a scetie of my earlier official
life. It is fifty years ago I stood with
REAR-ADMIRAL FRANCIS M. BUNCE,
(U.S. N. (RETIRED.)
Giyen the degree of M.A. by Yale at Commencement.
Prince Bismarck in a well known
watering place in Germany, near Kis-
singen, when a Chinese diplomat came
in order to hold a diplomatic consul-
tation. The man spoke something very
fluently, which he called English; but
Prince Bismarck, who was himself a
perfect English scholar, did not under-
stand a single word of what he said;
and after a while the Prince turned to
me and said: ‘I wish that man would
talk Chinese, I am sure I would under-
stand him far better.’ Well, Mr. Presi-
dent and gentlemen, I feel somewhat
like that Chinese diplomat. I am sure
that even those amongst you who do
not speak German will think: ‘Why
doesn’t- that man speak German? we
would understand him far better.’
However, you made me an American
LL.D., and now you must bear the con-
sequences. All I can do for you is this,
that I shall be short, especially as I
think a few words are often a better
herald of deep feeling than long ora-
tions.
“Mr. President and gentlemen, I am
very much obliged and deeply indebted
for the honor you have conferred upon
me, and I am deeply indebted for those
beautiful words which have been ad-
dressed to me this morning, but I can-
not accept them. It would mean ap-
propriating a thing which I have no
right to, and I am sure an LL.D. would
not dare to do such a thing, and espe-
cially not in the presence of the Attor-
ney General of the United States.
YALE CONNECTIONS.
“Well, Mr. President, and gentlemen,
I think this honor of LL.D. which has
been conferred upon me is mostly due
to the fact that I am a relative or
connection of the family Sheffield,
especially of the family Phelps. I must
explain that I am son-in-law of William
Walter Phelps, a man who, I think, has
always been loved by Yale, and who
always will be loved by Yale. I hope
his memory will last a long time.
THE TWO COUNTRIES.
“And then I think it is a recognition
of my University of Bonn. I am most
thankful for this honor, and I am thank-
ful especially in regard to the fact that
this honor has been conferred upon me
at a time when wicked attempts have
been made to stir up ill feelings between
our two countries. I do not mean what
you call the ‘yellow press.’ We do not
use such a mild expression for it. I do
not mean stich men who understand
their past so little, the noble past of the
press—men whom we call in German
pennyaliners. Even amongst the better
classes there are some who do not al-
ways act very wisely on both sides of
the ocean. Only the other day I read
a speech made in your country by some
merchant who said, ‘Beware of the
Germans. They are our worst enemies.’
and you hear the same thing, Iam sorry
to say, on the other side of the ocean:
‘Beware of the Americans. They are so
intelligent, those fellows. They are so
smart and so hard working, they are
our worst enemies.’
“Well, I am afraid that neither these
American merchants, nor those of my
country are very good in_ political
economy, otherwise they would know
that competition does not mean hos-
tility. I should advise these men to
buy a book which has been recently
published about economics, and [ un-
derstand that the author is your new
President. I would advise them to read
this book and to learn from it that
mutual hostility always involves mer-
cantile evil to the parties concerned.
“Well, Mr. President and gentlemen,
material interests are, I am sorry to say,
only too apt to separate nations. It is
always the consequence of wrong cal-
culation, but this calculation is very
often made. There is no danger, or at
least less danger, in science. I think
that science, true science, has always
been instrumental in uniting nations.
“And therefore, Mr. President and
gentlemen, you may be convinced that
it is not a phrase, but that it comes
from the bottom of my heart, when I
am grateful for this honor conferred
upon me, and when I express my feel-
ing of gratitude by saying:
“‘Vivat, floreat, crescat Universitas
9 99
~-Yalensis.
The heartiest applause followed the
Baron’s speech.
Captain Wise.
“T am now going to give myself the
pleasure,” said the President, “of calling
upon a gentleman who said to me that
he would not speak, that he must be
excused, and I intimated to him that
he might be excused from speaking,
but that he must rise and show himself
to the audience. The gentleman to
whom I refer is like myself in one re-
spect, as I have been in the past, but
his position is a little different from
mine. I have had command of Yale
in time of peace. He had command of
the Yale in time of war. The gentle-
man to whom I refer is Captain Wise.”
When the tumultuous applause ceased,
Captain Wise spoke thus:
“Mr. President and gentlemen: An
honest confession is good for the soul.
T am little given to set phrases of speak-
ing, and you will therefore excuse me
from making any such ,speech. But
there is one thing I want to sav. On
the battleship Massachusetts is a beauti-
ful statue of the Winged Victory, and
under it this legend: ‘By duty done is
honor won.’ The Navy has always
tried to do its duty. I know that the
sons of Eli have always done their duty,
not only on land, but on sea. I thank
you, gentlemen.” :
Prof. Minot of Harvard.
In introducing Prof. Minot of Har-
vard, President Dwight said:
“Gentlemen: I will now introduce to
you a distinguished Professor of Har-
vard University. To his disadvantage
I know of nothing except this one
thing, that he went to the ball game
yesterday, and I didn’t, and the result
followed. I will introduce to you Prof.
Minot.”
Professor Minot’s response was as
follows:
“Gentlemen: It is true, I did go to
the game. To-morrow I may be
obliged to disgrace myself by waving
the blue flag in Boston. Mr. President,
I have had a great disappointment
threatened, but not realized fortunately. -
As I came out this morning to join the
celebration to-day, the first thing which
caught my eye was great throngs of
people which were standing along the
street. I said to myself. ‘Alas! Yale
has an influence even upon the youth-
ful population.’ I was comforted by
my esteemed friend, Dr. Carmalt, who
said: ‘These people have come out to
see Buffalo Bill, and the bill is over-.
dnc: : |
“I have been asked to say some-
thing of the way in which we work at
Harvard. I suppose there is an insi-
uation, if you will, that Iwill tell vou
something of our secrets. As one who
has at least had the very great privilege
of calling myself an alumnus of Yale, I
may mention one of our Harvard secrets,
the source of our accumulated learning.
It was discovered by a somewhat more
profound student of university organi-
zation than ordinary, that every Har-
vard Freshman brought a little learning
to Cambridge, and no Senior ever took
any away; so of course it accumulated.
You will understand, therefore, gentle-
men, why I find myself in the same un-
comfortable predicament as the Attor-
ney-General, a conditioned man who
passed, but was conditioned again. I
stand as one who delivered his speech,
supposing that that was to be the only
examination. I too find myself in the
predicament of having failed once.
COMPANIONS IN ARMS.
“Tf you will permit me for a moment
to be more serious, I should like to say
something which concerns the welfare
of Yale, Harvard, and all the other
great universities of this country. It
seems to me there is a defect in our
way of looking at things, looking at
our relations to one another, which can
only be deplored. When two of our
regiments went into battle, the Rough
Riders and a colored regiment, on the
hill of San Juan, each man in each regi-
ment was in his place, but the two
regiments went up the hill together,
fought side by side, and manfully up-
held one another, and together they
won the victory.
“We have a far greater war to carry
on than this war of the bullet. We
have a war to carry on against all the
most dangerous and most. difficult
things in the world, the dangers of
ignorance; dangers of prejudice; and
Harvard and Yale seem to me like the
two regiments which must take up the
fight. They must feel their solidarity.
They must never for one moment for-
get that they are companions in arms
in the great battle of civilization!
“And I should like to add one word
more concerning the impression made
upon me by the few days of most de-
lightful intercourse with the members
of this University.
sion that there is throughout the whole
CAPE. W. CC. WISE, Uso. Bat.
Given the degree of M.A. by Yale at Commencement.
of the Yale Faculty, and I presume
throughout the whole body of students
and graduates, the conviction that the
future of Yale is to be vastly greater
than its past, that, as your President
who retires to-day has laid a broad
foundation and helped in his great and
liberal way towards the construction of
the College into a true and great unt-
versity, so it is hoped on all hands that
your new President-elect will take up
the work and carry it forward in the
same splendid spirit, and that we at
Harvard shall always feel that at Yale
there is an inspiration that is worthy to
possess and uphold. I think nothing is
so much of value to a university as this
feeling of exultation of what is to be
accomplished, when this is based, as it
is in Yale, upon the splendid past
achievements. 7
It is the impres-
_A STORY,
ol am not a wit, gentlemen, but I can
ive you, as Dr. Holmes once happily
said, the soul of it, which is brevity.
i will therefore not attempt to do more
pleasing as it is to have so kind an
audience, than to tell you a little
anecdote of one of our Harvard pro-
fessors, that passed through thy mind.
The professor to whom I refer was one
from the German fatherland. He was
brought from abroad by Prof. Agassiz
to take a position in the museum in
Cambridge, where he had a large col-
lection of insects. His knowledge of
English was confined to writing, when
he came to this country at the age of
fifty-three. Therefore his mastery of
spoken English was not perhaps the
same as that prescribed by your curri-
culum here. He once went down the
Mississippi River. I know there may
bea few who know his experience, and
they will please pardon the repetition,
as I think it will be new to most of
you. This is the account which he
gave me of his exploration:
I vas going town de Mississippi
rifer; unt I-set dare on de steamer,
unt I was bleased; unt all vas so peau-
tiful on efry side. Unt I looked arount
unt I saw a bug, as we shall not haf in
Charmany; unt den I vatch unt I see
fly arount me a beeg dragon fly, unt
I thought dragon flies very scarce.
Fie is a spezimen, I say, vitch ve do
not haf at de moozeum just yet, unt
Mr. Agassiz vill be so bleased ven I
vill pring him peck dot dragon fly.
Unt I sot dare very schdill undil he
flew arount, unt make so motion, but
he fly avay. I vait until he fly arount
again already unt make so motion, unt
ie. few. avay aan. | - yait . very
schdill, unt I vatch some more undil
he is com peck, unt den I make so
motion mit the two hants, unt den I
turn arount unt I hear such a.noise as
I nefer haf heard; unt upon my life,
dar vas de whole ship’s koompany;
dare-vas the ship’s clock vot also laf,
unt in front of dat clock vas a pole, unt
in front of dat pole was a string, unt on
de end of dat. string dare vas dot
dracon Gy. Auth 206 im. .., +.
“T felt very much that way when I
saw that diploma dangling before my
eyes, and when I stepped forward to
get it in my hand, I said: ‘Well, I got
it.” I. heard such a noise behind me
as I have never heard before. But,
gentlemen, nobody laughed.”
Dr. George Adam Smith.
President Dwight introduced the next
speaker as follows:
“T am happy now to introduce to you
an honored friend from the other side
of the ocean, whom I have heard be-
fore with great delight and whom I
am sure we shall hear this afternoon
with the greatest pleasure. I intro-
duce to you Professor George Adam
Smith.”
Professor Smith replied as follows:
“Mr. President, there was a gentle-
man on our side of the Atlantic, at.a
gathering such as this, who was asked.
by the Chairman, the autocrat of the
proceedings, to answer for a toast in
the absence of the appointed speaker,
who had to leave. He got up and
said: ‘Gentlemen, a short time ago |
received this note from the Chairman,
Mr. so and so, when I call upon you,
will you say one word. Gentlemen, [
said that one word, but wild horses will
not drag from me what that word was.’
The president said to me, after the
graduation ceremony was over, Dr.
Smith, will you say a few words in
Scotch.’ Gentlemen, I said those few
words in Scotch, but I want to assure
you, what I daresay most of you know,
that the Scotch is a reverent and godly
dialect.
“T felt very much at home to-day in
Yale for many reasons, which I will go
on to particularize afterwards, but espe-
cially on account of the weather. I
warn you, gentlemen, never to have a
Scotch graduate again, or you may e€x-
pect the like atmospheric conditions.
I must ask your pardon, while I ex-
plain to you why I feel a very great
personal gratification im receiving my
degree, not only from the Yale Uni-
versity, but at the hands of President
Dwight, a reason that he is unaware of.
Long ago when I was a child of five or
six, some fifty or sixty years ago, 1
my grandfather’s library there was,
upon the second shelf, before the fire-
place, a_ large illustrated Bible, of
which my brothers and I were very
fond. We used to take it down, but