Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 2.djvu/189

Rh The dinner was held in the historic hall of Lincoln's Inn, loaned by the Benchers for the occasion. Although a room of vast proportions, the three hundred and fifty-odd guests did not seem to fill it, and in the gloom beyond the brilliantly-lighted tables there was plenty of space. The walls were hung with portraits of by-gone Chief Justices whose names are famous in the pages of England's history, and at the President's left hand, among the honored guests, sat the present Lord Chief Justice.

The gathering was a most remarkable one in that it represented the Church, the State, the Navy, the Army, Science, and all the learned professions in a very high degree. Numerous stars, orders and ribbons scattered through the assembly showed that many of those there had made their mark in their respective callings.

The dinner was the best London could provide, and was served in a style for which the Alpine Club is famous; but the supreme charm of the entertainment lay in the speeches, which were terse, brilliant and witty, and full of a pleasing reference to the history of the Club. A few extracts from them will serve to give point to our own existence, the objects and aims we have in view and the trials of infancy.

In proposing the toast of "The Alpine Club" the President said: "I find an extract which I should like to read to you, dating from the year 1854; it was an early time in the history of climbing, but I am privileged to say that this was not written by Sir Alfred Wills. This is the extract: 'It is a somewhat remarkable fact that a large proportion of those who have made the ascent of Mt. Blanc have been persons of unsound mind.' (Laughter). That, my lords and gentlemen, was no passing jest; it was in the sixth edition of Murray's 'Guide to Switzerland.' I take it that the fact was this—the writer himself had done it—(Laughter)—and he generalized from the one to the many,