Complimentary Banquet to S.S. Packard on His Seventieth Birthday; Given by His Friends at Delmonico's, New York, April 28, 1896

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896. Excerpt: ... MR. DODD'S OPENING SPEECH. Ladies and Gentlemen: We are met here to-night to honor a noble man. In doing so, we honor ourselves. To be an accepted friend of S. S. Packard is a certificate of character. I know well he does not desire any words of flattery or fulsome eulogy. He was never known to blush, yet he is a modest man, for all that. But one fact in relation to him, like a city set upon a hill, cannot be hid. He has, in his long and active life, been useful to his fellow-men to a most marked extent, and has long had a recognized position as a leader among educators and philanthropists. It is largely in recognition of this fact that this notable assemblage of his friends is gathered to-night, and he must permit us to speak of this characteristic of his life in moderate terms, yet with heartfelt appreciation; for we draw inspiration from the contemplation of his usefulness, and are thereby filled with stronger desires to make our lives more useful. I said we were met to honor a noble man. Possibly I would have included more of his characteristics if I had used instead that much abused term, gentleman; for such our guest emphatically is--a gentleman such as the angels referred to when they sang, ' Peace on earth to men of gentle will; a gentleman such as the Psalmist described: One who walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. Thackeray defined a gentleman to be one who was honest, gentle, generous, brave, wise; a loyal son, a true husband, a good father; one whose life was decent, who paid his bills, whose manners were courteous, whose tastes were high, and whose aims in life were lofty and noble. Where can we find language which more perfectly characterizes our guest? (Applause.) S. S. Packard was born in Mass...