Mr. PUNCH would be failing in his duty to Art and the British
Public if he did not place on imperishable record his notes of the
exceptionally brilliant Royal Academy Banquet of last Saturday. H.R.H.
the Prince of WALES made one of his best and briefest speeches, in
which he feelingly alluded to the late Sir EDGAR BOËHM, R.A. Never
was the President, Sir FREDERICK, more eloquent, or his themes more
varied; for this occasion is noteworthy as being the first time in the
history of this great annual representative gathering that the toast
of Music and the Drama has been duly honoured. Sir ARTHUR SULLIVAN
responded for the first, and HENRY IRVING for the second. Both made
excellent speeches. Sir ARTHUR'S solo was most effective; his notes
were in his head; he gave us several variations on the original
theme, and cleverly played upon one word in saying that music had been
"instrumental" on various historical occasions. HENRY IRVING followed
suit; he spoke of Mrs. SIDDONS, Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS, and of a
professional gentleman, one ROSCIUS, mentioned, we believe, by
_Hamlet_ as having been, some considerable time ago, "a man of parts,"
that is an Actor, in Rome. It was a great success. Sir FREDERICK then
proposed the LORD MAYOR, which may be briefly expressed as "a toast
with a Savory to follow." For "The Visitors," Lord Justice BOWEN,
catching sight of the President's classical picture (No. 232), made a
happy hit about the delights of a honeymoon in the Infernal Regions,
ending in the return of Proserpine to her mother Ceres by order of the
Court above. Finally, the President, in summing up the losses to Art
during the past year, paid a graceful tribute to the memory of CHARLES
KEENE, who, but a short while ago, was our fellow-worker on the staff
of _Mr. Punch_ With a hopeful allusion to the Storage of Artistic
Force in the near future, the President concluded: but this Banquet of
1891 will long live in the recollection of all whose privilege it was
to be present on so memorable an occasion.
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