SPEECH AT THE DINNER OF THE NEW-ENGLAND SOCIETY IN NEW YORK, DECEMBER
22, 1873.
After the customary toasts, _The Day we celebrate_, and _The
President of the United States_, the President of the Society, Mr.
Elliot C. Cowdin, in announcing the _Third Regular Toast_, said,--
“I give you, Gentlemen, _The Senate of the United States_.
“We are happy to greet, on this occasion, the senior in
consecutive service, and the most eminent member of the Senate,
whose early, varied, and distinguished services in the cause
of Freedom have made his name a household word throughout the
world,--the Honorable Charles Sumner.”
“On rising,” says the official report, “Mr. Sumner was received
with great cheering,--the members of the Society standing, waving
handkerchiefs, and in other ways expressing lively satisfaction.”