s. At his beautiful and
delightful entertainments Americans came in contact with Englishmen
under conditions most favorable for the appreciation by each of
the other. The charm of Mr. and Mrs. Whitelaw Reid's hospitality
was so genuine, so cordial, and so universal, that to be their
guest was an event for Americans visiting England. There is no
capital in the world where hospitality counts for so much as in
London, and no country where the house-party brings people together
under such favorable conditions. Both the city and the country
homes of Mr. and Mrs. Reid were universities of international
good-feeling. Mr. Reid, on the official side, admirably represented
his country and had the most intimate relations with the governing
powers of Great Britain.

I recall with the keenest pleasure how much my old friend,
Joseph H. Choate, did to make each one of my visits to London
during his term full of the most charming and valuable recollections.
His dinners felt the magnetism of his presence, and he showed
especial skill in having, to meet his American guests, just the
famous men in London life whom the American desired to know.

Choate was a fine conversationalist, a wit and a humorist of
a high order. His audacity won great triumphs, but if exercised
by a man less endowed would have brought him continuously into
trouble. He had the faculty, the art, of so directing conversation
that at his entertainments everybody had a good time, and an
invitation always was highly prized. He was appreciated most
highly by the English bench and bar. They recognized him as the
leader of his profession in the United States. They elected him
a Bencher of the Middle Temple, the first American to receive that
honor after an interval of one hundred and fifty years. Choate's
witticisms and repartees became the social currency of dinner-tables
in London and week-end parties in the country.

Choate paid little attention to conventionalities, which count for
so much and are so rigidly enforced, especially in royal circles.
I had frequently been at receptions, garden-parties, and other
entertainments at Buckingham Palace in the time of Queen Victoria
and also of King Edward. At an evening reception the diplomats
representing all the countries in the world stand in a solemn row,
according to rank and length of service. They are covered with
decorations and gold lace. The weight of the gold lace on some
of the uniforms of the minor