You do me a high honor, indeed, in selecting me to
speak of my country in this commemoration of the birthday
of that noble lady whose life was consecrated to the
virtues and the humanities and to the promotion of
lofty ideals, and was a model upon which many a humbler
life was formed and made beautiful while she lived,
and upon which many such lives will still be formed
in the generations that are to come—a life
which finds its just image in the star which falls
out of its place in the sky and out of existence,
but whose light still streams with unfaded lustre
across the abysses of space long after its fires have
been extinguished at their source.
As a woman the Queen was all that the most exacting
standards could require. As a far-reaching and
effective beneficent moral force she had no peer in
her time among either, monarchs or commoners.
As a monarch she was without reproach in her great
office. We may not venture, perhaps, to say
so sweeping a thing as this in cold blood about any
monarch that preceded her upon either her own throne
or upon any other. It is a colossal eulogy, but
it is justified.
In those qualities of the heart which beget affection
in all sorts and conditions of men she was rich, surprisingly
rich, and for this she will still be remembered and
revered in the far-off ages when the political glories
of her reign shall have faded from vital history and
fallen to a place in that scrap-heap of unverifiable
odds and ends which we call tradition. Which
is to say, in briefer phrase, that her name will live
always. And with it her character—a
fame rare in the history of thrones, dominions, principalities,
and powers, since it will not rest upon harvested
selfish and sordid ambitions, but upon love, earned
and freely vouchsafed. She mended broken hearts
where she could, but she broke none.
What she did for us in America in our time of storm
and stress we shall not forget, and whenever we call
it to mind we shall always remember the wise and righteous
mind that guided her in it and sustained and supported
her—Prince Albert’s. We need
not talk any idle talk here to-night about either
possible or impossible war between the two countries;
there will be no war while we remain sane and the
son of Victoria and Albert sits upon the throne.
In conclusion, I believe I may justly claim to utter
the voice of my country in saying that we hold him
in deep honor, and also in cordially wishing him a
long life and a happy reign.
JOAN OF ARC
Addressatthedinnerofthesocietyofillustrators, givenat
the
Aldine association club, December 22, 1905
Copyrights
Mark Twain's Speeches from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
