EUROPE GIVES HONOR TO DR. COOK 177 



Descending from the throne, Rector Magnificus Torp handed 

 to Dr. Cook a diploma in a red case and motioned him to ascend the 

 throne. As Dr. Cook complied the audience broke into handclap- 

 ping that was prolonged for fully a minute and a half. Dr. Cook 

 looked pleased and a trifle shy; but when the clapping ceased he 

 glanced almost sternly around the hall and said with a sharp, 

 staccato manner and in a clear voice: 



"I accept this degree with due appreciation of the honor done 

 me. By it you have stamped my journey to the Pole. All my 

 records of observations and papers of every kind are to be examined 

 forthwith by a proper tribunal. When that has been done they will 

 be sent here for you to see and examine first. I ask you only to 

 wait until then. I do not want you to examine mere fragments, but 

 want you to examine it all. 



"Since unfortunate rumors have been circulated, I will, at my 

 own expense, send a ship for the Eskimos who were with me. They 

 will be taken to New York and examined there by Rasmussen, whom 

 I regard as the greatest authority on Eskimo and the Eskimo lan- 

 guage." 



This speech was greeted with fresh applause. After the ex- 

 plorer had descended from the tribunal the members of the royal 

 family left the hall, each stopping to shake hands with Dr. Cook 

 and congratulating him warmly. 



A scene of great enthusiasm followed as Dr. Cook left the hall. 

 An enormous crowd had gathered to wait for him, as they were 

 unable to gain admittance to the hall to witness the ceremony. On 

 his appearance they cheered him wildly and great numbers followed 

 his motor car to the hotel. 



Another great triumph came to Dr. Cook on the occasion of 

 the reception and lecture under" the auspices of the Royal Geograph- 

 ical Society of Denmark, which was held in Odd Fellows Hall, as 

 the chamber of the Geographical Society was altogether too small 

 for the purpose. The affair was one of the most brilliant in the 

 scientific history of the Scandinavian State. 



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