CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 



THE SESQUICENTENNIAL AND AFTER 



OCTOBER 22, 1896, was the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary 

 of the granting of our first charter, and the friends of Princeton 

 were determined to make a great occasion of it. While I was "junketing" 

 in the West, Professors Fine and Marquand were going about Europe, 

 bearing personal invitations to the great scholars of various countries 

 to attend the Sesquicentennial celebration of October 20, 21, 22. They 

 gathered an illustrious company and, among many others, they gave 

 an invitation to Wundt, of Leipsic, which was at first accepted. While 

 they were discussing the matter with the famous psychologist, a col- 

 league of his happened in and, learning what was under consideration, 

 expressed his horror of crossing the sea. "Where will you sleep on ship- 

 board?," he asked, "on the deck?" "Ach! nein, Herr College!" replied 

 Wundt, "da hat man Hammicks!" 



The celebration proper was preceded by several courses of lectures, 

 v/hich American scholars were invited to attend and which were subse- 

 quently published. Brugmann, of Leipsic; Klein, of Gottingen; J. J. 

 Thompson, of Cambridge; Dowden, of Dublin, and Hubrecht, of 

 Utrecht, were the speakers and these lectures would have conferred 

 great distinction on any occasion. 



The three days' celebration was a most brilliant success, the credit 

 for which was due to Dean West, as he shortly afterwards became. I 

 don't think that his Great Committee, of which I was a member, was 

 of much assistance. Even the weather was propitious; that had been a 

 most disagreeable October, with continual rain and fog and hardly any 

 sunshine at all. Our three days, on the contrary, were radiant, of the 

 sort typical of the American October, but, no sooner was the celebration 

 over, than the clouds returned and it began to rain again. Successful 

 though it was, the occasion was not altogether free from drawbacks. 

 President Eliot, who was always a wet blanket at other peoples' shows, 

 made the address of congratulation on behalf of the visiting delegates 



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