66 BANQUET TO THE 



General Francis A. Walker, the President of the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, responded as fol- 

 lows : — 



Mr. President, — A biography of Colonel Wilder 

 would necessarily become, in a great measure, the 

 history of a score of institutions whose foundations 

 have been laid by his hands, or with his personal 

 co-operation. Even those brief references to his life 

 and his life's work which are appropriate to an occa- 

 sion like this, cannot fail to array before our minds 

 many of the most active and influential societies of 

 Boston, of Massachusetts, of New England, and of 

 the United States. 



It must be interesting to every observer, it must 

 be deeply gratifying to our revered friend, to see 

 the representatives of such great and various and 

 beneficent institutions crowding this board to offer 

 their tributes of gratitude, respect, and affection to 

 the sage, philanthropist, and patriot, whose eighty- 

 fifth birthday is to-day celebrated amid the hearty 

 good wishes of thousands for his long continuance 

 in life, health, and happiness. 



I trust that not the least useful to the community, 

 not the least honorable to our friend, among the 

 many institutions at whose foundation he has pre- 



