s 
not be consoled. Then he stiffly held out his hand, 
and said, 'Well, good-by, Hr. Morris , 1 in a pretty 
offensive manner. I did not take his hand, and we 
parted with a how. 
"Mr. Freer had offered his matchless collection 
of pictures, mainly by Whistler, with some oriental 
sculpture, to the United States Government, with a 
costly building to be erected for their installation 
in Washington. Of course, this was a princely gift 
to be accepted and acknowledged without a moment T s re¬ 
flection. But, according to Mr. Fischer, the Smith¬ 
sonian Institution, to which the subject was referred, 
saw fit to reject the offer. It was then that Mr. 
* 
Fischer, so he said, got busy and went to see Mr. Roose¬ 
velt, the President. There was an immediate explosion 
in the vicinity of the White House. In consequence of 
this, the Regents of the Smithsonian were summoned to 
the White House on a certain evening by their ex-officio 
officer, the President. 
r, They were forcibly told that they should organize 
then and there into a meeting of the Board, and that the 
President as one of them would take his official part; 
and as Mr. Fischer, who was present, repeated it, they 
were expected to vote to accept the gift of Mr. Freer. 
