T 11 1: U E S P K R I A N
representative of the Palladian Society
and myself agreed on two things. First,
that university reminiscences would be
waived aside as a subject that is usually
overworked upon such occasions. And
secondly, live political issue were of too
inthim.uatorv a nature to allow them to
ho worked at all, three weeks preceding
election. Then 1 thought of European
universities, having spent some time in
making myself acquainted with a dozen
or mi if the most prominent, but I re
membered that the monthlies and
quarterlies and even some of the weeklies
hail published from time to time many
an article upon this theme: and I remem
bered also that if this straw needed any
nioiv threshing, the chancellor that '
was quite .is competent to handle the flail
as the chancellor that "". So that Mib
.l''M was allowed to pass.
Then 1 bethought me that when 1 re
turned home after having spent four
'nr.ninl four months in connection with
tin ciuKuhir service in France, every old
acquaintance whom I met. was full of
questions pertaining to the country in
which 1 lived, the people among whom
1 li.n! Mummied, and especially as to the
nature of the consular service itself, how
consuls receive their appointment, how
ilie jr,.t tlieir pay and how much they
ifct, what was their main business and
li'w they filled up their time, and so on
and i un, aiid although the larger part
"t thM inquiring friends were men and
V"iiMi of university education, yet I did
i"t at all wonder at their questions when
1 recalled the fact that there was no book
b'uhiih I could retort hem for informa
tion nor even a magazine article within
my knowledge that had undertaken to
answer such inquiries."
Referring to the 500 persons in the con
sular service, the speaker said that there
t'lc, perhaps, more than 50,000 persons
living who dream of holding such posi
tion before they die. ami that, in fact, it
is said that not less than 10.000 names
were sent to President Cleveland at the
beginning of his second term for such
appointment. After naming the five
grades of consular service, viz: consul
general, consul, vice consul, consular
clerk, consular agent, he told of the man
ner of appointment and of the salaries
which each grade of consuls get. Some
amusing inconsistencies were told about
the matter of salary, as for instance, the
fact that the consulate at Lyons pays
only $2o00 while two neighboring con
sulate pay $000 ami $4000. although
neither of the latter does a tithe as much
business as is done at the Lyons consu
sulate. In speaking of consulates iti
general, the speaker said that the salary
of the consul at London is $5000 but that
in addition to this he has fees amounting
to $2o000 besides that. The manner iu
which dishonest officials very often cheat
the government was very vividly present
ed. In speaking of the Lyons consulate,
Mr. Fairfield said that $12,000,000 iii
1892 of silks, satins, plushes, velvets, and
other silk fabrics passed through the con
sulate He showed that the consul could
easily cheat the United States govern
ment out of a very large sum of money
by being careless iu the manner in which
he inspects the goods that pass through
his office. The ex-chancellor then
showed how each day of the life of the
consul is passed iu signing his name to
documents, a thousand times a day more
or less, and in investigating the quality
of the goods of which samples are brought
to him. Many things come in the way
of the consul to do for the citizens of his
own country who are sojourning abroad.
Many specific instances of this were
shown, some very pathetic ones and oth
ers very numerous, which happened to
the Lyons consul, when Mr. Fairfield
and the consul were one. One amusing
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