University of Michigan, 1871-1896; The Quarter-Centennial Celebration of the Presidency of James Burrill Angell, LL.D., June 24, 1896 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE EESPONSES AT THE DINNER. PRESIDENT ANGELL'S RESPONSE. I Need hardly say that my heart is overflowing with gratitude to you all to-day; but will you allow me to confess, with some frankness, that it is with hesitation and shrinking that I have seen this day approach ? for I have felt that I was so utterly unworthy of the demonstrations which you are making to-day. If I had not been persuaded by my good friends that in some manner this demonstration might inure to the benefit of the University, I hope that it is not ungracious nor ungrateful for me to say that I should have much preferred that it should be omitted. But I certainly should be more or less than human not to be touched in my inmost heart by the manifestation that has been made to-day. I know not how to better express my emotions than by quoting the words of Voltaire, who, on his return to Paris in his old age, when he was so cordially received by many old friends, exclaimed, On m'etouffe des roses (they suffocate me with roses). I suppose that it is proper and perhaps is expected that the few words which I shall speak now should pertain more especially to my personal relations to the University. If they do, I trust you will acquit me in advance of any appearance of egotism. I was called to my present position in 1869. I then made a visit to the University. On my return to the University of Vermont, I found that the friends of that institution, who had raised an endowment fund, would be greatly disappointed if I did not remain long enough to assist in the distribution of the fund. I therefore at once declined the invitation to Michigan. Two years later the Regents renewed the invitation, and by that time the University of Vermont had made such 3 progress that I felt free to leave it. While, with much emb...