He had received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University,
had been a guest of President Eliot, and had received President
Eliot as his guest in England.
The full story of the recovery of the manuscript, in which
the influence of Ambassador Bayard and the kindness of Bishop
Temple, afterward Archbishop of Canterbury, had so large a
part, is too long to tell here. Before the question was decided
Archbishop Temple consulted Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, who
took a deep interest in the matter, and gave the plan her
cordial approval. I think, as I had occasion to say to the
British Ambassador afterward, that the restoration of this
priceless manuscript did more to cement the bonds of friendship
between the people of the two countries than forty Canal Treaties.
In settling Imperial questions both nations are thinking,
properly and naturally, of great interests. But his restoration
was an act of purest kindness. The American people, in the
midst of all their material activities, their desire for wealth
and empire, are a sentimental people, easily and deeply stirred
by anything that touches their finer feelings, especially
anything that relates to their history.
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