CHAPTER XX.

THE CENTENARY HONOURS.

(1905.)

Upon St Patrick's Day, 1905, Manuel Garcia entered on the "second century of his immortality," as Professor Fränkel felicitously put it.

That 17th of March has become red-lettered in the annals of music by reason of its international character, and the fact that the two professions of music and medicine joined hands with the royalty of three countries, England, Spain, and Germany, in paying honour to whom honour was due.

Sir George Cornewall Lewis was a firm disbeliever in centenarians, but his scepticism must have suffered a severe shock could he have been present at the celebrations. He would then have seen not merely a man whose years beyond all question numbered a century, but one who at that great age showed no sign of senility, and could still take an active part in a series of trying ceremonies, and bear with dignity, if not altogether without fatigue, a load of honours and congratulations, a flood of speeches like the rushing of great waters, and repeated thunderstorms of applause that would have overwhelmed many men in the full vigour of life. Manuel Garcia went through the trying ordeal without apparently feeling any ill effect, and seemed thoroughly to enjoy the whole thing. It was difficult indeed to believe that the venerable figure on the right of the chairman at the banquet, whom one saw light a cigarette and smoke it with relish in defiance of the Anti-Tobacco League, was born seven months before the battle of Trafalgar!

It was passing strange, as one saw him giving the lie in every point to Shakespeare's picture of extreme age, to think that he might not only have "seen Shelley plain," but have been one of the students who modelled their collars and their scowls on those of Byron; that he had finished his education before Pasteur was born, and had come to man's estate before Lister saw the light; that he had made his name known on two continents while Scott and Goethe were still alive, and Darwin was at school; and that he had made the discovery that will make his name immortal while many of those whose names are now illustrious were yet unborn. How quick were his senses and how alert his intelligence was shown in many ways, trifling, perhaps, but significant, in the course of what must have been the most trying day of his long life. His extraordinary vitality was put to a very severe test in the functions held in honour of the occasion, but he passed through them with the most wonderful fortitude and genial courtliness.

When the King heard of the approaching birthday, he made inquiries as to whether the aged maestro could stand the strain of personal investiture of the honour which his Majesty had already decided to bestow. The answer came back that he was quite ready, and anxious to show his gratitude for this royal compliment by going to the palace.

An interview was accordingly arranged, and Señor Garcia, having risen between nine and ten o'clock on the morning of that day of days, was driven to Buckingham Palace, where he was ushered without delay into the King's presence. His Majesty entered into conversation with the old musician, showing his acquaintance with his long record of fame, and, ever interested in aged people, questioned him as to his health with the most sympathetic solicitude, being absolutely amazed at the vitality displayed. The King expressed to the maestro his congratulations and his recognition of all that he had done for medicine and music, and finally invested him with the insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, at the same time signifying a wish to be personally represented at the banquet which was to take place in the evening. Needless to say that this characteristic kind-heartedness of King Edward, shown towards the hero of the day, acted as a splendid tonic to the Centenary celebrations.

From the Palace Señor Garcia drove to the rooms of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in Hanover Square, where by noon the fine saloon was thronged by his old pupils and various deputations, representative of many departments of learning and research.

The reception-room had been decorated for the occasion with palms and foliage plants. In the centre of a carpeted dais at one end of the apartment had been placed a high-backed chair, upholstered in crimson, and on the extreme left was the still veiled portrait of the centenarian, which had been painted by Sargent. In front of the seat there were some beautiful floral tributes. The largest bore on its ribbons the inscription, "À leur cher et venéré Professeur, Manuel Garcia--Salvatore et Mathilde Marchesi, Paris, Mars 17, 1905." Another came from Blanche Marchesi, and was addressed "To the Christopher Columbus of the Larynx"; while yet another had been sent by the Glasgow Society of Physicians.

Punctually at twelve o'clock, amid volleys of applause, Manuel Garcia, looking amazingly bright and hale, entered the room with short, quick steps, wearing the insignia of the Royal Victorian Order, conferred an hour before, and walked unaided to the dais. This he mounted with agility, and took his seat upon the crimson throne, a magnificent basket of flowers on either side. There he sat for an hour, upright and smiling, in full view of the spectators, during the proceedings which ensued.

It fell naturally to the lot of Sir Felix Semon, both as Physician Extraordinary to the King and chairman of the Garcia Committee, to convey the intelligence of the earlier ceremony which had taken place that morning.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Sir Felix said, "the auspicious proceedings of to-day's memorable occasion could not have been more joyously opened than they have just been. His Majesty the King, with the kindness of heart which endears him to us all, has just been pleased to receive Señor Garcia at Buckingham Palace, in order to express to him his congratulations and his recognition of all that Señor Garcia has done for medicine and music. At the same time the King has conferred upon him the honorary Commandership of the Royal Victorian Order. His Majesty, at the conclusion of the interview, expressed a wish to be personally represented at the banquet to-night, and said that he would desire his Lord-in-Waiting, Lord Suffield, to attend as his representative. I feel quite sure that this whole assembly has already shown by its applause that it recognises in this act a new token of the King's invariable kindness and his appreciation of all that is good and high."

Next came the Spanish Chargé d'Affaires, the Marquis de Villalobar, who delivered a special message of congratulation from King Alfonso.

"I have been honoured by his Majesty the King, Don Alphonse XIII., with his august representation to congratulate you on the day of your centenary, and in the presence of the learned men who have assembled in this great metropolis for its celebration. In obeying the King's command, in which his Government and the Spanish people join, I honour myself, investing you, in the name of his Majesty and your motherland, with the Royal Order of Alphonse XII., as a high reward to your merits and the services rendered to mankind through your science and your labour. I feel it is also my duty to avail myself of this opportunity in order to make public the sentiments of my beloved Sovereign and of his Government, conveying sincere thanks, first to his Majesty King Edward VII., who I have just learned has most graciously conferred upon our compatriot a high distinction of this noble and hospitable country, and also to all the representatives of England and those of the learned societies here assembled to commemorate this centenary. Hearty gratefulness on behalf of Spain to all who have come and are represented here to-day to honour Don Manuel Garcia as a glory to modern science."

The Marquis de Villalobar then invested Señor Garcia with the Order, amid loud cheers. After this glowing tribute came Professor Fränkel, who said that they were assembled to honour one who had devoted his best days to the teaching of singing,--had not been content with attempting to discover the secrets of voice-culture by sound alone, but had proceeded in a thoroughly scientific way. Through his genius he had thrown light on the hitherto dark places of the larynx and the source of the living human voice. He had thereby laid the sure foundations of the physiology of the voice.

In recognition of his merits the German Emperor had conferred on him the Great Gold Medal for Science. The Minister for Public Instruction had requested him (Dr Fränkel) to present that rarely awarded distinction to Señor Garcia that day when he completed the first century of his immortality. He did so with the greatest pleasure, as one who owed a very great debt of gratitude to the method of laryngoscopy invented by their honoured friend.

An address from the Royal Society was then presented by Sir Archibald Geikie (principal secretary), Professor Francis Darwin (foreign secretary), and Professor Halliburton, F.R.S. The address, which was read by Professor Halliburton, was as follows:--

The Royal Society of London join very cordially in congratulating Manuel Garcia on the celebration of his 100th birthday.

The President and Council recall with much pleasure the circumstance that the Royal Society afforded in their 'Proceedings' the medium for publishing to the scientific world the memorable paper in which Señor Garcia laid the foundation of the experimental study of voice-production, and at the same time, through the laryngoscope, provided the starting-point for a new department of practical medical science.

The Royal Society trust that Señor Garcia may still continue for years to come to enjoy in good health the esteem which his scientific achievement and his high personal character have brought him.

Signed and sealed on behalf of the Royal Society for Promoting Natural Knowledge,

WILLIAM HUGGINS, _President_.

Sir Archibald Geikie (as a corresponding member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences) read the following telegram from that Academy:--

To the first investigator of the human voice by a new method which for all time has bestowed a signal service on art, on science, and on suffering humanity, the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences sends on his 100th birthday its most respectful congratulations. WALDEYER, _Secretary_.

An address was next read from the University of Königsberg, which in 1862 had conferred on Señor Garcia the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. A hope was expressed that he would live to receive the fresh diploma which it is the custom to confer on doctors of fifty years' standing.

The next address was from the Victoria University of Manchester, presented by Professor Stirling, F.R.S., Dr Milligan, and Dr S. Moritz, followed by one from the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg.

The address from his old pupils was read by Mr Ballin. In offering their sincere congratulations they said: "The services you have rendered to the art of singing are very great, and the large number of your pupils who have become famous is incontestable proof of your genius." Madame Blanche Marchesi spoke in the name of her parents, who were unavoidably absent, expressing their gratitude for everything he had done for them. Their method and their success were due to Señor Garcia, who had laid the basis of their artistic career.

Mr Otto Goldschmidt, the husband of Jenny Lind, said that his late wife, to the end of her days, continued to have respect, regard, and veneration for Señor Garcia, who helped her to take the position in the musical world which she attained; and he was very happy indeed to be able to make that statement, and to congratulate the old master on what he had done for the great art of singing.

An address from the Royal Academy of Music was followed by one from the Royal College of Music.

Addresses and messages from Laryngological societies and associations were then read, the following being among the bodies represented: The American Laryngological Association; the Belgian Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology (Dr Delsaux, Dr Goris, Dr Broeckkaert); the Berlin Laryngological Society (Dr Landgraf, Professor Kuttner, Professor Gluck); the British Laryngo-Oto-Rhinological Association (Mr Chichele Nourse, Dr Percy Jakins, Mr Stuart-Low, Mr Dennis Vinrace, Dr Andrew Wyld); the Danish Laryngological Society; the French Laryngo-Rhino-Otological Society (Dr Moure, Dr Lermoyez, Dr Toxier, Dr Molinié); the Italian Laryngo-Rhino-Otological Society and Neapolitan School of Laryngology (Sir Felix Semon, hon. member, Professor Poli); the London Laryngological Society (Mr Charters Symonds, Mr de Santi, Dr Davis, and Mr H. B. Robinson); the Netherlands Laryngo-Oto-Rhinological Society (Dr Moll, Dr Burger, Dr Kan, Dr Zaalberg); the New York Academy of Medicine, Section of Laryngology (Dr Harman Smith); the Paris Laryngological Society (Dr C. J. Koenig, Dr Mahu); the Rhenish-Westphalian Laryngological Society (Dr Hirschland); the St Petersburg Laryngological Society; the South-German Laryngological Society (Dr Avelis); the Spanish Laryngo-Oto-Rhinological Society and Academy of Medicine and Surgery (Dr Botella, Dr Tapia); the Vienna Laryngological Society (Professor Chiari); the Warsaw Laryngological Society; the West-German Laryngological Society (Dr Fackeldey, Dr Lieven); and the Hungarian Laryngological Society. Congratulatory telegrams were received from the Laryngological Societies of Sweden, Moscow, and Cracow; from the Amsterdam Medical Society; from the Medical Society of Japan; from Professor Moritz Schmidt, as President of the New German Laryngological Society; from Dr Birkett of Montreal, in the name of the students of M'Gill University; from Dr French, of Brooklyn, and hundreds of others.

The next speech brought a touching note to the scene, for in it Dr Botella, of Madrid, as the official delegate of the Spanish Government and of the Spanish Laryngological Society, addressed the maestro in his mother-tongue. A new light came into the centenarian's eyes, and he bent forward in an attitude of the closest attention, as if he feared to lose a single note of the beloved speech, whose sound on such an occasion must have carried him back over that great gulf of years to the far-off days of his childhood.

Dr Botella said that before the discovery of the laryngoscope the sense of touch was the only means of knowing of the existence of tumorous growths in the larynx. The invention of the laryngoscope had opened immense horizons to science, had put within its range many diseases the existence of which could never have been suspected, had made possible their treatment, and had saved from suffering and death numberless lives. The Spanish Government sent Señor Garcia its enthusiastic congratulations, and the Spanish Laryngological Society begged his acceptance of the diploma of "President of Honour." He brought a kind greeting from Spain to England, from Señor Garcia's native land to his adopted one. If the former gave him birth, the latter gave him shelter, and on that occasion both felt equally proud to have him as a son.

The following was the address of the Laryngological Society of London:--

DEAR AND REVERED MASTER,--Amongst the many friends assembled to-day to lay a tribute of gratitude and admiration at your feet, and a greater number far away who are celebrating to-day's unique event in spirit, there can be none whose congratulations are more sincere or more cordial than those of the members of the Laryngological Society of London. We yield to none in our gratitude for your precious invention, the Laryngoscope, which will keep your memory green through all ages. We, with the rest of mankind, admire in you the distinguished physiologist, the great musician, the teacher of so many celebrated singers: and we, amongst whom you have dwelt for so many years, have in addition had the great privilege of seeing you, our oldest honorary member, with us on many occasions, and have learned to appreciate in you the true friend, the courteous gentleman, the charming speaker. You have been permitted to retain all your brilliant faculties to patriarchal age, and to-day to celebrate your 100th birthday in undiminished vigour of mind and body. That this happy state may continue for many years to come, and that we may often have the pleasure and privilege of seeing the venerable father of laryngoscope amongst us, is the sincere wish of your devoted friends, the members of the Laryngological Society of London.

CHARTERS J. SYMONDS (_President_).

PHILIP R. W. DE SANTI (_Secretary_).

Sir F. Semon said there was a large number of telegrams of congratulation, and that in the midst of the great strife which was going on between two great nations, neither of them had forgotten a great benefactor. In addition to the congratulations from St Petersburg and Warsaw, already announced, telegrams had been received from the Moscow Laryngological Society and from the Medical Society of Japan.

Several of the foreign societies, including the Netherlands and the Vienna societies, announced that they had conferred their honorary membership upon Señor Garcia.

The programme was brought to a conclusion by the presentation to Señor Garcia of his portrait, painted by Mr Sargent, R.A., and subscribed for by international contributions of the friends and admirers of the centenarian. The members of the Garcia Centenary Celebration Committee came forward to make the presentation. They were Sir F. Semon (chairman); Mr E. Furniss Potter, M.D., and Mr P. de Santi, F.R.C.S. (hon. secretaries); Mr E. Cresswell Baber, M.D., Mr J. Barry Ball, M.D., Mr J. S. Ballin, Mr A. Bowlby, F.R.C.S., Mr H. T. Butlin, F.R.C.S., Mr H. J. Davis, M.B., Mr J. Donelan, M.B., Mr J. Walker Downie, M.B., Mr F. de Havilland Hall, M.D., Mr W. Hill, M.D., Mr Percy Kidd, M.D., Mr L. A. Lawrence, F.R.C.S., Mr P. M'Bride, M.D., Mr W. Milligan, M.D., Mr L. H. Pegler, M.D., Mr W. Permewan, M.D., Mr H. B. Robinson, F.R.C.S., Mr C. J. Symonds, F.R.C.S., Mr St Clair Thomson, M.D., and Mr F. Willcocks, M.D. Mr W. R. H. Stewart, F.R.C.S. (Ed.), the hon. treasurer, was prevented by illness from attending.

Sir F. Semon made the presentation, and announced that the album containing the names of the subscribers would be handed to Señor Garcia subsequently. About twenty laryngological societies and about 800 persons had united to offer that testimonial.

The portrait was then unveiled amid loud cheers, which were renewed when the aged maestro rose to return thanks. His voice trembled with emotion, for he had been deeply touched by all this loyal recognition and affection. His opening words were addressed to the Spanish Chargé d'Affaires.

"Sir, will you tell my king for me how deeply grateful I am to him for thus remembering that in this country, which has sheltered me so long, he has a loyal and a loving subject? Will you express, what I am not able to say in fitting words, my overwhelming sense of this great honour, and convey to him my reverent--if a subject may be so bold--my loving thanks. You, sir [addressing Professor Fränkel], will undertake of your great courtesy to make known to his Majesty the German Emperor my deep sense of the honour he has conferred on a stranger, and you will ask him to accept my grateful thanks. You, sir [Sir A. Geikie], who represent the illustrious English society that first gave me a hearing [the Royal Society]; you [Professor Stirling], by whom the learning of England's second capital [the Manchester University] sends me greeting." At this point Señor Garcia handed the MS. of his reply to Sir Felix Semon, requesting him to finish reading it. "You who have come from distant Königsberg to recall the grateful memory of those who gave the unknown man a place among them. You, who represent the world-renowned Academy of Sciences of Berlin, among the members of which are some I count dear friends. And you, dear sir, who bring me the greeting of a city of youth whose very name seems to set joy-bells ringing; you, sir, from Heidelberg, how shall I thank you all, if your goodwill should fail to interpret my poor faltering words? But that goodwill is my most trusty staff. You, doctors, laryngologists, dear friends, to whom the little instrument to which such kind allusion has been made owes all its power for good. You, representatives of the great music schools of London, in one of which I passed so many years, working happily beside brother musicians, and to the other of which I have so often come to mark with pride our own great art of music prospering beyond belief under the care of a beloved chief and genial staff. You, too, my pupils, among whom it rejoices me so keenly to welcome faces missed for many years and found again to-day, while others have been with me, near and dear. To you all, thanks, from an old heart that did not know what youth it still possessed till it expanded to embrace you all. This portrait, from the hand of this great master, which grew in happy hours too few for me since they passed so rapidly in his companionship, shall be my pride and joy in the days to come."

When Sir Felix hesitated at this point because he saw that he was coming to a passage about himself, Señor Garcia at once cried, "Yes, yes! read that!" Then, as the Chairman of the Committee looked somewhat embarrassed, the centenarian said with great vivacity, "Well, give it to me; I will read it." With these words he took over the paper once again and read the concluding words of the speech.

"If you will bear with me a moment longer, I should like to say one little inadequate word of thanks to him from whose initiative this wonderful demonstration has sprung,--my friend Sir Felix Semon, with whose name link that of an institution dear to me beyond all others,--the Laryngological Society of London, and its chosen representative, that social Atlas, the Garcia Committee."

This brought the first part of the programme to a close, and the centenarian returned to his home, which was inundated with telegrams and baskets of flowers. Here he gave himself up to rest and preparation for that still more trying ordeal which was still to come.

That same evening Señor Garcia set out for the Hotel Cecil, where a complimentary birthday banquet had been arranged by the committee.

When the carriage had driven into the courtyard of the hotel he alighted without assistance, entered the outer hall, and walked nimbly down two or three flights of stairs to the cloak-room.

There was a very large attendance, the Grand Hall being filled with eminent musicians and scientists anxious to do honour to the distinguished guest.

Mr Charters J. Symonds was in the chair.

In proposing the first toast, "The King," he said that his Majesty was always the foremost in every way in the recognition of merit, and that day he had anticipated their function, and had received Señor Garcia personally, conferring upon him a great honour--the Commandership of the Royal Victorian Order. His Majesty, in honour of Señor Garcia, had also sent Lord Suffield there as his representative.

The toast having been loyally honoured, the chairman said that two other European sovereigns had combined with our own King to confer honour on their guest. His Majesty the King of Spain had sent Señor Garcia the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso XII., and also a message which he would call on the Spanish Chargé d'Affaires to read.

The Marquis de Villalobar said it gave him great pleasure to convey to his illustrious compatriot the message which his Majesty, the King of Spain, had sent to him just now through his Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was as follows: "By command of his Majesty the King, congratulate personally Señor Garcia on the day of the celebration of his 100th birthday. Convey his royal best wishes to the grand old Spaniard who, by his invention and works, has glorified and exalted the name of Spain."

The chairman, resuming, said he had heard a whisper that the honour conferred by the King of Spain carried with it the title of His Excellency, so that in future they might regard their dear old friend as His Excellency, Señor Garcia. Again, his Majesty the German Emperor, mindful of the benefit which he himself not long since obtained from the knowledge of the instrument invented by Señor Garcia, had conferred upon him a great distinction. It had been brought to London by the most distinguished laryngologist in Germany, Professor Fränkel. It was the medal which was called the Great Gold Medal for Science. They would appreciate its importance when he said that previously it had only been conferred upon Professor Virchow, Professor Koch, Ehrlich, and Mommsen. These three Sovereigns had that day combined to recognise in Señor Garcia the ability which had influenced science and art in all countries. He gave them the toast of the King of Spain, and then of the German Emperor.

The toasts having been honoured, Sir Felix Semon proposed the health of the hero of the evening in a long and eloquent speech.

The toast was drunk with enthusiasm, and the company sang, "For he's a jolly good fellow."

Then, in an atmosphere of electrical excitement, Manuel Garcia stood up, and amid a thrilling silence made his response.

It was almost the only occasion in the world's history that a man of world-wide fame had ever attained his 100th anniversary. It was, moreover, the first time that any centenarian, whether illustrious or "born to blush unseen," had been in such full possession of his faculties and bodily strength as to make his own reply to the hundreds assembled to do honour to his birthday. He was almost overcome by emotion in making his response in English.

"Sir Felix Semon, Ladies and Gentlemen,--Words, it is said, are given us to conceal our thoughts. They will admirably fulfil that purpose if you take mine as a full and complete expression of my feelings on this extraordinary occasion. But words, whatever use we make of them, are not mere masks. They are living things, intensely living things to some--to those of us who hold the magic ring that makes them slaves. They are as mighty friends, friends such as you to me, who from the ocean depths of your indulgence fling back to me my own poor and trivial deeds, transfigured into something 'rich and strange.'"

At this point Señor Garcia, who had become almost inaudible, and who was evidently somewhat exhausted by fatigue and excitement, handed the MS. of his speech to the chairman, who read the remainder. It ran as follows:--

"There are so many of you to be greeted,--old friends out of the past, old pupils, comrades, children! Ah, children! Sixteen societies of laryngologists, and mostly come of age, calling me 'Father'! They will have it so, and I am pretty proud of the title, I can tell you. Well, do you think one solitary man could find fit word to answer all these voices? But you can do it for me. There is an old story some of you may remember, which, when I read it, changed the aspect of things for me by its very name, for that was a stroke of genius: 'Put yourself in his place.' What a different world it would be if we all did that! Well, you try now. Try hard. Think yourself each one hundred years old to-day. Not the ladies. I will not ask them. Though they may come to that they will never look it, and they will never know it, and no one will ever believe it. But you men can try. Fancy you each lived one hundred years and woke to-day to find yourself surrounded by kindly clamorous voices, 'troops of friends'! What would you say? I think you would say nought. Only the infinite nought which circles all things could give an adequate answer to you all. I shall say nought to this great master of the brush, Mr Sargent, who with his creative touches in a moment brought life from void. It is a strange experience to see one's very self spring out at one from nothing in a flash. I shall say nought to this rash friend of mine, Sir Felix Semon, who into the midst of a busy life crammed all the work and worry of the labour of love that has brought you here to-day. Nought, nought to the friends so very near my heart, the Laryngological Society of London, and the chosen band whose terrible labours fill me with remorse whenever I think of them, the Members of the Garcia Committee. I shall say nought, nought, nought to all of you, except just this, 'God bless you every one!'"

The chairman next proposed "Our Foreign Guests," for whom Herr Emanuel Stockhausen (son of one of his most distinguished pupils), Dr Puttner, Dr Harman Smith, Dr Goris, Dr Lermoyez, Dr Poli, Dr Botella, Dr Burger, and Professor Chiari responded. During the dinner a number of congratulatory telegrams were received. Among them was one from the Prime Minister.

Between the speeches of foreign delegates, which were delivered in various tongues, Mme. Blanche Marchesi, Mme. Ada Crossley, Mr Ben Davies, and Mr Arthur Oswald sang, and then that wonderful evening came to an end.