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[267]
EUROPE
IN 1893 I was married to Miss Margaret James Murray, a native of Mississippi, and a graduate of Fisk University Nashville, Tenn., who had come to Tuskegee as a teacher several years before, and at the time we were married was filling the position of Lady Principal. Not only is Mrs. Washington completely one with me in the work directly connected with the school, relieving me of many burdens and perplexities, but aside from her work on the school grounds, she carries on a mothers' meeting in the town of Tuskegee, and a plantation work among the women, children, and men who live in a settlement connected with a large plantation about eight miles from Tuskegee. Both the mothers' meeting and the plantation work are carried on, not only with a view to helping those who are directly reached, but also for the purpose of furnishing object-lessons in these two kinds of work that may be followed by our [268]students when they go out into the world for theirown life-work.
Aside from these two enterprises, Mrs. Washington is also largely responsible for a woman's club at the school which brings together, twice a month, the women who live on the school grounds and those who live near, for the discussion of some important topic. She is also the President of what is known as the Federation of Southern Coloured Women's Clubs, and is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Federation of Coloured Women's Clubs.
Portia, the oldest of my three children, has learned dressmaking. She has unusual ability in instrumental music. Aside from her studies at Tuskegee, she has already begun to teach there.
Booker Taliaferro is my next oldest child. Young as he is, he has already nearly mastered the brickmason's trade. He began working at this trade when he was quite small, dividing his time between this and class work; and he has developed great skill in the trade and a fondness for it. He says that he is going to be an architect and brickmason. One of the most satisfactory letters that I have ever received from any one came to me from Booker, last summer. When I left home for the summer, I told him that he must work at his trade half of each day, [269]and that the other half of the day he could spendas he pleased. When I had been away from hometwo weeks, I received the following letter from him: TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA.
MY DEAR PAPA: Before you left home you told me to work at my trade half of each day. I like my work so much that I want to work at my trade all day. Besides, I want to earn all the money I can, so that when I go to another school I shall have money to pay my expenses. Your son,
BOOKER.
My youngest child, Ernest Davidson Washington, says that he is going to be a physician. In addition to going to school, where he studies books and has manual training, he regularly spends a portion of his time in the office of our resident physician, and has already learned to do many of the duties which pertain to a doctor's office.
The thing in my life which brings me the keenest regret is that my work in connection with public affairs keeps me for so much of the time away from my family, where, of all places in the world, I delight to be. I always envy the individual whose life-work is so laid that he can spend his evenings at home. I have sometimes thought that people who have this rare privilege do not appreciate it as [270]they should. It is such a rest and relief to getaway from crowds of people, and handshaking, andtravelling, and get home, even if it be for but a verybrief while.
Another thing at Tuskegee out of which I get a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction is in the meeting with our students, and teachers, and their families in the chapel for devotional exercises every evening at half-past eight, the last thing before retiring for the night. It is an inspiring sight when one stands on the platform there and sees before him eleven or twelve hundred earnest young men and women; and one cannot but feel that it is a privilege to help to guide them to a higher and more useful life.
In the spring of 1899 there came to me what I might describe as almost the greatest surprise of my life. Some good ladies in Boston arranged a public meeting in the interests of Tuskegee, to be held in the Hollis Street Theatre. This meeting was attended by large numbers of the best people of Boston, of both races. Bishop Lawrence presided. In addition to an address made by myself, Mr. Paul Lawrence Dunbar read from his poems, and Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois read an original sketch.
Some of those who attended this meeting noticed that I seemed unusually tired, and some little time [271]after the close of the meeting, one of the ladies whohad been interested in it asked me in a casual wayif I had ever been to Europe. I replied that Inever had. She asked me if I had ever thoughtof going, and I told her no; that it was somethingentirely beyond me. This conversation soon passedout of my mind, but a few days afterward I wasinformed that some friends in Boston, includingMr. Francis J. Garrison, had raised a sum of moneysufficient to pay all the expenses of Mrs. Washingtonand myself during a three or four months' tripto Europe. It was added with emphasis that wemust go. A year previous to this Mr. Garrisonhad attempted to get me to promise to go toEurope for a summer's rest, with the understandingthat he would be responsible for raising the moneyamong his friends for the expenses of the trip. Atthat time such a journey seemed so entirely foreignto anything that I should ever be able to undertakethat I confess I did not give the matter very seriousattention; but later Mr. Garrison joined hisefforts to those of the ladies whom I havementioned, and when their plans were made known tome Mr. Garrison not only had the route mappedout, but had, I believe, selected the steamer uponwhich we were to sail.
The whole thing was so sudden and so [272]unexpected that I was completely taken off my feet.I had been at work steadily for eighteen years inconnection with Tuskegee, and I had never thoughtof anything else but ending my life in that way.Each day the school seemed to depend upon memore largely for its daily expenses, and I told theseBoston friends that, while I thanked them sincerelyfor their thoughtfulness and generosity, I couldnot go to Europe, for the reason that the schoolcould not live financially while I was absent. Theythen informed me that Mr. Henry L. Higginson,and some other good friends who I know do notwant their names made public, were then raising asum of money which would be sufficient to keepthe school in operation while I was away. At thispoint I was compelled to surrender. Every avenueof escape had been closed.
Deep down in my heart the whole thing seemed more like a dream than like reality, and for a long time it was difficult for me to make myself believe that I was actually going to Europe. I had been born and largely reared in the lowest depths of slavery, ignorance, and poverty. In my childhood I had suffered for want of a place to sleep, for lack of food, clothing, and shelter. I had not had the privilege of sitting down to a dining-table until I was quite well grown. Luxuries had always seemed to [273]me to be something meant for white people, not formy race. I had always regarded Europe, and London,and Paris, much as I regard heaven. And nowcould it be that I was actually going to Europe?Such thoughts as these were constantly with me.
Two other thoughts troubled me a good deal. I feared that people who heard that Mrs. Washington and I were going to Europe might not know all the circumstances, and might get the idea that we had become, as some might say, "stuck up," and were trying to "show off." I recalled that from my youth I had heard it said that too often, when people of my race reached any degree of success, they were inclined to unduly exalt themselves; to try and ape the wealthy, and in so doing to lose their heads. The fear that people might think this of us haunted me a good deal. Then, too, I could not see how my conscience would permit me to spare the time from my work and be happy. It seemed mean and selfish in me to be taking a vacation while others were at work, and while there was so much that needed to be done. From the time I could remember, I had always been at work, and I did not see how I could spend three or four months in doing nothing. The fact was that I did not know how to take a vacation.
Mrs. Washington had much the same difficulty [274]in getting away, but she was anxious to go becauseshe thought that I needed the rest. There weremany important National questions bearing uponthe life of the race which were being agitated at thattime, and this made it all the harder for us to decideto go. We finally gave our Boston friends ourpromise that we would go, and then they insistedthat the date of our departure be set as soon aspossible. So we decided upon May 10. Mygood friend Mr. Garrison kindly took charge ofall the details necessary for the success of the trip,and he, as well as other friends, gave us a greatnumber of letters of introduction to people inFrance and England, and made other arrangementsfor our comfort and convenience abroad.Good-bys were said at Tuskegee, and we were inNew York May 9, ready to sail the next day. Ourdaughter Portia, who was then studying in SouthFramingham, Mass., came to New York to see usoff. Mr. Scott, my secretary, came with me toNew York, in order that I might clear up the lastbit of business before I left. Other friends alsocame to New York to see us off. Just before wewent on board the steamer another pleasantsurprise came to us in the form of a letter from twogenerous ladies, stating that they had decided togive us the money with which to erect a new building[275]to be used in properly housing all our industriesfor girls at Tuskegee.
We were to sail on the Friesland, of the Red Star Line, and a beautiful vessel she was. We went on board just before noon, the hour of sailing. I had never before been on board a large ocean steamer, and the feeling which took possession of me when I found myself there is rather hard to describe. It was a feeling, I think, of awe mingled with delight. We were agreeably surprised to find that the captain, as well as several of the other officers, not only knew who we were, but was expecting us and gave us a pleasant greeting. There were several passengers whom we knew, including Senator Sewell, of New Jersey, and Edward Marshall, the newspaper correspondent. I had just a little fear that we would not be treated civilly by some of the passengers. This fear was based upon what I had heard other people of my race, who had crossed the ocean, say about unpleasant experiences in crossing the ocean in American vessels. But in our case, from the captain down to the most humble servant, we were treated with the greatest kindness. Nor was this kindness confined to those who were connected with the steamer; it was shown by all the passengers also. There were not a few Southern men and women [276]on board, and they were as cordial as those fromother parts of the country.
As soon as the last good-bye were said, and the steamer had cut loose from the wharf, the load of care, anxiety, and responsibility which I had carried for eighteen years began to lift itself from my shoulders at the rate, it seemed to me, of a pound a minute. It was the first time in all those years that I had felt, even in a measure, free from care; and my feeling of relief it is hard to describe on paper. Added to this was the delightful anticipation of being in Europe soon. It all seemed more like a dream than like a reality.
Mr. Garrison had thoughtfully arranged to have us have one of the most comfortable rooms on the ship. The second or third day out I began to sleep, and I think that I slept at the rate of fifteen hours a day during the remainder of the ten days' passage. Then it was that I began to understand how tired I really was. These long sleeps I kept up for a month after we landed on the other side. It was such an unusual feeling to wake up in the morning and realize that I had no engagements; did not have to take a train at a certain hour; did not have an appointment to meet some one, or to make an address, at a certain hour. How different all this was from some of the experiences [277]that I have been through when travelling, when Ihave sometimes slept in three different beds ina single night!
When Sunday came, the captain invited me to conduct the religious services, but, not being a minister, I declined. The passengers, however, began making requests that I deliver an address to them in the dining-saloon some time during the voyage, and this I consented to do. Senator Sewell presided at this meeting. After ten days of delightful weather, during which I was not seasick for a day, we landed at the interesting old city of Antwerp, in Belgium.
The next day after we landed happened to be one of those numberless holidays which the people of those countries are in the habit of observing. It was a bright, beautiful day. Our room in the hotel faced the main public square, and the sights there - the people coming in from the country with all kinds of beautiful flowers to sell, the women coming in with their dogs drawing large, brightly polished cans filled with milk, the people streaming into the cathedral - filled me with a sense of newness that I had never before experienced.
After spending some time in Antwerp, we were invited to go with a party of a half-dozen persons on a trip through Holland. This party included [278]Edward Marshall and some American artists whohad come over on the same steamer with us. Weaccepted the invitation, and enjoyed the trip greatly.I think it was all the more interesting and instructivebecause we went for most of the way on one ofthe slow, old-fashioned canal-boats. This gave usan opportunity of seeing and studying the real lifeof the people in the country districts. We went inthis way as far as Rotterdam, and later went to TheHague, where the Peace Conference was then insession, and where we were kindly received by theAmerican representatives.
The thing that impressed itself most on me in Holland was the thoroughness of the agriculture and the excellence of the Holstein cattle. I never knew, before visiting Holland, how much it was possible for people to get out of a small plot of ground. It seemed to me that absolutely no land was wasted. It was worth a trip to Holland, too, just to get a sight of three or four hundred fine Holstein cows grazing in one of those intensely green fields.
From Holland we went to Belgium, and made a hasty trip through that country, stopping at Brussels, where we visited the battlefield of Waterloo. From Belgium we went direct to Paris, where we found that Mr. Theodore Stanton, the son of Mrs. [279]Elizabeth Cady Stanton, had kindly providedaccommodations for us. We had barely got settledin Paris before an invitation came to me from theUniversity Club of Paris to be its guest at abanquet which was soon to be given. The other guestswere ex-President Benjamin Harrison andArchbishop Ireland, who were in Paris at the time.The American Ambassador, General Horace Porter,presided at the banquet. My address on thisoccasion seemed to give satisfaction to those whoheard it. General Harrison kindly devoted alarge portion of his remarks at dinner to myselfand to the influence of the work at Tuskegee onthe American race question. After my address atthis banquet other invitations came to me, but Ideclined the most of them, knowing that if Iaccepted them all, the object of my visit would bedefeated. I did, however, consent to deliver anaddress in the American chapel the following Sundaymorning, and at this meeting General Harrison,General Porter, and other distinguished Americanswere present.
Later we received a formal call from the American Ambassador, and were invited to attend a reception at his residence. At this reception we met many Americans, among them Justices Fuller and Harlan, of the United States Supreme Court. [280]During our entire stay of a month in Paris, boththe American Ambassador and his wife, as well asseveral other Americans, were very kind to us.
While in Paris we saw a good deal of the now famous American Negro painter, Mr. Henry C. Tanner, whom we had formerly known in America. It was very satisfactory to find how well known Mr. Tanner was in the field of art, and to note the high standing which all classes accorded to him. When we told some Americans that we were going to the Luxembourg Palace to see a painting by an American Negro, it was hard to convince them that a Negro had been thus honoured. I do not believe that they were really convinced of the fact until they saw the picture for themselves. My acquaintance with Mr. Tanner reenforced in my mind the truth which I am constantly trying to impress upon our students at Tuskegee - and on our people throughout the country, as far as I can reach them with my voice - that any man, regardless of colour, will be recognized and rewarded just in proportion as he learns to do something well - learns to do it better than some one else - however humble the thing may be. As I have said, I believe that my race will succeed in proportion as it learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner; learns to do a thing so thoroughly that no one can [281]improve upon what it has done; learns to makeits services of indispensable value. This was thespirit that inspired me in my first effort at Hampton,when I was given the opportunity to sweep and dustthat schoolroom. In a degree I felt that my wholefuture life depended upon the thoroughness withwhich I cleaned that room, and I was determinedto do it so well that no one could find any faultwith the job. Few people ever stopped, I foundwhen looking at his pictures, to inquire whether Mr.Tanner was a Negro painter, a French painter, or aGerman painter. They simply knew that he wasable to produce something which the world wanted - a great painting - and the matter of his colourdid not enter into their minds. When a Negrogirl learns to cook, to wash dishes, to sew, to write a book, or a Negro boy learns to groom horses, orto grow sweet potatoes, or to produce butter, or tobuild a house, or to be able to practice medicine, aswell or better than some one else, they will berewarded regardless of race or colour. In the longrun, the world is going to have the best, and anydifference in race, religion, or previous history willnot long keep the world from what it wants.
I think that the whole future of my race hinges on the question as to whether or not it can make itself of such indispensable value that the people in [282]the town and the state where we reside will feelthat our presence is necessary to the happiness andwell-being of the community. No man whocontinues to add something to the material, intellectual,and moral well-being of the place in which he livesis long left without proper reward. This is a greathuman law which cannot be permanently nullified.
The love of pleasure and excitement which seems in a large measure to possess the French people impressed itself upon me. I think they are more noted in this respect than is true of the people of my own race. In point of morality and moral earnestness I do not believe that the French are ahead of my own race in America. Severe competition and the great stress of life have led them to learn to do things more thoroughly and to exercise greater economy; but time, I think, will bring my race to the same point. In the matter of truth and high honour I do not believe that the average Frenchman is ahead of the American Negro; while so far as mercy and kindness to dumb animals go, I believe that my race is far ahead. In fact, when I left France, I had more faith in the future of the black man in America than I had ever possessed.
From Paris we went to London, and reached there early in July, just about the height of the London social season. Parliament was in session, [283]and there was a great deal of gaiety. Mr. Garrisonand other friends had provided us with a largenumber of letters of introduction, and they hadalso sent letters to other persons in different partsof the United Kingdom, apprising these people ofour coming. Very soon after reaching London wewere flooded with invitations to attend all mannerof social functions, and a great many invitationscame to me asking that I deliver public addresses.The most of these invitations I declined, for thereason that I wanted to rest. Neither were we ableto accept more than a small proportion of the otherinvitations. The Rev. Dr. Brooke Herford andMrs. Herford, whom I had known in Boston,consulted with the American Ambassador, the Hon.Joseph Choate, and arranged for me to speak ata public meeting to be held in Essex Hall. Mr.Choate kindly consented to preside. The meetingwas largely attended. There were manydistinguished persons present, among them severalmembers of Parliament, including Mr. James Bryce, whospoke at the meeting. What the American Ambassadorsaid in introducing me, as well as a synopsisof what I said, was widely published in England andin the American papers at the time. Dr. and Mrs.Herford gave Mrs. Washington and myself a reception,at which we had the privilege of meeting some[284]of the best people in England. Throughout ourstay in London Ambassador Choate was most kindand attentive to us. At the Ambassador's receptionI met, for the first time, Mark Twain.
We were the guests several times of Mrs. T. Fisher Unwin, the daughter of the English statesman, Richard Cobden. It seemed as if both Mr. and Mrs. Unwin could not do enough for our comfort and happiness. Later, for nearly a week, we were the guests of the daughter of John Bright, now Mrs. Clark, of Street, England. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clark, with their daughter, visited us at Tuskegee the next year. In Birmingham, England, we were the guests for several days of Mr. Joseph Sturge, whose father was a great abolitionist and friend of Whittier and Garrison. It was a great privilege to meet throughout England those who had known and honoured the late William Lloyd Garrison, the Hon. Frederick Douglass, and other abolitionists. The English abolitionists with whom we came in contact never seemed to tire of talking about these two Americans. Before going to England I had had no proper conception of the deep interest displayed by the abolitionists of England in the cause of freedom, nor did I realize the amount of substantial help given by them.
In Bristol, England, both Mrs. Washington and [285]I spoke at the Women's Liberal Club. I was alsothe principal speaker at the Commencement exercisesof the Royal College for the Blind. Theseexercises were held in the Crystal Palace, and thepresiding officer was the late Duke of Westminster,who was said to be, I believe, the richest man inEngland, if not in the world. The Duke, aswell as his wife and their daughter, seemed to bepleased with what I said, and thanked me heartily.Through the kindness of Lady Aberdeen, my wifeand I were enabled to go with a party of thosewho were attending the International Congress ofWomen, then in session in London, to see QueenVictoria, at Windsor Castle, where, afterward, wewere all the guests of her Majesty at tea. In ourparty was Miss Susan B. Anthony, and I wasdeeply impressed with the fact that one did notoften get an opportunity to see, during the samehour, two women so remarkable in different waysas Susan B. Anthony and Queen Victoria.
In the House of Commons, which we visited several times, we met Sir Henry M. Stanley. I talked with him about Africa and its relation to the American Negro, and after my interview with him I became more convinced than ever that there was no hope of the American Negro's improving his condition by emigrating to Africa.
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On various occasions Mrs. Washington and I were the guests of Englishmen in their country homes, where, I think, one sees the Englishman at his best. In one thing, at least, I feel sure that the English are ahead of Americans, and that is, that they have learned how to get more out of life. The home life of the English seems to me to be about as perfect as anything can be. Everything moves like clockwork. I was impressed, too, with the deference that the servants show to their "masters" and "mistresses," - terms which I suppose would not be tolerated in America. The English servant expects, as a rule, to be nothing but a servant, and so he perfects himself in the art to a degree that no class of servants in America has yet reached. In our country the servant expects to become, in a few years, a "master" himself. Which system is preferable? I will not venture an answer.
Another thing that impressed itself upon me throughout England was the high regard that all classes have for law and order, and the ease and thoroughness with which everything is done. The Englishmen, I found, took plenty of time for eating, as for everything else. I am not sure if, in the long run, they do not accomplish as much or more than rushing, nervous Americans do.
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My visit to England gave me a higher regard for the nobility than I had had. I had no idea that they were so generally loved and respected by the masses, nor had I any correct conception of how much time and money they spent in works of philanthropy, and how much real heart they put into this work. My impression had been that they merely spent money freely and had a "good time."
It was hard for me to get accustomed to speaking to English audiences. The average Englishman is so serious, and is so tremendously in earnest about everything, that when I told a story that would have made an American audience roar with laughter, the Englishmen simply looked me straight in the face without even cracking a smile.
When the Englishman takes you into his heart and friendship, he binds you there as with cords of steel, and I do not believe that there are many other friendships that are so lasting or so satisfactory. Perhaps I can illustrate this point in no better way than by relating the following incident. Mrs. Washington and I were invited to attend a reception given by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, at Stafford House - said to be the finest house in London; I may add that I believe the Duchess of Sutherland is said to be the most beautiful woman [288]in England. There must have been at least threehundred persons at this reception. Twice during the evening the Duchess sought us out for aconversation, and she asked me to write her when wegot home, and tell her more about the work atTuskegee. This I did. When Christmas camewe were surprised and delighted to receive her photograph with her autograph on it. Thecorrespondence has continued, and we now feel that inthe Duchess of Sutherland we have one of ourwarmest friends.
After three months in Europe we sailed from Southampton in the steamship St. Louis. On this steamer there was a fine library that had been presented to the ship by the citizens of St. Louis, Mo. In this library I found a life of Frederick Douglass, which I began reading. I became especially interested in Mr. Douglass's description of the way he was treated on shipboard during his first or second visit to England. In this description he told how he was not permitted to enter the cabin, but had to confine himself to the deck of the ship. A few minutes after I had finished reading this description I was waited on by a committee of ladies and gentlemen with the request that I deliver an address at a concert which was to be given the following evening. And yet there are people who [289]are bold enough to say that race feeling in Americais not growing less intense! At this concert theHon. Benjamin B. Odell, Jr., the present governorof New York, presided. I was never given a morecordial hearing anywhere. A large proportion of thepassengers were Southern people. After the concertsome of the passengers proposed that a subscriptionbe raised to help the work at Tuskegee, and themoney to support several scholarships was the result.
While we were in Paris I was very pleasantly surprised to receive the following invitation from the citizens of West Virginia and of the city near which I had spent my boyhood days: - CHARLESTON W. VA., MAY 16, 1899.
PROFESSOR BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, PARIS, FRANCE:
DEAR SIR: Many of the best citizens of West Virginia have united in liberal expressions of admiration and praise of your worth and work, and desire that on your return from Europe you should favour them with your presence and with the inspiration of your words. We most sincerely indorse this move, and on behalf of the citizens of Charleston extend to you our most cordial invitation to have you come to us, that we may honour you who have done so much by your life and work to honour us.
We are, Very truly yours,
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, By W. HERMAN SMITH, Mayor. [290] This invitation from the City Council of Charleston was accompanied by the following: - PROFESSOR BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, PARIS, FRANCE.
DEAR SIR: We, the citizens of Charleston and West Virginia, desire to express our pride in you and the splendid career that you have thus far accomplished, and ask that we be permitted to show our pride and interest in a substantial way.
Your recent visit to your old home in our midst awoke within us the keenest regret that we were not permitted to hear you and render some substantial aid to your work, before you left for Europe.
In view of the foregoing, we earnestly invite you to share the hospitality of our city upon your return from Europe, and give us the opportunity to hear you and put ourselves in touch with your work in a way that will be most gratifying to yourself, and that we may receive the inspiration of your words and presence.
An early reply to this invitation, with an indication of the time you may reach our city, will greatly oblige, Yours very respectfully,
The Charleston Daily Gazette, The Daily Mail
Tribune ; G. W. Atkinson, Governor ; E. L. Boggs,
Secretary to Governor; Wm. M. O. Dawson,
Secretary of State; L. M. La Follette, Auditor;
J. R. Trotter, Superintendent of Schools; E. W.
Wilson, ex-Governor; W. A. MacCorkle, ex-Governor;
John Q. Dickinson, President Kanawha Valley Bank;
L. Prichard, President Charleston National Bank;
Geo. S. Couch, President Kanawha National Bank;[291] Ed. Reid, Cashier Kanawha National Bank; Gen.
S. Laidley, Superintendent City Schools; L. E.
McWhorter, President Board of Education; Chas. K.
Payne, wholesale merchant; and many others.
This invitation, coming as it did from the City Council, the state officers, and all the substantial citizens of both races of the community where I had spent my boyhood, and from which I had gone a few years before, unknown, in poverty and ignorance, in quest of an education, not only surprised me, but almost unmanned me. I could not understand what I had done to deserve it all.
I accepted the invitation, and at the appointed day was met at the railway station at Charleston by a committee headed by ex-Governor W. A. MacCorkle, and composed of men of both races. The public reception was held in the Opera-House at Charleston. The Governor of the state, the Hon. George W. Atkinson, presided, and an address of welcome was made by ex-Governor MacCorkle. A prominent part in the reception was taken by the coloured citizens. The Opera-House was filled with citizens of both races, and among the white people were many for whom I had worked when a boy. The next day Governor and Mrs. Atkinson gave me a public reception at the State House, which was attended by all classes.
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Not long after this the coloured people in Atlanta, Georgia, gave me a reception at which the Governor of the state presided, and a similar reception was given me in New Orleans, which was presided over by the Mayor of the city. Invitations came from many other places which I was not able to accept. |
