At supper parties it is quite a usual thing for speeches proposing toasts to be made, and when once they are started there is no stopping the flow of oratory. They love long-worded speeches almost as much as the Brazilians, and will listen to themselves and others for hours, and it must be admitted that they have a ready if a simple wit on all occasions. I have heard a Panamanian after dinner make an impromptu speech, in which he felicitously described all the guests around the table, and if his incisive humour was at times a little grotesque and his satire biting, the subject of his jest was as delighted as the rest of his audience at his sallies. On the last day of the old year I had an opportunity of seeing the Panamanians really enjoying and proving their capacity for entertaining themselves. A ball was given by one of the clubs on 31 December, and as their new president entered on his duties the moment the numerous clocks in the city should cease striking twelve, a fine occasion for a speech presented itself. All the company assembled in the ballroom about ten minutes before the dying year yielded up its last gasp of time. The ladies were seated on two long rows of chairs facing each other, while their attendant cavaliers stood immediately behind them. Each held a brimming glass, awaiting patiently till the time should arrive for the toast. At the last stroke of midnight the new president of the club stepped forward and addressed the assembly. As he went on speaking eloquently of the high honour of the office to which he had been elected, the duties of which he was now entering upon, expatiating on the dignity of the position and the halo it spread round the holder, it seemed probable that all the spirit, as well as the sparkle, would evaporate from the generous wine before any of the guests would have a chance of capturing it. When at last he made an end, after having been actively engaged upon his new duties for full half an hour, all raised their glasses and drank, not New Year’s wishes to one another, but to the success of the club and the health of its new president. Dancing was resumed when the glasses had been drained and wishes exchanged for prosperity and happiness during the coming year, but it was not until a late or, rather, early hour and after all the ladies had been served with supper that the men settled down to the enjoyment of a long-deferred repast. Bottle after bottle was emptied, and each one round the festive table made a gallant effort to vie with his neighbour in inventing some new toast. Every nationality represented at the board was the recipient of lengthy adulation, and if the good feeling voiced by all present could only be extended to the courts and Governments of the world, little business would be left for Peace Congresses to transact. The whole of the first of January was devoted to a round of festivities, and the powers of endurance displayed by many were amazing.