The banquet was the largest held during the Exposition period, eight hundred invitations being issued and nearly seven hundred persons present. The music was furnished by the famous Garde Républicaine Band of France, as the Exposition orchestra was obliged to fill its regular weekly assignment at Festival Hall. The decorations of the hall, the lights and flowers, the musical programme, the galleries and boxes filled with ladies representing the official and social life of the Exposition, and the distinguished body of the Congress, formed a picture which appealed to the admiration and enthusiasm of every one alike. No attempt was made to assign seats to the banqueters outside the speakers' table, and little coteries and clusters of scientists, many of whom were making acquaintances and intellectual alliances during this week which would endure for a lifetime, were scattered about the hall, giving an interest and an animation to the scene quite beyond the powers of description. In one corner were Harnack, Budde, Jean Réville, and Cuthbert Hall, chatting as animatedly as though their religious theories were not as far apart as the poles; in another, Waldeyer, Escherich, Jacobi, Allbutt, and Kitasato formed a medical group, the counterpart of which would be hard to find unless in another part of this same hall; still again were Erdmann, Sorley, Ladd, Royce, and Creighton as the centre of a group of philosophers of world renown. So in every part of the picture which met the eye were focused the leaders of thought and action in their respective fields. The _tout ensemble_ of the Congress was here brought out in its strongest effect, as, with the exception of the opening exercises at Festival Hall at which time many had not arrived, it was the only time when the entire membership was together. The banquet coming at the close of the week was also fortunate, as by this time the acquaintances made, and the common incidents and anecdotes experienced, heightened the enjoyment of all. The toastmaster of the banquet and presiding officer, Hon. David R. Francis, was never in a happier vein than when he assumed the gavel and proposed the health of the President of the United States and the rulers of all nations represented at the board. President Francis said:-- MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ARTS AND SCIENCE: On the façade at the base of the Louisiana Monument, which is the central feature of this Exposition picture, is a group of Livingston, Monroe, and Marbois. It represents the signing of the treaty, which by peaceful negotiation transferred an empire from France to the United States. Upon the inscription are the words of Livingston, "We have lived long and accomplished much, but this is the crowning act of our lives."