In proposing the health of "The Queen, the Protectress of the Society," the Prince observed that "Her Majesty had shown a deep interest in the charity, ever since 1837, the year of her accession to the throne, when she became an annual subscriber; and his lamented father became its protector at his marriage, and continued to subscribe to its funds." In proposing the health of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Travers Twiss, her Majesty's Advocate-General, said that he was not merely following the high example of his august mother and lamented father, but was moved by his own kind disposition. As it was not generally known, he took the liberty of mentioning, even in his presence, that the Prince, in the course of his Eastern travels, passed through no great city without having visited its institutions in aid of suffering humanity; and it was still fresh in the memory of those who were around him how much his heart was touched at the sight of the shelter afforded by British and American philanthropy to the unfortunate Syrian Christians, who had been driven from their homes at Damascus, and found a temporary asylum among the European residents at Beyrout. His Royal Highness, in returning thanks, expressed the high pleasure it was to be present in support of the institution, and proposed the health of the "Foreign Sovereigns and Governments--protectors and patrons of the Institution," coupling with the toast the name of his Excellency the Prussian Ambassador; to which Count Bernstorff responded. In proposing the principal toast of the evening, His Royal Highness said that he was sure it would be received with enthusiasm:-- "The 'Society of Friends of Foreigners in Distress' was the first of the kind established in London, and its object was to afford assistance to deserving and necessitous foreigners in this country, without distinction of nationality, religion, age, or sex. This institution, which had now existed for more than sixty years, was even at the time of its initiation thought to be a work of necessity; how much more so had it become such since the means of communication between country and country had been so vastly increased, and trade, manufactures, and commerce had so largely attracted the people of other nations to our shores!