At a fete celebrating his eight years as dean of the College Thursday, Harry R. Lewis ’68 was compared to the Frankish emperor Charlemagne as attendees enjoyed jokes at the expense of the top administrators.

About 75 people mingled in a tent outside the Science Center sipping wine and munching catered hors d’oeuvres.

Lewis greeted, reminisced and laughed with the guests for nearly an hour. However, the top administrators who were responsible for Lewis’ March ouster, including Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby, were notably absent.

“Your being here today is a gift to me,” Lewis said. “I didn’t want this to be about me. I’m just one of the crowd in service to the College.”

After Lewis concluded his remarks, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J. Gomes made light of the fact that Lewis was in fact hosting the party for his staff.

“Dean Lewis is under the impression that this is his party,” he told the crowd.

In a speech of about ten minutes, Gomes transformed the gathering into a wry tribute to Lewis, who will leave the administration on July 1.

Gomes called the gathering “a circus tent full of poo-bahs and elephants and charlatans.”

“And for eight years, you presided over this menagerie,” Gomes said to Lewis.

In addition to teasing the dean, Gomes made several jabs at those responsible for firing Lewis.

“Harry by and large trusted the system,” Gomes said pointedly. “He was a child of the system.”

In the past, “we worried about the structure first, and what came next later,” Gomes said, noting that there is not yet a structure in place for the new College administration. Most of the audience applauded the comment.

Gomes compared Lewis to Charlemagne and spoke of hostile invaders who wished to destroy his European kingdom. Gomes also mentioned the Emperor’s incompetent successors who had such memorable names as “Charles the Fat.”

“I think of Harry as our Charlemagne, and I worry for the future of Europe,” Gomes said.

The comment elicited laughs and cheers from nearly everyone.