Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-01-16

A writer in "Once Week" says
1t was during dinner that made the
acquaintance of the black-coated Amer
ican. s1
az knew a very clever countryman of
yours" said I, addressing him when our
introduction was over, and we were on
speaking terms. 5 rs'..5'5
!" Indeed, so; and who was he, sir?"
he asked dryly.
"Artemus Ward" I answered.
On hearing the name of the late la
mented humorist. the. ladies smiled !; it
reminded them. suppose, of his dfoll
writings.
"He was talented man, and pretty
successful in his line," rejoined pater-
familias. tie sa s 7sTsa9
mo writer, in so short time, and
having written so little, ever made such
a worldwide reputation" / remarked /;
his name is household word in Eng
land. where every one has read his book.
He has had imitators innumerable, but
none are comparable with the witty
original" {DT
He died very young" said Scotch
man, who had been listening to our con-
versation. ss
.ss...- Yes, in decline," replied. "His
death was fastened by the lectures he
gave in London, when in too delicate a
state of health to resist such fatigue as
they incurred. / did all could,'' con-
tinued, "to persuade him to abandon
them, and to get to d warmer climate,
s but he was self-willed and went on, un-
til, at last, the hard work proved too
much for him, and he succumbed.
"But there never was any such person
as Artemus Ward, was there?" asked
one of the young ladies, who was there
upon informed by her sister that the
name was assumed by Mr.. Browne. II
attended one of his lectures in New
York" continued the last speaker, "and
never laughed SO much at any entertain
ment.' ssls5ss, ~.
ssThe last time saw Artemus Ward,
or Mr.. Browne, as you rightly call him,
it was under rather singular circum-
stances" 7,5 5i.e
"Oh. do tell usl" exclaimed the young
ladies together. -
"He called on me in London, when ]
was a prisoner in my own house." con.
tinued. at was between one and two
o'clock in the day. / was at luncheon
with a lady. Requiring the servant
rang the bell. The servant came; but
; on trying to open the door of the dining
room, in which we were, found it impos
sible to do SO. She knocked. 'Come in,
cried.
"a ..I can't sir; the doors locked" was
the repley. ,..'..3 -. 55
,.. ".Nonsense = I exclaimed, and rose
to open the door. I turned the handle
round and round in vain the lock, ir
some way or other, had got out of order
and resisted all our efforts, outside anl
in. to set it right. The door could no
be opened. What was to be done
The lady got nervous-the servant more
vigorous in her attempts to effect an en-
trance. She was the only domestic il
the house, which made the position still
more embarrassing; for there was nj
one to send for assistance, or, rather, t,
admit her again if she went ont. Mos
unfortunately, had the key of the stree
door in my pocket. l requested the
servant to fetch a locksmith, nd ga>
her the key out of the window. Sh,
started, and stayed away long enough tt
have fetched all the locksmiths in Lon
don.
She was gone atleast two hours. Dur
ING this time, several people came to SCI
ma The first was Artemus Ward.
saluted him from the window, explained
T,,os;t;on. and asked him to wait. He