Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-10-14
b y II y - :
Mark Twain at a Presidential Recep
ti0n. ssa.
HE has PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH
2T D a TIE PRESIDENT. u . ~ W

HE has A PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH
z x D A TIE PREsIDEET. u y ~ e
After T had drifted into the White
House with the food tide of humanity
that had been washing steadily up the
street for an hour, obeyed the orders of
the soldier st the door and the policeman
within, and banked my hat and umbrella
with colored man, who gave me q piece
ofsbrass with number on 1t and said that
that thing would reproduce the property
at aDystime, Of the night. / doubted it,
but / was on unkno wn ground now, and
must be content to take a good many
Another person told me to drop in with
the crewdand would come to the Presi-
dent presently I Joined, and we drifted
along till we passed q certain point, and
then we thinned oIN to double and single
file. It was,a right gay scene, and right
stirring and lively one; for the whole
place was brightly lighted, and all down
theereat hall, as far as one could see, twas
q restless and writhing multitude of
people, the women powdered, painted,
jeweled, and splendidly upholstered, and
many of the men gilded with theihsignla
of great naval, military, and ambassador
ial rank. It was bewildering.
Our, long line kept drifting along, and
by and by we came in sight of the Presi-
dent and Mrs. Grant. They were stand
ing up shaking hands and trading civil.
ties with our procession. I grew some
what at home little by little, and then I
began to feel satisfied and contented. j
wes getting to be perfectly alive with in
terest by the time it came my turn to talk
with the President. | took him by the
hand and looked him IN the eye, and said:
"Well, / reckon sec you atAast, Gen.
eral. / have said as much as thousand
times, out in Nevada, that If ever went
home to, the States I would just hayea the
private satisfaction. of going and saying to
you by word of mouth that thought you
was considerable OF soldier anyway.
Now, you know, out there We" o.
T,tushed round, and said to the fellow
behind ne: ,,.aea e35Lt Jess.
Snow, look here, my good friend, how
the nation do you suppose can talk with
any sortof satisfaction, with you crowd
ing me this wayg am surprised atyour
manners" si,o6a,a 81 .etsasit -7eeGsg 9
Heawas modest looking creature. He
said:
"But you see the whole procession's
stopped, and they're crowding up on
me-" rI.@,4 sffr
I said:
''Some people have got more cheek.
Just suggest to the parties behind you to
have some respect for the place they are
in, and not try to shove in on q private
conversation. What the General and me
are talking about amt of the least inter-
est to them" ."ss 1 '....t.t.
Then Presumed with the President:
"Well, well, well. Now this is fine.
This is what / call something like. Gay !?
Well, / should say so And SO this is
what you call Presidential reception?
I'm free to say that it just lays over any
thing that ever I saw out in the sage
brush. / have been to Governor Nye's
Injun receptions at Honey Lake and Car
son City, many and many a time-he
that's Senator Nye now-goU know him,
of course i never saw. man in all
my life that Jim Nye didn't know
and not only that, but he
could tell him schere he knew him,
and all about him, family included, even
If it was forty years ago. Most remarka-
BILE man, Jim mNyc-remarksble. He can
tell lie with that purity of accent, and
that grace ofutterance, and that convinc.
ing EMOTION" lfsrg
I turned again, and said:
"My friend, your conduct surprises me.
have come three thousand miles to have
word with the President of the United
States upon subjects with which you are
not eyenremotely connected, and by the
living geewhilikins, can't proceed with
any sort OF satisfaction on account of your
cusscd crowding. VIII you just please to
go little slow, now, and not attract so
much attention by your strange conduct /?
If you had any eyes you could see how
the bystanders are staring"
He said:
"But L tell you, cir, it's the people be.
hind. They are just growing and surgine
and showing, and / wish l was in Jericho
I do"
al wish you was, myself. You nigh
learn some delicacy of feeling in tha
ancient seat of civilization, maybe. ORA
if you don't need it."
And then ! resumed with the Presi
dent:
"Yes, sir, I've been to receptions be
fore, plenty Of thsm--old Nye's Injun re
ceptions. But they wasn't as starchy a
this by considerable. No great Ion,
strings of highfiyers. like these gsloot
here, you know, but old, high-fsvoret
Washoes and Pi.utea, each one of then
as powerfnl SIS a rag factory on fire
Phewl Those were halcyon days. Yes
indeed, General, and madam, many an
many's the time, out IN the wilds of Ne
Yada, I've been"
"Perhaps you had better discontinu