Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-12-23
Mark Twain's English Critic.
TAKE the following paragraph from an
tinlp in the Boston 11re1.ftaer

l TAKE the following paragraph from an
article in the Boston Adcertt8er.
AN ENGLISH CRITIo on MARX TwAIN.-Perhaps
the most successful flights Of humor OF Mark
Twain have been the descriptions of the persons
who did not appreciate his humor at ALL Wehave
become familiar with the Californians who were
thrilled with terror by his burlesque of a news
paper reporters way of telling a story, and
have heard OF, the Pennsylvania Clergyman who
sadly returned his - ''Innocents Abroadr to the
book-agent with the remark that "the man who
could shed tears over the tomb Of Adam must be
an IDIOT" But Mark Twain may now add much
more glorious instance to his string of trophies
The Sqtnrddy Rsptel0 in its number of Oct. y, re-
views his book of travels, which has been repub-
lished In England, and reviews 1t seriously. We
can imagine the delight of the humorist in reading
this tribute to his power; and indeed It is so
amusing In Itself that he hardly do better than
reproduce the article in full In his next monthly
Memoranda
Publishing the above paragraph thus,
gives me sort of authority for reproduc.
ing the Saturday RerieD's article in full |
dearly wanted to do 1t, for / cannot write
anything half SO delicious myself If | had
a cast-iron dog that could read this Eng
lish criticism and preserve his austerity, |
would drive him off the door-step.--Ndrk
ItoGin.
From the London Saturday Review.
REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS.
THE INNoCENTs ABROAD. A Book of Tray
els. MuEk JWalu. LOndOni HOtteD, pub
Usher. 1870.
Lord Macauay died too soon We never
felt this SO deeply as when we finished the
last chapter of the above-named extrava-
CANT work. Macaulay died too soon-for
none but him could mete out competent
and comprehensive justice to the insolence,
the lmpertinence, the presumption, the
mendacity, and, above all, the majestic ig.
norance of this author.
To say that the 'Innocents Abroad is
curious book, would be to use the faintest
language-would be TO speak of the Mat
terhorn as neat elevation, or of Niagara
as being nice or pretty" Curious" is
too tame word wherewith to describe the
imposing insanity of this work There is
no word that is large enough or long
enough. Let us, therefore, photograph
passing glimpse Of book and author, and
trust the rest to the reader Let the cult.
waited student of human nature picture to
himself this Mark Twain as person ca
pable of doing the following described
things-and not only doing them, but with
incredible innocence printing them calmly
and TRANQUILITY in book. For instance
He states that he entered hair-dresser's
IN Paris to get shaved, and the first rake"
the barber made with his razor, it loosened
his hide" and lifted him out of the chair
This is unquestionably exaggerated. In
tlorence he was so annoyed by beggars
that he pretends to have seized and eaten
one in frantic spirit Of revenge. There
IS OF course no truth in this. He gave at
full length theatrical programme seven
teen or eighteen hundred years old, which
he processes to have found in the Coliseum,
among the dirt and mold and rubbish 1t
is sufficient, upon this statement, to re.
| marx that even cast-iron programme
would not have lasted that long under
such circumstances. In Greece he plainly
betrays both fright and fight upon one
occasion, but with brazen effrontery puts
the latter in this falsely tame form: "We
stdted toward the Pir@us." "Sidled," in
deed! He does not hesitate to intimate
! that at Epbesus, when his mule strayed
from the proper course, he got down, took
him under his arm, carried him to the road
again, pointed him right, remounted, and
went to sleep contentedly till it was time
to restore the beast to the path once more.
lie states that growing youth among the
ships passengers was in the constant habit
OF appeasing his hunger with soap and
oakum between meals. In Palestine he
tells of ants that came eleven miles to
spend the summer in the desert, and
brought their provisions with them; yet
he shows by his description of the country
that the feat was an impOssibility. He
mentions, as if it were the most common
place of matters, that he cut a moslem in
two in broad daylight, in Jerusalem, with
Godfrey de Bouillion's sword, and would
have shed more blood if he had had a
graveyard of his own. These statements
are unworthy moments attention. Mr..
Twain, or any other foreigner who did
guph thiOn in. Tar1ISa lam uorId ho
mobbed, and would infallibly have lost his
life. But why go onY Why repeat more
of his audacious and exasperating false
hoodsS Let us close fittingly with this
one he aff1rms in the mosque of st.
Sophia at Constantinople, got my feet SO
stuck up with complication of gums,
shines, and general impuuity, that wore
out more than two thousand pairs of boot
jacks getting my boots off that night, and
even then some Christian hide peeled off
with them" 1t is monsrous. Such state
ments are simply lies. There is no other
name for them. Will the reader longer
marvel at the brutal ignorance that per-
vades the American nation when we tell
him that we are informed upon perfectly
good authority that this extravagant COM
pilation of falsehoods, this exhaustless
mine of stupendous lies, this "Innocents
Abroad" has actually been adopted by
the schools and colleges of several of the
States as textbook
But if his falsehoods are distressing, his |
innocence and his ignorance are enough to |
make one burn the book and despise the |
author In one place he was so appalled, |
ut the sudden spectacle of a murdered |
man, unveiled by moonlight, that he /
Jumped out of window, going through
sash and all and then remarks with the
most childish simplicity, that he "was not
scared, but considerably agitated" 1t puts
is out of patience to note that the simple
on is densely unconscious that Lucretia
3orgia ever existed off the stage. He is
'ulgarly ignorant of all foreign languages,
'ut is frank enough to critieise the Italians
se of their own tongue. He says they
pel the name Of their great painter
vinei, but pronounce 1t Vinehy land
hen ADDS with a riaivette possible only TO
ignorance, "for foreigners always spell
etter than they pronounce" In another
lace he commits the bald absurdity of
L.. II. A. |