The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-11-17

MARK TwAIN's LECTURE. The second lee
TUE of the Army and Navy Union Course
was given last evening before an exceedingly
large audience at City He'll. The tall, we'll
made man with serious aad almost severe
cast ofcountenance, after gazing at his hearers
In an anxious, inquiripg Sort OF way, until they
seemed driven into applsudiDg, stated that he
should have the pleasure of introducing Mr.
Samuel Clemmens,-a gentleman renowned
for his varied accomplishments bis historical
accuracy and his extreme modesty. He added,
Il am the party" This custom of introducing
himself he prefers, because he is SO much more
likely than another to get in all the facts.
Starting with the assertion that Ward was
humorous baby and that his sudden notoriety
and fortune prevented his gradual develop
ment into the polished wit he might under
other circumstances have become. Mr.. Glenn
mems related a series Of jokes and anecdotes
and connected thsm by a rambling history of
the life of Artemus Ward, who, it would seem,
begun to be funny while q printer and I'M
known to fame. 1t was while laborng under
these disadvantages that he conceived the idea
+ of running tread-mills by steam, and exp ain
ed to board ofralroad directors thatit they
put their cow catcher on the rear end lest
some wandering COW should overtake the train
and attack the passengers
In a sort of interlude Mr.. Clemmens stated
that Artemus had been credited with a good
many jokes that didn't really belong to him,
and with an air oil mock modesty said that
other folks had said some good things attribut-
ed to A. W.. is certainly being discovered
that good things have been thought of by other
people than those claiming them, and when
one Of Mark Twains best essays had been
carefully prepared for the press, some one dis
covered that the Same ideas had been better
set forth some years before by a.Jswish writer
named Josephus. Although as a general rule
we admire what we are most attached to, yet
horse who had for years been attached to a
dray despised the dray; and TIVE wits who con-
tended for the honor OF having first thought of
this fact blushed at the reflection that the
horse thought Of it before either Of them. e..
1t was while reporter at Cleveland that
Artemus, then known as Charles +. Brown, in
an idle hour penned an ill spelled letter chiefly
for his own entertainment, and signed it :" Ar
temus Ward" It achieved Unprecedented
popularity, and raised its author to fame in
much the same way that "The Heather Chi
nee" raised Bret Harte. There was something
In Artemus Ward thai took the country by
storm and the American Snowman who was
ready to turn an honest penny by exhibiting
an eclipse from tent with open top, imme-
diately had this whole world running to his
show. A depression on the character of the
Snowman as a character showed coarse, Hit
A -. A. -. Ii,
conversation to his company, always keeping
his eye on the almighty Dollar" always
mingling tire ridiculous with the sublime, and
never losing joke. Soon after acquiring his
popularity as the author of the Ward letters,
MIR. Brown was called on to revive if possible,
VANITY Fair" already entered upon that
quick decline which every American comic
paper seems destined TO enter in its early youth.
Mr. Clemmeos is one authority for saying that
aMr Brown, who always hated work, watched
the paper in its death agoniess saw it expire,
and said above its grave that he had always
been of this opinion that an occasional joke i'm
proved comic paper" a,t5. xa
"vauity- Fair having passed away, the idea
of lecturing occurred to Brown. Encouraged
in this by his friends and associates, he strung
tOPetOeT a SSIl6s O1 JOhtS duu 5kOTi0s, uDCer Uu6
heading of"My Seven Grandmothers,' but at
the suggestion of a friend substituted the
equally appropriate title of "rhe Babes in. the
Wood" and went forth to new triumphs. Fol
an entire winter he delivered his lecture before
crowded houses in New York, and his profits
for that season were estimated at from thirty
to ferty thousand dollars-then considered g
laroe amount. now moderate for filter ir
the New York court house..
Many of the Jokes quoted seemed to come
back to the audience like old friends. For in
stance the once familiar question of the Cal
ifornia mansger-"What you take for one
hundred nights?" ard Artemuss reply
Brandy and water" But what shall we say
Of q man who lectures on Artemus Ward, ane
initiates that dear old joke about sacrificing
all my wifes relations so that it was hafdl y
to be recognized. The latter portion of the
a. lecture was serious rather than funny, portray
ing Mr. browh's career after he left America
never to return. His enormous success in
London made him threaten at one time 10
compel the Royal Family to stav awav He
was rumored to have received almost fah,lo.s
gums for his contributions to Punch and With
his panorama at Egyptian Hall his success W :,
wonderful. He lectured until his hea,,h ,u..
in such condition that he was nightly attend.
ed by bis physician at the theatre and ion !.
victim to disease at the age of thrty-tbreo
Speaking as personal acquaintance. Mr.
Cemmens declared Mr.. Brown to have been
true gentleman, He closed the lecture with
touching and appreciative poem from Lon
don journal, published just after Mr.. Brown
as death. H' u
Mr.. CIemmens' forte is not the platform
He does better with the pen. The leetur
last evening was more of Mark Twain tina