Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-01-04
MARX TWAIN.
His " lecture" in thicaSo-His intro
duction to the Audicncc-Hoyy He
Looks u nd Acts.
From the Chicago Post, 10th.

His Lecture y ia thicaGo-Rts intro
duGtion to the Audicncc-Hoyv He
Looks and acts.
From the Chicago Post 10th.
The entertainment of the season, thus
far, was the curious, disiointed, delight
fully incc herent talk of Mark TWAIN
elements is his married nancy. last
evening, in the Michigan Avenue Bap-
fist Church, below Twenty street
Twain calls this "lecture with the
euphemistic vanity of his guild, but it
would be just AS near to call tia sermon,
n tale, n panorama, a magic lantern
show, Il song, or concert by a brass
band. And yet its very novelty made
it piquant and It's supreme ridiculous.
ness drew the crowd and held them.
Every seat in the house, four nun
bred chairs IN the aisles, and standing
room for two or three hundred, were
crowded full, when the lank, lantern
iawea, and impudent Californian be-
strobe the stage as if it were the deck
of n steamboat, and getting to the mid
die of the front, rubbed his bony hands
and gazed around. A thin man of five
feet ten, thirty five or so, eyes that pen
etrte like new gimlet, nasal prov pro
jecting and pendulous, carroty curly
hair and mustache, arms that are al
ways III the way, expression dreadtully
melancholy, he stares here and
there, aud cranes his long neck ar ound
the house like a bereaved Nermonter
who has just came from the death bed
of his mother-in-law, and is looking for
a sexton. For something like a min
ute he says not a word, but rubs his
hands awkwardly, and continues the
search. Finally, just as the spectators
are about to break into giggles, he
opens his capacious mouth, and begins
in a slow drawi-about three words n
minute 10y the watch
Ladies --- and gentlemen; By
the request of the Chair -mau of the
Communicating leave to--intro-
duce--to you-the lecturer of the even
ing-a gentleman whose great learning
whose historical accuracy
devotion--to science-and-who ven.
Grafton for the truth-are only equaled
by his high moral character-and--his
ter. allude--in these vague general
tcrms-to-my-self. lam little
opposed to the custom of cere-
moniously introducing lecturer
to the audience because it--seems
--1nnecessary-where the man has
been properly advertised But as-it
is-the CUSTOM prefer to make it
myself-in my own case-and then |
can rely on getting in--all the facts ,
Laughter. / never had but one intro.
duction-that seemed to me just the
thing the gentleman was not ac-
qualnted with me, and there was no
nonsense. He said; Ladies and
gentlemen, | shall waste no time IN this
introduction. | know of only two facts
about him; 1st, he has never been in
State Prison, and ID, | can't imagine
why. ,"
Mr.. Twain tnen "hedged toward his
subject as he called it, and took his
auditors on flying trip to California
and the mountain mining regions--giv-
ing alternate glimpses of sense and
nonsense, of humor, burlesque, senti-
ment and satire that kept the audience
III the most sympathetic mood. He
never dipped into pathos, and never
rose into eloquence, but he kept sled
ding right along IN fascinating nasal
snarl, looking and speaking
like an embarrassed deacon
telling his experience, and punctuat-
ing his tardy fun with the most COM
plicated awkwardness Of gesture. Now
his hands softly, like the catcher of the
champion nine: now he caressed his
palm with his dexter fingers, like the
end minstrel man pTopounding con-
undrum now he puts his arms akimbo
like a Disguised auctioneer; and now
he churned the ar in the vicinity of his
Iimperiled head with his outspread
hands, as if he was fighting mosquitoes
at Rye Beach. Once he got his arms
tangled SO badly that three surgeons
were seen to edge their way toward the
stage, expecting to be summoned +; but
he unwound himself during the next
anecdote.
1t is plain to see that Twain's sue
! cess as a platformer results, first, from
his being a genuine humorist, with au-
dacity and Imagination secondly,
from his slowand solemn speech ana his
sanctimonious bearing and manner.
Then the style of his delivery gives all
the effect Of spontaneity. The jokes
are uttered as if he had just thought Of
them a minute before, and didn't per-
ceive The point Of them quite as soon
as the audience.
The Cuban Insurrcciion.
~ u Il