The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-02-29
"Marh Twain "--.IEis Speech ut the
UAitsssaen Efis.acr.


At the pleasant dinner given at the st.
James Hotel on Friday evening by the pro-
prietors Of The .dld'ne. speeches We're made
by Vicc-prcsident ColiiX, Mr.. James Sutton,
and Mr.. II. II. Stoddard publisher and edi-
tor of The Aldine), and McsSrs. L. Shelton
Mackenzie, Myard Taylor, L. G. Stedman,
"Mark Twain" George z. Putnam, Isaac
W. England, and others. The characteristic
speech by Mr.. Clemens C' Mark Twain y
was received with shouts Of laughter. 1t Is
given i'll full below:
Mr.. Clemens said: Gentlemen,-I would
rather address "stag" dinner party than
any other assemblage i'll the world laugh
teri. for the reason that when you make il
point those who have been listening always
applaud, and those who have been talking 20
each other and did not hear it, applaud louder
than anybody else [laughter], and IL only
had speech prepared for this occasion,
would take genuine delight III delivering it.
lLaughter.] But got the notification to be
present at this dinner this evening at half.
past II O'Clock this morning, or pay what
owed The Aldine establishment [laughtcr]
and had to leave half an hour after that in
order to make the trip, SO ! had no opportl-
nifty of preparing speech, and am not one
of those geniuseS who can make speech i'm.
HAPPY IMrRoMrTU SPEECHES,
but had time to prepare them. Laughter
Now, it Is singular, and suppose that. but
for circumstance which happened when /
was fourteen years ofage, might have rushed
blindly into real impromptu speeches and
injured mysclfa good deal. Laughter This
circumstance which happened when I was
fourteen years Of age has always protected
ME against anything of that kind, and it has
led me to think good deal-now, don't
think good deal generally [laughter] OF
what may probably be the moving springs OF
human action. l put that in merely be.
cause it is a good expression. [Laughter.l l
mean it has led Inc to question in my own
mind what may probably have been the Incl
with him longest; whether they were i'm
portant incidents or whether they were
merely trivial ones. I have almost come to
the conclusion that the things that stay long
est by man and shape his action in after life
are really things Of trivial importance Now,
T call your attention to the fact in SUPPORT OF
this argument that Newton when he was
well, don't know what he was doing now !;
] make
NO LAMENTATIONS AGAINST NEWTON;
I don't know what he was doing in the APP
Pile orchard [laughterl, but you know he saw
the apple fall, and that suggested the idea of
the attraction Of glayitation-I call your at
tention again to that expression (laushterl--
and then again, one of the greatest inventors
that ever lived-I am sorry for your instruc.
ton, cannot call bis name [aughterl.was
led into this matter Of grayitation by having
to wait upon his mother while she was hear
ing confession, and, seeing the pendulum
move back and forward--there was nothing
else for him to contempate-and that set him
into this matter Of looking at mechanics, and
he invented a great many tbings--I don't
know what they were, now rlaughter], it was
trivial you know. And Calico, loatinc
around in the Cathedral at Pisa, not knowing
what he was there for, or how be was put.
ting In his time, but he saw and took note of
the gentle vibration of the chandelier TO and
fro, and through that invented the pendulum.
which is understood to have made revolr. |
ton in mechanics, and / suppose it has. | |
take
THESE LEARNED THINGS FOR GRANTED.
All these are trivial matters, but they
brought about vast results. Now, the thing
that made the deepest impression ON nv
mind, and has lasted until this moment, was
3 matter in itself essentially trivial. 1t oc-
cured when was boy, and it has pro-
.ected me, up to this time, against making Il
speech when hadn't speech prepared 1t
vas remark made by friend. He said:i
could have ketched them eats if had had
N good ready" (Laughter.] Now, at ,
rst glance, that don't appear to convey an |
lea, but it does, and the meat Of 1t Is this: ,