Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-12-13

rare and fine that while you were
trying to determine its character
whether monologue or cOlloquy.
prose or poetry. philosophy or humor.
it was gradually penetrating your
consciousness with Il sense that I'll"
best of all these had been fused i'll
one, perfect from, AL exquisite wis
dom and unsurpassable grace. This,
and much more than any poor woid;
of mine can say, was the "Autocrat
follow ed by the professor" and then
by the '.Pnet" at the same "Breakfast
Table" We pledge him by all these
names to-day, not only with the wine
in our cups, but with the pride ana
love in our hearts, where we have
enshrined him numerically young III
spite of the birthdays that come and
20, and where we defy the future
that lies III wait for our precious
things TO know his quality better or
value his genius more highly than we
do. Some of his great compeers-
whose names praise them best-Wc
nave with us to-day, and While we
have 10 regret the absence OF Lowell
we rejoice i'll the presence OF Emer-
SON and OF Whittier. We should be
glad to sit attentive t. them il "aiter-
break fast speaking" were their pleas
ure or habit. But we must respect
the silence they prefer to guard. Up
on no others, however, can we nave
any mercy. The custom of speech
making after a pubic banquet was
invented from dry and subtle KNOW
ledge OF human nature. 1t ls to no
ordinary observation OF mankind we
owe the discovery that the most tor
tuuale moment to eXtort eloquence
| from those gifted In OratOry is when
they are helpless from repletion and
every faculty tends to resign itself to
u luxurious torpor, but 1t has oeen
found that in this defenseless condl-
ton they may be successfully hidden
to stand and deliver, aud L shall pro-
ceed upon this well ascertalned TACT.
The ladies, indeed. shall be spared, as
far as the speaking goes, when they
will !: though we should be pleased to
hear from every one of them, ana we
will never believe that their silence
is more golden than their speech till
they prove it.
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe accepted
Mr.. HowelPs invitation and made u
short speech, after which she read
long poem which tributes to the
general festivity were received with
tremendous applause.
Mr.. Charles Dudley Warner made
an excellent after-dinuer speech aud
concluded by reading II poem by I'll.
H." (Mrs. Henlen HunD. Mr.. e. G..
Stedlnan read short poem descrip-
tive of a feast given to various song
birds by nightingale. Mark Twain
then made characteristic speech aud
during it said:
The first great man who ever wrote
me a letter was our guest, Oliver
: Wendell Holmes. He was also the
first great literary man l ever stole
anything from, and that is how
came to write to him aud he to me,
When my first book Was new, "a friend
of mine said "The dedication il
, very neat" Yes. l said, thought
it was. My friend said, 81 always
admired it, even before l saw it il
the 'Innocants Abroad" l natural
ly said, "What do you meam3 Where
, did you ever see it betore?" "Well
saw it first some years ago. as DE-
Holmes dedication to his Songs il
Many Keys" Of course my frs
impulse was to prepare this mans re
3 mains for burial, but upon refectio,
said l would reprieve him for
moment or two and give him u chance
to prove his assertion it he could
We stepped into book store and b.
: did prove it. [ had already stolel
that dedication almost word for word
[ could not Imagine how this curiou
thing had happened, for L knew on
thing for a dead certainty, that a Ger
tain amount of pride always goe
along with teaspOonful of brains
and this pride protects man from
deliberately stealing other peOpie'
ideas. That is what a teaspoonful O
- brains will do for a man-and ad
mirers had often told me l have
basketful, though they were rather re
" served as to the size of the basket
However. L thought TIE thing on
s. and solved the mistery. Two year
r, before had been laid up II couple @
weeks i'll the Sandwich Islands al
! had read and re-read DR.. Holme.
poems until my mental reservoir wa
IN Tiled up with them to the brim. Th
dedication lay Oh top and handy, 8
oy and by l uncon>ciously stole i
IS Perhaps l unconsciously stole ih
Or rest OF the volume too, for many peopl
nave told me that my book was prett
poctical i'll one way or another. Wei
Of course [ wrote to DR.. Holmes all
h told him l hadn't meant to steal, All
he wrote back and said in the kiudet
It. way that it was all right aud no harI
s. done, aud added tnat he believed "
all unconsciously worked over ide,
gathered i'll reading and hearing in
a2ining they were original wit
ourselves. He stated q truth, and di
1t III such pleasant way, and salve
over my sore spot SO gently and {
or healingly that l was rather g
| had committed the crime for II
n; sake of the letter. afterwards Cal
ed on him and told him to make pc
fectly free with any ideas of mil
~ that struck him rs being good prot
plssm for poetry. He could see t
II. that there wasn't anything mes
N about me; so we got along right fro
.e- the start.
Speeches full of amiable and chee
IL tul sentiment were made by j.
&C. Harper, Il. B. AIdrich, Preslde
X, Eliot and several other OF the CUES,
al Letters of regret ut enforced a
~ semce were received from Il.
II. Hayes, Geo. Btncrutt. Geo. w. Chl
Sc l.. Maria Childs, Francis Hoagst
at Barnett, DR.. j. q. Holland, Ca
o. Schurz. f. z. Whipplr, j. W. l
50. Forest, George VIM. Curtis, Richa
+. Grant White, Mrs. f. e.. Agassi
iy George Ii. Boxer. Donald q. Mltche
IL President Porter of Yale Colleg
I'M Hiss Louisa NJ. Alcoit, Profess
81 Francis j. Child, John &. SAKE, Nj
es Harriet Prescott SpUtlnrd, Mrs. Gel
rhaXter, Rev. Edward f. Hale, II
bccca liardn 6 Davis. Henry NJ Alnc
editor of llarpcr's Magazine; DR..
Weir Mitchell, Thounus w. Parse
and Ben. Perley Poore.
THEY DIDN'T SEE THE SAME WA