Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1884-05-14
MARK TWAIN'S HOME.
A Crystallized Expression CT An.sgi-
can Eunlor and Queen Anne.
A Pasatiai Parlor and Literary
"Den''---a:aric's Wit I'm Dinner
Table Conyersation--Eias
Of His Runior.
ICor. Chicn., Trihrna1


am able TO w;tte about a visit TO Mark
Twain. He lives in very tine style. His
bouSa, just out Of the thick OF the town, is
one OF the notable mansions Of New England.
IL is brick house ON an elevation by the
side OF stylish avenue and just beyond that
sad reminder Of long years Of hospitality and
refined pleasure-the home OF the late Mar
shall Jewell. Twain's ;,ss is qaite as funny
as its proprietor. IL raglbles IN three direc-!
tiops at oace, IL bris o. with sps..iss s.ssti
chIinhey-pots. and seer to be made up OF an
aggregate Of extensions, with the back
kitchen on the street and the front entrance
on one side. In style it seems to he a crys-
taliizei expression of an encounter between
Mark Twain an Queen Anne, with the humor.
ist in good feather ana the monarch singing
small
Within it is simply n palace. when l
heard that Gorge w. Cable had stopped
there at the time that he gave his first lee
ture in q little hall not la.f filed, oven by
dead.heads, | could not hrln thukin. what
an impression all this inagnflcancs must
have made npnn the new beginner. But he
could hardly have hoped, even with the most
phenomenal success, to secure for himself SO
grand an establishment. Although many
persous, even in Hartford, suppose that C
literature Is du' this pa.atill home, tho fact
is that Mrs. Clemens is the source Of tue
bulk of the wealth from which all this
sprang. The parlor is dream of pale-blue
satin, stained glass, rich curtains, carved
furniture and articles Of vectu. 4 buck
negro attends the door and ushers the guests
through a great central auteroom lux4-
riously appointed into the arlor, drawing
room, dining-room, aud other apartments
Ia ffah =
hardly Of the nature or training to enjoy
mucI panperiny, in,iabit a den Of his own
ou the top floor, where there are cigars,
pipes and biIhards-pernaps letter thing
TO b. looked at through glasses.
Here he has delightful household. Mrs
Clemens is beloved by all who know her, and
is at once a perfect mother and housewife
and an adept IN the woys Of hospitality. HcI
eldest boy has, | am inclined TO think, n
sense Of EuInor of hs own, for when saw
him Ls had borrowed the han isaw from the
- house and was, with much patience and skill,
saving at the trusk Of a valuable SGade-tree
IN the lawn. Clemens is genius. tie doe.
not have TO strain to be funny. lie dfips
with it as sops trees do with gum. When
Gable Cams 70 make his first bow as u lecturer
Clemens unfold2d a brilliant scheme for
having Cable properly introduced to toe au-
dience: putnam the publisher, is here"
said he, and Charles Dudley Warner, and
Alcott, and Lathrup, and myself. Tell you
what ia do. ia infroluce Wlgner IN a
neat speech, WarIe. II introduce Iathrop,
Lathrop'il make an address presenting Pat
nam, an / Putnam'll introduce the LECTURER
of the evening" Cable unfeeHngly plns his
foot down up .n-tliS ingenious scheme.
Once, at one OF his uwn lectures, wnen Gen.
Joseph X. Hawley was on tie platform,
mors tod staring stug,dly at sas anddtieaS
and then, not yet having said a word, be
drew out neatly-folded white handkerchief,
held it mp by one corner, and let it straig hton
itself out. 1t proved 10 be a mass Of holes,
with just little linen hul ding the together
and sgelt
"By gracious" said the humori5t, "rye got
Gen. Hawley's handkerchief Ly mistake
Mark--and here it ought t. he said that he
is known to every one in Hartford as Mr..
CleInens," and they speak TO him and of hIm
always ia that way. There is funny thing
about that Wherever he goes he is invited
to meet a few of the cho.cs spirits of waas-
ever place it is--ususlly at dinner. A the
courses are served the guests call him Mr.
Clemens Over their coffee they call him
Clemens. But when the sp.riss are under
way and the hilarity of emotion b"gins 10 DO
felt, somebody l. sure TO say, "Now, Mark,
o,d boy, tell Is that story" etc, and from
that moment "Mark' aud Twain" are the
only names he is addressed by.
judge that his writings are merely his
spontaneous thou. hts eilted, for he talks ex.
act,y as be writes. The same unexpected
ideas, erratlc fancies, flashes of humor, and
distorted views Of commonplace things flow
from him, no matter about what or to whom
he is talking. His tax is funnier than his
writing, however, Tor he has an intescri5-
able III awl, as Artemus Ward had, and, like
Artenus, he is bony, angular, awkward, AMI
possessed OF q head out of all proportion to
his neck.
"What are we going to do about the death
ratef' be inquired of a Hartford friend.
"Why, have you got a death rateF third
party inquired.
"iIave wet" said Clemens. "Its the biggest
thing we have got. We beat the world oni il.
Once in while sons pla ague-s5ricksn district
in Asia comes near our ii cures, but nothing
ever reaches over them. Greenwood GENE
tery is the only rival we really need to fear"
But he has mad, plenty Of money--enouga
TO make man live easy aud die content
His first book brought HIM very little, but
alter that he was able to make better terms
The best property he ever produced, how
ever, is tue play Of "rhe Gilded Age" 1t is
a perfect little mint