The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-02-19
MARX TWAH,
4 Pa Picture Of the. Famous Aps11oan
Writer.

4 3o0 Picture Of the Famous American
Mark Twain has big head stuck on
by a long neck to pair of round
shoulders. Recently he came on to tho
stage at Washington Is though he were
half asleep, and he looked to me a.
though nature, in putting him together.
had, somehow, got the joints mixed.
he has big face, = nose large enough
to represent any kind of genius, and
eyes large, black and sleepy. He has
a thick, bushy name of hair which is
now iron gray, and bushy moustacl,s
which overhangs his characteristic
mouth. As he stood on the stage he
reminded me much of a mammoth in
terrogation point and as he drawled out
his words with scarcely gesture his
voice made me think of little buzz saw
slowly grinding inside a corpse. he
did not laugh while he uttered his fun
NEST Jokes, and when the audience
roared he merely stroked his chin OF
pulled his moustacho.
Still he could not help being satisfied,
and do not doubt the contrast of his
first days in Washington, when he came
here years ago and had hard work max
ing money enough to pay his board bills
came forcibly to him. Though it ID
not generally known, Mark Twain was
once q Washington correspondent.
He came here from the west with Sena-
tor Stuart, and for time wrote letters
to the Alta Californian and the New
York Tribune. He used to drink q
good deal in those days, and was hardly
considered a reputa BILE character. It
was shortly before this that he made
the trip from which he wrote limo
cents Abroad" and this book he wrote
here from the notes he took during his
tour. The book made him both famous
and wealthy. His manuscript he first
sent to several prominent publishers,
but they ell rejected it and he
was about giving up in despair
when q Hartfort company took
hold of it. The result was they made
$4,000 off the book and sold
more than 200, 900 copies of it. It was
after this that Mark Twain tried editing
the Buffalo Express. A man who work
ed on the paper at the same time told
me to day that this venture of his WAS
not q success. He loafcd around tho
Office, guying the Office boy, and telling
jokes and stories rather than writing.
and the only fruit of his Buffalo e1.
perience was his marriage, which, like
''1nnocents abroad" turned out we'll.
His wife brought pot of gold into the
family, and when he got to Elmirs he
found that his father in.law had msde
him the present of q brown stone front,
and thrown in a coachman with . bug
on his hat. Twain did not remain in
Elmira, however, but went to Hartford
and began to write ''Roughing It."
This was also successful and establish-
ed his fame.
Mark Twain probably makes a.
much out of his books q any"other
writer in the country. He has his
Hartford firm publish his books for him
and he so arranges it that he gets Q
royalty on those printed in Europe He
is better known in foreign lands than
any other American writer, aud he is
An international character. Many Of
his scenes are taken from real life, and
his description of travels are in the
main true. He is hard worker, and
while at Hartford he writes in his bill
lard room in the attic. Like Trollope,
he believes there is nothing like piece
of shoemaker's wax on the seat of ones
chair to turn ont good literary work,
and like Blaine, he has . fixed amount
of writing for each days duty. He re-
writes many OF his chapters, and some
of them have been scratched out and in
terlined again and again. Mr.. Clemens
every one knows Mark Twain's name
is Clemens-will be 40 years old on tho
Both of this month. He is Missouri
man by birth, and has taken care OF
himself ever since he was Is. He has
been . practical printer, . steamboat
pilot, private secretary, miner, . 10
porter, . lecturer and book maker.