Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-23
THEY MADE USLAUGH
Amusing Lecturers and Clever Come
dians We All Remember.
MARK TWAlE'S PITTSBURG VISIT.
The Reception Given Bret Harte on His
First Appearance Here.
OLD TINE ACTORs THAT PLEASED
WRITTEN FOB THE D1srArcH.I


world, but not enough yet for the worlds
neads. II is the ozone, the electrified oxy-
gen Of the spiritual atmosphere; and vast
amount of it is required to expand the spir-
itual ribs and strengthen the spiritual dia-
phragm of mankind. Where it abounds
and is of wholesome quality, there the dis
ease germs are apt to die before they can
infect the soul with moral grippe or any
other fell epidemic.
A good laugh turns up the subsoil of
human nature so that the sunshine of heaven
can get at it. To come back to physiology,
it stirs the gall of bilious melancholy so that
it becomes sparkling champagne in the moral
system. There are ascetics who protest
against this. There is SO much sorrow in the
world, they say; there is so much sin in 3he
world that all men should weep. Those who
are merry cannot sympathize with those who
are sad, and cannot reform those who are
wicked.
Can't they? What friend is the surest to
take comfort to any stricken soul-the dole
tul one or the genial, jolly one? What good
man does the most effective missionary work
the always solemn one, who sees only the
sin, or the sunny hearted one, who sees the
And remember this: Wholesome laughter
is not hardness of heart The heartless man
cannot laugh. The unsympathetic man
cannot laugh. They may snicker and sneer
and cackle, but they cannot laugh. There
fore, those people who promote hearty laugh
ter among mankind are worthy of most hon.
orable remembrance.
A CASE IN POINT.
All this preaching was suggested by
slight encounter 1 witnessed just now be-
tween a serious person and frivolous per-
son. The one has not even the haziest con-
ception OF a joke, and the other knows
joke the moment it comes in sight. The
serious person was about to read aloud
very serious article about the labor agita-
tions abroad, and had already announced
the title: Eight Hours in England"
well, said the light minded listener,
England is a pretty small place, but I
should think person would need at least "a
hours to do it thoroughly. Why, Nellie
Bly, was there more than eight hours"
It was amazing to see the contempt Of the
other individual for this ignorance; and to
note the tolerant patience with which he
explained that this was not the account of
tourists experience, but. dissertation on
the effort to have eight hours established by
picion entered his mind that the remark
was merely feeble little joke on the part of
person who knew quite as much as him
self about the eight-hour movement.
How Mark Twain would have enioyed q
conversation with that serious minded onel
He would have had all the fun on his side,
| lust as he thought he had on one occasion
which friend of mine told Of Ny friend
was in Paris and got into an omnibus, or
whatever conveyance corresponds to an ON
nibus there, where all the other passengers
were French. Presently Mark Twain got
in. His neighboring Frenchman made q
courteous remark in French to which Mr..
Clemens replied in English. The French
man tried it again, and yet again; and at
last Mark wound up the matter by saying,
in his most emphatic, distinct and deliberate
English: '1 = don't - understand one
word-you-sayp"
And as the Frenchman couldn't under
stand one word he said, my friend thought
this elaboration of distinctness rather
funny.
A MARK TWAIN SUPPER.
But Mark Twain had no difficulty in under
standing or being understood the first time
he lectured in Pittsburg. He understood
beyond peradventure that he was welcomed
by a throng of sppreciative people who
were in full sympathy with the subtlest
humor he had to bestow, and who understood
his every. joke, and met it half way with
genial laughter. His book, "Innocents
Abroad" was fresh then; and with plenty
of people the relish with which they had
read '"The Jumping Frog" was still keen.
He was not quite stranger in Pittsburg, 1
believe. At least he told q reporter, who
asked if this was his first visit to the city,
that it was the first time he had been there
in fraudulent capacity"
A brilliant and crowded audience enjoyed
his lecture; and have no doubt that many
who heard it still laugh at the memory of
some of the quaint turns and droll coneeits
at which everybody laughed heartily that
evening. But to the newspaper men more
than to any other class the visit of the
humorist was of interest, because he was one
of the guild himself. So some of the news
paper workers planned little banquet with
Mark Twain as the guest of honor.
It was very pleasant little feast, and we
all had a very nice, 4uiet time. There was
plenty of talk, and a moderate amount of
merriment. The guest told story or two,
and paid, incidentally. a very pleasant
tribute to the humor Of Josh Billings But
he was more intent on asking questions
about PittsDurg newspapers than on perpe-
trating jokes.
A LOCAL HUMoRIST.
But after time the laughter became up