The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-17

rapid resume of Mark Twain's career
that he was pulled out of the Missouri
river nine times before he was Is, so he
was evidently not born to be drowned.
He was born in Florida, Monroe county,
Mo, Nov, 80, 1885, and was soon taken 70
Hannibal, Mo, by his parents. While
yet of tender age he ran away from
home and got work in a New York print
ing Office. One day he met man from
Hannibal and ran back again. He be-
+ came Mississippi river pilot at Il, earn
ing $3.50 a month and kept at IL until he
was "a years Old. 1t was then, despite
Mr. Tom Sawyer's interesting barroOm
fiction, that he got the name Mark
! Twain" 1t is an expression used by river
men as they take soundiugs. He enlisted
in the confederate army, but soon left to
/ become private secretary TO his brother,
who was lieutenant governor of Nevada
territory. IL was the resulting journey
across the plains that gave US ''Roughing
It." Then he tried mining Then he
tried journalism on the coast and in the
Sandwich islands. Finally, against the
enthusiastic discouragementO of his friends
he bugan TO lecture, and was an instanta'
neOus success. In 1867 he went to Europe
with party of Philadelphians, and there
came 'Innocents Abroad" His real name
IS Samuel l.. Clemens.
OF the wedding journey he tells this
story:
A REALLY GOOD JOKE.
'eWhen I was married we decided to
live in Buffalo. l had been a husband
twenty-four hours when we reached there
and were met by large party of friends.
l had asked my father-in-law, John Slee,
to find cheap boarding house for US, and
the friends said he had done his duty like
brave man. They put US into a covered
sleigh and said they would drive US TO it,
mr. Thnrr %, l,4frr cd
down, back and forth through all the
back streets of Buffalo. BY and by after
about every cheap locality in Buffalo had
been travelled 1 began to feel ashamed and
said ] asked Mr.. Slice to get me a cheap
boarding house, but ! had no idea that
had put him to the trouble of being so
economical that he would have TO go out
of the state to do it,
''Then they all laughed. There was a
practical joke 70 the fore which l knew
nothing about and all this driving was to
gain time to put the finishing touches to
it. My father-in-law, the late Jarvis
Langdon, had been Clandestinely spend
ing small fortune upon house aud fur
niture on Delaware avenue for us, and
had kept his secret so well that was the
only person this side of Niagara Falls
who hadn't found il out. We reached the
house at last and was introduced to Mrs.
johnson, the ostensible landlady / took
glance around at the more or less ele-
giant things, and my opinion Of Mr. Slice as
a provider of cheap boarding houses fell
to zero at once. l told Mrs. Johnson thaS
there had been an unfortunate mistake.
Mr.. Slice had evidently supposed that
l had money, whereas | really had only
talent, and so, by her leave we would abide
with hera week and then she could keep
my trunk and l would look up another
boarding place. Then the ambushed
friends burst in on US from closets, from
behind curtains, from behind doors and
the property was delivered over to us.
consider that a capital joke, for the house
was completely equipped in every detail
all we had to do was Just to sit down and
live in it. If American humor will only
develop along the lines as laid down by
my father-in-law believe we will very
rapidly become the very funniest country
in the world
BUSINESS MAN, TOO.
MIR. Clemens is as good business man
as he is humorist. He is the head of a
big publishing house, and 1t paid Mrs
Grant S400, 600, the largest amount ever
paid by a publisher to an author
EDWARD MARSHALL,