The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-26
MARK TWAIN'S NEW STORY.
THE SOMEWHAT PECULIAR VEL
COME HE ONCE GAVE A
VISITOR.
II Was All Due 10 n Mistake, But II
Made Things Rather Unpleasant
for Time for n Harmless Individ-
uaI.
From the New York Sun.

uaI.
From the New York sun.
Tacoma. Oct s. lS95.-NIark Twain Wis
tied Tacoma recently. taking in the CITY
of Destiny" on his way to Australia.
While here he and Mrs. Clemens. and their
daughter. Claire. We're entertained by old
time friends. Mrs. Judge Turner and Mrs.
Frank Allyn. the wife and daughter Of the
late George Turner. chief justice of Ne
vada during the great mining days, who
made his first overland trip in a stage
coach with Mr.. Clemens, then a young
man of p. Before a small company in
vited informally to meet them. Mr.. Glenn
ems consented 10 tell a story, and every
one drew little short breaths and smiled
as the man everyone knows and loves
rose and remarked:
Il want TO tell you of this story because
1 have Claire and her mother both here,
and l may never have such a chance
again, for they belong in this, and they
don't like TO have me tell it very well
either, but it happened this way.
we were staying at a place up in the
Catskills, near Mr.. Laurence Hutton's
country home. and Charles Dudley War
ner was staying there. too. After we had
been there a short time | was called away
for ten days. and while | was gone DR..
b. Z. Martin visited Mr.. Hutton. Now DR..
b. L. Martin is an American gentleman
who has lived so much in England that he
Observation-Disclosures many English ways
He is very natty and spruce about his
clothes. always wears gloves. and so on.
Well, you know at these country places
they toss every newcomer up In blanket,
so to speak, get all the good they can out
nT IN
somebody else, so when | came back they
had forgotten all about DR.. Martin, and
never heard him mentioned, but the War
ners (they are IN this story, too), they IN
vited them to call on them II he ever
came to Hartford, and Mrs. Clemens and
Claire, they urged him whenever he Wis
tied the town TO call at our house and we
would see that he had a pleasant time,
but didn't know anything about il.
so 1t happened that about six weeks
later, one rainy miserable day, ! was up
in the billiard room on the third floor.
and l was in a desperately disagreeable
mood. had just played game of bill
lizards with myself (and losD, and was In
an Overwhelming rage / wanted some
thing or somebody to be violent toward,
so when the colored man we have brought
a card to me ] gave II savage look ana
read Mr.. b. +. Martin.
Here was my victiml / knew in
minute that this was a lightning rod man,
and | said I'm going to kill him.!
What is it. Sambo? Did he say any
thng-have anything-want anything?
4 couldn't ask him; he's gentleman,
Did he have any lightning rods?'
." Not as I could see. sir; he had kid
gloves on. sir
rods it's something else. He's selling en-
cravings for Goupil-did he have Russia
leather portfolio under his arm?
- don't think he did, but he might,
''Wen. 1 fairly gloated over the to. ture
1 would put that man through. l
was in a thoroughly. vindictive mood.
and ] thought / would make him suffer
for the unpleasantness some OF his kind
( had made us. So / started. But as l
went | began 10 remember certain warn
ings against these ebullitiOns of rage. I
remembered that l was not exactly COM
mander-in-chief of that house, and that
whoever came was always to treat them
well. decided not 10 use violence. i
would use strategy. i would see how the
land lay get my bearings, be sure of my
ground, and / would carry in with me a
thick black frost that should Immediate
~ settle over everything, and utterly
wither the man with his lightning rods,
or his engravings or whatever he had:
Il peeped in the drawing room. Now
Mrs. Clemens had been making a tour of
the house that day, and had gathered up
nine or ten etchings in little silver frames
and arranged them ON the floor to try
the effect for a certain space on the
wall-ihad left them there, and there
they were. ia seen EN- thousand
times, but l didn't know it then. IT
made me feel good to think l had so
nearly hit it, and / walked in. As luck
would have it, he had taken from the
table a Russia leather portfolio and held
it in his lap. OF course, ia seen that
port folio a million times but l didn't
know that, either, l walked IN feeling
especially well, and so, so capable as
took in the situation and prepared 10
meet the foe.
"He rose when went in and put out
his hand. | took 80 and let Il repose a
minute IN mine; let it lie there-then
let 1t drop. That was good for starter
Then / stood there, and didn't say any
thing l didn't ask him TO sit down.
| didn't SIT down. ] knew that a pause,
q deep deliberate pause, well distributed
over the surroundings, would be highly
sHe aid Mrs. Clemens is well, hope?
oh yes, she's well-well enough!
Il could see that was hard one on
again. Miss Clemens is well?'
q Yes, she's well enough.
Then that pause settled again, ana
Won could feel II over everything.
never enjoyed anything more in my life.
AT last in a hopeless sort OF way he
stopped and absolutely raised one OF the
''That instant it struck me that some
time. somewhere l had seen that picture.
so with a wave Of the hand | said blandly
meyer mind, we've got that one.
well. he dropped il suddenly, and / con-
graduated myself but still | didn't say
ANYTHING and when in despair he began
TO lift the second one | thought my bluu
had been so successful that / would try
it again, so I said. indifferently:
{" Never mind, we've got that one, too.
"IIe let 90 and stammered out: II re-
Gently met Charles Dudley Warner In the
mountains-and he, ah-spoke TO me about
calling at his house. Could you kindly di-
rect meY
what a chancel I fairly covered him
with directions. Certainly, certainly
right out the front door-down that street
straight ahead-you can't miss it, and
he was out in a trice.
but when l came back and saw all
those pictures on the floor, began to feel
a slight sinking at the heart 1t struck
me that perhaps / had not been so clever
after all / had sent that man away with
out his property, and the more | studied
the proposition the more uncomfortable /