The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-05-20
'DINED WITH THE GOVERNOR.
Mark Twain's Story of the Old Salt Who
Knew Gov. Russell.


Mark Twain told capital story
capitaily the other day, which he said
had never been in print. but which
deserves to be if for no other reason
than to allow it to fail into the hands
OF the self-appointed managers of the
embryo presidential boom Of its hero.
1t was on the ship coming home from
Europe at the entertainment given il
aid of poor sailors that Mr.. Clemens re-
called the tale in response to the en-
core demanded after he read selec-
ton from his own writings. Naturally
he turned to the sea and seafolk for
inspiration. This was the story.
robbed perforce of all the iniInitable
features of the. telling peculiar to Mark
Twain in his happiesu mood when the
words drawl their slow length along.
fairly floating in their humor, which
is frequently far more in the style OF
utterance than in the matter itself.
lie had the tale from an old salt he
met once en- route to Havana.
The old salt, who was Nantucket
fisherman and for many years master
Of craft OF his own, was reminiscing
about the queer characters and odd eX-
per:ences he had encountered first and
last in his day. Shortly before the
Nantucl1eter and Mark Twain came
across each other the old captain, just
home from a long voyage, together
with the mate of his vessel, had gone
up to Boston to see the sights. Among
them they concluded to take a lun-
chcon at swell hotel just to see what
a swell hotel was like. After many
meanderings they fetched up at the
fremont house, now soon to be no
more, and got fairly seated at one OF
the tables in the main dining-room.
While they we're waiting for their best
substitute for plum duff they noticed
that q great deal OF attention was be-
ing paid to a gentleman who had just
come in. accompanied by two ladies.
They We're so impressed by this that the
captain asked his waiter who the i'm
portant parsonage was, and he learned
that he was the governor OF Massachu-
setts. When he named the governor
the captains memory was stirred. and.
with his seaman's love Of dramatic ef-
fects, he turned to his mate and bet
fver" that he'd go over and shake
hands with the governor. The mate
bet a fver he "dassent." But the
captain wasn't daunted; he added that
he was ready to bet another fver that
the governor would not only shake
hands with him but would ask him to
dinner. The mate accepted this wager,
too, and the captain gave a hitch to
his trousers" which is trick all sea-.
men "larn,' and got up.
In telling the story he said he almost
felt ready to lose his wager after he
started, but he didn't want to make
fool of himself, as he went over to the
governors table and made his best bow
and said: How do you do?" The gov
ernor said: How do you do?" too, bnt
went on to say that he wasn't able to
place the face, and so on. The captain
had his pedigree all ready; it consisted
OF his own name and the name Of his
vessel. The mate, who was looking
on, saw change come over the face OF
the governor. and walters and all were
much surprised to see the stated digni-
tary leave his chair at a step, grasp the
hand Of the queer-loolSing old codger
and shake it vigorously. The captain
was asked at once to sit down and have
some luncheon. but he said he couldn't,
as he'd left his mate over aft there.
''Well, go get your mate said his ex-
cellency; there's room for all of US;
if there isn't we'll have room made;
here, waiter
The upshot Of it was that the first
lady in the Bay state and her sister
and his excellency, the governor, and
the captain and his mate ate together
il peace and harmony and flood OF
old-ti;ne memories, and the mate, lost
his two fvers. The governor was Will
liam Z. Russell, Massachusetts, boy
governor, who filed the executive
chair with his democratic presence SO
we'll that he filed it for three years in
that proverbiaily republican state.-N.
y. Commercial Advertiser.