The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-29
MARK TWAIN's AMBITIONS.
Explains to Sir Henry Irving Some
thing About Writing Plays.

.
Only a part of Mark Twain's remarks
at the banquet to Sir Henry Irving has
| appeared in print in this country The
| following report of his speech appeared
in the London Daily News:
Il find my task very easy because l am
| on my feet to propose the toast OF the
! Drama. That is to lne a most familiar
! subject. / have been a dramatist for
! thirty years. l have had an ambition all
| that time to overdo the work of that
Spaniard, LGpe de Vega, or whatever his
name was who left behind him 40
dramas when he died. have already
left 4l5, and am not dead yet. To write
drama is said to be the greatest of all
arts. That is recognized, but it is a mis-
take. There Is another art that ranks
above it. Anybody can write drama
have written AIS, but when l shall get
one accepted is very, different thing.
See how human nature is constructed
When we know that we are born dranaat-
lists, We go on exploiting that talent day
after day, year after year, as 1 have
done.
81 shall go on writing dramas till some
day the impossible may happen, when 1
am not looking for 1t, and I shall get a
play accepted. The thing that requires
development is novelty; certainly in the
dramatic art. l have struck new idea
myself. I was not surprised. I was al
ways expecting 1t. 1t was a drama in the
form of a dream. But you know, if a
person has suffered disappointment for
many years, he loses confidence in him
self; so l thought l had better make in
quiries before I exploded.
ST wrote to an old friend of NINE
man loaded from the upper deck to the
keelsCn with knowledge of all kinds.
may say that he lived in that dear Old
home of mine in America-a home that
hoe nd to
every year through taxes. III a week or
! two he sent me word that My idea of
! drama built on a dream was not novel.
! He followed that with a list of plays in
! which the device had been used. He said
| 1t was d modern list
cit began here, and Travelled to China,
! whore one of the plays built en- my id "a
! dated back $500 years before the Chris
! tan era. Well my old friend was a very
! kind man. He said he would follow up
! this list with one of previous examples
J He was going back to the food SO I let
him off. 1 thought the thing was getting
kind of stale. So you see my talent has
remained a secret. I have done the
world good in a silent way. Think Of
Sir Henry Irving. I have deluged him
with plays plays, plays, going back for
sixty years, and what has he achieved
through that influence? See where he
stands nov. At the summit of his art
| in two worlds, a position unchallenged,
/ and it was l that partly put him there.
He has exercised some remnants of tai
ent of his own, but he has come to his
great position through serenity of mind
gathered while inspecting my plays and
returning them. I have plenty of ideas,
but I cart get them out. You know
what an influence the drama has. 1t
makes even morals entertaining. am
to be followed by another great drama
fist, Mr. Pinero. I conceive that we
stand at the head of the profession. He
has not written as many plays as I have,
but he has the God-given talent which [
lack-the talent of working them off on
the public