The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-12-07
Birthday Dinner - -
" for Mark Tquam.

week in New York, made this boast;
There ffty-four men here. OF them, thir- |
ty-nine are my dear personal friends. They
know me and know them Of the remaining !
fifteen, am confident that can borrow
money"
Then he became reminiscent and charged the
following ndiscretion on Former Speaker
Thomas r. Reed:
He said that Reed had declared that, while
we could not all be optmists, we all could, duly
improving our opportunities, become higamists"
And this much fore-shortened, is what he said
about John Hay
More than fifty years ago both OF Us were
bsrefooted boys, getting stonchtuises and not
breaking the Sabbath. more than once week, out
West And look at us He has been poet,
author soldier, diplomat, orator, historian and
/ is now secretary OF state. And IL am a gem
| uemau. il is given TO every American TO become
what he is ft for
The foregoing are found In a sparkling report
OF the Mark Twain birthday dinner, from the pen
of Editor St. Clair McNclway, printed in the
! brooklyn Eagle The editor-reporters story OF
the dinner follows;
Samuel F. Clemens ("Mark Twaiu') will be
! o. years old tomorrow Sunday. An occasion in
celebration OF that event little anticipated it on
Friday night. In the Metropolitan club on the
invitation OF George Harvey the executive head
Of the Harper firm with all lis publications, and
Of the North American Review, Gtty-three other
friends of Mark Twain gathered around one of
the great oval tables in one OF the largest dinner
! rooms,
The gathering was remarkable in several in
| stances for the representative character OF the
men, John Hay, William Dean Howells, Henry
H. Rogers Joseph II. fw'tchell, Wayne Mac
Neagh and Thomas b. Reed were, perhaps the
most intimate friends OF Mari, Twain, TO be oh
served, and they were ali there
, >
Among his associates in literary relations with
he mi ft, br afg1 Robert NJ
Chambers John Kendrick Bangs, George w Ca
bic Richard lie Callieune Thomas A. Jnvier
WIN Carleton f. T. Leigh Frederick a, Dun
oka, Booth rarI,ngtou, Henry NJ. Alden and T..
Thompson Seton.
There were also present among editors, Samuel
Bowlcs Horace White. Adolph S, Ochs uau,-
hton w. MabIc, William p. Ianau. Henry J..
S,oddard and ST. Clair McEelw1y.
Among The hnoncicrs, beside Henry II Rogers
were Thomas r. Ryan Daniel O'nay, William
b. Leeds and August Belmont
Others whose presence gtaccd the occasion
aud whose positions IN the realms of higher wors
~ the world are SELF defined, were Clorles Froh-
man. Brmder Matthews, Henry Van Njyhc, How
and Pyle James Lane Allen. Uambcn Sears
IIamlin Garland T. Hopkjnsou Smith David A..
Munro, Dumont Clarke Henry S. Harper Van
Tasscl SWphcn and thaunccy NJ, Dcpcw.
IL was cyplici'ely announced that there would
be no speeches Therefore number were made.
George Harvey presided and did with un-
common and effective c.olucFs-thHt IS 20 say
while the GOODNESS was common to him 80 was SO
much greater than thc Goodness oil other men that
IL was uncommon Co them
lie made cach mau upon whom he called in
turn propose the health ol Mark Twain, and every
time Mark Twain arose Go respond he made Mark
Twain SIT down
And then in the nterludcs between speeches
@ scariying tic preceding speaker and roasting the
p next one George Harvey would constitute him
t self the unauthorized Interpreter of What Mari