The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-12-07
Birthday dinner - -
y for Mark Tquai1.

week in New York made this boast;
There are ffty-four men here. OF them, thir-
ty-nine are my dear personal friends. They
know me and know them. or the remaining
hiteen, am confident that ] can borrow
money"
Then he became reminiscent and charged the
following indiscretion on Former Speaker
Thomas b. Reed:
He said that Reed had declared that, while
we could not all be optimsts we all could, duly
Improving our opportunities, become bigamsts"
And this, much foreshortened, is what he said
about John Hay:
More than fifty years ago both of us were
baretooted boys, getting stonebruises, and not
breaking the Sabbath. than once week, out
West And now look at us He has been poet
author, soldier diplomat, orator, historian and
is now secretary of state. And III am gen
ueman. 1t is given to every American TO become
what he is fit for"
The foregoing found In n sparkling report
OF the Mark Twain birthday dinner, from the pen
Of Editor ST. Clair McKelway, printed in the
Brooklyn Eagle. The edtor-reporter's story of
the dinner follows
Samuel T. Clemens ('Mark Twain" will be
g. 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 its publications. and
OF the North American Review, 6fty-three other
friends Of Mark Twain gathered around one Of
the great oval tables in one of the largest dinner
rooms.
The gathering remarkable in several in
| stances for the representative character Of the
men, John Hay, William Dean Howes Henry
II, Rogers, Joseph H. Twitcheu, Wayne Mac
| Neagh and Thomas b, Reed we're. perhaps the
most intimate friends Of Mark Twain, to be oh
served and they we're all there
Among his associates in literary relations with
the Harpers were also to be seen Robert w.
! Chambers John Kendrick Bangs George W. Ca
BILE Richard lie Gallenne, Thomas A. Janyicr,
! VIII Carleton T. T. Leigh, Frederick A. Dun
cka, Booth Iarltington Henry NJ Alden and T.
Thompson Seton
! There were also present among editors, Samuel
Bowles, Horace White, Adoph S. Ochs. Ham
! ilton w. Mable, William r. Lafan Henry t.
Stoddard and St. Clair NlcKciway
Among the fnanccrs, beside Henry II. Rogers,
! were Thomas Il Ryan Daniel ODay William
! b. Leeds and August Belmont
! Others whose presence graccd the occasion
| and whose positions In the realms OF higher work
! ia the world are sclf-dchncd, were Charles Froh-
man, Brander Matthews, Henry Van Ddyke. How
| ard Pyle, James Lane Allen, Hambcn Sears
| Ilamlin Garland, Z. Hopkinsou Smith David a..
| Munro, Dumout Clarke, Henry s. Harper Van
rassel Sutphon and Chauncey NJ. Depcw
IL was cEplicitcly announced that there would
| be no speeches, Therefore a number were made
/
! common and effective cooncss-that is to say.
while the GOODNESS was common TO him 1t was so
much greater than the GOODNESS OF other men that
| il was unco+1non To- them.
| He made each man upon whom he called in
! turn propose thc health of Mark Twain, and every
| time Mark Twain arose TO respond he made Mark
Twain sit down.
And then in the iuterludcs between speeches.
scaritying the preceding speaker and roasting the
| next one George Harvey would constitute him
self the unauthorized interpreter Of what Mark
| Twain called, or OF what he called Mark Twain'a
mind.
The obiursatious and the thanks which George
| Harvey attributed 10 Mark Twain, to he apprc-
ciatcd should have been heard or should be read
! 10y others than those TO whom they were ad.
dressed The method was strictly iunovattry, but
! it will become universal by contagious inspira-
! ton II American dinner eivcrs are not more OBJ
! iyous 20 the last best than they are supposed
to he.
= = q
Well, in order OF mention after Mr.. Harvey
| came William Dean Howclls with an alleged son
net about Mark Twain. II was a fine thing, and
on that account was reserved from publication.
! Following Howclls was Thomas 3 Reed, who
! told more than the truth and, at points far less
| than the truth, about that voyage for health
which he and Twain and Laurence Hutton and
one or two more took in southern seas last
| March aud April, with Henry IL. Rogers on
! Henry H. Rogers yacht
And after Thomas b. Reed followed Chauneey
! NJ. Dopcw who discoursed upon Mark Twains
! experience Of royalties in governments and in
! literature
ST. Clair McKelway was then called on as the
alleged representative of a colonial dependency.
Hamilton w. Mable followed him in the Hsr-
vcv announced role of defender of missionaries