Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-11-18

Mark Twain arrives at his Sey- " entieth birthday. That the
 genial fun lover, the premier J humorist of the whole world, should { have attained the proverbial three 2 score and ten, and that in a hale and robust condition, should be an addition al cause for gratitude to himself and ; his readers throughout the earth. In , the scattering of mental sunshine, in s the tearing of of masks, hypocrisies and seemings, in spreading common sense and in giving the world new, sane. wholesome and rational views of { things, this prince of testers has placed } the age under debt that we ourselves { can scarcely measure.
 Samuel Langhorn Clemens he was { christened, but it is too much of a mouthful of name, and besides Mark Twain fits better. He was born at Florida, Mo-, but early moved to Han nibal. His father was an absentmind- ed man and forgot the youngster at l moving time A neighbor heard the boy crying, rescued him and overlook the family on the road Mark had lit tie schooling and became devil in his brothers printing office. Afterward he was cub pilot on the Mississippi, where he has been described as green looking, plodding and slow. One day the captain said to him:
 "Sam, you'll make a riverman some day if you'll just get over this non sense of writin fer the papers. Why don't you quit?"
 { "Yes, captain" replied the future humorist, "and don't ye s'pose 1 might make pretty good writer some day If I'd jest get over this tryin' to be a riverman?" ...
 At the outbreak of the war he joined Confederate company of irregulars, but was never in much of battle. He { said the enemy never wanted to fight when his men did, and when the enc, my wanted to fight his folks were gen. erally on the move. So he left
 Struck Pay Dirt Right Away.
 His brother who had owned the print < ing office was made secretary of the territory of Nevada at about this time and took Sam along as his private sec retary. Here he tried mining and writ ing for the papers. The mining did not pan out, but in writing he struck pay dirt right away. At first he signed his stuff Josh" but soon went back to the steamboating term of Mark Twain" The San Francisco papers noticed him, and be got job there as a reporter. In after life he ascribed his rise fin the world to the fact that he lost that job He tried mining again, with no better luck than before, after which he went to the Sandwich Islands, writing let Gerv to the papers on the trip. He aft lrward returned to Frisco and lectured lbout it. Then he wrote The Jumping Frog" which immediately made him famous He went east and edited a paper at Buffalo. Tn later life he has lived at Hartford. Conn: New York, Elnira. London. Paris. Florence, Vi- enna and pretty much all over the world. He now has a home at Tarry - town. N. r., where he is Deighbor of that other famous press humorist John D. Rockefeller. Twain has more hair than Rockefeller. but the oil king has more money, so the score is even. Mark Twain's opinion of himself is . best told in a story Like Grant. he often pauses to look at shop windows. especially those of bookstores. When once so occupied an irrepressible who had not seen his face paused beside aim. Spying a picture of Twain in the
 window. the young person asked:
 What do you think of him.
 T think said Mark. that he is the greatest lmpostor tLe American people
 .ver refused to take seriously"
 How soE-
 Well. because hp really is serious
 and because nobOdy-H believe him. Ic passes for l,cing humorous"
 Twain then Tacrd his questionpr. who ,romptIy frll dead. bUj revived suffi 2 -.cHtly Co tell thC story.
 Ever a Practical Joker. g it may bc that his estimate is right that hc Goa< try to write seriously. 3 e-Ii thas hr has iu him SnCh a Pent mp s~oree of uative fun that be cannot keep it from huhhiing forth The American -cOplc rrmemler when hc did try t1 ak ~ol,criy on CilineSr missionaries. Christian S,sIcrcC. imperialism and oih- CT topi.7. lut even then they would u0i hplievc he was in earnest. There arie few mUrp imaginative or better de 5>fFiptivc writers tiIHu Ise. few who can r-ow mere indignant at iniWstire. few .w To can mere effectively puncture a sham But the spontaneous fun in him must have vent. It Is sa mHch a part 1uf his Hature thai It slaoWS in every fLiug hr says CT slseS In his letters snd private es18ver~atiBa iI iS present ss much as Ia bis books. It is even revealed in his actionz. for he has ever been a uracthal iske- He himself sayS flsf he smokes an the tine when awake. but has never kernel to smoke in lis si--ep. If is tlie s.IIHe win his A