The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-24
TWAIN's "FIRST APPEARANCE"
AZ His Daughters singing Debut He Tells
How stage Fright Once GrIpped Him.

AZ HIs Daughters Singing Debut lie Tells
How stage Fright Once GriDDed Him.
NORFOLK, Conn, Sept. 2S.-Mark Twain
did not introduce his daughter, Miss Clara
Clemens, to the audience that crowded the
gymnasium at this place last evening to
hear the young contralto make her American
debut. He closed the evening, however
with q few remarks, in which he recalled
the agony of his own first appearance upon
a public stage.
MY heart goes out in sympathy to any
one who is making his first appeara noe
before an audience Of hannah beings. By
a direct process OF memory i go back forty
years, less one month-for I'm older than
l look he said, w~agging his snowy head.
Il recall the occasion Of my first appear
anoe. San Francisco knew me then only
az a reporter and I was to make my bow to
San Francisco as a lecturer. l knew tt
nothing short OF ~compulsion would get me
TO the theatre. So 1 bound myself by a
hard and fast contract 80 tina l could not
escape. got to the theatre forty-fve
minutes before the hour set for the lecture.
MY knees were shaking so that / didn't
know whether j could stand up. II there
is a n awful, horrible malady in the world
il is stage Highland seasickness. They
are a pair, l had stage fright then for the
first and last time. | was only seasick
| once, too. It was on a little ship on which
there we're 200 other passengers. was
sick. I was so sick that there wasn't any
left for those other zoo passen gers.
cit was dark and lonely behind the scenes
in that theatre, and l peeked through the
little peek holes they have in theatre cur
tains and looked into the big auditorium.
That was dark and empty. too. By and by
It lighted up and the audience began to
arrive.
Il had got a number Of friends Of mine.
stalwart men. to sprinkle themselves
through the audience armed with big
clubs. Every time l said anything they
could possibly guess I intended TO be funny
they were to pound those clubs on the
floor. Then there was a kim lady in a box
up there. also a good frie nd Of mine, the
wife Of the Governor. Sh was to watch
me intently and whenever / glanced toward
her she was going TO deliver a gubernatorial
laugh that would lead the whole audience.
into applause
at last | began. I had the manuscript
tucked under a United States flag in front
OF me where I could get at il in case Of need.
But / managed to get started without it.
l walked up and down. was young In
those days and needed the exercise-and
talked and talked.
Right in the middle OF that speech |
had placed a gem. l had put in a moving,
pathetic part which was to get at the hearts
and souls OF my hearers. When l delivered
II they did Just what L nopod and expected.
They sat silent and awed. I had touched
them. Then l happened to glance up at
the box where the Governors wife was
you know what happened.
We'll, after the first agonizing FIVE min
utes, my stage fright left me, never to return.
| know il l was going 10 he hanged l could
get up and make a good showing, and |
intend to. But I shall never forget my
feelings before the agony left me, and
got up here to thank you for her for help
ing my daughter, by your kindness, TO
live through her first appearance And
want to thank you for your appreciation
Of her singing. which is, by the way, hered-
itAry."
Miss Clemens displayed som nervous
ness in her opening number, an aria from
Rossini's -Semramide," but acquitted her
self with GOODNESS n effect In all the Other
compositions on her programme. Thess
included Grieg's AN das -|Vateffand,
Schubertis 'Wohin.' and This Msrmaid'l
Song BY Haydn.