The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1906-11-01
sol I'll DORSET
wnrnE n oIoNE aor nls NAME.

WHERE nj CLONE GOT HIS NAME.
have been askedsa great many time,
where got the queer name which j.
| ms "nom de- plume. +" And now vii
tell you how it came about, In The
Summer Of 1877 WAS travelling with
the late Bill Kelly. selling patent rights
through New England. We had struck
fair luck and were stopping at the City
Hotel in Manchester. n. II II fell 10
me to 20 down 10 Portsmouth and talk
il mp. The third day morning in July
bought a ticket, and the agent said
Take the rear ear, please" ! did SO.
The train WAS n long one, and ! barely
got aboard. As the train pulled out
swe ran slowly along about 20 miles and
stopped on siding waited while
until big Unitarian Sunday school
got out, then found that ear load
ed with Sunday school from Concord.
n. H., had been left at Lake Masobe.
sick and the train gone on. The lake
il big picnic resort; dozen large
ice-houses and fair-sized summer ho-
tel were the main buildings; fine
grove with tables, band-stand. speak
er's stand, boats and bathing houses,
and little railroad station; the agent
| ,nll ,,,a ,,n trnin tr.,t ~ Dnrtsnontb
until night was stranded. ! went
over to the hotel; the landlord greeted
me kindly and asked me il ! could fix
his beer pump. could and did, and
helped him irrigate the band. Then
story telling went the rounds. finally "a
good dinner, and the band came back
for more inspiration. The dlum-maJor
was six-feet- four and as fine man as
You could meet. He said the picnick-
ers were disappointed.in not having a
speaker TO address them, and he had
told them he thought he could get u
friend of his to ill the bill; and then
asked me to go down and help him out.
| had new suit Of black clothes. and
they hunted up a new silk hat and
white tie, and we walked down into the
grove, talked with the minister and the
major, and ! mounted the speakers
stand and he introduced me as his old
friend Silas Clone, better known as |
Clone, who would talk to the people
for twenty minutes. and ! opened up
in my best talk. | was young then
and had never spoken to crowd be-
fore. was almost stage struck, but
rallied, determined not to break down,
and in five minutes had conquered.
Words came thick and fast; what said
| do not know, but went on for half
an hour and walked off the stand La
dies and gentlemen crowded around me
10 shake hands and congratulate me.
and as soon as we could get away we
returned TO the hotel, while the band
was playing Nearer, my God, to
thee. | went back to Manchester on
the evening train, bound to keep my
own counsel, but the next day was the
glorious Fourth and a big celebration
at Manchester. The Concord band was
there, and as they filed into the hotel
office they greeted me as 81 Clone, and
the eat was soon out of the bag. In |
after years adopted the name, and,
as you all know, it has been attached
to fact, fiction, nonsense and perhaps
some common sense. hope it never
has appeared Intentionally TO wrong or
abuse any one, and if the sarcasm has
cut to the quick sometimes | have no
apologies to make. like joke, wheth-
err it be at my own or some one else's
expense. 81 Clone never copies.