The Washington herald., 1906-12-08
TWAIN AYES CAPITOL
CONTINUED FROM FIRs1 PAGE


doesn't give her any chiIls. She comes
right I'D smiling with the goods, and
she sails in and makes the aurora bore
ais look sick. But with man. it's diff
ferent, and he couldn't shake off a wait
er's coat unless-unless he should have
attained the age of seventy-one, as
have"
Mark Twain loIled back In his chair
the picture Of contentment. and the cor
respondents who had rescued him from
the crush in the lobby below. and had
Installed him in the chair Of honor in the
loungng room Of the press gallery, forgot
the debate in the House and crowded
around him.
THE ideal dress doesn't exist now" he
drawled. You've got to go back TO the
Middle Ages for that Now. / don't mean
the timed goods era. ] mean the doublet
and hose period. the silk-and-velvet age
when the men decorated their heads with
hats like the swinging garden Of Babylon
and dropping plumes. There weren't any
unesthetic buttons in those days, and a
man laced his pants on. IL must have
taken 'em some time TO dress-and-I-
-prOved-embarrass g-when-the-
lhouse-caught-fire.
But, Mr. Clemens" said one of the
correspondents, what made you dress
your Yankee at King Arthur's Court in
armoT and a silk hat?''
Because when / wrote that book the
plug hat was all the rage in America.
did IL to cater 10 popular clamor. Now.
there's William Dean Howells He knows
! r.
10 wear a plug hat But he listens 10
what other people say. Why, when we
came over from New York 10 attend this
copyright hearing. HOwells wore a plug
hat. II was the only one on the ferry
boat He looked like an ass. But then.
didn't have TO see him In a plug hat.
know that, anyhow.
Has Real Clothes Underneath.
These are just some OF the reasons
why 1 wear white clothes in midwinter;
I've got my real clothes underneath. 1t
suits me, and I'm getting to be an old
man now SO is Howells; he's seventy,
and he ought TO know better, but he
never seems to learn.
why, we went over to the hearing on
the copyright bill at the Congressional
Library this morning. The mechanical
musical instrument people. who want 70
get a copyright on the perforations in a
roll OF paper had the floor-So I didn I
go IN. But Howells did, and he's there
yet. He's the most dihident man I know.
and If 7 had offered him a weeks wages
TO leave that meeting he wouldn't have
accepted He hasn't got the nerve to
quit. He's getting full Of facts about
musical instrUments-and he won't re-
Z 4~r-.. . 44 I.Te L. 81
Somebody asked the venerable humorist
his opinion about the public library board
of Worcester, Mass, that barred HIS book,
Ewes Diary" He smiled conteutedly
and drawled
THE whole episode has rather
amused me. I have no feeling of vim
dictiveness over the stand OF the
Librarians there-I am only amused. You
see they did not object TO my book.
they objected TO Lester Ralphs pic
lures. / wrote the book; ] did not
make the pictures. ] admire the pic
lures. and I heartily approve them, but
7 did not make them.
Looked Mt Pictures a Long Time.
1T seems curious TO me-some Of the
incidents in this case. It appears that
the pictures in Ewes Diary were first
discovered by lady librarian When
she made the dreadful find, being very
careful she jumped at no hasty con-
clusions-not she-she examined the
horrid things in detail. Ir took her
some time 10 examine them all, but she
did her hateful duty, / don't blame
her for this careful examination: the
time she spent was, I am sure, enjoy
l.
tiOu IN them myself.
Then she took the book 10 another
librarian. male this time. and he.
also, took a long time t. examine the
unclothed ladies' He must have found
something Of the same sort Of fascina-
tion in them that I found. Now, IL the
pictures were so good as to occupy
their attention so long. it seems to me
that they were a little selfish not to
permit the rest Of the city a chance
instead Of shutting the volume out.
Seriously, the pictures IN the book are
graceful and beautiful. they show fine
and delicate feeling. So far from being
immOdest, I thought them chaste and
in good taste To the library that barred
them it would, no doubt. have been sat
isfactOTy had the ladies in Eden been
garbed with a ig-Ieaf each, but To my
mind that sort of thing is only adver-
tising immodesty."
Has No Idea of Marrying.
Mr.. Clemens was asked il ne had any
opinion as to the theory Of Mrs. Parsons.
promulgated in her book, advocating
short-term marriages.
TT is no new thing" he said; but as
have no idea Of marrying. I guess
shan't be required TO try it.
THAT sort of trial marriage was a
common thing in Scotland 800 years ago
1 wasn't there then, but I've heard so.
A couple would unite for a year. and II
at the end OF that time they did not
agree. they separated, without prejudice
TO either. I have never heard how the
plan worked. At any rate, il did not
continue, so there may have been some
thing wrong with it. We should have to
know all about how the project affected
things in Scotland before we could ven
ture to try 1t here"
Some of the correspondents asked Mark
Twain questions bearing on timely issues.
consented to be semi-serious for five
whole minutes. But he didn't express
any very weighty opinions, He said:
"On the japanese question, so called, ]
have no knowledge In my day. in Cali
fOFnia, we never had any Japanese; so
there was no question. If l. without any
knowledge of the subject at all. save that
I have gathered secondhand. should ex-
press my opinion one way or the other 1t
might do harm-an opinion based on such
lack Of knowledge could hardly DO any
good"
with your interest in all educational
matters. what do you think, he was
asked "nf that mart of the President. s