Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-26
ALLLOVE OUR TWAIN
Pilgrims Toast Edward, Roose-
 welt and Author.
TWAIN HERE; ASCOT CUP STOLEN"
Most Noted Man Tn American World of Literature at London Says He Feels Not Like an Alien,
 but at Home.

LONDON, June 26.--The finest trib- ute which Mark Twain Samuel L.. Ciemens) has received in England was the Pilgrims dinner in his honor. The hosts numbered 150, many of whose names are known both sides of the At lantic. Two notable speeches were made, that of Chief Secretary For Ire land Birrell introducing Mark Twain, which was classic and full of hu- nor, concluding with tribute which brought the company to it's feet with prolonged cheering, and Mark Twain's reply, which was largely humorous. But, after talking in that strain for some minutes, he paused and said:
 T have chaffed and chaffed, and chaffed, but man does not reach the verge of seventy-two years without knowing life" He then proceeded in serious and somewhat pathetic strain which touch- ed his auditors deeply and then bowed his thanks.
 Mir. Twain began his speech by thanking the London men warmly. In the center of the table was q plaster statue of Mark Twain in Pilgrims robes, holding mammoth pen and leading jumping frog by string. A poem by the editor of Punch on the menu was in part as follows:
 Pilot of many Pilgrims since the shout. Mark Twain,
 That serves you for a deathless sign on Mississippi's waterway,
 Rang out over the plummet's line. Still, where the countless ripples laugh above the blue of halcyon seas.
 Long may you keep your course un- broken,
 Buoyed upon love ten thousand fathoms deep. 7a. There were only two toasts, King Edward and the President of the Unit ed States" and "Our Guest, Mark Twain"
 MT. Birrell, in proposing the latter toast, said that Samuel L. Clemens was known to all good men and wo- men in both hemispheres and to all boys and girls who are good for any thing as Mark Twain.
 The dead authors, he said, were a mighty army. They abounded on the shelves, but Mark Twain was the fin- est specimen extant of the living au- thor. They all loved him and were there to tell him so. He wasn't going to say what the world thousand years hence would think of Twain, but he was speaking for the men and women of today and their children-to say what Twain had been to them. He remembered In 1867 buying c copy of "The Jumping Frog" in the preface of which Twain was described as "The Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope" and The Moralist of the Main .'' | But the, author had proved to be an in, duence in disslpating national preju. dice and would leave the world richer than he had found 1t. .. 1 Mfr Clemens, replying, said that Sec retary Birrell had touched very lightly upon his position as a moralist. He was glad to be recognized as such, be- cause he had suffered since he had been in England. When he came here, he said. he saw a placard announcing Mark Twain arrives" and "The Ascot cup is stolen" and he had no doubt that his character had suffered there by. He was quite sincere in his pro- test, as he never got the cup because he never had chance to get 1t. Then in similar bantering mood he told story after story until, becoming more serious, he pathetically referred to the loss of his daughter. Contlnu- ing. he said:
 ''I have received since arriving hun- dreds and hundreds of letters from all conditions of people in England. There is compliment and praise in them; but. above all. there is the note of affection, and affection Is the most precious re- ward man can desire, whether for { character or achievement. These let : ters make me feel that in England. as I in America, am not stranger, not an f f