Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1910-08-31
he LOST The RACE
Mark TWain'S Futile Chase After
a TaIlyho Coach.
MISSED A BIG CELEBRATION
The Way the Famous Humorist In
Company With w. D. HoweIls Did
Not Attend tho Centennial of tho

Not Attend tho Centennial of tho
Battle of tho Minutomen at Concord.
In his "reminiscences of Mark Twain
In Harper's Magazine w D. Howells |
tells amusingly OF the time when he
and Mr.. Clemens missed the anniver-
sary of the battle of Concord:
mark Twain came on to Cambridge |
In April. 1875. to go with me 10 the
centennial ceremonies at Concord I'm
celebration OF the battle of the minute
men with the British troops hundred
years before. We both had special in
vitations. including passage from Bos-
ton. but l said why bother to go to
Boston when we could Just as well
take the train for Concord at the Cam
bridge station. He equally decided
that it would be absurd, so we break
tasted deliberately and then walked to
the station. reasoning of many things,
as usual.
''When the train stopped we found
IL packed inside and out. People stood
dense on the platforms of the cars
To our startled eyes they seemed to
project from the windows. and unless
memory betrays me they lay strewn
upon the roofs like brakemen slain at
the post of duty. We remounted the
fame worn steps of POrter's station
and began exploring North Cambridge
I for some means of transportation over
land to Concord. for we were that far
/ on the road by which the British went
and came on the day Of the battle.
received us. some with compassion.
some with derision. but in either mood
convinced us that we could not have
hired a cat to attempt our conveyance.
much less a horse or vehicle Of any
description.
1T was n raw. windy day. very I'M
like the exceptionally hot April day
when the routed redcoats pursued by
the Colonials. fed painting back to Bos-
ton. with their tongues hanging out
like dogs but we could not take due
comfort in the vision of their discom-
future. We could almost envy them
for they had at least got to Concord.
A swift procession of coaches. car
riages and buggies. all going to Con
cord. passed us, inert and .w'pless. on
the sidewalk in the pecumarly cold
mud of North Cambridge. We began
to wonder if we might not stop one of
them and bride it TO take us
Il felt keenly the shame of defeat
and the guilt Of responsibility for our
failure, and when gay party of stu
dents came toward us on the top OF a
tallyho. luxuriantly empty inside. we
felt that our chance had come and our
last chance. He said that II would
stop them and tell them who | was
they would gladly, perhaps proudly.
give us passage. l contended that II
with his far vaster renown he would
approach them our success would be
assured.
"While we stood. lost in this contest
Of civilitieS,' the coach passed us, with
gay notes blown from the horns Of the
students. and then Clemens started il
pursuit. encouraged with shouts from
the merry party. who could not i'm
agine who was trying to run then
down. to rivalry of speed. The un
equal match could end only in one
way. and | am glad ! cannot recall
what he said when he came back t
me. Since then have often wondered
those blithe young hearts if they could
have known that they might have haC
the company of Mark Twain to Con
cord that day and did not.
I'VE hung about unavailingly in TIL
bitter wind awhile longer and thel
slowly. very slowly, made our wa.
home. We wished to pass as mucl
= time as possible in order to give prob
ability to the deceit we intended +
practice, for we could not bear TO owl
ourselves baffied in our boosted wis
dom of taking the train at Porter
station and had agreed to say that W
q had been 10 Concord and got back
e Even after coming home to my hOus
g we felt that our statement would b
e wanting in verisimilitude without fur
u Their delay, and we crept quietly int
=, my library and made up roaring fir
I on the hearth and thawed ourselve
out in the heat Of 1t before we regaine
t our courage for the undertaking. Wit
e all these precautions we failed. 10
: when our statement was impaired {
= the proposed victim she instantly pre-
" nounced it unreliable. and we were LEI
with 1t on our hands intact. / thin
the humor of this situation was fnall
= a greater pleasure to Clemens than a
actual visit TO Concord would hav
been. Only a few weeks before hi
p death he laughed our defeat over wit
+ one of my family in Bermuda and e,
J. ulted in our prompt detection"