The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-06-05

''Neither shall there be mourning.
nor crying, any more. REV citation,
! Xxi, f.
YOKOHAMA, (Japan) April "A.
In the paper laid on my table this
morning there is just one word Of cable
news from the Homeland. And it is
four words;
} Mark Twain is dead =
The other columns Of special and
press dispatches fade into blur. I can
see by the headlines there is a lot of
meaningless, talk about parliaments and
governors, about colonial interests.
about an emperor somebody and a king
or two here and there. and the IN
important movements Of a swarm of
little princeljngs concerning whom few
people ever heard, and in whose lives
still fewer have any interest There is
a half-column of tedious oratorv of a
great statesman droolcd out at a ban
quet of much meat and more drink. I
do not know his name, this being the
first time [ ever heard it. And there
appears to be some little excitement in
a place called England about an organi-
cation known as the house of lords.
And | see that something warlke is
happening in a country named Albania,
and diplomat YOU never heard of has
been sent there. while two great gen
erals whose names you could no more
remember than [ can spell have gone
to the front. wherever th>t is And
this is as meaningless to you and me-
this morning as the chatter Of the black
birds on the lawn.
The best known man in the world is
dead
And the gloomy halls of death are
garlanded with the smiles which he
sowed in human hearts all round the
globe, as the goddess of spring scat
ters the blossoms that glorify her name
on every$Tne ridian. There are no sobs,
no wallings for the dead. For he lives
in the crystal river of laughter of his
own creation which ripples across every
zone and makes living music in palace
and cabin. in camp and home, on the
mighty Dreadnought and the missionary
ship, in frowning fortress and the
chapels Of peace. His name, even while
he lived, grew to be a synonym for
laughter.
Good laughter, tr,,e laughter, sweet
and sincere. Always it came from the
heart of the man.
He was not iIreverent But with
what righteous hatred he hated a sham,
whether OF politics. philosophy or reli
gion. He had keen and loving sym
pathy for ignorance struggling toward
enlightenment, for faulty endeavors to
reach a higher plane Of life. for blind
man, cropping in the dark crying for
light even while he stumbled over
things sacred and beautiful.
But against pretense Of any sort, for
sham in any kind of sacred garmente
stolen from the wardrobe Of old truths
for any shade of hypocrisy, his wrath
blaZed like the anger Of a god who sees
his shrines desecrated by impious hands.
And for this some people sometimes
called him irreverent. People who had
felt the lash of his scorn. And in
nothing had he protounder contempt
than for sham and hypocrisy in art
He did tear down some Of our gods
hurting them from the pedestals be
fore which we had worshiped. But
even while we shricked he shattered the
PROSTATE things, and We saw with open
I'd eyes that they were wooden, as he
said they were.
More than twenty-fv years ago
first met him, happy guest in his home
at Hartford for Christmas week. One
Of the dinner guests during that time
was his neighbor and friend. Charles
DulHv Warner. 1t has been a pleasant
memory ali these years, the picture Of
those two rare types Of American hui
nor. Warner, gentle even with the
faults Of men; tender with our little
yanities. Ills humor seldom laughed
aloud, but often smiled. And the smile
never quite left his lips. In his quiet
est moments there was always the faint
image of it, making you listen for what
the lips would next speak, and calling
an answering smile to your own face
as a replying flag answers a signal of
tuttering color from the flagship
And Mark? The earnest look. the
expression of intense feeling. of posi-
tive conviction. never left his face He
was anything in the world but an actor.
The very eHrHoeturss Of his manner and
tone often emphasized the laughter
evoked by the sudden humorous turn or
unexpected phrases. His humorous
stories were never the greatest mirth-
producers Of his conversation. The
laughter exploded most UNEXPECTEDLY