The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-24
Funeral Services Are Held
In New York City for
the Loved Writer
|DR. VAN DYKE SPEAKS
IN PRAISE OF THE DEAD
Dan Beard, the Illustrator, Places q
Wreath of Mountain Laurel Upon
the Coffin as Last Tribute
of Friendship

New York, April 2s.-The body OF
Il Mark Twain began today its last journey
Il from the sunny chamber where it had
j lain in Stormfield to the spot in Gods
IN acre where it shall rest at lase beside
M those whom 'he loved long since and
& los awhile
Funeral services were held in the brici
a Presbyterian church at Fifth avenue ane
4 Thirty street this city, by DR.
Henry Van Dyke professor of English
W literature at Princeton, at 9 o'clock this
afternoon The prayer was pronounced
by DR.. Joseph II. Twitchell of Hartford
Conn, Mark Twains old friend and
pastor At 2:20 tomorrow morning the
body will leave for Elmira over the
Lackawanna railroad.
In accordance with the wishes OF the
family, the services today were brier ahg
simple. The only music was an org
prelude the Death of Ase, by Greis
Tbare was modest display of white
iil;es. lilies of the valley, white and red
roses orchids and sweet peas about the
onfrin Those who wished were permitted
TO view the features. Invitation was by
card. but afterthe friends and the fam,
q lily had been Seated the church was wei
services tJok but half an hour. In his
address Or Van Dyke said in part:
s/or. Van Dykes Address
ophi mot the time nor the place for
s4ogy = he famous writer, the honored
a md representative American. We, all OF
X/us, are simply human. The touch OF
" grief is upon u.s. We think of Mark
n Twain, not as the celebrity, but the man
W W hom we knew and loved.
I&h 'sThose who knew his work as whole,
~ know that under the lambent and ire
spressible humor which was his gift, there
#&as a foundation of serious thought and
f noble affections and desires The mark
of his higher humor is that 1t does not
laugh at the. weak, the helpless, the
true, the innocent, only at the raise, the
vain. the hypocritical.
Mark Twain laughed many OF the
: -sorldts false claimants out OF court and
entanged many of the worlds false witt
nesses in the net of ridicule. He touched
\ the absurdities of life with not unixindiy
mockery and made us feel somehow the
infinite patlos OF lifes realities No one
can say that he ever failed to reverence
the purity, the frank joyful, genuine ma
ture of little children, of whom Cnrlst
has said. 'Of such is the kingdom OF
heaven
A hearse among the green lanes OF
xnring is a sad sight to see and as those
white horses and the black van now and
again between the penciled tracery OF
the willows there rose the memory or
how the same hearse had last wended the
same winding road from the same mouse
on Christmas night. Jean Clemens nad
died on Christmas eve, while her CHRIST
mas tree stood in the living room at
Etormaeid. fully garnished and un-
touched. Her body was sent TO Elmira
nm Christmas night That was Mark
Twain's last Christmas.
A sad Christmas
No news of the death had reached the
Few scattered houses in Redding. That
II christmas was furiously stormy and the
a snowf1akes drove like shot. The first IN
timation the village had of Jean Clem-
4 ems death was when tardy PASSENGER,
n opening suddenly the door of Redding
station found himself confronted With
four tall. silent men in black. struggling
in the snow with coffin. 1t was on
tbis night that the newspapers heard that
Mark Twain was dying and sent him
a telegram of inquiry.
~ hear" he wrote in reply, that the
Newspapers say am dying. l would
not do such thing at my time of life
4 am behaving myself as well as | can.
y Merry Christmas to everybody
The storms beat upon the daughter;
the sun shone today upon the rather
r-he hearse plodded through the lanes;
after II followed Albert Bigelow Paine
the cherished friend and biographer, with
Iervis Langdon, the favorite nephew ana
IN a closed carriage at the rear, the o'ily
Irving daughter Clara, and her husband.
nssin Gabrilowitch; Claude the faithful
hntler and old Katie Leary, the houce-
, Gaaner On the front seat. There was
~ nrocession of mourning neighbors, no
RECONSIDERATION along the way The shin
Ing rosewood coffin stood upon a bag
cage truck in the glaring sunlight
On the cover was siiver pia,e IN
soribed: ,r,
Samuel langnorn Sieinehs'
Twain, 1910
Above the plate lay a wreath OF noun
%a,n laurel. emblem of immortality pickeo
IN the Tamarack hills. Dan bearu' oiu
friend and neighbor, who illustrated many
Of his books. had stumbled over tne rocks
and roots the night before TO piuch lneil
h and had sat UP till the small rours 10
weave them with his own hands.
The train began to draw out OF the sta'
tion and as it gathered way FARMER Oh
the platform said soberly:
There goes man the country knew
as we'll as George Washington
There was no sign that ANYBODY at
succeeding stations through which ihs
train passed knew what burden 1t carrleu
The family occupied compartment. Oid
Katie the housekeeper, sat in corner
ard wept. II made him comfortable,
she said, '.just before he sank to rest
The nurses couldn't please him, but he
rested wher I eased him, and he said;
THANK you, Katie. you do everything
inst right The day before he had Miss
Clara in his room to sing Flow Gently
s.,yee, fton He asked for and she sang
tl,e old school ballad for him. He took
zeal pride in his daughters voice, and 1t
Il Il mistake to think as some have said,
fisif he was opposed to her career
}2JnE New York the hearse crept but slow
lvf fhrcugh the crowded srrcets to the
s,hnf&l, There was a crowd. but no noise,
70 j4Isorfcr here. Among those who at
tended we're:
Efr. and Mrs Andrew Carnegie. Rob-
crt xY6,Colier. Peter f. Dunno (Mr.
pooIer);f Robert Underwood johnson of
( tho E61tllry Magazine. Prof. Brander
Matf6{1vz w. D. Howells. James Lane
AIM, carol Beckwith. the painter; Dar
Eeard. TIC illustrator; Robert Bridges, the
poet; 10. III Martin, the essayist John H.
!. Finley. president of the College of the
}si.y OF New York; H. H. Rogers, Jr.,
Y Ealnes Choate. Col. d. Appleton. Thomas
wertworth Higginson and delegations
. from the Authors, the Century and the
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