Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-24
SIMPLE SERVICE
HELD FOR TWAIN
Body Will Be Taken to EImira To-
day for Interment in the
Family Plot
KNOWN WELL AS WASHINGTON
Farmer Pays Great Tribute to the
Dead as the Train Rolls
Out of Station
KNOWN WELL AS WASHINGTON
IAssociated Pressl

SPOT in Gods acre, where II SnaLl rest
at last beside those whom he loved
long since and lost awhile"
Funeral services were said in the
old brick Presbyterian church at Fitth
avenue and Thirty-seventh street, this
city. by DR.. Henry A. Van Dyke, pro-
fessor of English literature at Prince
ton university, this afternoon. Inc
prayer was pronounced by DR.. Joseph
II. Twitchell of Hartford, Conn, Mark
TWain's old friend and pastor.
Early tomorrow morning the BODY
will be taken to Elmira over the Lack
awanna railroad.
In accordance with the wishes of
the family. the services today were
brief and simple The only music was
an organ prelude. THE Death of Ase,"
by Grieg There was a modest dis
play of white lilies, lilies of the valley,
white and red roses, orchids and sweet
peas about the coffin.
Those who wished were permitted to
view the features. Invitation was by
card but after the friends and the
family had been seated the church
was well filed by the general public.
In all, the services took but half an
hour.
DIR. VAN DYKE PAYS TRIBUTE
In his address DR.. Van Dyke said:
This is not the place nor the time
for a eulogy of the famous writer. the
honored and representative American.
Here we are all of us simply human.
The touch of grief is upon us. We
think of Mark Twain, not as the celeb
rity, but the man whom we knew and
loved.
"Those who know his work as a
whole know that under the lambent
and irrepressble humor which was his
gift there was a foundation of serious
- =.
sires The mark of his higher humOr is
that it does not laugh at the weak, the
helpless. the true, the innocent-only at
the false, the pretentious, the vain, the
hypocritical.
MARK Twain laughed many OF the
worlds false claimants out of
court and entangled many Of the
worlds false witnesses in the net of
ridicule. He touched the absurdities
of life with not unldndly mockery and
made Us feel somehow the infinite
pathos of life's realities. No one can
say that he ever failed to reverence the
purity, the frank, joyful, genuine
nature of little children, Of whom
Christ has said, OF such is the kingdom
of heaven
CONTRAST is PATHETIC
A hearse among the green lanes of
spring is a sad thing to see, and as
those waiting at Redding station today
saw the white horses and the black
van now and again between the pen
ciled tracery of the willows there rose
the memory of how the same hearse
had last wended the same winding road
from the same housc-on Christmas
night. Jean Clemens had died on
Christmas eve. while her Christmas
tree stood i'm the living room at storm
field fully sarnished and untouched
Her body was sent to ElmiTa on Christ
mas night. That was Mark Twain's
last Christmas.
No news of the death had reached the
few scattered houses that are in Red
ding. That Christmas night was furi-
ously stormy, and the snow flakes
drove like shale. The first intimation
the village had of Jean Clemens death
was when a tardy passenger, opening
the door of the Redding station, found
himself confronted with four tall, silent
men in black, struggling in the snow
with Il coffin. 1t was on this night
that the newspapers heard that Mark
Twain was dying and sent him tele-
grams Of inquiry.
Il hear" he wrote in reply, that the
newspapers say 1 am dying. l would
not do such a thing at my time Of life.
! am behaving myself as well as | can.
Merry Christmas to everybody"
CLOSE FRIENDS FOLLOW HEARSE
The storms beat upon the daughter;
the sun shone today upon the father.
The hearse rolled through the lanes,
after it followed Albert Bigelow Paine,
the cherished friend and biographer,
with Jarvis Langdon, the favorite
nephew, and in a closed carriage at the
rear the only living daughter, Clara,
and her husband. Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Claude, the faithful butler, and aged
Katie Leary. the housekeeper, on the
front seat. There was no procession of
mourning neighbOrs. no demonstration
along the way. At the station the
shinging rosewood coffin stood upon a
baggage truck in the glaring sunlight
ON the cover was d silver plate, in
ecribed:
samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark
Twain. 1910"
Above the plate lay a wreath Of
mountain laurel emblem of immor-
tality picked from the Tamarack
hills. Dan Beard, his old friend and
neighbor, who illustrated man. Of his
books, had stumbled over the rocks
and roots in the dark to pluck the lau-
rel the night before and had sat up into
the small hours to weave them with
his own hands.
KNOWN WE'LL As WASHINGTON
The train began 10 draw out of the
station and as it gathered way a far
mer on 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 the
train passed knew what burden 1t
bore. The family party occupied an
apartment. Katie, the housekeepcr
sat in a corner and wept silently
Il made him comfortable" she said,
Gust before he sank to rest The
nurses could not please him, but he
rested when / eased him and Thank
you, Katie, you do everything just
right said he.
"rhe day before he had Miss Clara
into his room to sing. Flow Gently,
Sweet Alton no asked for and she
sang the old ballad for him. He took
real pride in his daughters voice and
It is mistake to think, as some have
said. that he was opposed to her ca
reer."
F. A. Duneka and Major Leigh, of
Harper Brothers met the party at the
Grand Central station, Still without at
tracing attention the hearse crept
slowly through the crowded streets to
the church.
There was a crowd at the doors be
fore they opened, but no crush or.