Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-07-29
Mark Twain. Tribut. to Grant.

Albert Bigelow Paine tells of Mark
Twain's now forgotten speech at the
great Grant dinner in Chicago in 1872
He had been asked to respond to "The
/ Ladies'" but changed his toast to 1.-The
abies."
Mark Twain declared afterward
that he listened TO four speeches that
night which he would remember as
long as he lived. One of them was by
Emory Storrs. another by General
Villas. another by Logan and the last
and greatest by Robert Ingersoll
whose eloquence swept the house like
fame.
Clemens own speech came last.
| He had been placed at the end to hold
the house He was preceded by dull
speaker. and his heart sank for 1t was
2 o'clock and the diners were weary
and sleepy and the ireary speech had
made them nnresponsive
"They gave him round of applause
when he s'enped IN rpon the table
IN front Of hin-a tribute to his name.
Then he heran the orenirr words Of
thot renoora BILE delirhtful fancy
eve haven't all had the good for
tune to be ladies': we havSf1t oil been
~enera's. or poets or statesmen: hut
when the toast works down to the ba-
bies-we stand on common ground
1.-THE tired audience had listened in
respectful silence thru the first half
Of the sentence. He made one OF his
effective pauses on tbs, word babies.
and wher he added. 81 that slow. rich
measure OF his we stand on common
ground they let go n storm OF ap-
plause. There was no WEAKNESS and
inattention after that. At the end OF
each sentence he had TO stop to let the
tornado roar itself on. arr sweep by.
When he reached the beginning Of the
final paragraph; among the three or
| four million cradles now rocking in
the land are some which, the, nation
would preserve for ages as sacred
! things II we could know which ones
! they are the vast audience waited
hreathlcss for his conclusion. Step by
step he feG toward so,re unseen cli-
max-soine surprise, OF course, for
that would be hIe way. Then steadily.
and almost without emphasis. he deliv-
| cred the opening. OF his fnal sentence:
"'And now in his cradle, somewhere
under thA flag, the f1t1fe illustrioifE
commander in chief of the American
armies IL 80 little burdened with his
approaching srandeurs and RESPONSE
btlities as to be giving his whole
strategic mind at this moment to try
ing to find out some way to get his
big toe into his mouth. an achieve
ment which (meaning no disrespecD
ths illustrious guest Of this evening
also turned his attention to some fifty
six years ago.
"He paused. and the vast crowd had
chill of fear. After all. he seemed
likely to overdo ito spoil everything
with a cheap joke at the end.
"No one ever knew better than Mark
Twain the value Of pause. He wait
ed now long enough to let the silence
become absolute. until the tension was
painful; then wheeling to Grant him
self. he said. with all that dramatic
power of which he was master:
"'And If the child Is but the father
of the man, there are mighty few who
will doubt that he succeeded
1.-THE house came down with a crash.
The linking of their hero's great mill
tary triumphs with that earliest of all
conquests seemed to them so grand a
figure that they went mad with the joy
Of it. Even Grants iron serenity
broke; he rocked and laughed while
the tears streamed down his Cheeks
Harper's Weekly.