New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-25

or,.to sbor,d start religion 1t would not
havo any object but TO co1Vert anEyis III Tt
thev wouldn't need 1t ~ Us nov ,,' ,,%' that
,ic ,ninorify who are abfauE So i'll
az Rat worth lifting up. shoulI tn In
but the mighty mass Oh LHo 80 never
ND I'm even one single little instance u
Gein cultivate the cultivated i've
u,aq not equipped for H. dther Dy I", ~,
gift or training ,sat A GITectica but always
I,,,,od for bigger game tine iAasseS.
Nuiiteu o,ion deliberately tried 70 INSTRUCT
tIor, Int ] have done my Dtst 80 L.
lain. for they can get lnslIuc''o"
where.
II that confession Of faith we nave
about as sound a clew as could De u'-
eirod n the secret of Mark Twain's en-
ohontnont. Lang cvaded the issue pre-
oiso,y raised by the yankee but he diu
mot hold back from speaking the fai'h
that was in him and there are one or
600 eontenccs Of his. written at that
time which II is worth while to recall
Aching what il is that we want IN
80, be replies: 1--WE want a NiVld
ia original picture Of life: we want
,boracter naturally displayed IN ac-
.ior IT, moreover, there IS
-, unetroined sense OF hmnor in the
,,orretor we have a masterpiece
Forthwith he threw up his cap JOE
.eupckleberry Finn" protesting tna'
Ga reread Il he had just deserted hei-
urvo,th." and. he says. II never la'd
IL down till I had finished NJ 80
8, was not through leading the career
IF . man Of letters that Mark IVAN
won readers like Lang. and won tne
n,asses. too. II was through the SIM
,lor more nrtless. process or belhs
himself and pouring forth the hui'l"''
nature and the fun that wohId ho'
down His whole life directs W. -
,,i, conclusion. We can understand
Ar Paine's saving that Mark
Twain's appearance on the stage oi
the world was succession 81 ara
matte moments" for he lived much III
rub,ic as author. lecturer and traVeI-
,or and. making always a picturesque
figure. he necessarily takes on In these
nagee q certain rich saliencc. once the
world had found him out II was quicN
70 do him honor. and there were count
less interesting occasions on which ne
moved 10 the centre Of the stage. But
even when we remember his early DAYS
IN The West as a miner and journalist,
even when we follow him as plot
OH the Mississippi, we apprehend MN
az an observer rather than az a man
of action. As Mr.. Paine rcmarRS'
MARX Twain lived curiously apart
from the actualitles Of life re felt
their force. felt them poignantly' and
a. We have said, preserved unnumbered
subtle ties with mankind; but there
were sharp limits TO the share that nc
took in the hurly-burly. As we 60
through this long biography, it Is not
Of drama that we think, but, 10 put II
tersely, Of the domcsticities.
There Is nothing finer about Mr..
Paine's book than its wholesome re-
yival " the atmosphere Of home. in
reading Of Mark Twain's childhood ana
vorth we are conscious Of his mother
and of tho other members Of his fam
fly. Later. the sweet presence Of his
wife is IN some curious. indefnablo
fashion. always on the scene. and the
erect Of all this is To drive home the
moro completely his significance as the
Interpreter of everyday, homespun hui
mainly. He was the spokesman, IN
very truth. Of those masses with
whom he 50 frankly allied himself.
one figures at the back Of his inspira-
ton, like some damonic. cnergizlug
force, the great, unwleldy chaos or
life that Is called the American people.
1t is behind every writer Of ours VINO
is worth his salt, bringing TO bear
upon each one tho peculiar plea TO
which his special genius promises
10 give tho most sympathetic utter
ance. Hawthorne knew Il and wrote
"The Scarlet Letter" Lowell Il stirred
10 write the "Commemoration ode
When it came Mark Twaln's turn 20
be the voice Of his countrymen he
caught up into his writings was what
at once rude and fine IN the American
temperament the give and take Of the
daily round, tho quick. honest appeal
10 the senses, the primal emotions,
the curse and the laugh Kin. ng's
old impertinence does not. as a whole,